Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical., Part 24

Author: Blanchard, Charles, 1830-1903, ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F.A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 982

USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 24
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 24

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).

PONTIAC.

Pontiac is a mere hamlet of a couple of dozen houses, situated about one mile south of Carbon, on the proposed line of the I. N. & S. R. R. It was laid off as a speculative venture by Aaron Lovell in October, 1871, and comprises 14.80 acres in the northeast quarter of Section 7. On account of the railroad not being constructed, the growth of the village was rather premature, and it failed to come up to the expectations of the proprietor. It contains at the present time a few residents, but no busi - ness of any kind is represented.

MECHANICSBURG.

Mechanicsburg was laid out in March, 1871, by Elisha Adamson, on the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 4, Township 13 north, Range 6 west. It is a mere hamlet, with but few residences and a post office. At one time there was a fair store and blacksmith shop, and the place acquired some prominence as a business point, but the neighboring villages sapped its vitality, and its utter extinction is only a matter of time.

CALCUTTA.

Calcutta is situated on a part of the east half of the northwest quar- ter of Section 4. It was surveyed by M. B. Crist for John M. and Sarah Brown, proprietors, August, 1870, and is, like other villages of the town- ship, an outgrowth of the mining interest of the country. It is a small rambling village, possessing few, if any, inducements to business men, and has a population of about two dozen families.

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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY.

MINING INTERESTS OF VAN BUREN.

We have no information at hand concerning the discovery of coal in Van Buren Township, or under what circumstances the first mine was opened and developed. The first mine of any importance was the one opened by the Indianapolis Rolling Mill Company, near the village of Har- mony. The Star shaft, belonging to the same company, was developed a few years later than the one first named, and was operated until the year 1875. When running at its fullest capacity, the mine required the work of 150 men, and the daily production was about twenty flat car loads of coal.

The company afterward leased a large tract of land north of Har- mony, and sunk a shaft, known as the Diamond Mine, which they suc- cessfully operated for a period of five years, at the end of which time it was purchased by John Stephens, the present proprietor.

The Niblock Shaft, sunk by the Chicago Coal Mining Company, is in the northern part of the township, near the village of Carbon. It was opened in the year 1874, since which time from 80 to 100 men have been employed. About fifteen car loads of coal are mined every day. Near Carbon is a very extensive mine, operated by the Litchfield Coal Mining Company. It was opened about five years ago, and at the present time requires the labor of 200 men to operate it. The average daily production is from 350 to 400 tons.

The Hancock Shaft, operated by Zeller & McClennen, was opened about the year 1879. This mine represents a capital of $20,000, and has a yearly capacity of 30,000 tons, to mine which requires the labor of fifty- four men. The above firm operates the Briar Hill mine also, which pro- duces an annual yield of 58,000 tons, and employs an average force of 146 men. It was opened about the year 1875, and represents a capital of $35,000.

The Watson Coal & Mining Company, which was organized in the year 1873, operates several mines in this township, the largest of which is the Gartsherrie No. 2, which has a daily capacity of 500 tons, and employs 200 men. Gartsherrie Mine No. 1 was opened in the year 1869. The average daily capacity is 450 tons, and a force of 225 workmen is re- quired to operate it.

The Cornwall Shaft, owned by the same company, was opened in the year 1879. The capital invested is about $25,000; 140 men are em- ployed, and an average yield of 300 tons of coal produced. The com- pany formerly operated the Dominion and Garfield Mines, both of which have been abandoned, the coal supply in them being exhausted.

A company, under the firm name of Brown, Powell & Weagel, was organized in February, 1883. They have a mine near the village of Car- donia, on land leased from the Indiana Coal Mining Company. The gentlemen composing the firm are miners by occupation, and put on the market annually about 10,000 tons of coal.

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VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP.

The Veach Mine, near Cardonia, is operated by J. F. Moody, and has a capacity of 5,000 tons per year. Another mine, not designated by any particular name, situated near the above, is owned by the same party, and represents a capital of $1,000.

The Jackson Shaft, in the northern part of the township, was opened in the year 1873. It was operated by the Jackson Coal & Mining Com- pany, and produced as high as 400 tons per day.

The Buckeye Mine was opened in the year 1873, by Smith, Reed & Co., who operated it until the fall of 1879, at which time it was pur- chased by the Jackson Coal & Mining Company.

In 1868, the Benwood Mine was opened by the Weaver Coal Company. It was afterward leased by B. F. Maston, and abandoned in 1874.

In addition to the above, there are a number of other extensive mines, besides several smaller ones, of which we cannot speak particularly, not having received the necessary information. Perhaps no other similar area in the State is so rich in mineral wealth, and it is certain that in no other section is so much capital employed. The population of the town- ship is made up largely of miners, and the business is constantly on the increase.

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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY. .

SUGAR RIDGE TOWNSHIP.

BY G. N. BERRY.

CREATION OF TOWNSHIP.

S YUGAR RIDGE originally formed a part of Washington Township, and dates its history as a separate division from the year 1854. At the March term of the Commissioners' Court of that year, the following order creating the township was placed upon record:

Now the board proceeds to consider the petition heretofore presented for the division of Washington Township, whereupon it is ordered that said Washington Township be divided and a new township be organized to be called Sugar Ridge Township, of Clay County, Ind., of the territory described and bounded as follows, to wit: Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 2, Township 11 north, of Range No. 6 west; thence south on the line dividing Sections 2 and 3, 10 and 11, 14 and 15, 22 and 23, 26 and 27, 34 and 35 in said township, to where said line inter- sects Eel River; thence with said line to where Burch Creek enters into it; thence up Burch Creek to where it crosses the range line between Ranges 6 and 7; thence north with said line to the northwest corner of Section 6, in Township 11 north, Range 6 west; thence east between Townships 11 and 12 to the place of beginning; and it is further ordered that Grimes Schoolhouse be the place of holding elections, and that Charles W. Moss be appointed Inspector of Elections for said township, and that the Auditor advertise the election immediately.

SURFACE FEATURES, ORIGIN OF NAME, COAL, ETC.

Since the above there have been no changes nor attempted changes in the township record. Sugar Ridge is well watered and drained. Eel River, the largest water-course in the county, forms the southern boun- dary and affords an outlet for a number of smaller streams which trav- erse the country in various directions. On the western border is Burch Creek which forms the dividing line between Sugar Ridge and Perry Townships. It flows a southerly course and empties into Eel River at the extreme southern part of the township, and is an important factor in the drainage of this part of the county. Numerous small streams with no particular names flow in different directions, affording abundant stock water, and giving the township an easy natural drainage. The surface of the county is considerably diversified, being rather broken along the water-courses in the southern part, and gently undulating in the central and northern portions. In Section 21 is an elevation known as Grimes Hill, the highest point in Clay County.

The county is heavily timbered with the usual varieties, sugar maple predominating, a fact which gave the township its name. Beech, the different varieties of oak, poplar and hickory, are the next most numer-

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SUGAR RIDGE TOWNSHIP.

ous, while on the low grounds skirting the water-courses elms grow to gigantic sizes. Coal is found in various parts of the township, although but few mines have been developed, owing to the absence of facilities for transportation. A bank has been opened by Mr. Mckinley on his farm near the town of Center Point, which is perhaps the most exten- sive, while others have been developed in various localities for home use and neighborhood purposes. Sugar Ridge is, and perhaps will be for years, an agricultural township. The soil is almost as greatly diversi- fied as the surface, a black, sandy loam predominating in the more even portions, and a clay soil in the southern part among the hills; while the black loam is not so deep here as in some of the townships, yet the pecu- liar formation of the surface is such that there will never be waste for the stored plant-food that will be here for ages. For grass and the cereals, it may be prepared to equal any township in the county. Already in wheat it stands among the first, both in quantity to the acre and in quality. It may not in the end prove the best of corn land, but in all else Sugar Ridge can take place in the front rank.

PIONEERS.

The settlement of Sugar Ridge dates as far back as the year 1820, at which time a few "squatters" came to the county and located along Burch Creek in the western part of the township. They came for the purpose of hunting and trapping, and seemed to lead an aimless but con- tented life, satisfied with rude, temporary pole huts, and with what the woods and streams afforded them in way of sustenance. They were self- exiled from the civilization of the older States, and by choice roving nomade, who sought the solitude of the pathless woods, the dreariness of the wilderness waste, in exchange for the trammels of civilized society. Of the latter, they could not endure its restraints, and they exhibited the utmost indifference for its comforts and pleasures. Their souls yearned for freedom-freedom in its fullest sense, applied to all property, life, and everything here and hereafter. Among the first of these transient settlers, if not the first, was one Rev. Thomas Little, who settled about the year 1819 or 1820, at the Burch Creek crossing, a short distance west of Centre Point, where he took up his abode with the Indians. These Indians had several villages in the central and southern parts of the county, and were indifferent as to the coming of the white settlers.

We have no doubt that Little was the first white man who ever lo- cated within the present limits of Sugar Ridge, but the facts concerning him are very meager. He is remembered as a splendid specimen of the coon-skin pioneer exhorter in many respects, and was one of the first Gospel proclaimers in this part of the State. It is not known to what particular church he belonged-perhaps he did not know himself-but the records leave us no doubt it was that broad, liberal, catholic faith and

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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY.

practice which led all to meet on a common level, and worship the same God, irrespective of creed or dogma. He lived hard, preached brim- stone sermons, and eked out an existence for himself and family with the aid of his rifle, an instrument which he carried with him in all his wan- derings. He was no namby-pamby, band-box divine, neither was he a Beecher or Talmage. He was simply a humble, sincere, great pioneer missionary, and as such went meekly forth upon his inission, waking the echoes of the primeval forests, and making reprobates tremble, and many a tough old sinner fall upon his knees and plead with Heaven for forgive-

ness. Of the years intervening between his childhood and his back- woods preaching, little or nothing is known. He was here; as to how, whence or why he came, no one asked, perhaps no one cared. The pe- riod of his residence in what is now Sugar Ridge was about nine years, at the end of which time he departed, going no one knew whither. The land on which he located was afterward entered and improved by C. Kensley.

Another character who made his appearance about one year after the preceding was Thomas Rizley, who settled in the northern part of the township, on Burch Creek, where he took a claim and cleared a small patch of ground. The time of this pioneer was chiefly taken up in hunting and trapping, and 'tis said that in all his wanderings through the woods he went barefooted, wearing shoes only upon important occa- sions, which were very rare. The cabin which Mr. Rizley erected upon his claim was a model of simplicity in every respect, constructed of logs, and consisted of a single apartment, which answered the fourfold pur- pose of kitchen, bed room, dining room and parlor. It was in size about 14x16 feet, barely high enough to stand erect in, covered with a rough clapboard roof, held on by heavy weight-poles, and having no floor but the bare earth. The furniture and utensils were in harmony with the building, as were also the articles of apparel worn by the family. De- spite their isolated condition and unfavorable surroundings, the family led a wild, free life, and seemed supremely contented with their humble lot. The date of Rizley's departure from the township is not positively known, though it is supposed to have been prior to the year 1830. Another " squatter " who came as early as 1822 was James Walker, who settled on Birch Creek, in the northern part of the township, where he built a small cabin, but made no further improvements. He was like the ones referred to, a hunter, and maintained his family by selling and trad- ing skins and venison, which he carried to Terre Haute and other market places. He remained in the settlement four or five years, when he dis- posed of his cabin and moved to the State of Illinois. Two brothers, John and Jacob Schammerhorn, were probably the next settlers. They were Germans, and located temporarily in the northern part of the town- ship, and proved themselves valuable acquisitions to the community on

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SUGAR RIDGE TOWNSHIP.

account of their skill in several mechanical pursuits. John Schammer- horn was a man of roving tendencies, and had spent a great deal of his time among the Indians, with whom he traded during the early days of the country's settlement. Both of them left many years ago, and noth- ing is known concerning their destination. About the year 1823 came Charles Drake and a man by name of Mast, the former squatting in the neighborhood of Rizley's claim, and the latter near the present site of Ashboro. Of Drake but little is known, save that he belonged to a class of people developed by the times, whose principal occupations were hunt- ing and trapping.

Mast is remembered as a man of tremendous physical organization, a very giant in strength and stature. He came from the mountainous re- gions of Tennessee, and was coarse, rude, and as wild as his worst sur- roundings, but withal brave, honest, and generous to a fault. At home he was an easy, good-natured favorite, well liked in the community, but when outside of his neighborhood, and under the influence of whisky, which seemed to arouse all the fire of his rough nature, no one was more feared, as a blow from his maul-like fists meant nothing less than broken bones or a mashed head. In his native State he had followed the avocation of grindstone cutter, and after settling here he worked at his trade to some extent. The first load of marketing ever sent from this part of the country contained two grindstones, which he cut from native rock. They were hauled to the city of Bloomington, and exchanged with numerous other articles for groceries, dry goods, etc., Mr. Mast making the trip. Mast left the country about the year 1836, and moved further westward. This brings the record of the settlement down to the year 1830, at which time George Moss, a native of Kentucky, moved his family here. and located near where his son, Maj. C. W. Moss, lives, about midway be- tween the villages of Ashboro and Center Point. One year later he pur- chased from a squatter named Melton, a claim in Section 9, on which a cabin had been erected and a few acres cleared and fitted for cultivation. He entered this land in 1831, and resided upon it for forty years, dying in 1871 at an advanced age. He was a prominent farmer and stock- dealer, one of the enterprising citizens of the township, and possessed in a marked degree the qualifications of the honorable business man. Two sons, Jacob and Charles W., came with their father to the new county, and have been prominent residents of the township for a period of fifty- two years. (See biographical sketches.) Christian Kintzley came the same year with Moss, and entered land in the northern part of the town- ship, where Thomas Little had previously settled. William Drake came a little later, and entered land in Section 4, where Levi Fogle lives. He was the father of a large family, and died as early as 1840. Several de- scendants live in the county at the present time. The earliest permanent settlers in the southern part of the township were Mrs. Graves, James

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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY.

Carroll, John Huffman and Samuel Steed. The first named was a widow lady. She moved from the northern part of the county about the year 1831, and resided in this township but a few years, dying in a very early day. The different members of her family sold out and went West shortly after her death. Carroll was a native of Kentucky, and a hatter by trade. He became the owner of a good farm, and worked at his trade at intervals. Huffman became a prominent citizen, and died in an early day. Steed was a character deserving more than a passing notice, and an illustrious example of what a man of energy and determination can do in the face of adverse circumstances. He and his wife arrived at their new home on foot, and with all their earthly possessions except an ax and saw tied up in a pocket handkerchief. He immediately went to work felling trees for a house, which, with the help of his wife, was soon erected and ready for occupancy. He cleared his first ground upon rather a novel plan, cutting down but few trees, climbing them instead and removing the limbs with his saw, so that the sun's rays could reach the earth unobstructed. His wife, who was in every respect a helpmeet, assisted in the hard drudgery of clearing, piling and burning the branches as fast as they fell to the ground. A few weeks of hard labor sufficed to let the sunshine upon about an acre, but how to prepare the soil for planting was now a puzzling question, as Steed possessed neither horses nor plow, nor could they be obtained in the sparse settlement. He had not even a hoe, and was too poor to buy one. Nothing daunted, how- ever, he went to work and made a long, sharp hoe out of his saw blade, with which a few rods of ground were digged over and planted in squashes and beans. After the seeds were safely in the ground, he hired out to a neighbor to chop, for the enormous sum of 25 cents per day. By hard work and niggardly economy, he saved, in the course of a few years, enough money from his scanty earnings to enter forty acres of land. To this tract he afterward added another forty, and as the years went by he found himself in possession of a good farm, and in easy circumstances. By skillful management he in time became one of the largest land own- ern in the township, and was considered one of the leading farmers in the southern part of the county. The land upon which he originally set- tled is owned at the present time by the Barnhards. His death occurred a number of years ago.

The central part of the township was not settled as early as the lo- calities mentioned, probably on account of its distance from any water- course. In the year 1833, Hiram Tribble entered land near the village of Ashboro. He was a native of Tennessee and a local politician of some note, having served as Sheriff of the county a few years after his arrival. Robert Tribble, a brother of the preceding, settled near the same place, on land at present owned and occupied by Jacob Steiwalt. He met a violent death two years later, by being crushed beneath a fall-

Urias Wilkinson

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SUGAR RIDGE TOWNSHIP.

`ing tree. David Lane settled near Ashboro also, and was a man of considerable prominence in the community. He was a preacher of the Christian Church, and conducted religious exercises in various places throughout the township during the early days of the country's history. After his death, which occurred many years ago, his family became Mor- mon proselytes and joined their fortunes with that sect in Utah. Prom- inent among the early pioneers was Thomas Carithers, a Kentuckian, who settled near the site of Saline City, where Mr. Jamison lives. He sold to Jonathan Grimes about the year 1840. Jacob Bilderback came in an early day, and was a resident of the township twenty years, at the end of which time he moved to one of the Western States, where he is still living. George and Jonathan Grimes came from Virginia. The for- mer settled near Ashboro and became one of the wealthest men in the county. The latter lived on the Jamison farm until the completion of the canal reservoir, when he sold out and moved to Minnesota. Ezekial Jenkins and M. H. Kennedy were early settlers. The first named settled in the eastern part of the township on land which he afterward sold to George Grimes. Later he moved near the central part, where he still lives. Kennedy settled at Center Point, and was the proprietor of that village. He still lives upon his first farm and is one of the prominent citizens of Sugar Ridge. The foregoing list comprises the early settlers as far as we have been able to learn. There may be other names entitled to a mention, but the brief space allotted to this chapter forbids of further notice.

EARLY EVENTS.

The first wheat in the township was raised by George Moss, from seed obtained at Spencer, in Owen County. Mr. Moss carried the seed from Spencer on horseback, a distance of twenty-five miles, an under- taking attended with many difficulties on account of the absence of any thing like a road. The first crop was husbanded away with scrupulous care and sown the following year. The second crop made a good yield, and supplied the entire neighborhood with seed. The early settlers made large quantities of maple sugar which they exchanged for mer- chandise at Terre Haute and Bloomington. Mr. Moss hauled the first load of produce to the latter place as early as 1835.

George Moss, Jr., son of George Moss and brother of C. W. and Jacob Moss, was the first white person born within the present limits of Sugar Ridge. Mr. Moss is fifty-one years old at the present time, which carries the date of his birth back to the year 1832. Other early births occurred in the families of Mr. Jenkins and Hiram Tribble.

It is not known when the first death occurred nor where the first interment was made. The death of Robert Tribble, to which reference has been made, was among the first. He was buried in the Grimes Graveyard, near the central part of the township. A Mr. Holmes, whose '

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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY.

death occurred in an early day, was laid away in the same place. The Ashboro Cemetery was consecrated to the burial of the dead as early as 1843. The first interments there were Benoi Moss and John Knighten. Mrs. Jacob Bilderback died in the southern part of the township, at an early day, and was buried in what is known as the Harris Graveyard. The largest burial place at the present time is the Center Point Ceme- tery, which was laid out by M. H. Kennedy.

The earliest marriage traceable was solemnized about the year 1836, the contracting parties being Jacob Moss and Zorada, daughter of Ezekiel Jenkins. Jacob Bilderback and Mrs. Robert Tribble were married a few years later.

EARLY IMPROVEMENTS.

The forming of the canal reservoir was an era in the history of this township which the old settlers are not likely to forget. It submerged many acres of ground and was the source of a great deal of annoyance to the citizens living in the vicinity, who made the trouble mutual by cutting the embankments in many places, and allowing the water to es- cape. The history of this transaction, and the part the State took in quelling the disturbance occasioned thereby, is given more fully in the general county chapters. The first mill in the township was built about the year 1837, and stood in the southern part, on the canal, near the feeder dam. It was built by a company, and operated by a Mr. Mills, who did a fair business as long as the building stood. The house, like the one belonging to the "foolish man," was built upon the sand, and the first freshet that came washed out the foundation and the building fell. A few years later, a second mill was erected at the same place, by a man by name of Jessup, who operated it a short time. These were both water mills, and received their motive power from the canal. Jon. athan Grimes built the first frame house in the township on the farm where William Jamison lives, near Saline City. The date of its erection was about the year 1842, or perhaps a little later. Other early frame houses were built by Daniel Fisher, M. H. Kennedy and Major Moss. The first brick dwelling was erected by George Grimes on his farm near the village of Ashboro. George Moss set out the first orchard soon after his arrival in 1831. The second orchard was set out by Samuel Steed, in the southern part of the township, where several of the old trees are still standing. An orchard on Ezekiel Jenkins' farm was set out in an early day, several trees of which bear fruit at the present time.

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Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical., Part 24

Author: Blanchard, Charles, 1830-1903, ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : F.A. Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 982

Author: Blanchard, Charles, 1830-1903, ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : F.A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 982