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 42
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Connersville, the county seat, is one of the finest towns in Indiana. It has a population of about four thousand, excel- lent schools, good churches and fine public improvements. The city has ample railroad improvements, bringing it into direct communication with all points of importance. The commercial and manufacturing interests of the city are in a flourishing condition. The citizens are a very intelligent class of people, full of the right sort of public spirit.
FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
TmIs county was so called in respect to Major Fountain, of Kentucky, who was killed at the head of the mounted militia, in the battle on the Manmec, near Fort Wayne, in 1790. The surface of the county is mostly level, though the central and southern parts are occasionally undulating; and it is beanti- fully variegated with heavy forests and rich prairies, which latter constitute about one-fourth of the county. The soil is generally a black loam, with a slight mixture of sand, and is very fertile, producing excellent crops of wheat and corn. In the southern part of the county there is a preponderance of clay, and the soil there is consequently better adapted to wheat
576
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
and grass. There was originally an abundance of timber, con- sisting of poplar, sugar, beech, oak, walnut and hickory.
Covington, the county seat, is a thriving town on the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway. Attica is another smart town in this county. It is located on the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway. The county has made great improvement during the last decade, both in the growth of its towns and the general developments of the farming districts. The schools are efficient and prosperous.
FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Tms county was named in honor of the distinguished Benjamin Franklin. The northeast portion is level, the cen- tral and western portions rolling, and in many places quite hilly. The timber, which was originally plenty, consists of oak, sugar, beech, hickory and black walnut. The soil is gen- erally good. A considerable portion of the county is bottom land, lying along White river and it branches. These bottoms are, as usual, a very rich soil, well adapted to the growth of corn. The uplands are better adapted to the growth of wheat and grass. The farming interests of the county are fully up to those of other counties in the State. This county has some interesting antiquarian features. There are numerous mounds of earth and structures of stone, imbedded in the earth, and prepared with apparent skill, so that the deposits of some very distant period are found in a remarkable state of preservation. Franklin county has all the natural elements for success, and is rapidly increasing in population and wealth.
Brookville, the county seat, is located on the Whitewater division of the Indianapolis, Cincinnati and La Fayette Rail- way. It is an enterprising, educational town, rapidly increas- ing in population, wealth and importance.
FULTON COUNTY.
THIS county was named in honor of Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat. The surface of the county is level, with the exception of a range of hills along the north -
577
GIBSON COUNTY.
bank of the Tippecanoe river. The north and cast portions of the county were originally covered with a dense and valua- ble forest. The soil is generally very rich and fertile, ard well adapted to the growth of wheat and corn, and other grains. The county is well watered by the Tippecanoe river, and by Mill, Mud, Owl and Chipwamune creeks.
Rochester, the county seat, is located near the centre of the county, in direct railroad communication with Indianapolis and Chicago. It is a thriving town of about two thousand five hundred inhabitants. It possesses fair publie improve- ments, good schools and churches, and shows the effects of a liberal spirit and enterprise on the part of its citizens. About two miles east of Rochester is located the famed " Lake Man- itou," or " Devil's Lake." It covers an area of about thirteen hundred acres, and is about two and one half miles long. Many tales are told by some of the most substantial and reliable citizens, of an immense fish, or "devil-like " monster being seen at various times, in the night, and at a spot in the lake where bottom has never been found, although many efforts to reach it have been made. A legend has been handed down through several generations, by the Indians, to the effect that a party of their people, encamping on the east side of the lake, were surprised during the night by this monster, and after a desperate encounter, were all destroyed and dragged into the lake. Ever after this event, no Indian could be per- suaded to go onto the lake. A fine mill stream flows from this lake-being fed by springs- which affords power for several large flouring mills in the town of Rochester. The county has made considerable advance in the several indus- tries.
GIBSON COUNTY.
THIS county was named in honor of General John Gibson, secretary of the territory from 1801 to 1816, and repeatedly acting governor in the absence of Governor Harrison. The surface of the county is pleasantly undulating. A consider- able portion of the soil is river bottoms on the Wabash, Patoka and White rivers. The balance was originally heavily
37
578
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
timbered with walnut, beech, hickory, ash, oak, etc. The soil is generally loam and sand, and very productive in corn, wheat and oats.
Princeton is the county scat. It is a thriving town, contain- ing between two and three thousand inhabitants, located on the Crawfordsville and Evansville railroad, affording commu- nication to the northern cities, and southern ports, via Ohio and Mississippi railroad. It has excellent school facilities, fine churches, and good public improvements. The citizens are enterprising, and take a just pride in the growth of their city.
GRANT COUNTY.
TILIs county was named in honor of Captain Samuel Grant and Moses Grant, who were killed in 1789, in a battle with the Indians, near the creek since called by their name, in the northeast part of Switzerland county. The surface of the county is quite level, except a strip along the Mississinewa river, where it is decidely rolling. It was originally licavily timbered. The soil, without exception, is rich, and well adapted to the cultivation of grain, grass, fruit, etc. The farmers of the county are all blessed with abundant harvests; they are growing wealthy and independent.
Marion, a town of two thousand five hundred inhabitants, is the county scat, and a thrifty place. It has excellent rail- road facilities, good schools, and, being surrounded with a fertile region of country, is destined to have a continuous growth. Jonesboro is another thriving town in this county.
HAMILTON COUNTY.
Tins county bears the name of Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the United States treasury, under Washing- ton. The surface of the county is level in some parts, and gently undulating in others, and the soil, without any excep- tion, is excellent, being well adapted to either corn, grain, or grass. There are, along White river, some dry, rich prairies, and, at the heads of Cicero and Stoney creeks, some wet ones, but they are quite small. The balance of the county was
579
HANCOCK COUNTY.
originally heavily timbered, with a good proportion of oak, poplar, walnut, sugar, hickory, and beech. This is one of the finest farming counties in Indiana, and most of the farmers have become wealthy.
Noblesville is the county seat. It is located in the centre of the county, and is a thriving town, with a population of about two thousand. It has good railroad facilities, good schools, and its public improvements will compare favorably with other towns of equal population. There are quite a large number of Friends in Hamilton county. They have done much to develop the resources of that section.
HANCOCK COUNTY.
HANCOCK county bears the name of John Hancock, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. The surface of the county is level, except in the vicinity of the water courses, where it is undulating. The county was originally heavily timbered. The soil is rich, and the only impediment to agri- culture, was the wetness of some sections. This difficulty is being obviated by a system of drainage. Corn and wheat growing are the staple industries of the county, as also is the raising of horses, hogs, and cattle.
Greenfield is the county seat, and is a prosperous town, of nearly two thousand inhabitants. It is located on the Pitts- burgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis railroad, twenty-one miles east of the capital. The town has good schools, is rapidly in- creasing in wealth and population, and is cultivating a spirit of public improvements. The county, generally speaking, has made good progress.
HARRISON COUNTY.
This county was named for our own General William Henry Harrison. The surface of the county and character of the soil are diversified. "The chain of knobs on the east, the river hills, and many places along Indian creek and Blue river, present as fine scenery as can be found in any part of the State. The bottoms, valleys, and a portion of the upland are
580
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
fertile, and were originally well timbered, but some of the barrens have many ' sink-holes,' in which are frequently en- trances to immense caverns, and in many places the soil is very thin. Six miles west of Corydon is Wilson's spring, sixty feet in diameter, and, though it has been sounded over four hundred feet, no bottom has been found. It rises from a solid rock, in a level spot of land, and it affords a sufficient amount of water to turn a valuable flour mill. Pitman's cave, in the same neighborhood, has been explored abont two and a half miles, and is frequently visited. The descent to this cave is abont twenty feet perpendicular; it then extends off horizon- tally." Harrison county is one of the oldest in the State, and Corydon, the county seat, is one of the oldest towns in Indiana. It was the capital of the State for several years, or until the capital was permanently located at Indianapolis. Around it centre some of the earliest territorial legislation. It was at Corydon where the constitution convention of 1816 was held, when the first State constitution was framed.
Corydon, the county seat, is a town of over one thousand. It has grown but little during the last twenty years. How- ever, its growth has been substantial, and its improvements permanent.
JASPER COUNTY.
TIns county bears the name of Sergeant Jasper, of Carolina, who died in defense of his country in the war of the revolution. The surface of the county is generally level, consisting mostly of dry and wet prairies, interspersed with small groves of timber, usually known as oak openings. A large portion of the soil is very fertile, and well adapted to the production of ,wheat, oats, corn, grass, etc. It is a very fine grazing county, and horses, cattle, and sheep are raised with considerable profit.
Rensselaer, the county seat, is a living town, with good public improvements. Remington is another enterprising town in Jasper county.
JEFFERSON COUNTY. :
TILIs county was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the
581
JENNINGS COUNTY.
third president of the United States. It presents a great variety of soil and surface. "The bottoms on the Ohio, and along the principal creeks, are a rich loam, mixed with sand, and the lofty and steep hills near them have also a rich soil. On the table lands, back of the hills, there is more clay; and still further in the interior a considerable portion of the land is nearly level, covered mostly with beech timber-unfit for corn or grain, and suitable only for grass. About one-half of the county is of this character."
Madison, the county scat of Jefferson county, is located on the Ohio, and at the terminus of the Madison division of thic Jeffersonville, Madison, and Indianapolis railroad. It ranks among the most important river cities, having a population of over thirteen thousand, and immense manufacturing and commercial interests. The public improvements are good, its educational facilities excellent. The growth of Madison has not been rapid, but it has been substantial.
JENNINGS COUNTY.
Tins county bears the name of Jonathan Jennings, the first governor of the State of Indiana. Near the streams the surface of the county is hilly and broken, and moderately fertile, except in the beech flats, at the head of the streams, where it is only fit for grass. There is an abundance of excel- lent timber in the county, of which large quantities are exported. There are also good quarries of lime stone, from which the interior of the State is largely supplied.
Vernon, a thriving town in the center of the county, is the seat of justice of Jennings county, but North Vernon, in Center township, is the largest town, having a population of over two thousand, good public improvements, excellent school facilities, and increasing commercial interests. The' county is a good one, farming is profitable, and the farmers are prosperous. It is traversed by three railroads.
KOSCIUSKO COUNTY.
THIS county bears the name of the Polish soldier and patrios who served in the American army in the war of the revolu-
582
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
tion. The surface of the county is level and gently undu- lating. About two-thirds of the surface was originally covered with good timber, and it has generally a very rich soil; one- half of the balance is oak openings. The remaining portion is dry and wet prairies, of which the Turkey creek prairie, comprising an area of ten sections, is among the most fertile and beautiful land in the State-now all in a high state of cultivation. The soil is best adapted to wheat, oats, and corn. Near the head of Tippecanoe, Turkey creek, and other streams, there are quite a number of beautiful lakes, covering in all, probably twenty-five thousand acres. They are abundantly filled with fish.
Warsaw, the county scat, is beautifully situated between Pike and Eagle lakes, in the southern part of the county, on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, and is the terminus of a road running north to Goshen and Elkhart. It has a population of nearly four thousand, and is rapidly increasing in wealth and population.
LA GRANGE COUNTY.
THIS county was named in respect to the residence of General La Fayette, in France. About two-thirds of the county is what was usually known to pioneers as "barrens," or oak openings, one-tenth is prairie, and the balance thick timber. The face of the county is mostly level, though in some places it is broken and gently undulating. The soil in the openings is a sandy loam; in the openings there is a heavy mixture of clay. The former is well adapted to wheat; the latter to wheat, corn, grass and oats; and the prairies to wheat and corn .*
La Grange, the county seat, is situated in the center of the county, on the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad. It is a thrifty town of about two thousand inhabitants. Further north, on the same road, is Lima, a smart town of nearly one
* We have been directed, somewhat, in our observations touching the soil and surface of the several counties, by the "Indiana State Atlas," published by Asher, Adams & Higgins, New York.
583
LA PORTE COUNTY.
thousand inhabitants. La Grange county has made good progress.
LAKE COUNTY.
Tins county derives its name from its close proximity to Lake Michigan. The northern portion of the county adjoining the lake for several miles inland, appears to be merely sand thrown up from the bed of the lake. It is mostly covered with dwarf pine and cedar, and the soil is of but little value. South of Turkey creek the soil is rich and alluvial; but the central part of the county is better adapted to grazing than grain, the soil being a mixture of clay, marl, and black muck. Further to the south there is more sand, with a mixture of black loam, easy of cultivation; and the various kinds of grain raised in the west are produced in abundance, and still further to the southi, along the Kankakee, are extensive marshes.
Crown Point, in Center township, is the county seat. It is a small but thriving town, with fair public improvements, and good educational facilities.
LA PORTE COUNTY.
This is one of the finest counties in the State, and contains one of the most prosperous towns in Indiana. The name given to the county is the French name of the beautiful lake included in it. The range of country east and west, from eight to twelve miles south-east of Lake Michigan, was origi- nally timbered land, and parts of it are somewhat hilly, and the soil is mostly thin. The timber was mostly oak and hick- ory. The level part was originally covered with beech, poplar, sugar, etc., and in the vicinity of the lake and Michigan City, are sand hills, originally covered with pine. The county south of the above, for six or eight miles in width, is gently undu- lating prairie, interspersed with groves of timber and small lakes, which has a very rich soil. Still further south are the bur-oak openings, a few dry prairies, and the Kankakee marshes, of which large portions are better for grazing than for grain. It is estimated. that one hundred and eighty-eight
584
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
sections of land lie in the different prairies in the county, the principal of which are Rolling, Door, La Porte, Stillwell, Domain, and Hog prairies, which, with the exception of a few wet places, are well adapted to wheat, oats, corn, barley, hemp, and vines, and garden vegetables of every description. Fruit succeeds well, and the wet prairies, when drained, are excellent for grass. The oak openings are not inferior to the prairies in respect to soil.
La Porte, a flourishing and prosperous city of over eight thousand inhabitants, is the county seat. It is located in Center township, and has excellent railroad facilities. Sur- rounded by a rich agricultural district, with an abundance of good timber on every hand, it has all the elements of com- mercial prosperity. In a literary and educational point; the city has made great progress. Its schools stand high, and are a credit to the great system of education of Indiana. Its public improvements are excellent, and, in every point La Porte is a prosperous and flourishing city. The La Porte reading-room and natural history association attests the literary culture of its citizens. This institution was organized and incorporated in 1863; it started with seven hundred volumes, all standard works, and is, at the present time, in a high state of efficiency. Michigan City, in the northern part of the county, on the margin of Lake Michigan, is a very prosperous city of over five thousand inhabitants. All that can be said of the public improvements, educational facilities, and prosperity of La Porte, may, with propriety, be said of Michigan City. It is the gate to Lake Michigan commerce from Indiana, and, as such, must soon become a great com- mercial city.
MARION COUNTY.
TILIs county was named in honor of General Francis Marion. It is the seat of the capital of the State,* and contains the great and prosperous city of Indianapolis. In the northern part of the county, near White river, Fall creek, and Eagle
* Sce Future Great Cities of Indiana, to find sketch of Indianapolis.
585
MARSHALL COUNTY.
creek, is a rolling country, beautifully diversified with hills - and a small portion of the southwest of the county is of the same description; but the residue, with few exceptions, appears to be almost level, with slight ascents from the creeks. As farms are improved, they become dry, in most seasons, with very little draining. "One-third of the county, at least, is a kind of second bottom; it was originally covered with large sugar trees, walnut, ash, white and burr oak, beech, and a few poplar." The soil in this section is a black loam, clay and sand, intermixed, and based on limestone gravel four or five feet beneath the surface. This kind of land lies next to the streams, is easily farmed, and is very productive in corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, vines and fruits, and in fact all the articles usually raised in the climate. Further back from the streams the timber is not so good; the soil is a black muck, based on clay, which, though at first not well adapted to corn, yet becomes so in most seasons. It improves with continued cultivation. Indianapolis is the county seat, of which we make further mention in the latter part of this work.
MARSHALL COUNTY.
Tins county was named in honor of Chief Justice Marshall. The surface of the county is generally level, though there are places in which it may be called rolling. About one-half of the county is timbered land; the other half is oak openings or barrens, interspersed with wet and dry prairies, which are mostly of a small size, and in their vicinity are several small, beautiful lakes. The soil, where the land was originally tim- bered, is very rich and fertile, as also in the prairies. In the barrens it is thinner, though yet a greater portion of them is well adapted to wheat, oats, and vines. This portion of the soil improves with continued cultivation. There are in this county rich beds of iron ore. Marshall county has already become one of the leading agricultural counties in Indiana.
Plymouth, located in Centre township, is the county seat. It is one of the most enterprising towns in the State, has a population of over three thousand five hundred, and is rapidly
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
increasing in wealth and importance. It has excellent railroad facilities, being located on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago and the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville railroads. Bourbon is another smart town in this county. It is located on the railroad first mentioned. Tyner City and Argos are also smart towns on the latter road.
MARTIN COUNTY.
Tms county was given its name in honor of Major Martin, of Newport, Ky. The face of the county is quite uneven. There are a number of hills, and the soil is of various qualities, but mostly clay. Nine-tenths of the county was originally timbered upland, the balance about equally divided between river bottoms and oak openings.
Shoals, the county seat, is a thriving town, located on the Ohio & Mississippi railroad. It has good public improve- ments, good schools, and is increasing in agricultural and com- mercial importance, as is the whole county.
NOBLE COUNTY.
TILIs county was named in honor of Noalı Noble, Governor of the State of Indiana from 1831 to 1837. The face of the county is quite diversified, portions of it being nearly level, and other parts somewhat rolling or hilly. About one-half is heavily timbered; the balance, with the exception of one prairie of four thousand acres, and several small ones, is oak openings. The soil is mostly a black loam mixed with sand; there is very little clay. In places, small, wet prairies are intermixed with small lakes and rolling, gravelly barrens, and the soil is poor; but generally the soil is rich, and well adapted to wheat, oats, and, in the timbered land, to grass. As a whole, the county is well adapted to agriculture, and the labors of the husbandman are fully rewarded.
Albion, the county seat, is located in the centre of the county. It is a lively town, with good public improvements, excellent school advantages, and considerable commercial im- portance.
587
ORANGE COUNTY.
ORANGE COUNTY.
Tms county was named after a county of North Carolina, in which many of the early settlers had previously resided. The south part of the county is hilly, and abounds with fine springs of water; the north is undulating. About one-fifth of the county is bottom land, with a rich, fertile soil, and an equal amount of openings; the balance is uplands, and was origin- ally heavily timbered with oak, hickory, poplar, ash, walnut, cherry, sugar and beech, and the soil well adapted to wheat, corn, oats, etc. There are many "sinks" in the county. " These, for the most part, have limestone for a base, where many of the streams and springs fall into the earth, and there find subterraneous passages, until they unite with larger streams or reappear with larger and stronger currents."
Paoli, the county seat, is located in the centre of the county. It is a small town and is improving in population and wealth rapidly, with the country around it. The schools are imorov- ing.
PERRY COUNTY.
Trus county was named in honor of the gallant Commodore Oliver HI. Perry. With the exception of about twenty thou- sand acres of bottom land, along the Ohio and Anderson rivers, and some tracts of wet beech lands at the heads of the streams, the balance of the county is very hilly. On the bottoms and a portion of the hill-sides and tops, the soil is rich, but much of the largest part of the county is what is usually denomi- nated poor land, though there is but a small part of it which may not, with careful farming, be made productive. The timber is of an excellent quality; the best of oak and poplar are found on the hills, and in the bottoms sugar, becch; ash and walnut. The surplus articles exported are corn, hay, pork, etc. The trade in wood and coal for the Ohio river steamboats is large and profitable.
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