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 54
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Three townships have had medical inspection with excellent results.
St. Ignatius Academy (Catholic) is located here, besides several parochial schools, both Catholic and Lutheran; also Lafayette Voca- tional School (public), and the Lafayette Busi- ness College (private).
Agriculture. - There were in Tippecanoe county in 1910 over 2,400 farms, embraced in 299,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 121.9 acres. The value of all farm property was over $34.000,000, showing 90.1 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $90.03. The total value of domestic animals was over $2,500,000: Number of cattle 16,000, valued at $552,000; horses 13,000, valued at $1,460,000; hogs 53,000, valued at $365.000; sheep 8,400, valued at $38,000. The total value of poultry was $88,000.
Industrial .- According to the U. S. Census of 1910 there were sixty-nine industries in Lafay- ette, furnishing employment to 1.660 persons. Total amount of capital employed was $3,913,788. Value of products, $5,541,966; value added by manufacture. $2.096,232.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
The Lafayette Public Library was estab- ished in November, 1882, under the Indiana State law passed in 1881. The beginning was made possible at that time by the gift of $10,000 from Mr. J. J. Perrin. This gift enabled the ibrary to start with 8,000 volumes. It has now ncreased to some 28,000, and its magazine list ncludes the leading periodicals. The library also houses and circulates what is probably the best collection of missionary books in the State, and the collection is constantly growing. These books are the property of the First Baptist church of Lafayette and are the gift of Mr. Frank Lever- ing, a missionary worker in India.
Among the historic possessions of the library is an interesting portrait of William Digby, the
much unrecorded work done for schools. clubs and individuals.
State Soldiers' Home .- After the Soldiers' and Seamen's Home at Knightstown was burned in 1871, the State made no provision for the care of this class of citizens until the Indiana State Soldiers' Home was opened in July. 1896, at Lafayette. This home is "an institution for the support of disabled or destitute soldiers, sailors, and marines and their wives or the destitute widows of such soldiers, sailors and marines." It was established by an act approved February 23, 1895. In 1905 the Legislature authorized the admission also of disabled or destitute army nurses. The institution buildings include a num- ber erected by the State and several frame cot-
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Campus, Purdue University, 1908.
founder of the city of Lafayette. The painting was made in the first half of the last century and is the work of Mr. George Winter. An old plat of the city, dating from 1844, and a colored print showing the place about ten years later are also objects of interest. Other treasures are an auto- graph letter written by the Marquis de Lafayette, a bronze medallion and an old engraving, both portraits of the distinguished Frenchman.
For some years the library occupied a part of the high school building; but it now has as its home an old residence, the gift of Mrs. W. F. Reynolds in 1901. This building was at one time one of the handsomest homes in Lafayette, and is surrounded by considerable ground ; though it is not adapted to the needs of a library, there is a certain quaintness and charm about the place that appeals to the æsthetic sense. The library is not large, but it is rich in history, literature and reference books. Last year there were taken out for home use 61,500 books, and there is also
tages constructed by counties or private funds. The State appropriates $16 per month for each inmate, officer and employe residing at the home and is reimbursed by the United States govern- ment at the rate of $100 per annum for each soldier.
Purdue University .- Situated on the banks of the Wabash at West Lafayette, this university stands as an exponent of the opportunities offered for the practical education of the youth of the land. Purdue belongs to the group of land- grant colleges, one of which has been established in each State under the Morrill act of Congress of 1862. This bill donated public lands to each State accepting the act for the "endowment. sup- port and maintenance of at least one college. where the leading subject shall be, without ex- cluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branche- of learning as are related to agriculture and me- chanic arts." On July 2. 1862, the act received
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
the signature of President Lincoln and became a law.
Indiana was quick to accept the provisions of the act. On March 6. 1865. the formal accept- ance by the State was made. In accordance with provisions contained, which granted each State 30,000 acres of land for every senator and repre- sentative to which the State was entitled, follow- ing the census of 1860, Indiana received a tract of 390,000 acres as its share. From this source was realized the sum of $340,000, which has
canoe county, together with numerous minor gifts, and, as a mark of its appreciation, the Leg- islature elected John Purdue a life member of the board of trustees and agreed to call the institu- tion by the name of Purdue University.
On account of unforeseen events and delays the work of construction was not begun until the spring of 1874, and then only in a provisional way, in order to meet conditions of the federal government.
The university derives its support from Fed-
View of Lafayette from Point Lookout.
since remained as a permanent endowment, the interest of which is guaranteed by the State under the provisions of the Morrill act. Imme- diately following the State's acceptance a board composed of five trustees was appointed to pro- vide for the management of the school and act as its supervisors.
The location of the institution created rivalry, and it was not until 1869 that the location of the institution at West Lafayette was determined upon. By this action the institution received a sinh of $150,000 from John Purdue, a donation of 100 acres of land from the citizens of West Lafayette, a donation of $50,000 from Tippe-
eral and State appropriations, from fees from students and from its endowment fund. While the State has, from time to time, made special appropriations for buildings and equipment, a large part of the actual support of the institution as well as the property now owned by the State at Purdue, has come from Federal and private sources. During the forty years of existence it has received from the United States treasury for its department of instruction a sum aggregat- ing $1,400,000, and for the experiment station $510,000. Beginning with 1915 it will receive a regular appropriation to the Department of Agri- cultural Extension of $10,000, which in a few
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
years will amount to $100,000 annually. From private sources it has received gifts aggregating more than $500,000.
The university offers instruction in agricul- ture, applied sciences, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and pharmacy. The following gen- eral departments of instruction are maintained in connection with the above : English, mathematics, home economics, modern languages, history, economics, education and military science.
is the Department of Agricultural Extension, or- ganized under the act of the Legislature of 1911, and has for its function the extension of knowl- edge, carrying the work of the experiment sta- tion and the school of agriculture to persons not in attendance at the university. This department has made most rapid expansion during the past three years and is an important factor in better- ing agricultural conditions of the State.
The university is equipped with over a score of fine buildings, fitted with complete laboratories
View of Lafayette from Point Lookout.
In addition to the departments of instruction, he university has two other branches of great mportance to the public: The Agricultural Ex- periment Station, organized under the act of Congress, approved in 1887, "to promote scien- ific investigation and experiments respecting the principles and applications of agricultural sci- nce." The experiment station is a scientific ureau not concerned with teaching students, but n independent staff of scientific workers with eparate funds and an extensive plant of offices nd laboratories. Its functions are closely re- ated to the school of agriculture.
The third co-ordinate branch of the university
and shops. The important buildings are : Fowler hall, containing a large auditorium for public exercises ; general library, erected in 1912 at a cost of $100,000; university hall: Purdue hall : ladies' hall; memorial gymnasium, erected in 1908 in memory of the football team that lost their lives in the wreck in 1903 ; mechanical en- gineering building, which the university owe- largely to Amos Heavilon, a citizen of Clinton county ; electrical engineering building : civil en- gineering building : practical mechanics building : chemistry hall : physics hall : science hall ; phar- macy building ; agricultural experiment station ; agricultural hall ; Smith hall, the new fifty-thou-
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
-adddollar dairy building with a twenty-eight- Mois-an I-dollar equipment, made possible by the bequest of the late W. C. Smith, of Williams- port : farm mechanics building : dairy cattle barn ; livestock judging pavilion ; serum plant and farm
John Purdue.
buildings. A thirty-thousand-dollar greenhouse is the latest addition to the resources of the insti- tution. The extensive equipment and the use of the laboratories in every department, and the fa- cilities offered for students to study their special- ties in contact with real machines and apparatus
such as is actually used in commercial business life, viz., the locomotive, known to every Purdue student as "Old Schenectady"; the shops, the electric test car, the dairy laboratories with ex- tensive working equipment, the fine herds, ex- perimental fields and the general library are all features of the laboratory equipment. Pro- fessor W. E. Stone is president of Purdue Uni- versity.
John Purdue .- The founder of Purdue Uni- versity was born in Huntington county, Pennsyl- vania, October 31, 1802, of a pioneer family in very humble circumstances. His early years were spent in Marion county, Ohio, where he en- gaged in farming. He came to Lafayette, Indi- ana, in 1837, and opened a store of general mer- chandise in 1839. By thrift and good judgment he acquired a fortune. During the controversy which arose between various sections of the State for the location of the college provided for in the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, Mr. Pur- due's donation was the deciding factor. On May 6, 1869, the State Legislature voted to accept his donation of $150,000 and in consideration thereof the institution "shall have the name and style of Purdue University and the faith of the State is pledged that such name and style shall be a per -! manent designation of said institution without addition thereto or modification thereof." John Purdue died September 12, 1876, and his body rests upon the campus of the University.
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TIPTON COUNTY
TIPTON, SEAT OF JUSTICE
T IPTON COUNTY is located near the center of the north half of Indiana and is bounded on the north by Howard, on the east by Grant and Madison, on the south by Hamilton and on the west by Boone, Clinton and a small section of Howard counties. It contains 260 square miles. The surface of the county is level, and in an early day was covered with water ex- cept on the higher levels. By a system of public and private ditelis the marshes have been drained, and today is looked upon as one of the garden spots of Indiana. On account of the fer-
tility of the soil Tipton county ranks high in the production of all grains and vegetables. "Corn is King," an average of from 75 to 80 bushels per acre not being an unusual yield, and the county has held the highest rank in the State on several occasions in the yield per acre of corn. In recent years the cultivation of peas, sugar corn and tomatoes for the canning factories lo- cated in the county has become a profitable and important industry.
Organization .- Tipton county was organized May 1, 1844, and was named in honor of General
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T:PION PFILIC
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1. Tipton County Court-House. 2. High School. 3. Public Library.
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St. Joseph's Academy, Tipton.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
John Lipton, a distinguished citizen of the State and a United States senator from 1832 until his death in 1839. Tiptontown, which was named after him, also has been the county seat since the organization of the county.
St. Joseph's Academy, a noted Catholic edu- cational institution, is located about a mile north of Tipton. It is conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph and was opened September 18, 1891. The academy is located in a quiet vale, surrounded by a large campus, skirted by forests and shady groves. Its location makes it peculiarly beautiful and healthful, and the pure country air and the delights of the rustic scenery contribute to make it an ideal home for the student. It is far enough removed from the city to insure the quiet sur- roundings so necessary to student life, yet it is, at the same time, easily accessible by the Lake Erie & Western railroad, the Louisville division of the Pennsylvania lines and the Indiana Union Traction system. The building, which is an academy for young ladies, has a frontage of over 150 feet and a depth of 53 feet, and is five stories high, including the basement. The object of the institution is to form the hearts of the students to virtue, order and industry. The aim of the sisters is to surround the children, committed to their care, with a quiet influence of a Christian home: to strengthen their bodies by regular hours, exercise and wholesome food; to adorn their minds with culture and their manners with refined grace, and above all to develop in their youthful minds the principles of virtue and re- ligion, which alone can render education profit- able.
Tipton Public Library, was organized in 1901 under the laws of the State of Indiana and was the first one in the State to be organized under the new law. The library was opened in 1901. 1 year later, in answer to a request by Mrs. Sam Mathews, a letter was received from Andrew Carnegie offering a gift of $10,000 for a library, with the understanding that the city guarantee $100,000 for its maintenance. Later Mr. Carnegie made a gift of $3,000. The corner- stone of the new library was laid on October 15, 1902. the Masonic order of Tipton having charge of the ceremony. On invitation by the city, Mrs. Sam Mathews placed the first brick in the struc- ture. Within a year after the dedication of the building the library was perpetually endowed
with a gift of $5,000 by Mrs. Nannie R. Shirk as a memorial to her late husband, E. H. Shirk.
Population of Tipton county in 1890 was 18,157 ; in 1900 was 19,116, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 17,459, of which 206 were of white foreign birth. There were 4,325 families in the county and 4,242 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are six townships in Tipton county: Cicero, Jeffer- son, Liberty, Madison, Prairie and Wild Cat. The incorporated cities and towns are Kempton, Tipton and Windfall. Tipton 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 Tipton county was $7,491,055, value of improvements was $2,343,440 and the total net value of taxables was $14,152,390. There were 3,036 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were 665 miles of improved roads in Tipton county built and under jurisdiction of the county commissioners Janu- ary 1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds out- standing, $376,487.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 45.37 miles of steam railroad operated in. Tipton county by the main line of the Indianapolis and Michigan City division of the Lake Erie & West- ern ; the Richmond division of the P., C., C. & St. L., and the P., C., C. & St. L. over the Lake Erie & Western railroads. The Union Traction Company of Indiana operates 23.79 miles of electric line in the county.
Educational .- According to the report of Larkin D. Summers, county superintendent, there were sixty schoolhouses, including seven high schools, in Tipton county in 1914, employing 124 teachers. The average daily attendance by pupils was 3,142. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to superintendents, supervisors, princi- pals and teachers was $62,840. Estimated value of school property in the county was $270,140, and the total amount of indebtedness, including bonds, was $66,260. The schools in Jefferson township are all consolidated at Kempton and Goldsmith, with the exception of two large dis- trict schools on the south side of the township. In addition to the public schools in Tipton county the Catholics maintain St. Joseph's and St.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
Mary's Academy and St. John's School for Chil- 000: Number of cattle 13.000, valued at dren. The German Lutherans also maintain a school for grade children.
Agriculture .- There were in Tipton county in 1910 over 2,000 farms, embraced in 163,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 79.2 acres. The value of all farm property was over $23,600,000, showing 116.6 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $113.94. The total value of domestic animals was over $1,900,-
$401,000; horses 9,200, valued at $1,049,000; hogs 60,000, valued at $360,000; sheep 12.000. valued at $62,000. The total value of poultry was $90.000.
Industrial .- According to the report of the State Bureau of Inspection there were nineteen industrial establishments in Tipton, employing nearly 500 persons. The principal industry is the canning of vegetables.
UNION COUNTY
LIBERTY, SEAT OF JUSTICE
U NION COUNTY is located in the south- eastern part of the State, and contains 168 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Wayne, on the east by the State of Ohio, on the south by Franklin and on the west by Fayette counties. The eastern portion of the county is level, and there are large areas of level land in the north, central and southern portions. The western part of the county is undulating or hilly. The east fork of White Water river flows from north to south through the western part. Beau- tiful scenery is found along the streams and among the hills. The soil of the eastern portion of the county is a deep, rich, fertile, dark loam. Other parts have mostly a clay with a slight mix- ture of sand and gravel. An abundance of lime- stone suitable for building purposes is found in the western part of the county. Where once stood forests of oak, ash, maple, poplar, beech and walnut now grow abundant crops of cereals and fruits, pasture lands and meadows.
Organization .- Union county was organized February 1, 1821, deriving its name from the hope that it would harmonize the difficulties that existed in relation to the county seats in Wayne and Fayette counties. Brownsville, located in the northwestern part of the county, was the first county seat, but within a year an agitation was started to change it to Liberty, in the center of the county. This was done by the legislative act of December 21, 1822, the change being made to Liberty in 1823, and it has been the seat of justice since that period.
Population of Union county in 1890 was
7,006 ; in 1900 was 6,748, and according to United States Census of 1910 was 6,260. of which 105 were of white foreign birth. There were 1.743 families in the county and 1,704 dwellings.
Townships, Cities and Towns .- There are six townships in Union county: Brownsville. Center, Harmony, Harrison, Liberty and Union. The incorporated cities and towns are Liberty and West College Corner. Liberty 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 Union county was $3,284,510, value of improvements was $1,032,- 990 and the total net value of taxables was $6,400,510. There were 875 polls in the county.
Improved Roads .- There were 120 miles of improved roads in Union county built and under jurisdiction of the county commissioners January
Union County Court-House, Liberty.
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
1, 1915. Amount of gravel road bonds outstand- ing. $44,680.30.
Railroads-Steam and Electric .- There are 30.3.4 miles of steam railroad operated in Union county by the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Cin- cinnati, Indianapolis & Western railroads.
Educational .- According to the report of Charles C. Abernathy, county superintendent of Union county, there were thirty-two school- houses, including eight high schools, in Union county in 1914, employing fifty teachers. The werage daily attendance by pupils was 1,053. The aggregate amount paid in salaries to super- intendents, supervisors, principals and teachers was $23,862.56. The estimated value of school
property in the county was $148,500, and the total amount of indebtedness, including bonds, was $29,500.
Agriculture .- There were in Union county in 1910 over 817 farms, embraced in 102,000 acres. Average acres per farm, 125 acres. The value of all farm property was over $9,400,000, showing 65.4 per cent. increase over 1900. The average value of land per acre was $66.38. The total value of domestic animals was over $989,000: Number of cattle 7,300, valued at $222,000; horses 3,500, valued at $394,000; hogs 38,000. valued at $290,000; sheep 8,100, valued at $35,000. The total value of poultry was about $33,000.
VANDERBURG COUNTY
EVANSVILLE, SEAT OF JUSTICE
V ANDERBURG COUNTY, located in the southwest part of the State, on the Ohio river, is one of the leading counties in In- diana. Its importance is due to location, soil and proximity to ready markets for its products. It contains 240 square miles. The extreme width of the county is twelve and one-half miles, yet more than thirty miles of its southern border is washed by the waters of the Ohio. Farming and manufacturing are the principal occupations of the people and coal mining is carried on to a limited extent. According to the State Mine In- spector's report for the fiscal year ending Sep- tember 30, 1914, there were four mines in opera- tion in the county, under his jurisdiction, which produced 295,469 tons of coal. The county is bounded on the north by Gibson, on the east by
Warrick and on the south by the Ohio river, which separates it from Kentucky, with the ex- ception of a small tract of land adjoining the city of Evansville. This particular spot is unique, as it is the only place in Indiana from which one can go into Kentucky without crossing the Ohio river.
Organization .- Vanderburg county was or- ganized February 1, 1818, in honor of Henry Vanderburg, who had been a captain in the Revolution, a member of the Legislative Council of the Northwest Territory and a judge of the first court ever formed in the Indiana Territory. Evansville was selected as the county seat, which enjoys the unique distinction of being the only town in the State which has been the county seat of two counties, it having been the county seat
Southern Indiana Hospital for the Insane.
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WILLARD LIBRARY
COURT HOUSE
ELKS HOME
Notable Buildings in Evansville.
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AMERICAN TRUST & SAVINGS BANK
FURNITURE EXCHANGE BUILDINS
ONI'STWOMYNT 'TOO HOT HOTH HINNA~
Notable Buildings in Evansville.
TURN VEREINS PUN DINY
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY AND HANDBOOK OF INDIANA
of Warrick county up to September 1, 1814. According to the United States Census of 1910 Evansville had a population of 69,647, and was rated as the second largest city in the State. As a manufacturing city it stands pre-eminent in the central west, with 400 factories, notable in the production of furniture, flour, stoves, plows, brooms, lumber, buggies, beer, steam shovels, pottery and locomotive headlights. The average number of wage-earners employed in the fac- tories of Evansville is 12,000; the average value of products is $27,000,000 annually ; the amount of capital invested is $24,500,000. It is the larg- est exclusive winter wheat market in the world, with five flour mills having an output of 6,500 barrels daily. It is the second largest hardwood lumber market in the world, with seven saw mills that cut and ship lumber to all parts of this coun- try and Europe, and is second in rank in the pro- duction of furniture in the United States. Several of its factories are the largest of their kind in the world. Evansville has forty-five miles of street railway, seven steam railroads, six traction lines and six steamboat lines. It has eighty-eight miles of water mains, 250 miles of sidewalk, over fifty miles of improved streets and over forty- seven miles of sewer, a new improved Holly sys- tem of water works, with a total pumping ca- pacity of 30,000,000 gallons and perfect filtra- tion plant. It has three public libraries, twenty- five school buildings, including a junior high school and a manual training school, in addition to sixteen private and parochial schools.
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