USA > Indiana > Washington County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Harrison County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Crawford County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Clark County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Scott County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Floyd County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Jennings County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
USA > Indiana > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 15
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Ordered that John Hickman's "mark", to-wit : A "crop" off the left ear, and "under-bit" and "upper-bit" in the right ear be admitted to record.
Ordered that the "mark" of Tice Light, to-wit : A "crop" off the right ear and an "under-bit" in the left ear- be admitted to record.
Ordered that the "mark" of Edward Smith, to-wit : A "smooth crop" off
the right ear and a "half crop" off the left ear in the underside, be admitted to record.
Ordered that the "mark" of Eli Wright, to-wit: A "crop" and under- bit" off the left ear, and that his "brand to-wit : "E" on the near shoul- der be admitted to record.
Ordered that the "mark" of Law- rence Bell, to-wit: A "hole" in the left ear, and a "half crop" in the under side of right ear, and his "brand" to-wit : "L. B.," be admitted to record.
Ordered that the "mark" of Benja- min Brown, to-wit: An "under-bit" in the right ear and a "swallow fork" in the left ear be admitted to record.
For the benefit of the generation coming on, who are ignorant of what was termed "marks" of stock, by our pioneer fathers, a word of two of explanation is given herewith. A "mark" consisted of chipping or cut- ting the ears of stock so that it might be known by the owner. Two men in the same immediate neighborhood could not have the same mark, and for this reason, when a man selected or adopted a "mark," he reported it in court, where it was ordered to record, and this prevented any one else in his neighborhood "infringing" on it. In the early times when every- body let their stock run at large, "marks" were necessary that each man might know and recognize his own animals. An "under-bit" was a small notch cut in the under edge of the ear ; an "overbit" the same except it was cut in the upper edge. A "crop"
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
was the tip end of the ear chipped off : a "half-crop" the ear split at the end, and half of it clipped off ; a "swallow fork" was a notch eut in the end of the ear, etc.
Townships Laid Off .- The first account we have of townships being laid off was at a term of court held March 9th, 1809, a record of which is as follows: "Ordered that the county of Harrison be laid off into townships, and that one township shall begin on the west county line, and run with the lines dividing town- ship 3 and 4, to the second of the second range ; thence one mile south, thence east with the section line to the east county line-to lay on the south of the said section line, and shall be called Exeter Township.
"That another township shall begin at the west county line on the boun- dary line between the Vincennes and Jeffersonville districts of public lands. and to run with said boundary to the east county line, thence with said county line to the corner of Exeter township, thence with Exeter town- ship to the west county line, thence with the same to the beginning, and shall be called Harrison township.
"All north of the boundary line, between the Vincennes and Jeffer- sonville district of Public lands, shall be one township, and shall be called Washington township."
The first information we have of an election in the county is embraced in the following order:
"Ordered that an election for Rep-
resentative, for Harrison county, to serve in the General Assembly of the Indiana Territory shall be held at the house of Mr. John Kellar, in Exeter township; at the house of Mr. Peter Copperas in Harrison township, and at the house of Capt. Beek in Washington township, agree- ably to a law of said Territory, authorizing a division of the counties in the same into election townships."
On the 10th of March, 1809, under order of the Court, George Pfreiner, Spier Spencer and Geo. F. Pope were appointed commissioners to draft plans for a jail, and let the contract to the lowest bidder, April next, for building the same. The Sheriff was ordered to let to the lowest bidder the contract to clear off one lot of the public ground in Corydon, and the streets adjacent to it, and to build a strong pound on the public ground agreeable to law.
At the April term of court, a jail was ordered built on the following plan : "Foundation of stone, sunk six inches in the ground and appear six inches above the ground; four sills of good oak or honey locust, the side sills to face eighteen inches one way, and twelve the other, laid flat on the › tone foundation, the jail to be twenty feet by twelve, the side and end logs to be fifteen inches square, of good sound timber, with "dove-tailed" notches, a partition of good sound timber (oak, beech, or honey locust) hewed 15 inches square, the lower floor of the same kind of timber,
The old State Capitol at Corydon. 1813 to 1825.
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
hewed fifteen inches square, the upper floor of same kind of timber, hewed twelve inches square, laid close with plates on the same, the jail to be one story high, a roof of joint shingles nailed on, two doors, one in the end, the other in the partition, the shutters of two-inch oak plank, doubled, with four spikes in each cross-plank, to have good strong locks, a grate in each room, the bars firm, twelve inches long, etc., all to be finished by the first day of next November court."
The second grand jury impaneled in the county was at the May term of the Common Pleas Court, and con- sisted of Richard M. Heth, foreman, Isaac V. Buskirk, James Shields, Pearce Chamberlin, Joseph Decker, George Gresham, Sanford Ransdall, Robt. Cochran, Sack Pennington, . George Given, Edward Smith, Ricli- ard McMahon, Andrew Johnson, John Dawson, Paul French, Benj. Brown, and Isaiah D. Boone. They were "sworn as grand jurors," as the old records put it, "for the United States, for the body of Harrison county, and having received their charge retired from the bar to con- sult and to make up their present- ments and indictments."
The above will doubtless suffice as samples of the early court proceedings. Vast changes have taken place since the courts were held from which these extracts are made, and the courts themselves have changed as much as anything else.
The Capital .- Corydon, the seat of justice, and the legal and commercial center of the county, dates back to 1808, and was founded by Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison. It is beautifully situated in a valley, at the junction of Big and Little Indian Creeks, and is about twenty-five miles from New Albany by rail, and ten miles from the Ohio river at the nearest point. Many evidences of its age are seen in the hoary trees growing in yards and lawns, and along the streets, and on Indian Creek, which latter are said to have been planted there to protect the banks. They now present a unique appearance as they guard and protect the boundaries of farms, and evince an age of improvement not elsewhere seen in the State. Few towns in Indiana perhaps, as old as Corydon, present as handsome and youthful appearance. Her four-score years sit lightly upon her, and the stranger would never dream that she is reeling off the last quarter of her century. Old towns are usually known by tumble-down, dilapidated buildings, which show the "ivy clinging to their moldering towers," or "hoary lichens springing from the disjointed stones," while gen- eral decay seems to prevail everywhere, and mocked by universal desolation, " the bat, shrill shrieking, woes its flick- ering mate," and the "serpent hisses and the wild bird screams." Not so is Corydon. There is nothing to indicate its age but the grand old trees which spread their gigantic arms. shel- teringly over the town. An air of
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
thrift prevails, indicating a permanent and well-founded prosperity.
Corydon, as stated, was laid out by Gen. Harrison in 1808. In the old court records, under date of March 9, 1809, we find the following:
- "Henry Heth and Win. Henry Har- rison came personally into court and acknowledged themselves indebted to the Court of Common Pleas of Har- rison county in the sum of $500; pro- vided the said Heth and Harrison do not on or before June, 1812, convey by a good and sufficient deed to the said court, for the use of the said county, for publie ground, two lots in the town of Corydon in said county, containing one acre and four perches each, being heretofore laid off by them for the public ground in said town." This seems to have been the original plat of the town, and when it was laid off, none perhaps dreamed it wouldl ever become the capital of the State.
In 1811 a substantial court house was built, which is still standing, and is being used for holding of the courts. It is the old fashioned style of architecture, followed almost uni- versally in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, fifty to a hundred years ago in court house buildings, being square, the roof running up to a point in the center, or a cupola. This build- ing is forty feet square, two stories high and of blue limestone in irregular courses, from four to ten inches thick. It stands as firm and solid as if it was good for another four score years. The window sills are of a buff or
yellow stone, which is found near Salisbury, some ten miles from Cory- don, and which, when quarried, is so soft that it may be hewed to any shape with an axe or cut with a hand-saw, but which hardens on exposure to the sun and air. Corydon became the seat of government of the Indiana ter- ritory in 1813 under the administration or about its close, of acting Gov. Gib- son. Following is the act for its removal :
AN ACT TO REMOVE THE SEAT OF GOV- ERNMENT FROM THE TOWN OF VIN- CENNES TO THE TOWN OF CORYDON, IN THE COUNTY OF HARRISON.
1. Be it enacted by the Legislative Council and House of Representatives, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of May next, the seat of Gov- ernment of the Indiana territory shall be and the same is hereby fixed and established in the town of Cory- don, until altered by law ; and it shall be the duty of all officers and all other persons in any way concerned in administering the government of said territory, and all persons whose duty it is to be at the seat of govern- ment of the said territory, or whose functions are or ought to be exercised at the said seat of government, to remove the books, records, papers and proceedings of whatever nature or kind they may be, in anywise relating to their offices, to the said town of Corydon, in the said county of Harri- son, or before the said first day of May next, and it shall be the duty of all
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
the said officers, and all persons whose duty it is to be and attend at the seat of government, to be and attend at the said town of Corydon, in the county of Harrison, from and after the said first day of May next, then and there to attend to, perform, and do whatso- ever to their said offices doth belong or in any wise appertain ; and all per- sons in any wise concerned are hereby required to govern themselves accord- ingly.
There are several other sections of the act which pertain to the removal of the courts, etc., and are not of interest here.
There is a tradition among the peo- ple of Corydon, that the first session of the Legislature held in their town after the removal of the capital, was held under a large elm tree standing above the railroad depot, on a sort of by-street, or rather in it, for it stands in the middle of the street. This must be incorrect. Dillon's History of Indiana says: "By an act which was approved on the 11th of March, the seat of Government of the Indiana Territory was declared to be fixed at the town of Corydon, 'from and after the first day of May, 1813.' After a session of about forty days, the Gen- eral Assembly, in conformity with a joint resolution of both houses, was prorogued by a proclamation of Gov. Gibson, to meet at Corydon, on the first Monday of December, 1813." It is not likely then, that the Legislature held its first session under the "said elm tree," as it would make rather an
"airy" chamber for the winter months even in this latitude. But, not to spoil a pretty tradition, there was a called session of the Legislature during the next summer (1814) and as the elm tree in question, stood directly in front of the house in which the first two or three sessions of the Legislature were held, what is more probable then, that the Solons, when they became heated in debating the "weighty measures of State," they should retire to the invit- ing shade of the hoary elm, where they would not only have more air, but more room. The tree is a most magnificent one, at least five feet in diameter just above the ground ; not less than a hundred feet in diameter from tip to tip of its longest boughs, and when clothed in a full robe of summer foliage would lack little of sheltering the present Legislature of the State. However, the tree is three- quarters of a century older than it was when it served as a Legislative chamber.
Three years after the capital was removed to Corydon, (in 1816) Indi- ana became a State, and the town con- tinned to be the capital until 1825, when it was removed to Indianapolis. Following is the full text of the report of the commissioners appointed under act of the Legislature of the State, to locate a permanent seat of Government :
Report .- "That in conformity of a proclamation of Jonathan Jennings, Governor of said State, the under- signed met at the house of William
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
Connor, on the west fork of the White river, and after having taken the oaths of affirmati ns respectively required by law, proceeded to the execution of the duties assigned them by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, entitled 'an act to locate the permanent seat of Government of Indiana,' approved January 11. 1820. In discharging their duty to the State, the un lersigned have endeavored to connect with an eligible site, the advantages of a navigable stream and fertility of soil, while they have not been unmindful of the geographical situation of the various portions of the Stat- to its politie I center as regards both the present and future interests of its citizens. The undersigned com- missioners as aforesaid, in pursuance of the act of the General Assembly above mentioned, and of an act of Congress, entitled 'An act to enable the people of the Indiana Territory to form a Constitution and State Govern- ment, and for admission of such State into the Union upon an equal footing with the other States and for other purposes,' and also respecting the location of certain sections of land, to be granted for the seat of Government in the State of Indiana, proceeded to select and locate, and have selected and located as a permanent site for the seat of Goverment, for and on behalf of the said State, two thousand five hundred and sixty acres of land, equal to four entire sections, being sections numbered one and twelve, east and west fractional sections num-
hered two, east fractional sections numbered eleven, and as much of the east part of west fractional section numbered three, to be set off by a north and south line, as will complete the quantity of two thousand five hundred and sixty acres of land as aforesaid, in township fifteen of range three east.
Given under our hands, this 7th day of June, 1820.
GEORGE HURST, JOHN CONNOR, STEPHEN LUDLOW, JOSEPH BARTHOLOMEW, JOHN TIFTON, JOHN GILELAND,
THos. EMERSON, FREDERICK RAPP, JESSE B. DURIAN. Attest : B. J. BLYTHE, Clerk.
Corydon, although eighty years old, and once the capital of the State, is still a small place. The United States census of 1830 gave it 763 population, and it has probably increased but little since. Judging by the increase in population of the county, which, in 1860, had 18,551 population : in 1870 it had 19,913, and in 1880 it had 21,326, it is very little larger than it was at the begin- ning of the civil war. Though slow in growth, its growth has been sub- stantial, as seen in the character of public buildings, churches and private residences.
In addition to the old capitol build- ing, used for a court house, the county has erected on the public square, a
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
handsome, modern, two-story brick building for public offices, which con- prise as elegant, commodious and secure offices as may be found in any county in the State. Few counti-s, too, have a more elegant school-house than that which does credit to the town of Cory- don. Several handsome churches grace the place, and beautiful resi- dences are to be seen on every street. The business is equal to that of any inland town of its size in the southern part of the State. An editorial in the Western Argus of May 6, 1851, thus sings the praises of Corydon:
" There are some things for which our town is particular adapted, and to these objects our attention and our energies should be directed. There is no place better situated for schools than Corydon in the whole southern portion of Indiana. Its location is just suited to that purpose. It lies in the bend of the Ohio river, which flows within twelve miles of us on the south and west, and eighteen miles on the east; off the line of any great thoroughfare, in the midst of a pleas- ant rural district, and within a few hours' drive of New Albany and Louis- ville; nestled down between the hills, in a delightful little valley through which flows on the south and west of the town, two clear, bright streams of water; surrounded by beautiful scen- ery ; about us on every side smiling farms, and forests laden in spring-time with the rich perfume of wi'd flowers and vocal with songs of birds, which may be enjoyed free of charge and
without the unpleasant surroundings of a crowded concert room. The vil- lage and neighborhood is remarkably healthy ; during the prevalence of the cholera for the last two years we did not have a single case. Our commu- nity, both in town and neighborhood, is moral and intellectual. We already have two good schools, under the direc- tion of competent and skillful teach- ers, and everything else to make it a pleasant place of residence."
ELIZABETH is one of the most thriv- ing villages in the county, outside of the county seat. It is situated in a southeas:erly direction from Corydon, some twelve miles distant, on section 33 of Posey township. An excellent farming region surrounds it, with a gently undulating or level continuation of the prairie-like "flat woods." It contains the usual mercantile, manu- facturing and mechanical establish- ments necessary for the accommodation of the surrounding community. By the census of 1880, it had a popula- tioo of 282 souls.
BRIDGEPORT is situated on the Ohio river, about fifteen miles from Cory- don, in the north-east corner of Posey township. It is a small place, located in a fertile valley, though a narrow one, and its principal business is ship- ping by river. There are the usual business houses, etc., common in small river towns.
MIDDLETOWN, Or NEW MIDDLETOWN, as commonly called, is situated on the road to Elizabeth, and about half way from that place to Corydon. It is in
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
Webster township, on section 14, and is just east of the eastern boundary of the " barrens." It is a growing village, settled mostly by German citi- zens, who are industrious, thriving and economical, and are building up a prosperous community. The village is surrounded by a rich, prairie-like plain, divided into good-sized, well- arranged farms, yielding wheat pro- fusely, good corn and hay crops, also choice fruits. The village has the usual mercantile and mechanical estab- lishments of small country villages in agricultural neighborhoods.
BUENA VISTA is a small cross roads village in Taylor township, some twenty miles south-east of Corydon. The region around about it is some- what rough and hilly, and more adapted to fruits than to agriculture. The neighborhood is noted as being the place where the Harrison county aerolite fell in 1859. The circum- stances of this phenomenon, which should be of considerable interest in the history of Harrison county, are something as follows: "About four o'clock in the afternoon of the 28th of March, a slight glare was observed by a few of the residents, although such phenomena are usually noticed only from ten to fifteen miles away; this was followed by loud bursting reports, succeeded by continuous reverbera- tions along and across the deep valleys and high ridges, which seemed to some of the bearers to equal the dis- charge of many batteries of heavy artillery in continued succession. On
the spot the terror was intense; the flash of fire and frightful explosion, followed by a rushing, rattling noise in the air, and the crashing and tearing of the fragments against the trees, are to this day vivid in the memory of the older inhabitants, Mrs. Goldsmith saw one of the pieces fall on the road in front of her house, and picked it up while still warm. She said that not one of the men, women and child- ren were frightened, but dogs ran howl- ing to their masters for protection ; birds were first paralyzed and then driven in furious flight; horses snorted in agony of fear, and cattle bellowed in wild confusion." This smacks much of Joe Mulhatton, but the fact that it occurred before Joe arose to such notoriety in the fields of romance, relieves him of the burden of bearing it. This differs from Joe's wonderful stories in this regard-it is true.
The following account was written on the spot immediately after the fall of the meteorite, by Dr. E. S. Crosier, now of New Albany, and a scientist, whose veracity is unquestioned : "On the 28th of March, 1859, about four o'clock p. m .. three loud reports in rapid succession, resembling the dis- charge of artillery, were heard in Harrison and adjoining counties. The reports were preceded by a sudden glare of light, peculiar, and by no means like a flash of light- ning. There was a dark cloud overhead at the time, and the reports were followed by a long rumbling sound, which proceeded in a south-
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY.
west direction, lasting probably a minute and a half. The peculiar reports were matters of conversation with every one, and we were not sur- prised to hear that a fall of aerolites had occurred in Taylor township, Har- rison county."
I at once resolved to investigate the matter and secure specimens, if possible ; many and marvellous were the stories in circulation in the neigh- borhood. Such a superstitious dread prevailed among the people that but little effort was made to recover the fragments, most of which had pene- trated some little distance into the earth. Several pieces fell in the door- yard of Jolin Lamb ; a small boy saw one of them fall and dug it out of the ground. It was about three inches long and of an oblong shape. A frag- ment, picked up by Mrs. Kelley, near Buena Vista, was brought to me; it had been broken after the fall, and presented a very peculiar appearance. It was covered externally with a thin crust resembling a coating of bitumen. The inner portion was of a light gray color, and interspersed with bright metallic specks. It possessed magnetic properties in an eminent degree, the external coating appearing to attract the magnet with greater energy than the internal portion. It weighed 167.5 grains, troy, and had a specific gravity of 3.438. Robt. Somers pro- cured for me a much larger piece, which weighed one pound and three ounces, avoirdupois ; it was 4.4 inches long and 2.3 inches through its short-
est diameter. It also attracted the magnetic needle, which proved the presence of iron. This piece was dug up at Buena Vista by Mr. Goldsmith, and had the same external dark crust and internal gray appearance as the small fragment first described. But four pieces were found, although a great number must have fallen, as over an area of about four miles square, almost every individual testi- fied to having heard the hissing noise made by the falling fragments; it having occurred at a favorable time in the day for observation-about four o'clock, p. m.
"Three or four Joud reports, like the bursting of bomb shells, were the first intimation of anything unusual ; a number of smaller reports followed. The stones were seen to fall immedi- ately after the first loud explosion. Some who were in the woods dis- tinctly heard the stones striking amongst the trees. A peculiar hissing noise was heard, during the fall of the stones, for miles around. As a lady described it, 'the air seemed as if it had, at once, become filled with thousands of hissing serpents.' Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Crawford were stand- ing in their dooryard at the time, and hearing a loud hissing sound, looked up and saw an ærolite fall just before them, burying itself four inches in the ground. They immediately dug it up. It did not possess any warmth, but had a sulphurons smell. Another, which they did not find, fell near them.
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
"Two sons of John Lamb were out near the barn, when their a tention was attracted by a loud, hissing noise, noise, and immediately a stone fell near them, penetrating some three or four inches into the hard earth. This was of an oblong shape, about three inches in length, and not more than a half inch-and was quite warm when first taken from the ground. The general appearance and compo- sition of this was the same as those above described. Another fell in newly plowed ground near by, but they were unable to find it."
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