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 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
necessaries of subsistence. The farm lands be- longing to the Convent were gradually increased, so that, at present, about 300 acres are in its pos- session.
The growth of the Community and the open- ing of a boarding school for girls and young ladies rendered the erection of a more spacious building necessary. Under the direction of the Rev. P. Eberhard Stadler, O. S. B., the successor of the Rev. P. Chrysostom, O. S. B., since 1871, a new convent began to build in 1883 ; it was com- pleted in 1887 at a cost of $80,000. In 1903 a large and handsome addition was made to accom- modate the ever growing membership, making the cost of the convent as it stands to-day more than $130,000.
The chief occupation of the sisters is teaching, more extensively, in the parochial schools, which number fifty-five. Besides these, they conduct twenty-four public schools; also an academy at this place (Ferdinand, Ind.). The last named was commissioned as a public high school in 1912, and accredited as a teachers' training school in 1914 by the State Board of Public Instruction. The arts of music and painting occupy a promi- nent place in the curriculum. At present the num- ber of pupils receiving instruction in the various branches of learning is 3,500.
The present number of members in the com- munity (175) necessitated the erection of the ad- dition now building, the principal parts of which are : a chapel, promising to be a monument of art ; a conservatory and a library. This, having been contemplated for some time, ripened into reality under the directorship of the Rev. P. Fintan Wiederkehr, O. S. B., and during the administra- tion of the Rev. Mother M. Seraphine Kordes, O. S. B.
Jasper College, a department of St. Mein- rad's College, for secular students, was estab- lished and opened for the reception of students on September 12, 1889. It is incorporated under the laws of the State of Indiana in conjunction with St. Meinrad's College and is empowered to confer the usual academic degrees.
ELKHART COUNTY
GOSHEN, SEAT OF JUSTICE
E LKHART COUNTY is located in the northern part of the State. It is bounded on the north by the State of Michigan, on the east by Lagrange and Noble, on the south by Kosciusko, and on the west by Marshall and St. Joseph counties. It contains about 470 square miles. Practically all of the county is tillable. The Elkhart and St. Joseph rivers run through the county and there are several lakes located in the northern part of the county, which afford splendid fishing.
Organization .- Elkhart county was organ- ized by an act of the Legislature January 29, 1830, becoming effective April 1, 1830. Elkhart county experienced some difficulty in getting its county seat permanently located. The commis- sioners, named in the organizing act, fixed the new county seat at a town known as Dunlap. about five miles northwest of the present city of Goshen. The ceding of half a tier of townships on the west side of the county to St. Joseph county made it necessary to choose a more cen- tral location. By an act of the Legislature of February 10, 1831, the present site of Goshen was selected ; the site was at once surveyed and platted and the first sale of lots took place June 20, 1831.
Goshen College was founded at Elkhart in 1895, by the members of the Mennonite church, who continue to control it. The institution be- gan its career in 1895 in the city of Elkhart, where it was known as the Elkhart Institute. The school was moved to Goshen in 1903. The enrolment in 1914 was 425, which was more than
double that when the first college class was graduated ten years ago. The college has a cam- pus of ten acres with four buildings and a forty- acre farm adjoining the campus. Nearly 5,000 volumes are in the library. The Mennonite His- torical library has been donated by individuals and alumni. The normal school has been placed upon the accredited list of schools doing Class "A" and Class "B" work for the State Board of Education. In addition to the regular four-year college work, the institution has an academy work, which is equivalent to a four years' high school course. It has a well organized three years' music teachers' course in vocal and in- strumental music, and a commercial course. The Bible department offers two courses of two years each. John E. Hartzler is president of Goshen College.
Population of Elkhart county in 1890 was 39,201; in 1900 was 45,052, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 49,008, of which 2,521 were of white foreign birth. There were 12,750 families in the county and 12,419 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are sixteen townships in Elkhart county : Bango, Benton, Cleveland, Clinton, Concord, Elkhart, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Locke, Middle- bury, Olive, Osolo, Union, Washington and York. The incorporated cities and towns are Elkhart, Goshen, Bristol, Millersburg, Middle- bury, Nappanee and Wakarusa. Goshen is the county seat.
Taxable Property and Polls .- According to
Goshen College, Goshen, Elkhart County.
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
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 Elkhart county was $11,905,335; value of improvements was $6,825,060, and the total net value of taxables was $30,496,930. There were 8.864 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were twenty-six miles of improved roads in Elkhart county built and under jurisdiction of the county commission- ers January 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstanding, $268,000.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 112.93 miles of steam railroad operated in Elk- hart county by the B. & O. & Chicago; C., W. & M. ; Elkhart & Western : L. S. & M. S .; Sturgis, Goshen & St. Louis ; St. Joseph Valley and Wa- bash railroads. The Chicago, South Bend & Northern Indiana Railway Company, St. Joseph Valley Traction Company, Winona Interurban Railway Company and the W. I. Railway Com- pany operate 50.81 miles of electric lines in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of A. E. Weaver, county superintendent of Elkhart county, there were 125 schoolhouses, including seven high schools, in the county in 1914, em-
ploying 309 teachers. The average daily attend- ance by pupils was 8,426. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $197,171.92. Esti- mated value of school property in the county was $1,070,000, and the total amount of indebt- edness, including bonds, was $210,530.
Agriculture .- There were in Elkhart county in 1910 over 3,100 farms embraced in 270,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 84.9 acres. The value of all farm property was $26,000,000, showing 56.7 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $66.58. The total value of domestic animals was over $2,500,- 000: Number of cattle 22,000, valued at $650,- 000; horses 12,000, valued at $1,500,000; hogs 29,000, valued at $228,000; sheep 23,000, valued at $100,000. The total value of poultry was $100,000.
Industrial .- According to the United States Census of 1910, there were sixty-nine industries in Elkhart, furnishing employment to 3,508 per- sons. Total amount of capital employed, $5,478,- 046. Value of products, $6,932,065, value added by manufacture, $3,911,492.
There were over fifty industries in Goshen employing more than 1,500 men and women.
FAYETTE COUNTY
CONNERSVILLE, SEAT OF JUSTICE
F AYETTE COUNTY is located in the sec- ond tier of counties southeast of Indianapo- lis. It is bounded on the north by Henry and Wayne, on the east by Union and Wayne, on the south by Franklin and on the west by Rush coun- ties. The county is divided nearly in the center from north to south by the west fork of the White Water, which feeds the canal. The sur- face of the country is rolling in the east and south and level or gently undulating in the north and west, with a large proportion of bottom lands and all susceptible of profitable cultivation. The county contains 211 square miles.
Organization .- Fayette county was organ- ized December 28, 1818, by an act of the Legis- lature which became effective January 1, 1819. From its organization, Connersville has been the
county seat, which was laid out by John Conner in 1817, from whom it took its name. Fayette county was named in honor of General Lafay- ette.
Population of Fayette county in 1890 was 12,630; in 1900 was 13,495, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 14,415, of which 363 were of white foreign birth. There were 3,761 families in the county and 3,647 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are nine townships in Fayette county: Columbia, Connersville, Fairview, Harrison, Jackson, Jen- nings, Orange, Posey and Waterloo. The incor- porated cities and towns are Connersville, East Connersville and Glenwood. Connersville is the county seat.
245
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
Fayette County Court-House, Connersville.
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 Fayette county was $5,500,100; value of improvements was $2,566,675, and the total net value of taxables was $12,429,080. There were 2,888 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were sixty-two miles of improved roads in Fayette county built and under jurisdiction of the county commission- ers January 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstanding, $81,060.67.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 42.05 miles of steam railroad operated in Fayette county by the Cincinnati division of C., I. & W .; Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville ; Cambridge City branch P., C., C. & St. L., and the White Water railroads. Indianapolis & Cincinnati Trac- tion Company operates 9.28 miles of electric line in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Claude L. Trusler, county superintendent, there were thirty-three schoolhouses, including two high schools, in Fayette county in 1914, employ-
Public Library, Connersville.
ing ninety-four teachers. The average daily at- tendance by pupils was 2,348. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, super- visors, principals and teachers was $63,974.40. Estimated value of school property in the county was $313,200, and the total amount of indebted- ness, including bonds, was $99,079.
Agriculture .- There were in Fayette county in 1910 over 1,100 farms embraced in 134,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 119.2 acres. The value of all farm property was $11,000,000, showing 83.4 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre, $61.55. The total value of domestic animals was over $1,100,000 : Number of cattle 8,100, valued at $237,000; horses 4,700, valued at $470,000; hogs 52,000, valued at $333,000; sheep 9,400, valued at $43,- 000. The total value of poultry was $42,000.
Industrial .- According to the report of the State Bureau of Inspection for 1912, there were thirty-five industries in Connersville, employing over 1,500 persons. The manufacture of automo- biles, springs and axles, rotary blowers and pumps, pianos and buggies are the principal in- dustries.
246
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
FLOYD COUNTY
NEW ALBANY, SEAT OF JUSTICE
F LOYD COUNTY is located in the southern tier of counties on the Ohio river. It is bounded on the north by Clark and Washington, on the east by Clark and the Ohio river, and on the south and west by Harrison counties. It is one of the smallest counties in the State contain- ing about 150 square miles. A range of hills called "The Knobs," from one to three miles in width, runs through the county from north to south, coming to the Ohio river a short distance below New Albany. Although the country is much broken, yet north of the hills, the country is comparatively level and affords a fine oppor- tunity for the raising of crops. South of the hills occur the alluvial river terraces, which are very fertile because of numerous overflows of the Ohio river. Large orchards are found upon the slopes of the hills and in the upper strata of the Silver Hills limestone of excellent quality has been quarried for many years.
Organization .- Floyd county, which was or-
ganized by an act of the Legislature January 2, 1819, and which became effective a month later was named after Colonel John Floyd, of the dis- tinguished Virginia family of that name, who had been killed by the Indians on the opposite side of the river. New Albany has been the county seat ever since the organization of the county, although one effort was made to relocate the county seat by an act of the Legislature Jan- uary 10, 1823.
Population of Floyd county in 1890 was 29,458; in 1900 was 30,118, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 30,293, of which 1,233 were of white foreign birth. There were 7,433 families in the county and 7,049 dwellings.
-
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 Floyd county was $4,541,515 ; value of improvements was $4,301,-
---
Falls of the Ohio Between New Albany and Jeffersonville.
247
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
305, and the total net value of taxables was $12,- 693,190. There were 3,304 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were thirty-eight miles of improved roads in Floyd county built and under jurisdiction of the county commission- ers January 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstanding, $160,440.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are five townships in Floyd county: Franklin, Georgetown, Greenville, Lafayette and New Al- bany. The incorporated cities and towns are New Albany, Georgetown, Greenville and Silver Grove. New Albany is the county seat of Floyd county.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 23.26 miles of steam railroad operated in Floyd county by the Louisville division B. & O. South- western; Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville ; K. & I. Terminal; New Albany branch P., C., C. & St. L., and the Southern Railway Company of Indiana. The Louisville & Northern Railway and Lighting Company, Louisville & Southern Indi- ana Traction Company, and the New Albany Street Railway Company operate 11.24 miles of electric lines in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Glenn V. Scott, county superintendent of Floyd county, there were fifty-four schoolhouses, in- cluding two high schools, in Floyd county in 1914, employing 157 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 4,197. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, super- visors, principals and teachers was $87,987.12.
Floyd County Court-House, New Albany.
Estimated value of school property in the county was $383,927, and the total amount of indebted- ness, including bonds, was $43,500.
Agriculture .- There were in Floyd county in 1910 over 1,200 farms embraced in 80,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 66.4 acres. The value of all farm property was over $4,400,000, showing 38.7 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre, $33.60. The total value of domestic animals was over $395,000: Number of cattle 4,700, valued at $117,000; horses 2,300, valued at $213,000; hogs 3,700, valued at $25,000; sheep 658, valued at $2,100. The total value of poultry was $24,000.
Industrial .- According to the United States Census of 1910, there were ninety-five industries in New Albany, furnishing employment to 2,135 persons. Total amount of capital employed. $3,565,968. Value of products, $3,492,530, value added by manufacture, $1,606,057.
FOUNTAIN COUNTY
COVINGTON, SEAT OF JUSTICE
F OUNTAIN COUNTY is located in the western part of the State and is bounded on the north and west by Warren and Vermilion counties, on the east by Tippecanoe and Mont- gomery and on the south by Park counties. The Wabash river flows along its entire north and west border. The county contains about 400 square miles, its surface being mostly level and admirably adapted to agriculture and cattle rais- ing. Some coal mining is done in the county. According to the mine inspectors' report for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 1914, 19,710 tons of coal were mined in the county.
Organization .- The county was organized December 31, 1825, becoming effective April 1. 1826, with Covington as the county seat, which was chosen by the locating commissioners, who made their report July 25, 1826. As Covington was located on the Wabash river, which forms the boundary between Warren and Vermilion counties, there was an agitation started in the latter part of the twenties to move the county
248
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
seat to a more central location, with the result that the Legislature appointed locating commis- sioners on January 29, 1831, to investigate the question of relocation. The commissioners unani- mously agreed that the town of Covington remain the permanent seat of justice of the county. Again in 1851, another effort was made to move the county seat from Covington to Chambers- burg, which failed, and in 1870 and 1871 Vec- dersburg tried to get a bill through the Legisla- tuire to secure the seat of justice.
Fountain county was so named in memory of Major Fountain of Kentucky, who was killed at the head of the mounted militia at the battle on the Maumee near Fort Wayne in 1790.
Population of Fountain county in 1890 was 19,558; in 1900 was 21,446, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 20,439, of which 412 were of white foreign birth. There were 5,258 families in the county and 5,117 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are eleven townships in Fountain county : Cain, Davis, Fulton, Jackson, Logan, Mill Creek, Rich- land. Shawnee, Troy, Van Buren and Wabash. The incorporated cities and towns are Attica, Covington, Veedersburg, Hillsboro, Kingman, Mellott, Newtown and Wallace. Covington 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 Fountain county was $8,642,635; value of improvements was $2,227,710, and the total net value of taxables was $15,347,085. There were 3,425 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were 320 miles of improved roads in Fountain county built and un- der jurisdiction of the county commissioners January 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstanding, $527,430.50.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 90.03 miles of steam railroads operated in Foun- tain county by the Brazil division of C. & E. I .; western division P. & E .; Toledo, St. Louis & Western; Wabash railroad, and the Attica, Cov- ington & Southern branch of the Wabash rail- road.
Educational .- According to the report of Manford F. Livengood, county superintendent of Fountain county, there were sixty school- houses, including eight high schools, in Fountain county in 1914, employing 160 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 3,571. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to super- intendents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $82,435.92. Estimated value of school prop- erty in the county was $332,600, and the total amount of indebtedness, including bonds, was $116,057.
Agriculture .- There were in Fountain county in 1910 over 2,000 farms em- braced in 240,000 acres. Aver- age acres per farm, 114.8 acres. The value of all farm property was over $25,000,000, showing 94.3 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $81.05. The total value of domestic animals was over $2,100,000: Number of cattle 12,000, valued at $407,000; horses 10,000, valued at $1,100,- 000; hogs 55,000, valued at $414,000; sheep 17,000, valued at $81,000. The total value of poultry was $78,000.
44 .
OLD SWIMMING HOLE" TURKEY RUN IND
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
249
FRANKLIN COUNTY
BROOKVILLE, SEAT OF JUSTICE
F RANKLIN COUNTY is located in the east- ern part of the State, bordering on the State of Ohio. It is bounded on the north by Fayette and Union, on the south by Ripley and Dearborn, and on the west by Decatur and Rush counties. It contains an area of 394 square miles. The topography of the country is rolling, except in the extreme eastern part. The White Water river is the largest stream that flows diagonally from the northwest to the southeast. The best agricul- tural regions of the county are in the bottom lands of the White Water and the level lands east and north of the White Water Valley. Olden- burg is located in this county and is noted for its Catholic institutions. The Academy of the Im- maculate Conception is located here as well as a great monastery.
The Whitewater Valley .- The Whitewater region, comprising the valley of the Whitewater river with its two branches, extends from the Ohio river northward for nearly half the length of the State, with a width varying from twelve to twenty-five miles. In pioneer times it was familiarly known as "The Whitewater," and the
frequency with which it is alluded to in the local literature of those days reveals its then impor- tance.
This territory has, indeed, claims to distinc- tion. There, it may be said, Indiana practically had her beginnings. There lay the first strip of land that marked, in Indiana, the oncoming tide of the white man's progress westward-the first overlap from Ohio, which grew, cession by ces- sion, west and north. There sprang up some of our most important early centers of population -Lawrenceburg, Brookville, Connersville, Rich- mond and others; there resided at one time or another a remarkable number of men who have made their impress upon the State's history or on the world at large, and thence came waves of migration that have spread over the State. This immigration has supplied an important ele- ment of the population in not a few localities. Indianapolis, for example, in her first days was so nearly made up of people from Whitewater and Kentucky that a political division, it is said, sprang up along the sectional line, and these two classes were arrayed against each other in the
-
View of Oldenburg, Franklin County, showing the Monastery, and the Convent and Academy of the Immaculate Conception.
250
CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
first local campaign, with Whitewater leading. Long after that they continued to come from the cities mentioned above and intervening localities, and the number at the capital to-day who look back to the Whitewater as their old home is sur- prisingly large. Madison, also, in her growing, hopeful days drew good blood from this center ; and over the State generally and beyond the bor- ders the same is true.
Of the men of mark who have hailed from the Whitewater, Brookville and Franklin county alone lay claim to perhaps half a hundred, the most notable of whom I find named and classi- fied as follows in the columns of a Brookville paper :
Governors .- James B. Ray, Noah Noble, Will-
McKendrie M. E. Church, near Brookville.
iam Wallace and Abraham Hammond, governors of Indiana; Will Cumback, lieutenant-governor of Indiana; Lew Wallace, governor of New Mexico; John P. St. John, governor of Kansas ; Stephen S. Harding, governor of Utah; J. Wal- lace, governor of Wyoming, nominated for gov- ernor of Indiana but defeated; J. A. Matson, Whig, and C. C. Matson, Democrat, father and SO1.
United States Senators .- Jesse B. Thomas, from Illinois; James Noble and Robert Hanna, from Indiana; John Henderson, from Missis- sippi.
Cabinet Officers, Foreign Ministers, etc .- James B. Tyner, postmaster general; James S. Clarkson, assistant postmaster general; Lew Wallace, minister to Turkey; Edwin Terrell. minister to Belgium : George Hitt, vice-consul to London: 1 .. T. Mitchener, attorney-general of Indiana.
Supreme Judges .- Isaac Blackford, John T. Mckinney and Stephen C. Stephens. It is cited as the most remarkable instance on record that in these three men Brookville had at one time the entire Supreme Bench of Indiana.
Writers, Educators and Ministers .- Lew Wal- lace, Maurice Thompson (born in the county), Joaquin Miller (born in the county), and a dozen or more of local fame; J. P. D. John, president De Pauw University ; William M. Dailey, presi- dent Indiana University ; L. D. Potter, president Glendale College; R. B. Abbott, president Al- bert Lea College; Charles N. Sims, chancellor Syracuse University ; S. A. Lattimore, professor of chemistry, Rochester University ; E. A. Bar- ber, professor in University of Nebraska ; C. W. Hargitt, professor in Syracuse University ; Fran- cis A. Shoup, professor in University of Missis- sippi ; J. H. Martin, president Moores Hill Col- lege ; Rev. T. A. Goodwin, Rev. Charles N. Sims and Rev. Francis A. Shoup.
Art .- William M. Chase, painter ; Hiram Pow- ers, sculptor.
Science .- James B. Eads, civil engineer, con- structor of the great bridge at St. Louis, and of the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi river : Amos W. Butler, ornithologist and ethnologist. now secretary of the State Board of Charities.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.