USA > Indiana > Centennial history and handbook of Indiana : the story of the state from its beginning to the close of the civil war, and a general survey of progress to the present time > Part 33
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CLARK COUNTY
JEFFERSONVILLE, SEAT OF JUSTICE
C LARK COUNTY is located in the south- east section of the State and its entire outheastern section is bounded by the Ohio iver. To the north are Jefferson and Scott ounties, while Washington bounds it on the vest and Floyd county on the south.
Organization .- Clark county was set apart
February 1, 1801, by William Henry Harrison, Governor of the Territory of Indiana, and was named in honor of the celebrated General George Rogers Clark, at one time a citizen of the county. At that time the boundaries, as defined by the Governor, were "Beginning on the Ohio river at the mouth of the Blue river, thence up that river
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Administration Building, Indiana State Forest Reserva- tion, Clark County.
to the crossing of the Vincennes road, thence in a direct line to the nearest point on White river, thence up that river to its source and to Fort Recovery, thence on the line of the northwest territory to the Ohio at the mouth of the Ken- tucky, thence to the place of beginning." The original county was very large and included in whole or in part twenty-one of the present coun- ties of the State, which constituted about one- fifth of the area. Clark county now contains about 400 square miles. Most of the land within the present limits of the county is embraced in what is called "Illinois Grant," or "Clark's Grant," made by the Legislature of Virginia in 1786, which conveyed to certain commissioners 149,000 acres of land in trust, to be apportioned accord- ing to rank, to General Clark and the officers and men of the regiment which he commanded in the expedition to Vincennes and Kaskaskia. It was divided into 500-acre tracts and apportioned ac- cordingly. One thousand acres more, lying along the Falls of the Ohio, was also granted at the same time for the location of a town to be called Clarksville, which flourished for a time, but has since gone to decay. The first settlements of any consequence were made from 1790 up to 1800 in the towns along the river, so that the inhabi- tants on the first notice of the approach of In- dians might escape into Kentucky.
Clark county was the gateway to the great northwest and constituted the highway over which the stream of civilization made its way from the cast and south to the new country north of the Ohio river. The Falls of the Ohio furnished
the means of crossing the river and determined the earlier settlement of this part of the State. The first county seat was Springville, a little village which stood near where Charlestown now stands. It was on the old Indian trail from the falls of the Ohio to the Indian nations of the north, west and east. A short distance west of this little town lived Jonathan Jennings, first Governor of Indiana. Springville, at one time, was a great trading center for the French and Indians, but not a vestige now remains to tell where the village stood. On June 9, 1802, Governor Harrison issued a proclamation "fixing the seat of justice at the town of Jeffersonville after the first day of August next." The territorial Legislature changed it to Charles- town by the Act of December 14, 1810, and it remained there until September 23, 1873, when it was permanently located at Jeffersonville. The old court-house at Charlestown is still standing and in a good state of preservation.
Indiana State Forest Reservation .- By an act of the Legislature, March 3, 1903, the State purchased 2,000 acres of land for a forest reser- vation, laboratory of forestry, demonstration and State nurseries. The reservation is lo- cated one mile north of Henryville, which may be reached by going to Henryville via the Penn- sylvania or the Indianapolis & Louisville electric line which touches the east side of the reserva- tion.
The "Knobs."-Five miles below the Falls of the Ohio commences a range of hills called the "Knobs." They rise about 500 feet high, are from a mile to a half a mile in width and are about equal in elevation. Each hill, separately, is small, often covering less than half an acre ; they unite,
Postoffice Building, Jeffersonville.
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generally, one hundred or two hundred feet be- low their summits. They extend about fifty miles into the interior and the country behind them falls off very little from a level. A similar ridge of hills extends into Kentucky, from the south side of the river opposite. It is not un- likely that they were once united and formed an obstruction, the only remains of which at this time are the Falls of the Ohio. A few miles above Jeffersonville is an elevated pear-shaped ridge overlooking the Ohio river, which is sup- posed to be the remains of a fort built by the Mound Builders. About eight miles north of this stone fort is a circular inclosure. This is an earthwork of about 2,000 feet in circumference and the embankment was originally about twelve feet high. In form it is almost a perfect circle. Pottery, fresh water shells and fragments of bones have been found here in great abundance. From this place to the stone fort is a line of mounds. On the bank of Big creek, about eight feet above the creek bed, is another stone in- closure, embracing about ten acres. A short dis- tance south of the inclosure are three curious stone mounds or pillars. The object for which these mounds were erected can only be conjec- tured, but were evidently intended as memorials of some event in the history of the Mound Builders.
Indiana Reformatory .- The first State insti- tution established in Indiana was the State Prison at Jeffersonville. It was authorized by an act of the Legislature, approved January 9, 1821 (Laws 1821, p. 24), and the first prisoner was received November 1, 1822. Provision was made by the Legislature of 1859 for another prison north of the National road (Laws 1859, p. 135). It was opened at Michigan City in 1860. From that date until 1897 the institution
Carnegie Public Library, Jeffersonville.
T
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Statue of General George Rogers Clark in Monument Place, Indianapolis.
at Jeffersonville was known as the Southern In- diana State Prison and its prisoners were com- mitted from the counties south of the National road. In accordance with an act approved Feb- ruary 26, 1897 (Laws 1897, p. 69), the State Prison, South, on April 1 of that year became the Indiana Reformatory for the incarceration of men between the ages of sixteen and thirty years unless convicted of treason or murder in the first or second degree, sentenced from any county in the State.
Population of Clark county in 1890 was 30,259; in 1900 was 31,835, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 30,260, of which 833 were of white foreign birth. There were 6,901 families in the county and 6.704 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are twelve townships in Clark county : Bethlehem, Carr, Charlestown. Jefferson, Monroe, Oregon, Owen, Silver Creek, Union, Utica, Washington and Wood. The incorporated cities and towns are Jeffersonville, Clarkstown, Clarksville, Clays-
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burg, New Providence, Port Fulton and Sellers- burg. Jeffersonville is the county seat.
Taxable Property and Polls .- According to the annual report of the Auditor of State from the abstract of the tax duplicate for 1913, the total value of lands and lots in Clark county was $5.454,350, value of improvements was $3,082,- 130 and the total net value of taxables was $14.470,840. There were 4,725 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were 219 miles of improved roads in Clark county built and under jurisdiction of the county commissioners Janu- ary 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds out- standing, $329,730.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 73.56 miles of steam railroad operated in Clark county by the Louisville division Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern ; C., I. & L. ; Louisville Bridge Company : C., C., C. & St. L. ; Louisville & Jef- ferson Bridge Company, and the Louisville di- vision, the Jeffersonville branch and the New Albany branch of the P., C., C. & St. L. Rail- ways. The Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company, the Louisville & Northern Railway & Lighting Company and the Louisville & Southern Indiana Traction Company operate 40.25 miles of electric lines in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Samuel L. Scott, county superintendent of Clark county, there were 104 schoolhouses, including four high schools, in the county in 1914, employ- ing 191 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 4,863. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $97,518.31. Esti- mated value of school property in the county in 1914 was $385,000, and the total amount of in- debtedness, including bonds, was $57.500.
Agriculture .- There were in Clark county in 1910 over 2,100 farms, embraced ยท in 216,000 acres. Average acres per farm 99.2 acres. The value of all farm property was $9,500,000, show- ing 39.8 per cent. increase over 1900. The aver- age value of land per acre was $28.61. The total value of domestic animals was over $1,000,000: Number of cattle 10,000, valued at $267,000; horses 5,500, valued at $520,000; hogs 15,000, valued at $100,000; sheep 9,000, valued at $35,000. The total value of poultry was $56,000.
Industrial .- According to the United States Census of 1910 there were thirty-six industries in Jeffersonville, furnishing employment to 919 persons. Total amount of capital employed, $2,681,753. Value of products, $1,915,682 ; value) added by manufacture, $832,957.
CLAY COUNTY
BRAZIL, SEAT OF JUSTICE
C LAY COUNTY lies south of Parke, west of Putnam and Owen, north of Greene and east of Sullivan and Vigo counties and con- tains 360 square miles.
Organization. - The organization of the county was made effective April 1, 1825. Bow- ling Green was selected as the first county scat and held that distinction for fifty years. When on November 30, 1851, the court-house and all the records were burned a fight was precipitated to select a new location for the county seat, the town of Bellaire was the chief contender. On February 23, 1853, the advocates of relocation got an act through the Legislature providing commissioners to select and locate a new seat of justice, and for the second time Bowling Green
was selected. In 1872 the county seat was or- dered removed to Brazil, as a result of a petition on the part of those favoring that place, and the formal transfer was made January 26, 1877. The county was named in honor of the famous states- man Henry Clay.
In past years Clay county was noted as the largest producer of coal in the State, but later developments in Indiana coal fields have out- ranked Clay county by reason of the fact that the mines, where the famous Brazil Block coal is mined, have been in operation over forty years and much of the coal has been taken out. Ac-i cording to the mine inspector's report for the, fiscal year ending September 30, 1914, there are seventeen mines in operation in Clay county,
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under the jurisdiction of the State Mine In- spector, which produced 464,948 tons of block coal. During the past two decades the county has become the leading clay manufacturing cen- ter in the State.
Population of Clay county in 1890 was 30,536; in 1900 was 34,285, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 32,535, of which 1,869 were of white foreign birth. There were 7,626 families in the county and 7,480 dwellings.
Improved Roads .- There were 346 miles of improved roads in Clay county built and under jurisdiction of the county commissioners Janu- ary 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds out- standing, $415,604.37.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 94.69 miles of steam railroad operated in Clay county by the Central Indiana ; Chicago & East- ern Illinois ; C., C., C. & St. L .; Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern; Evansville & Indianap-
Big Four Railroad Bridge Over Walnut Creek in Putnam County .- Photograph by Bert Weedon.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are eleven townships in Clay county: Brazil, Cass, Dick Johnson, Harrison, Jackson, Lewis, Perry, Posey, Sugar Ridge, Van Buren and Washing- ton. The incorporated cities and towns are Brazil, Bowling Green, Carbon, Center Point, Clay City, Knightsville and Staunton. Brazil is the county seat.
Taxable Property and Polls .- According to the annual report of the Auditor of State from the abstract of the tax duplicate for 1913, the total value of lands and lots in Clay county was $6,299,480, value of improvements was $3,384,- 670 and the total net value of taxables was $15,- 262,530. There were 5,048 polls in the county.
olis ; Indianapolis & Louisville, and the Vandalia Railways. The Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company operates 12.36 miles of electric line in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Willis E. Akre, county superintendent of Clay county, there were 115 schoolhouses, including six high schools, in the county in 1914, employ- ing 226 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 5,926. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, supervisors, prin- cipals and teachers was $111,653.37. Estimated value of school property in the county in 1914 was $2,494.504, and the total amount of indebt- edness, including bonds, was $110,310.
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Agriculture .- There were in Clay county in 1910 over 2,500 farms, embraced in 212,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 82.2 acres. The value of all farm property was $13,000,000, showing 48.5 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $43.72. The
total value of domestic animals was over $1,300,- 000: Number of cattle 14,000, valued at $350,- 000; horses 7,600, valued at $730,000; hogs 23,000, valued at $150,000; sheep 5,900, valued at $23,000. The total value of poultry was $58,000.
CLINTON COUNTY
FRANKFORT, SEAT OF JUSTICE
O LINTON COUNTY is bounded on the north by Carroll and Howard, on the east by Tipton and Hamilton, on the south by Boone and on the west by Tippecanoe and Montgomery counties. It has an area of 408 square miles, and is located in the second tier of counties northwest of Indianapolis.
Organization. - The organization of the county became effective March 1, 1830. The town of Jefferson, four miles west of the then future town of Frankfort, was the temporary county seat of Clinton from the day of its organi-
Clinton County Court-House, Frankfort.
zation, May 3, 1830, until the proper buildings were erected at Frankfort. The site of Frank- fort was selected by the State commissioners and the county agent was ordered on May 19, 1830, to have the land surveyed and laid off in lots. The first term of court in Frankfort con- vened April, 1831, in the new log court-house. Clinton county was named after DeWitt Clinton, at one time Governor of New York.
The principal streams in the county are the south fork of Wild Cat, Kilmore and Sugar Creek. The soil surface is sufficiently undulating to afford good drainage and the farms of the county are well drained and under a high state of cultivation. In a small portion of the south- eastern part of the county natural gas was found. In many places in the county there is a large deposit of excellent clay for the manufacture of brick, tile and pottery.
Population of Clinton county in 1890 was 27,370; in 1900 was 28,202, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 26,674, of | which 186 were of white foreign birth. There were 6,905 families in the county and 6,732 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are fourteen townships in Clinton county : Center, Forest, Jackson, Johnson, Kirkland, Madison, Michigan, Owen, Perry, Ross, Sugar Creek, Union, Warren and Washington. The incorpo- rated cities and towns are Frankfort, Colfax, Kirkland, Michigantown and Rossville. Frank- fort is the county seat.
Taxable Property and Polls .- According to the annual report of the Auditor of State from the abstract of the tax duplicate for 1913, the total value of lands and lots in Clinton county was $12,717,685, value of improvements was
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$4,248,290 and the total net value of taxables was $25,172,520. There were 4,721 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were 789 miles of improved roads in Clinton county built and under jurisdiction of the county commissioners Janu- ary 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds out- standing, $708,203.05.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 99.05 miles of steam railroad operated in Clinton county by the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville ; Chicago division of the C., C., C. & St. L .; Lake Erie & Western; Toledo, St. Louis & Western, and the Michigan division of the Vandalia Rail- ways. The Indiana Railways & Light Company and the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company operate 32.13 miles of elec- tric lines in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Marion W. Salmon, county superintendent of Clinton county, there were seventy schoolhouses, including eight high schools, in Clinton county in 1914, employing 195 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 5,071. The ag- gregate amount paid in salaries to superintend- ents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $115,109.82. Estimated value of school property in the county was $548,000, and the total amount of indebtedness, including bonds, was $152.400.
Agriculture .- There were in Clinton county
Public Library, Frankfort.
in 1910 over 2,700 farms, embraced in 253,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 93.2 acres. The value of all farm property was $36,000,000, showing 123.1 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre is $113.20. The total value of domestic animals was over $3,000,- 000: Number of cattle 19,000, valued at $703,- 000; horses 13,000, valued at $1,600,000; hogs 78,000, valued at $500,000; sheep 12,000, valued at $61,000. The value of poultry was $108,000.
Industrial .- According to the report of the State Bureau of Inspection for 1912 there were nineteen industries in Frankfort, employing about 850 persons, of which about 450 were em- ployed in the repair shops of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western railroad.
CRAWFORD COUNTY
ENGLISH, SEAT OF JUSTICE
O 1
RAWFORD COUNTY is situated in the southern tier of counties bordering on the Ohio river and lies between Harrison and Perry counties on the river, Orange and Washington counties on the north and Dubois on the west. It contains about 320 square miles, much of the surface of which is rough and hilly.
There is an inexhaustible supply of stone and large plants are operated at Marengo and Mill- town. The county is particularly distinguished on account of the location of two of the greatest underground caverns in the world, the Marengo and Wyandotte caves.
Organization .- The county was organized by
legislative act January 29, 1818, which became effective March 1, 1818. It was named after the unfortunate Colonel William Crawford, the land agent of General Washington in the west, who was taken, prisoner by the Indians and burned at the stake at Sandusky in 1782. The county seat history of Crawford county has never been sat- isfactorily recorded owing to inability to gather all of the records. According to the best avail- able data Mt. Sterling became the county seat in 1818 and remained so at least until 1822. The Legislature passed an act on December 21, 1821, providing for a change of the county seat from "Mountsterling." It was probably removed to
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Fredonia, a town on the Ohio river, where it was in 1843. In that year the Legislature passed an act on January 4 providing for its removal from that place to Leavenworth, which became the next county seat, where it remained until 1894, when it was removed to English after a most notable and picturesque struggle. The court-house at English is the only one in the State which was erected outside the limits of the county seat town. The town of English was
13,941; in 1900 was 13,476, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 12,057, of which sixty-nine were of white foreign birth. There were 2,759 families in the county and 2,728 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are nine townships in Crawford county : Boone, Jen- nings, Johnson, Liberty, Ohio, Patoka, Sterling, Union and Whiskey Run. The incorporated cities and towns are Alton, English, Marengo,
Monumental Mountain, Wyandotte Cave, Crawford County. Height 135 feet-highest underground mountain in the world.
named in honor of Honorable William H. Eng- lish, whose death occurred February 7, 1896, and who was one of Indiana's most distinguished sons. In 1851 he was elected to represent his native county (Scott) in the State Legislature and in 1852 as a member of Congress, to which he was re-elected. At the national convention at Cincinnati in June, 1880, he was unanimously nominated for Vice-President of the United States on the Democratic ticket with General Winfield Scott Hancock for President. The last years of his life were devoted to the writing of his "History of the Conquest of the Northwest."
Population of Crawford county in 1890 was
Leavenworth and Milltown. English is the county scat.
Taxable Property and Polls .- According to the annual report of the Auditor of State from the abstract of the tax duplicate for 1913, the total value of lands and lots in Crawford county was $938,050, value of improvements was $505,- 515 and the total net value of taxables was $2,725,632. There were 1,781 polls in the county.
Improved Roads. - There were fifty-four miles of improved roads in Crawford county built and under jurisdiction of the county com- missioners January 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstanding, $68,759.20.
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Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 25.62 miles of steam railroad operated in Craw- ford county by the Southern Railway Company of Indiana.
Educational .- According to the report of Stuart A. Beals, county superintendent of Craw- ford county, there were eighty-five schoolhouses, including five high schools in Crawford county in 1914, employing 113 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 2,236. The aggre- gate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $40,- 972.20. The estimated value of school property in the county was $55,750, and the total amount of indebtedness, including bonds, was $19,000.
Agriculture .- There were in Crawford county in 1910 over 1,800 farms, embraced in 181,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 97.5 acres. The value of all farm property was $3,800,000, show- ing 70.9 per cent. increase over 1900. The aver- age value of land per acre was $11.73. The total value of domestic animals was over $600,000: Number of cattle 5,700, valued at $130,000;
horses 3,500, valued at $344,000; hogs 7,400, valued at $50,000 ; sheep 7,300, valued at $28,000. The total value of poultry was $47,000.
Entrance to Pillard Palace, Wyandotte Cave.
DAVIESS COUNTY
WASHINGTON, SEAT OF JUSTICE
D AVIESS COUNTY is located in the south- western part of the State, between the east and west forks of White river, which stream with its tributaries, Sugar, Mud, Aikman, Veal, Prairie, Smithers, Pond, Purse and other creeks, drain the county. The county lies wholly within the area of the coal measures and has an abun- dant supply of coal. It is bounded on the north by Greene, on the east by Martin, on the south by Dubois and Pike and on the west by Knox and a very small portion of Sullivan counties. It contains about 420 square miles, which is marked by a variety of soil. The White river bottoms are rich, sandy and black loam soil, while clay predominates in the other portions. Farming is the principal occupation of the people. Corn and wheat are the leading products, and other farm products are grown in abundance. Melons are raised extensively for shipment and tomatoes are grown in a number of places for canning pur- poses. Many hogs are raised and fattened here
for shipment. The principal natural resource is coal. According to the State Mine Inspector's report for September 30, 1914, there were three coal mines in operation in the county under his jurisdiction, which produced 89,506 tons of coal.
The first settler came into the territory now occupied by Daviess county some time in 1801 or 1806. The first deed for land within the present limits of the county was given to John Baptiste Cardinal by Congress, and the first deed of record was made in 1792. This tract consisted of 400 acres. In 1783 the Congress of the United States made numerous donations of land to the early French settlers about Vincennes, and in 1807 the Congress made what has since been called "French Locations," which lie mostly in what is now Knox county.
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