USA > Indiana > Washington County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Harrison County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Crawford County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Clark County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Scott County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Floyd County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Jennings County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington, Indiana > Part 17
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4. And be it further enacted, That this act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of February, one thousand eight hun- dred and eleven.
DENNIS PENNINGTON,
Speaker of House of Rep. JAS. BEGGS,
Pres. of the Legislative Council. Approved November 23rd, 1810. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON."
At the Borough of Vincennes, In- diana Territory.
The boundaries of Jefferson county have been modified and changed since then, by the formation of the counties of Switzerland, Ripley, Jen- nings and Scott. The present bound- aries are as follows, and contain about three hundred and eighty square miles :
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Beginning on the Ohio river at a point where an east and west line dividing fractional section number twenty - nine, township two south, range ten east, strikes the same; thence west through the center of said fractional section twenty-nine and sections thirty and .twenty -five, to the east line of section twenty-six, township two, range nine; thence north to the southeast corner of sec- tion twenty-three; thence west to the southeast corner of section twenty- two; thence north to the northeast corner of section twenty-two; thence west to the southeast corner of section thirteen, township two north, of range eight east: thence north to the southeast corner of township three, range eight ; thence north to the line dividing sections twenty-four and 'twenty-five: thence west to the north- east corner of section twenty-seven ; thence north to the northeast corner of section fifteen; thence west to the northeast corner of section seven- teen : thence north to the northeast corner of section eight; thence west to the northeast corner of section seven: thence north to the township line: thetice west to the northwest corner of said township; thence north with the line, dividing ranges seven and eight, to the line dividing town- ships four and five; thence east to the northeast corner of section three, township four, range eight east ; reserving, however, all that part of the town of Paris, being the north- east quarter of section four, in town-
ship four north, range eight east, which is attached to the county of Jennings; thence north to the north- west corner of section twenty-six, in township five, range eight; thence east to the range line dividing ranges eight and nine ; thence north to the northeast corner of section thirteen, township five north, range eight east ; thence east to the southeast corner of section eight, township five, range nine; thence north to the line divid ing; townships five and six; thence east to the northeast corner of sec- tion five, township five north, range twelve east; thence south to the Ohio river; thence with said river to the place of beginning.
. TOWNSHIPS.
The county is divided into ten civil townships, viz : Madison, Graham, Lancaster, Monroe, Milton, Saluda, Shelby, Smyrna, Republican and Han- over.
MILTON township is bounded on the north by Shelby township, on the east by Switzerland county, on the south by the Ohio river and on the west by Madison township.
SHELBY township is bounded on the north by Ripley county, on the east by Switzerland county, on the south by Milton and Madison townships, and on the west by Monroe township.
MONROE township is bounded on the north by Ripley county, on the east by Shelby township, on the south by Mad- ison township and on the west by Lan- caster township.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
LANCASTER township is bounded on the north by Jennings county, on the east by Monroe township, on the south by Smyrna township, and on the west by Graham township and Jennings county.
MADISON township is bounded on the north by Shelby, Monroe and Smyrna townships, on the east by Mil- ton township, on the south by the Ohio river and Hanover township, and on the west by Hanover, Republican and Smyrna townships.
SMYRNA township is bounded on the north by Lancaster township, on the east by Madison township, on the south by Madison and Republican townships, and on the west by Graham township.
GRAHAM township is bounded on the north by Jennings county, on the east by Lancaster, Smyrna and Republican townships, on the south by Republi- can township and Scott county, and on the west by Jennings and Scott counties.
REPUBLICAN township is bounded on the north by Graham and Smyrna townships, on the east by Smyrna, Madison and Hanover townships, on the south by Hanover and Saluda townships and Scott county, and on the west by Graham township and Scott county .
HANOVER township is bounded on the north by Madison and Smyrna townships, on the east by Madison township, the Ohio river and Saluda township, on the south by Saluda township, and on the west by Repub- lican and Saluda townships.
SALUDA township is bounded on the north by Hanover and Republican townships, on the east by the Ohio river and Hanover township, on the south by Clark county, and on the west by Clark and Scott counties
HISTORY OF TOWNSHIPS.
In the beginning there seems to have been only three townships in this county, as is found by an entry on the records of the Common Pleas Court, to-wit :
"Ordered (July 19, 1812), that Elisha Golay be appointed as Inspec- tor of Jefferson township at the next general election."
By a second order on the same day, and for the same purpose, Jesse Gray was appointed as Inspector for Madi- son township; and a third order on the same page appoints Thomas Tay- lor as Inspector of Washington town- ship. There is nothing on record to show the bounds of these, and there is no other mention of the last two. The next mention of townships is after Indiana had become a State, and, under the law of the State, county business is under the jurisdiction of a Board of County Commissioners. The first Board of Commissioners for Jeffer- son county was composed of
JAMES STOLT, NATHANIEL HUNT, EKILLIS WILHITE.
This board met at the court house in Madison on Monday, Feb. 10, 1817, and was organized according to law. The first business item on the records
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
is: "Thomas Stribling, Sheriff of the county aforesaid, filed his protest against the jail of this county, which was ordered to be filed.
The court then adjourned till the day in course."
On the 11th day of February, 1817, the court passed an order forming and bounding Graham township, and appointing an election for justice of the peace.
"An order forming and bounding Pittsburgh township and appointing time and place of election therein, and appointing Inspector of election, was passed the same day." Pittsburgh township commenced "Two miles east of the south-east corner of Section 13, Township 4 north, Range 11 East, (at Switzerland county line); thence west with the section line until you strike the creek ; thence west with the creek and meanders thereof, so as to include John Griffin; thence with the section line west one mile to the range line; thence north with the range line to the county line."
This is all of the description on record, but the intention, evidently, is to follow the county line east to the corner of the county, and thence south along the county line to the place of beginning.
This was before the organization of Ripley county, and the north line of Jefferson county was along the Indian boundary (see act organizing Jefferson county in this volume). This line commenced at a point in what would be the north-west quarter of section
24, range XIII, east town XI north, runs thence southwestwardly to the range line dividing ranges VI and VII east, cutting off a part of the north- west quarter of section 31, township VII, range VII. This line crossed just about the point of junction of the coun- ties of Ripley, Decatur and Franklin.
On the 13th day of February, 1817, an order was passed forming and bound- ing Madison and Saluda townships.
Previous to this time, Madison town- ship had contained all of what is now Saluda, Republican, Hanover and Smyrna, and a part of Milton town- ships.
On the 5th of March, 1817, Lan- caster township was formed, bounded, and an Inspector of election appointed by order of the court.
May 12, 1817, Republican and Milt n townships were formed. Milton, from Madison and Pittsburgh townships.
Shelby township was formed by an order of the Board of County Commis- sioners, dated February 12, 1823.
JESSE GRAY, R. B. MITCHELL, JACOB RHOADS,
were County Commissioners at this time. Shelby township wiped out the portion of Pittsburgh township, which was left.
Hanover township was made by an order of the Board, dated Tuesday, September 1, 1836.
THOMAS WISE, JOSEPH WILEY, JOIN BOWEN, comprising the Board at this time.
151
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Monroe township was ordered to be formed from parts of Lancaster and Shelby townships on March 11, 1842. NATHAN ROBINSON, WM. SMITII, JOHN JEWELL,
constituting the Board at this time.
Shelby township was formed by order of Commissioners' Court, June 16, 1847.
CAMPBELL KINNEAR. JOHN E. GALE, NATHAN ROBINSON, as the Board at this time.
Topography .- The valley of the Ohio river is a great ditch dug down into the earth from two to four hundred feet below the general level of the surface of the country. It is of an irregular and uneven course, in a southwesterly direction. Along the border of Jefferson county it is of a depth of about four hundred feet and a width of two miles. The sides of this ditch are bluffs, more or less abrupt. Through this valley, the river, three-fourths of a mile wide, winds its way, varying more in its course than does the valley itself; at one place it is nearer the bluff on the Indiana side; at another, nearest the Kentucky shore, leaving a fringe, as it were, along the river from one hundred feet to one mile wide on either bank. These bottoms, (as they are called), are alluvial and of rich deep soil, equal in productiveness to that of any part of the country, and perennial in their productiveness, being constantly re- newed by the washings from the bluffs
and deposits by the river's overflow.
At frequent intervals the bluffs are cut through by streams of greater or less size, which have their valleys also, a birds-eye view of the whole of which would form a pattern, were it drawn on a small scale, that would perhaps surpass in beauty and quaintness of design any worn by the fair women of the land, in their laces or embroid- eries.
The topography of the county is varied. After 'rising' the bluff from the river valley, the land approaches to a general level plateau or table land in the center of the county. In the western part of the county the country is of a more rolling character. The eastern and northeastern part of the county is very hilly and broken, caused by Indian Kentuck Creek and tributa- ries.
There is a backbone of land, extending along the southern part of this State, from the confluence of the Wabash and the Ohio rivers, to the edge of this county at the southwestern border of Hanover township, where it turns northwardly through this county and thence in an east of north direc- tion into the. State of Ohio, which forms a watershed, dividing the waters of the Wabash river toward the west and the waters of the Ohio river on the east; so that the water falling upon a house in this county, not over two and one-half or three miles from the Ohio, divides, and travels one part to the Muscatatuck and White rivers and then into the
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Wabash, and by the Wabash to the Ohio, a journey of over 300 miles; the other part goes into the Ohio, at the distance of three miles, and travel- ing down that river about 200 miles, there meets the first, and they go on to the Gulf quietly together.
How like the career of brothers "of the flesh," leaving the roof tree and wandering in long, weary and diverse ways through life, at last joining each other-reuniting-in the river of death and going out into the great ocean of eternity together.
Falls .- Along the bluffs of the Ohio river are found many beautiful and romantic waterfalls and cascades, formed by streams of water, cutting deep gorges by eroding the Niagara and Clinton formations, and the less persistent shales and limestone rocks. The more rapid weathering of the underlying soft, shaly rock produced the beautiful waterfall of Clifty and other streams. These falls (Clifty) have been cut back from the Ohio river to their present position, at least one and one-half miles. (3.)
Along the river are: Clifty, Dead- man's, Crow Falls, at Hanover; Butler's; Chain-mill; Falls along the Saluda; Dog Falls; Shelving Rock, near Madi- son, and many others.
Clifty Falls is the most notable one of all these, on account of the size of the stream of water, and the greater descent ; one pitch is a sheer descent of over 50 feet, and others make the whole descent; over 200 feet altogether.
(3.) Taken from the Atlas of Indiana, published at Chi- садо. 1576.
Also for the remarkable cutting or glen through which the water find its way out to the river. It is a weirdly-wild place, tortuous in its course as the trail of a serpent, extend- ing in a direct line, from the falls to the front line of the bluff, one and one-half miles; but following the course of the stream it is more than two miles.
There is a beauty and grandeur about these falls that is second only to Niagara. On arriving at the point of view of the largest fall, one is shut out entirely from the sight of all things but surrounding nature below and the blue sky above. After the first throb of surprise and admiration at this wonder of nature has passed away, you are impressed with awe, as of a presence intangible, but felt, sur- rounding you ; and your thoughts are led away from the perishable grandeur of time, to the imperishable glory of eternity ; from the works to the form- er of them : and you are forced to believe on Him, for He says: "the works that I do bear witness of Me."
The falls and glen make a series of pictures always to be remembered by the visitor. They are about three and one-half miles north-west from Madi- son. Clifty Creek is a small stream which rises four miles north of Madi- son, and flows westwardly for four miles. then south-westwardly about four miles to the falls; thence south- wardly two miles through the gulch to the river, making in all about ten miles in length. There is another fall
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
near the mouth of the gulch on the eastern side of it, where a small tribu- tary of Clifty pours over a cliff of about fifty feet in height. In former years there hung over the brink of this precipice, at the side of the stream, an old chain-mill, with its long chain of buckets, hanging almost to the bottom of the fall, into which the water was led, which formed the power by which the mill was run. Here the early settlers had their Indian corn and wheat turned into meal and flour. This fall is not so grand as the one at the head of the gulch, but is very pretty ; the stream supplying the water being but a very weak one, lacks the energy of rush of the main stream.
Points of View .- There are many Points-as they are called by the inhabitants-along the bluffs, which form grand "lookouts," over land- scapes unsurpassed even by those of the Rhine; they lack only in the works of man, when brought into comparison ; in the works of God they equal, if not surpass them.
Of these I will name Cedar Cliff, about three miles east of Madison, a detached bluff of one and one-half miles in length, from which may be had views up and down the river, of over twelve miles. Eagle Creek val- ley separates this from Little Cedar cliff, from which there is a view of a landscape of magnificent beauty ; and if we could make a decided choice from among the many beautiful scenes
on the Ohio, we would say that this is the "ne plus ultra."
The bluffs around Madison are also points of view of fine landscapes. Poison Point, below Madison, is another of these natural "lookouts." The name is not attractive, but was given to the place by the early set. tlers, because the cattle that grazed in that locality died in great numbers. It is situated about two miles west of Madison, at the east of Clifty Valley.
About one mile west of this is a remarkable freak of nature, in the shape of a long and narrow bluff, called by the early settlers - and still pre serving the name- on account of its peculiar shape, "The Devil's Back- bone." It is a ridge of land which rises directly and abruptly from the water's edge to a height of about two hundred feet to a sharp spire; then falling away on the other side, less abruptly in descent to the valley below, forming one side of a gulch, which has the main bluff for the other side. This gulch was called, by the first settlers, the "Hog Trough." This ridge is entirely detached from the main bluff, although of the same formation and strata ; as if the instrument used for cutting the furrow for the river had parted and a splinter from it had gouged out this gulch along side of the " Backbone," and has there broken off or settled back into place again, leav- ing this freak of nature as the result. In shape it is not at all dissimilar to the back of the " wild woods hog," of the early settlements, and when covered
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
with a forest of large trees would naturally suggest, to the imagination of the settler on a hog hunt, a wild hog with his bristles erect and head down, digging for the roots upon which he subsisted ; having the highest point in about the relative position of the hump of the shoulders of a hog with his head turned down the river, and lowered as though rooting; the back drooping as if bent to aid in force. It is about one mile in length and about one- quarter of a mile in greatest breadth.
Next below is " College Point," from which may be seen some of the finest scenery along the entire length of the beautiful Ohio, It received its name after the college was erected upon it.
A little down the river from College Point is "Fair Prospect Point." This is the first of these natural "lookouts," upon which the foot of the white man was known to have trodden in this county, and from which he looked out entranced by the natural beauty of his surroundings. The man was George Logan, time, March 1st, 1801. An account of him will be found further on in this work.
The bluffs, at Brooksburg, on either side of Indian Kentuck, Plow Handle Point, Marble IIill and others, all are places overlooking beautiful scenes. Each is claimed as the most beautiful by the local inhabitants, and 'tis true that they are all so beautiful in their different groupings and minutiae, that the visitor is apt to think that each succeeding one is the fairest and most lovely.
It would require a book of itself to enumer te and to describe them sep- arately.
Soil .- The soil of the county is various in character ; from the richest black alluvial of the river bottoms, to the ash gray siliceous clays of the Champlain period composing the soils of the "Flats." Agriculture being the principal source of the wealth of the county, there is an adaptability in its soil for the growth of any and all kinds of prod- ucts, from the cereals down to the blackberry-which is indigenous to the soil, and is no mean production at which " the nose may be cocked apeak " with impunity.
The soil is finely adapted to the growing of all kinds of fruits; the apple, pear, plum, peach and quince, all doing well here. In small fruits as berries, it cannot be surpassed any- where. The grape has been suc- cessfully cultivated all over the county, and along the streams of the county are still to be found some stocks of the original wild grapes, of immense size and productivene-s. A notable one is on the farm of Mr. J. Rodolphus Conway, in Smyrna town- ship, which measures forty-six (46) inches in circumference.
In different parts of the county there is found a subsoil of red clay, which seems to be erratic. It crops out here and there in small spots, and wherever it is found, there is a place where large yields of all kinds of grain, especially of wheat, may be
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
surely counted upon. It is found in the Carmel neighborhood, in Hanover township; at Wirt, in Mad- dison township, and along Big Creek, in Lancaster, Smyrna, Republican and Graham townships.
Natural products .- Besides the agricultural products, as a source of wealth, Jefferson county has within her borders the following natural products in large quantities : Stone, for building and for lime; marble, good clay for brick, and tile clay ; gravel in abundance ; lime-stone of the Upper and Lower Silurian in unlimited supply ; also timber of all varieties of the latitude.
Timber .- The county was covered, at the advent of the white man, with a heavy growth of timber of walnut, poplar, oak, maple beech, ash, hick- ory, buckeye, and gum trees. The timber was of the largest kind of each type ; Walnut trees from two to five feet in diameter, an I eighty to ninety feet high ; poplar as great as six and seven feet in diameter and over one hundred feet in height; oak as large as the poplar and walnut in diameter; maples as large as three and one-half feet in diameter. Almost all of these giants are gone, the best and largest of them having been cut down and burned in making the first clearings, and in making rails for fencing out their stock from the 'crops.' The walnut and poplar land being con- sidered the best for agricultural pur- poses, was first stripped, and the trees burned as the easiest and quickest
way of getting rid of them. The ash were taken for rails, as they were the easiest worked, and split the straight- est. The oak was not considered as indicating so good a soil as the others, and was generally passed by, by the settlers and left unentered until later in date. The beech and gum were not considered of any account by the early settlers, except for firewood, and the land was looked upon as the poorest of all, and after all the rest had been taken, they were also entered, and have turned out in time and with progressive farming, about as good crops as the finer soils of the choice timber.
There are still large tracts of fine timber left throughout the county, which are of great value. Were the original growth of timber still remaining here, it would bring three times as much in hard cash, as the entire valuation of land and improve- ments in the county. Many of our present citizens can remember the cutting down and burning of trees "to get them out of the way" in clearing the land, which would bring from fifty to seventy-five dollars a tree were they now standing. Especially was this the fact with regard to wal- nut trees, for they were of vahie at that time, principally for rails, and as they were much harder to work than ash or oak, they were usually disposed of as quickly and easily as possible (as mentioned above) by fire.
The fences were made more to keep the stock out of the crops, than for
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
any other reason; for the principal subsistence of all kinds of animals owned by the farmers was the wild grasses of the timber and the young bushes. Hogs were allowed to run at large all of the year around, fatten- ing on the nuts. Milch cattle and work cattle were only penned in the worst kind of weather, and then more for the reason of having them handy for milking or work in the early morning. The rest of the cattle were turned on the range, with one of their number carrying a bell, for the double purpose of keeping them together, and of easily finding them by its sound. The horses also were turned out with a bell on the "old mare," which kept them together and di- rected the owner to them by its sound, when they strayed off to new pas- ture, or for other cause. The owners of stock of all kinds, at that time, marked them by cutting their ears in various ways; but on account of the disfigurement of the horses, the prac- tice was dropped with them; and finally has gone into disuse altogether, except as to hogs, which still in this part of the country are marked in the ear and ownership proven in that way.
Tile Clay .- Dr. John Roe, of North Madison, tested the clay in the vicin- ity of North Madison, some years ago, and found it very well adapted to making tiles. Ile made tile there for some years before his death. The same clay abonnds throughout the central part of the county.
Salt .- Salt was made in this county at an early date, but on account of the low grade of the appliances for working the well and the consequently small yield of salt, it was abandoned.
Stone .- Jefferson county abounds in fine building stone. The quarries at Deputy have been worked more extensively than any other in the county. Stone from this quarry was used largely in the custom house building at Cincinnati, and also in the first large bridge across the Ohio at that place. The quality of this stone is equal to any found in the country.
The same stone is found at differ- ent points in the county, but as there is no facility in transportation, there has been no extensive quarry beside this one opened up in the county.
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