USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 77
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 77
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The Odd Fellows have ever been ready to extend relief to their own members, and many outside the pale of the order have had cause to bless the unknown hand that furnished timely and substantial aid in time of want and distress. The membership is largely made up of the best citizens of Spencer and vicinity, embracing all the trades and professions, seek- ing together the uplifting and ennobling of humanity.
Other Orders .-- The Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Royal Arcanum, Knights of Labor, and the Knights and Ladies of Honor all have flourishing lodges in Spencer. The writer having no access to their books, and having no accurate information concerning them, is un- able to give any account of them.
Representatives of these various orders have frequently promised to supply the necessary data, but have delayed so long that the polls are now declared closed, and this subject continued to the second volume of the " History of Owen and Clay Counties."
INCORPORATION.
Spencer was incorporated September 4, 1866. An election to de- termine whether the town should be incorporated was held June 30, 1866, and resulted in a vote of eighty-four for and twenty-one against incorporation. The population had then increased to about 600. There was little enterprise or public spirit manifested. The buildings were old-fashioned, and the greater number of the business houses were di- lapidated frame buildings. The Indianapolis & Vincinnes Railroad was completed to Spencer in 1868, and from this time the town began to improve very rapidly. The hitherto quiet and plodding village was full of the bustle of business and enterprise. The population increased rapidly, and soon spread beyond the bounds of the original town plat. Since the building of the railroad, the following additions have been sur- veyed: Gallup's Addition, 16 lots, surveyed in 1868; Gibson's Addition, 24 lots, 1868; Franklin's Addition, 54 lots, 1869; Fletcher's First and Second Additions, 46 lots, 1870 and 1871; Wolf's Addition, 14 lots, 1871; Beem's Addition, 33 lots, 1872; Allison's Addition, 19 lots, 1873; Ward's Addition, 6 lots, 1874; Richards' Addition, 16 lots, 1881.
There has also been a large number of buildings erected on ground
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
within the corporate limits, but not surveyed into lots. Many of the people of Spencer and vicinity had never seen a railroad or a train of cars until the Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad was built, and this was a memorable period in the town's history. For some time, a train of cars was as attractive to the villagers as a street pageant, and more wagers were made as to the time when the first train should reach Spen- cer than are now made on the Ohio election. The frame buildings on the public square, except those on the east side, were soon destroyed by fire and good brick business houses now occupy their places. The whole of the north and west sides and the greater portion of the south side of the public square are now occupied by first-class business rooms. Among the recent improvements are the Opera House, the residences of Calvin Fletcher, D. E. Beem, W. S. Meade, E. R. Bladen, the ice house, pork house and the Riverside Cemetery. The Opera House is superior to any hall of the kind outside of the cities, and is under the manage- ment of Col. J. W. Davis, who is second only to Col. Mapleson as a theatrical manager. The residence and grounds of Calvin Fletcher are worthy of Long Branch or Saratoga, and are a monument to the genius of the owner.
The larger share of credit is due Mr. Fletcher for nearly all the re- cent improvements of Spencer, notably among which are the Indiana & Vincennes Railroad, Spencer pork house, Opera House, Presbyterian Church and parsonage, ice house, High School building and the River- side Cemetery. In all of these enterprises, he was the conceiving and controlling spirit, and it is questionable whether any of them would be in existence but for his public spirit and disinterestedness.
New and modernized buildings are rapidly taking the places of the old ones, and the ancient landmarks are rapidly disappearing. Spencer is now famous for its enterprise, the beauty of its surroundings, the gen- erosity and culture of its people, and its many attractions are the admira- tion and wonder of the mild-eyed rustics of Worthington, Bloomington, Greencastle and other interior towns.
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
Banks-There are two banks, that of Beem, Peden & Co. (Levi Beem, President; D. E. Beem, Cashier; L. D. Morgan, Assistant Cashier); Ex- change Bank (William M. Franklin, President; S. L. Wallace, Cashier). The Exchange Bank is a corporation, and the bank of Beem, Peden & Co. is a partnership, consisting of Levi Beem, Thomas A. Peden, D. E. Beem and Henry Ritter. Each has a large capital and strong financial support ..
Hotels-The National Hotel, on the northwest corner of the public square, William Wines, proprietor; Lucas House, on the northeast corner of the square, I. S. Lucas, proprietor; Moore's Hotel, on South Main street, W. M. Moore, proprietor; Ohio House, opposite I. & V. depot, W. W. Pryor, proprietor.
Clothing, boots and shoes-R. G. Overstreet & Son, Sadler Brothers, Beem & Newsom.
Dry goods-Sadler Brothers, M. Loftin, Beem & Newsom, Boswell, Bladen & Co.
Drugs-W. V. & F. M. Wiles, E. C. Wines & Co., J. A. Layman, J. S. Figg, A. J. Glover.
Hardware-Batterton & Franklin, J. W. Beem, W. L. Daggy.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
Dentistry-W. E. Swigert.
Groceries-Greene & Egnor, Allison Brothers, J. W. Allison, An- derson & Lawson, Summit & Son, H. Hight.
Bakeries and restaurants-Adolph Keuerleber, Bernhard Jacobs, Theodore Keene.
Meat markets-O. M. Whittaker, George Lackey, Fred Schoval.
Jewelers-A. R. Brattin, Warren Beamer. Brattin's jewelry store is under the management of Thomas F. Cahill.
Milliners and dress makers-Miss Mollie Moore, Mrs. M. E. Myers, Mrs. J. A. Walls, Mrs. J. W. Morgan.
Merchant tailoring-R. G. Overstreet & Son, T. J. Jury. The former firm does a large business, employing from three to seven tailors. Saddlery and harness-J. W. Murphy, J. A. Walls.
Undertakers and dealers in furniture-L. Drescher, Edwards & Barker.
Marble shops-A. P. Viquesney, Acuff & Johnson.
Musical instruments-J. W. Davis, H. Clay Surber.
Barber shops-Waldon & Wilson, A. Hoffman.
Shoe-makers-L. Schmidt, J. N. Price, B. F. Fowler.
Blacksmiths-Noah Ridenour, Edward Pratt, W. H. Malecoat. Livery stables-William Merrick, William Layman.
Saloons-W. H. Secrest, R. T. Hardin, George R. Babbs, D. J. Cline, W. E. Cline.
Newspapers-S. H. H. Mathes, editor of the Spencer Republican ; O. M. Howard, editor of the Spencer Democrat; George E. Smith, editor of the Owen County Journal. These gentlemen enjoy more than a local reputation. The Journal is the oldest newspaper in the county, and has a strong hold on the Democracy of Owen County.
MANUFACTORIES AND OTHER INDUSTRIES.
There are two flouring-mills. N. W. Williams' mill at the south end of Main street does a good local business. The new mill of the Spencer Mill Company is one of the best and most complete mills in the State. The lat- est improved machinery is used, and the work done will compare with that of any mill in the country.
There is one saw and planing mill, operated by John A. Ellis, and one saw mill, Abel Goulding, proprietor, both located in the west part of the town. The stave factory of Meade & Wayland, and the barrel hoop manu- factory of Daggy, Curtis & Pickens are also located in this part of town The former firm does a larger stave business than any other firm in this part of the State.
The woolen mills of John Fisher & Son are located in the southeast part of Spencer. This firm manufactures jeans, flannels, cassimeres, cassinets, yarns and blankets, and is at present doing a heavy business. From twelve to fifteen hands are employed.
The Spencer Ice Company packs and ships large quantities of ice. It has been very successful, and has realized handsome profits on its invest- ments.
The Spencer Pork House Company are packing extensively during the present season. Their pork house is a large, three-story stone building, lo- cated on the I. & V. R. R., a short distance southwest of Spencer.
The bedstead factory and saw and planing mill of Ellis Brothers was moved a short time since to Mound City, Ill. This firm employed from thirty to forty men, and was well known in Indiana and adjoining States.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
In general, the business men of Spencer are distinguished for their integ- rity, enterprise and business capacity. The greater number of them are men of business training and experience, and as a body they are far superior to those of the surrounding towns.
The beautiful valley in which Spencer is located seems to have been de- signed by nature for the site of a town. The surface is almost level, with just enough incline to afford good drainage, and the construction of good streets and sidewalks requires comparatively little labor and expense. Splen- did building stone can be quarried almost within the corporate limits. White River runs within a hundred yards of its southern boundary, yet in the highest of the ordinary freshets the water barely reaches the extreme edge of the town. In the great flood of August, 1875, the river extended on Main street within two blocks of the public square, but did no serious damage. The town presents a neat and cleanly appearance, containing a large number of elegant and comfortable residences, and the health enjoyed by its inhabitants is proverbial. The population is now over 2,000, with a steady, quiet, substantial growth, that promises well for the future. The society is excellent, the religious influence is strong, and the intelligent and moral tone of the community is far above that of the neighboring towns and cities. It is bordered on every side by the hills from whose summits in springtime and summer it presents a beautiful view, and the stranger who sees it remembers it as a place to which he wishes some time to return. Nearly all who have lived in Spencer become greatly attached to it. Of those who have left it, many would gladly return if circumstances permit- ted, and some of those who fancied they were bidding it a long farewell have quickly made the round trip to Denver, Dakota and the great West, and are still with us. To some of them it is as dear as the sacred city to the benefactor of those who desire raiment at a reasonable rate, and they remember it as "Sweet Owen's "
" Loveliest village of the plain, Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid, And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed."
In such a brief sketch it is impossible to give more than a faint outline of the work attempted. The history of a community is not alone an ac- count of the building of houses, of churches, public improvements, socie- ties, leading men, and events of note and public importance. It lies more in the daily life and work, the hopes and disappointments, the joys and sor- rows, the failures and successes of the people; it is in the great current of events on whose surface float the objects noted in history. The true history
remains unwritten. It lives only in the memory of the venerable pioneer, and will die with him. Only a few of the men who saw the beginning of Spencer are yet living, and it is to be regretted that this task did not de- volve upon one of them. It is only the " old settler," whose memory is full of the faces and scenes of bygone days, that could write the history of Spencer as it should be written, without the aid of an acquaintance with its early history; and without any idea of the time and labor required, in an evil hour the writer undertook this work. It is presented without apol- ogy, and if, dear reader, it may not meet with your approval, there is no copyright on the history of Spencer, and nothing to prevent you from writ- ing it in accordance with your own ideal.
att Person MD
687
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
BY WILLIAM RICHARDS.
THE history of Washington Township is, to a considerable extent, em- braced in that of the town of Spencer. It is, of course, named in honor of George Washington. The only town in the township is Spencer, and from the first nearly all the industries have been located there. The township and town were settled about the same time, and all the events of any importance were in some way concerned with the latter. The inhabit- ants of the township, outside of Spencer, are farmers, and its history, there- fore, consists largely of the early settlement and clearing up of the country, and the growth and development of the farming interests.
ORGANIZATION.
Washington Township was organized and its boundaries established on the 4th day of March, 1819. The County Commissioners met for the pur- pose of establishing the boundaries of the township, at the house of John Dunn. The township then included the present townships of Washington, Marion and La Fayette, including all of Congressional Township 10 in Owen County, and extending entirely across the county east and west. As first organized, it was twenty miles in length, east and west, and six miles in width, north and south, and contained 120 square miles. Marion and La Fayette Townships were afterward organized out of the western part of Washington, leaving it as at present, six miles north and south, and eight miles east and west. Originally, there were only three townships in the county, and they were Franklin, Washington and Montgomery. Washing- ton Township now contains forty-eight square miles, or 30,720 acres, and its boundaries are described as follows : Commencing on the line between Owen and Monroe Counties, at the northeast corner of Section 1, Township 10 north, Range 3 west; thence west eight miles ; thence south six miles ; thence east eight miles; thence north six miles, to the place of beginning.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first settlements made in Owen County were in Washington Town- ship. Philip Hart was the first settler of the township, and also of the county. He arrived in October, 1816, and built a log cabin near the spot where the residence of Calvin Fletcher now stands, northeast of the original site of Spencer. He was accompanied by his wife, Susan Hart, his family of seven children, and James Biggar, who afterward married one of Mr. Hart's daughters. This was the first wedding in Owen County. Mr. Hart died in the cabin built by him, the first habitation of the white man built in Owen County. If the old pioneer could come back from the land of shades and look on the splendid residence and magnificent grounds in the place where he camped in the wilderness sixty-seven years ago, he could find no vestige of his wild forest home, and he would never know it as the spot where once stood his rude and solitary cabin.
John Dunn and his wife, Margaret Dunn, with their family of six chil- dren, were the next arrivals. Their oldest child, Samuel W. Dunn, was then thirteen years of age and is still living in Washington Township. On Feb- ruary 5, 1817, they crossed White River on the ice and camped near the
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
spring at the south end of the " narrows." They immediately built a cabin on the spot now bounded by the river, the I. & V. R. R. and the little stream by which they first pitched their camp. John Dunn entered large tracts of land in Washington Township and wielded a strong influence as the popu- lation increased. When the courts were organized, he was one of the first Judges to hold court in Owen County. His son, John R. K. Dunn, now de- ceased, was the first white child born in the township or county. Before a court house was built, the elections and meetings of the County Commis- sioners were held at his house.
Closely following the Dunn family, came Levi, Enoch and Neely Beem on the 25th of March, 1817. They were brothers and sons of Daniel Beem, who afterward joined them. On their first night in Washington Township, they camped on the mound in the new cemetery in Spencer, near the spot selected for the site of a soldier's monument. They lived in camp until they had cleared ten acres of ground and planted it in corn, and then built a log cabin on the site of their camp. The wife and infant daughter of Neely Beem were with them.
While they were still living in camp, the smoke of their fire one day at- tracted the attention of Samuel W. Dunn, who has already been mentioned, and he went through the woods where Spencer now stands, to see who were the new-comers. Just as he reached the camp, a huge rattlesnake crawled into the bed of leaves where Mrs. Beem had left her baby, and was discov- ered by her and young Dunn at the same instant. The mother screamed, and the two rushed forward and killed the reptile, probably saving the baby's life. And here, under all the rules of fairness and consistency known to romance and poetry, young Samuel ought to have remained single a few years and married his first acquaintance among the girls of Owen. A beautiful tale of the desert must remain forever incomplete, and Uncle Samuel's one chance to become the hero of a romance of the wild West was neglected and lost. The little girl grew to womanhood and was the mother of Laura McNaught, wife of Gen. T. A. McNaught. The family of Daniel Beem are all dead except Levi Beem, who is still living at his home in Washington Township. The three brothers all have children and grandchildren still living in the township. Levi Beem and his wife, Sallie Beem, have lived together in married life longer than any other couple in the township. They have been married fifty-two years.
In the spring of 1817 came Isaiah Cooper, Jacob McIntire, Dudley Mil- ner, Richard Kirby, William Anderson, Robert Blaine, George A. McHenry and Hugh Barnes. They arrived in time to clear ground and put in crops in the season of 1817. In 1818, Elijah Chambers, Judge Eson, Peter Teal, James Galletly, Thomas Allen, Joel Shields, John Moore, Abraham Hender- son, William Boalds, Martin Hardin, James Blair, John Franklin, William Latta, Eli Labertew, Alexander McBride, Jesse Evans, Andrew Evans and others came into the township. From this time on new arrivals were fre- quent.
Following are the names of others of the first settlers of Washington Township : William Biggar, Isaiah Cooper, Henry Matheny, Jonathan Lindley, Jonathan Lyon, Thomas McNaught, James M. H. Allison, Joseph Bartholomew, John Bartholomew, John McIndoo, William Gibson, Harris Sheppard, Hudson McCormick, Arah Osborne, Richard Hubbard, Amasa Joslin, John McCormick, Isaac Chambers, Jesse M. Chambers, James Cham- bers, Elisha Chambers, Coonrod Hedrick, Alexander Evans, Samuel Howe, Lawrence Litten, George H. Richards, Samuel Richards, Thomas R. S. Howe, John Law, Samuel W. Dunn, Henry Raper, George Mayfield, William Core, Beeson Secrest, George A. McHenry, Miles Cline, Alexander Kirk,
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WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
John Hyden, David Sheppard, Stephen Barnes, Robert D. Milner, Joshua Kelly, David Esty, John Blair, James Blair, Alexander Eson, James Carter, Sion Bray, Joseph Eson, Isaac Edwards, Allen Wilson, Elijah Evans, George W. Moore, Jonathan Franklin, James Freeman, James Gray, Ferdinand Huff, David Dobson, Oliver Gray, James W. Dunn, Andrew Rumple, James Rumple, Hodge R. Coffey, Isaac Litten, John Chambers, Jonathan Stiles, David Allen, Austin M. Waldon, William Cox, Alauron Coffey, Harlan Richards, F. B. Johnson, Philip Hedges, Reuben Fullen, Noah Allison, Benjamin Joslin, A. B. Mills, Lawrence Adams, Thomas Adams, David Johnson, Richard Beem, Neely Beem, James Biggar, Francis Hickman, John Secrest, Harrison McHenry, Samuel Smith, Joseph Smith, William McHenry, Asa Brown, William Johns, Samuel Jennings, William Glover, James Lawson, Wesley Alverson, McArthur Kelly, Charles Dean, Hugh Barnes, Thomas C. Johnson, James Barnes, Isaac Barnes, John Farris, George W. Hickman, Robert H. Richardson, Marcus Smith, John McGuire, Thomp- son McGuire, Adam Sill, Ithamer R. Medaris, Jonathan H. Medaris, George Flinn, William T. Gregory, Robert Landrum, Robert Cavender, David M. Dobson, George Dean, John McKelvey, Noah E. Napp, John Wood, Isaac E. Johnson, Joseph Green, James Watts, Benjamin Watts, Allen Layman, David Johnson, Daniel Ragsdale, Amon Ragsdale, Solomon J. Dyer, John Hasket, Thomas Wilson, Joseph Richardson, Junia Lathrop, Caleb White, Uriah Pollard, Joseph Gregory, Thomas Phillips, Joshua Isaacs, John and James Galletly, James Sill, Benjamin Leonard, Jacob Beem, William McMasters, Algernon F. Powell, Henry Scott and Morgan Waldon (colored), Richard Hubbard, Reuben Aynes, John Ruble, John W. Jett, Isaac A. Farris, Nathan Dixon, Bartholomew J. Beem, Henry Richards, John McIndoo William Gib- son, William R. Porter, William Hinton, William P. Thrasher. Messer Secrest, Joseph B. Mason, Samuel Mounts, Joseph McIndoo, John Denny, George Curl, Uriah Need, John Boon and Amos Waldon (colored), Nimrod Fender, Robert G. Morris, Joseph Witham, Peter Witham, Edward Howe, John Y. Morris, Edmund Hart, James Craig, Alexander Craig, William Linsey, Daniel Harris.
Arah Osborne first entered land in the township on the 11th day of Sep- tember, 1816, in Section 23, Township 10, Range 3. On September 19, 1816, William Biggar entered land in same Section, and on September 20, 1816, John McCormick, John Dunn, Jonathan Lindley and Jonathan Lyon, all entered land in the township. Other entries followed rapidly.
PIONEER LIFE.
The life of the pioneer was necessarily rude, dangerous, laborious and called for strength, courage and unwearying perseverance. Railroads did not then, as now, precede the settler in the wilderness, and bring to him all the luxuries of civilization for which he might be able to pay. Convenience and luxury were unknown, and could not have been obtained at any price. Those who valued them more than the future fruits of hardship and danger did not go to the frontier. While the soil was very rich and productive, it was covered with dense forests, and these must be cleared away before the hardy settler realized any of the fruits of his toil. A rude log cabin, danbed with mud, covered with clapboards, and with a chimney constructed of mud and narrow strips of wood, was first built to shelter the settler and his fam- ily, usually near some spring or stream of water. On a portion of the in- side, a rough puncheon floor was laid. In one corner of the hut, a strong forked stick was driven into the ground, and poles with one end resting in this fork, extended to holes bored in the sides of the cabin; on these poles others were laid, then clapboards, and this formed the bedstead. It was not
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
highly ornamental, but it was sometimes the best that could be had. The bed-tick was filled with leaves, and when the frontiersman had brought no better with him, this was his resting place when the day's work was over. The furniture usually consisted of three-legged stools, puncheon tables and whatever other articles the ingenuity of the proprietor enabled him to con- struct. The dishes were generally tin or pewter, and as there were no stoves, the cooking was done over the open fire. This was not a matter of any great difficulty, as the fare was very plain and simple. Yet limited as were the facilities of the culinary department, the eye of the "old settler " still lights up at the recollection of the pleasure and keen relish with which he ate his homely fare, and the memory of the famous " corn dodger " is as dear to him as visions of rare beef to the heart of Joseph Cook's Chicago " drummer." The fare consisted at first almost altogether of the meat of the bear, deer, wild turkey, and the game with which the forest abounded. " Jerked " venison was at first used as bread. It was made by cooking slices of venison quickly over a hot fire. Many of the settlers spent Sun- day hunting game for the support of their families during the following week. There was more of business than pleasure in their hunting, and what might now be regarded as a wanton desecration of the Sabbath was then a neces- sity. White River swarmed with fine fish which were easily taken. Tea was made of spicewood and sassafras. After the first crops matured, there was no lack of wholesome food.
The space around the cabin was first cleared, and the logs rolled together in heaps and burned. When the settlers collected together for this purpose, it was termed a " log-rolling," and many were the feats of strength displayed on these occasions. All attended these " log-rollings," for each in turn need- ed the assistance of his neighbor on a like occasion. The log-rolling was often a scene of rivalry and spirited contest between the strong men and be- tween rival neighborhoods, and there were frequent trials of strength between them. At the first clearing only trees of about eighteen inches in diameter and under were cut down. It was, of course, only a partial clearing, and husbandry was still laborious and tedious. Only the narrow " bull-tongue " or "jumping shovel " plow could be used among the roots and stumps, and they with much difficulty.
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