USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 92
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 92
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IMPROVEMENTS, ETC.
William Asher planted the first orchard in the township as early as 1832. The first frame house was erected in the year 1841, by Valentine Croy, and is still standing. Early frame houses were erected by John Knoll, Josiah Neier and by the first settlers along Jordan Creek. In the year 1834, Oliver Cromwell erected a small corn mill in the south- west corner of the township on Jordan Creek, from which its motive power was obtained. This mill was a very rude affair, the building made of unhewn logs, and the machinery being of the most primitive description. It ground very slowly, but made a fair article of meal, and seems to have been extensively patronized as long as it was in operation. The site was afterward purchased by Eli and Levi Stephens, who, in 1849, erected a saw and grist mill, which is still standing, and in operation when there is sufficient water in the creek to run the machinery.
Valentine Croy erected a good flouring mill in the year 1838, on South Fork or Mill Creek, in Section 28, about one-half mile from Needmore Village, where the present mill stands. The building was a log structure set upon posts, covered with clapboards and furnished with good machinery, operated by a "breast wheel." It supplied a long- felt want in the community, and was patronized by the early settlers of Owen, Clay and Putnam Counties, many persons coming as high as forty miles with their grists, and oftentimes remaining a week or more before their turns came for grinding; as a consequence, the mill-grounds some- times presented the appearance of an animated emigrant camp. The original mill was in operation until the year 1852, at which time it was torn away and a new four-story frame building erected, which is still stand- ing, and operated by John Croy. The mill has two run of buhrs, and a grinding capacity of 200 bushels of wheat per day, and with improve- ments added since its erection, represents a value of about $4,500.
The first lumber manufactured in the township was made with a whip-saw by Joseph Coldtharpe and Samuel Coffman, and used in fin- ishing the Croy Mill. Croy constructed a saw mill in 1839, which he operated in connection with the grist mill, and manufactured lumber for all the early frame houses in Jackson and adjoining townships. An early industry was the small distillery operated by Joseph Coldtharpe, not far from the present site of Needmore Village. William and Solomon Asher ran a distillery on a small scale near the central part of the township, about the year 1835, but did no business beyond supplying the "ardent " to the immediate neighborho xl.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
ELECTIONS.
The first place of holding elections was at the residence of William Asher. "The voting place was afterward changed to Parkson Wiley's dwelling, and later to a schoolhouse near where Emery Comer lives, in the central part of the township. The present place of voting is the "red schoolhouse," near the farm of Dennis Cochran. One of the first elections was for the purpose of choosing a Justice of the Peace to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Absalom Harris, the first person in the township who filled that office. Oliver Cromwell was the successful candidate, but carried the day against a very bitter opposi- tion, and had his election contested by friends of the opposing aspirant. The matter was carried before the Board of County Commissioners who rendered the following decision: "Now the parties contesting the elec- tion of Oliver Cromwell, who was declared duly elected Justice of the Peace in and for said township, and the evidence being heard and in- spected, it is considered that the election is legal and ought not to be set aside."
BURYING GROUNDS.
An early burial place was on the farm of William Asher, in the cen- tral part of the township, where several of his grandchildren were laid away soon after the family came to the country. Mr. Asher, whose death occurred in an early day, was interred in this graveyard also.
A burying ground was laid out near Eel River in the northern part of the township, as early as the year 1835, and was known as the Coff- man Graveyard. The first burials here were children of Samuel and David Coffman, and several members of Absalom Harris' family. The vestiges of the old graves have long since disappeared, and it is difficult to locate the cemetery, as no burials have been made therein for forty years.
The Needmore Graveyard was laid out in 1854, Valentine Croy being the first person buried therein. It is the principal place of interment, and is rapidly being filled up.
EARLY MARRIAGES AND BIRTHS.
Among the first parties in Jackson Township who assumed the re- sponsibilities of married life were William B. Asher and Eliza Tabor, Arabian Asher and Nelly Ann Tabor, Joseph Asher and a Miss Martin. Early births occurred in the Asher and Cochran families. Albert Cochran was born in the year 1829, and is supposed to have been the first white person born within the present limits of the township.
SCHOOLS.
Schools were established in a very early day, the first sessions being held at the settlers' residences. The first schoolhouse was a small log cabin and stood opposite the " Red Schoolhouse" in the northern part of the township, and was first used by Absalom Harris, who taught several terms as early as the year 1839. An early teacher at the same place was William Jenkins. A log building was erected near where Emery Comer lives in 1846, and used by John Heath, who taught a three months' term the same year. The house was torn away twenty years ago. In the Jordan settlement were early schoolhouses, all of which were of logs. The first frame schoolhouse stood in the northern part of the township,
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JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
near where William Harrison lives. The township was divided into five districts in the year 1858, at which time most of the old houses disap- peared and were replaced by good frame buildings. At the present time there are five schools in the township, which last from four to six months of the year. The teachers for 1882-83 were John E. Harrison, B. F. Bolin, John Lockhart, H. M. Bryceland and C. T. Troth.
CHURCHES.
The pioneer preachers of Jackson were of the Regular Baptist de- nomination, and held their first services in the northern part of the town- ship, where a society was organized a few years after the first settlements were made. A hewed-log house of worship was erected on ground donated by Valentine Croy, and stood until a few years ago, when the society was re-organized and moved to Putnam County. Early preachers of this church were Elders John Case, Benjamin Parks and, later, Joseph Coldtharpe.
The " Carolina" Missionary Baptist Church, on Jordan Creek, in the southwestern part of the township, was organized in an early day and is still in prosperous condition. The society meets for worship in a large hewed-log building pleasantly situated, and is doing good work.
The Old Christians, or New Lights, organized a society in the central part of the township as early as the year 1843, and have met at intervals ever since. At one time the organization was strong in numbers, but owing to deaths and removals it has become very small, numbering but a few families at the present time.
The Christian Union Church at Needmore was organized in the year 1870 at the village schoolhouse by Rev. T. G. Price and S. Watts, with a membership of about seventy. A house of worship was erected in the village about the year 1872, at a cost of $500. The organization is not so strong as formerly, and is ministered to at the present time by Elder O. H. P. Abbott.
" Lockhart's" Christian Church, near Jordan Creek, in the southern part of the township, belongs to the denomination indicated by its name. The society has a fine frame house of worship, erected in the year 1880, and the members are prosperous and meet regularly. The only other society in the township is a Methodist organization, which meets for worship in the Williams Schoolhouse on Jordan Creek.
NEEDMORE VILLAGE.
Needmore Village is a small hamlet of about a dozen houses, situated in the northwestern part of the township on Sections 21 and 28, of Town 12 north, Range 4 west, and dates its origin from the year 1870, at which time a store was started by John Knoll & Son, and a post office established.
The village was never platted, and derives its name from a remark made by a traveler to the effect that the place would "need more houses in order to make it a town."
Knoll & Son sold goods until the year 1881, when they were succeed- ed by J. F. Nichols, who has been doing a good business since. It is a good trading point, being located about midway between the towns of Poland and Cloverdale, and is the source of supplies for a large scope of country.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
JENNINGS TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
T HE section of Owen County known as Jennings Township was organ- ized as a distinct division in the year 1842, and originally formed a part of the township of Jackson. It lies in the northern part of the county, with the following boundaries, to wit: Putnam County on the north, Taylor Township on the east, Montgomery and Morgan Town- ships on the south, Jackson Township on the west, and was named in honor of T. C. Jennings, a man who took an active part in its organiza- tion. The original outline has been modified at different times. In 1852, its boundary was enlarged by the addition of a part of Morgan Township, and in September, 1861, is was adjusted with its present area of twenty-one square miles. The surface of the country, except in the northeastern part, is very broken and hilly, and abounds in much roman- tic and wild scenery. Along the various water-courses are high precip- itous bluffs of solid rock, covered in some places with trailing plants and vines, while in other places they stand out in all their rugged and naked grandeur, presenting a sublime appearance to the beholder.
The most broken portions of the township are along Eel River and in the central and southern parts, where the soil rests upon a bed of St. Louis sandstone, and is poorly adapted to farming. One of the high- est elevations is Spangler's Hill in Sections 1 and 2, in Township 11 north, Range 4 west, from the top of which a beautiful view can be ob- tained of the surrounding country for many miles. The surface in the northeast corner is not so broken. It rests upon Chester and conglomer- ate sandstone, which crops out in many places, and renders the country almost totally unfit for farming purposes, though for grazing it cannot be excelled by any other portion of the county. Building stone of fine quality is found upon almost every farm in the township, and has been utilized in a limited degree in the construction of chimneys and founda- tions. An inexhaustible supply of block coal underlies the township and is easily accessible.
Several local mines have been developed for neighborhood purposes, the largest of which is on the farm of James Beaman, in Section 3. But. little attention is given to this coal on account of the absence of means of transportation, but should a railroad be built through the country, a fact not at all improbable, mining will become the leading industry of the township. The principal occupation at the present time is stock- raising, which is assuming some importance on account of the peculiar fitness of the country for the business. Blue grass, equal in quality to the famous blue grass of Kentucky, grows spontaneously on the hills, and affords the best of pasture throughout the greater part of the year, a fact which has induced many of the citizens to abandon agriculture and give their attention to cattle and sheep raising.
Eel River is the principal water-course. It flows a westerly direction, entering the township in Section 31, and leaving from Section 27, of Township 12 north, Kange 4 west. The cataracts of Eel River have
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JENNINGS TOWNSHIP.
gained a widespread reputation, and are among the most romantic waterfalls in the West. Prof. Cox, in his geological report, gives the following poetical description which we copy verbatim: "The river within a distance of three-quarters of a mile, by two plunges, falls eighty- one feet, passing through a deep narrow channel cut in St. Louis lime- stone. From a floor of limestone, the river, with rapid plunges and bounds, descends twenty-five feet, and then at a single leap thunders in a stream of white foam and spray to the abyss. A beautiful rainbow spangles the spray which rises from the boiling cauldron. The descent from the top of the lower falls is forty-five feet. Less than a mile be- low, the river, flowing with a sluggish current, is suddenly siezed with new life and impulses. Hurrying along a short rapid, it makes clean the splendid leap of thirty feet, breaking in masses of foam and clouds of spray, and passes off in a dark stream flecked with frothy islands of floating silver. Below the second falls is a larger amphitheater with precipitous or overhanging sides of limestone, which is filled with sharp echoes and continuous roar of the ever-resounding cataract. Niches and recesses in the walls were festooned with drooping shrubs and plants; even behind the airy sheet of water. ferns and trailing creepers are mod- estly nestled away, contrasting their emerald hues with the foam and spray, each frond and leaf tipped with a sparkling drop of crystal purity. The cataracts of Eel River are the grandest falls in this region of the West. They are favorably known to picnic parties and tourists, and in combination with the deep cañon like valley at the 'Narrows,' the gap above the falls and the wide view from Spangler's Hill, comprises scenes of romantic beauty and wildness full of enjoyment and interest, and worth the attention of pleasure seekers. Sixty feet below the second falls, a strong stream of water gushes out of the northern wall of the amphitheater. It indicates the mode by which nature has cut away through and under the beds of limestone, and formed within a recent period the present channel of the river. In the course of time this un- derflow will undermine the fall or move it further back.
"Just below the upper falls is an overhanging cliff fifty feet high; the crest is fringed with shrubs and flowering plants. Two children playing here, the boy twelve years of age, while striving to gather flowers, fell over; the little sister, seeking her lost brother, slipped, and likewise made the terrible fall to the rocky floor. Insensible when found, they soon recovered, owing their lives to the bushes and shrubs which slightly retarded their descent. This is known as the Child's Leap. A pet deer, attempting to cross above the upper falls, was caught by the current at high water. It made the fearful plunge, and, rising above the boiling basin, swam out in safety.
"In winter the cataracts put on their festal robes. The trickling springs flute and corrugate the sides of the chasm with moldings, col- umns and pilasters of ice.
"The trailing bushes and limbs of trees are coated by the ever-rising spray, and every terminal twig is gemmed with lustrous crystals, which in the sunshine blaze with a thousand tiny rainbows."
A large tract of land in the vicinity of the falls has been purchased by capitalists from Indianapolis and other places for the ostensible pur- pose of improving the locality and making of it a pleasure resort. A rail- road has already been surveyed through the township, running within a few hundred yards of the cataracts, and its completion is only a question
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
of a short time. With the advent of this road the village of Cataract will become a central business point and noted resort for pleasure seekers.
Jordan Creek, another considerable stream, has its source in the western part of the township, and, flowing in a westerly course, empties into Eel River, near Bowling Green, in Clay County. Rattlesnake Creek rises near Spangler's Hill, in Section 12, Town 11, Range 3, flows a southerly course, and leaves from Section 11.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first entry of land in Jennings was made in the year 1816 by C. and F. Bullett, speculators, who obtained patents for 611 acres in Sec- tion 35, Town 12 north, Range 4 west. The same year entries were made by I. Lindsey and Fetter and Hughes in Section 36 of the same town and range, though none of them ever occupied their purchases. The first permanent settler appears to have been Isaac Teel, who located near the lower falls of Eel River, where he erected a small mill as early as 1820. One year later, he entered land in Section 26, and died a short time afterward, his death being the first that occurred in the township. His widow afterward married a man by name of Acres, an early settler who located in the same vicinity.
Settlements were made in the northern part of the township in au early day by William and Owen Martin, the latter of whom is still liv- ing, and one of the leading citizens of the community in which he re- sides. Pioneers came in rather slowly, as the broken condition of the country afforded but few inducements to the settlers, and prior to the year 1833 there were but six or seven families living within the present limits of the township. In 1833, entries were made by William Goff and Amasa Tabor, the latter of whom was a native of Kentucky, and a prominent member of the Baptist Church. Later came John Black, Matthew Spangler, John Allee, William Allee, William Branham and George Rogers, all of whom secured homes as early as the year 1836. During the latter and following year the population was increased by the arrival of Jonathan Branham, Alvin Beaman, James Beaman, Thomas Helm, W. P. Cook, Arabian Davis, Wyatt Cook and several others. During the years 1838-39, lands were secured by Charles Holingsworth, Samuel Beaman, David Minnich, Lewis and John Trout, all of whom be- came citizens of the township.
James Dill, William Lafuse, Wesley Jones, Jane Aldridge, J. P. Sinclair, Benjamin P. Evans, John Gillaspy, G. W. Leach, James Town- send, Henry Ernhart, Josiah Williams, D. G. Martin and Perry Bran- ham made entries of land prior to the year 1839, but were not identified with the township as residents.
IMPROVEMENTS.
) The earliest improvement of any note was the little corn mill erected by Isaac Teel, at the lower falls of Eel River. It was a small log building, situated on the side of the cliff, and was supplied with machinery of the rudest description, having a single buhr, which ground both corn and wheat, and a bolting apparatus operated by hand. It was well patron- ized, and in operation about ten years.
T. C. Jennings erected the second mill at the upper falls some time prior to 1850. Jennings was a public-spirited citizen and planned a
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JENNINGS TOWNSHIP.
number of improvements to be run in connection with his mill, all of which were not successfully carried out. The mill building was a frame structure, contained three run of buhrs and a saw, and for a number of years did a flourishing business. Jennings sold out to Clune & Co., who, after running it ashort time, disposed of the property to Messrs. Foster & Fullerton. It has passed through the hands of several parties and is now owned by Messrs. Steiner & Wallace and operated by a Mr. Taylor. It is situated in a romantic spot right at the cataract, and is one of the best flouring mills in the county, doing a large custom and merchant business.
In an early day. James Townsend, of Putnam County, and founder of the village of Putnamville, conceived the idea of erecting a large factory at the lower falls, and expended a vast amount of money in cutting a race- way through the solid rock. The project was at length abandoned as im- practicable, leaving the projector almost a bankrupt. He also spent some time in prospecting for lead and salt among the rocky bluffs of the river and neighboring hills, which proved as futile and expensive as the factory project.
Matthias Spangler and James Beaman were the first to erect frame houses in the township. Owen Martin and John Black built frame resi- dences in an early day also. On the farm of James Beaman is one of the oldest bearing orchards in the township, the trees having been set out forty-eight years ago.
GRAVEYARDS.
The first burial place in Jennings was near the lower falls of Eel River, where Isaac Teel was laid away as early as the year 1821 or 1822. Several other interments were made at the same place, but the ground was afterward abandoned and no vestige of a grave remains to mark the place.
A cemetery was laid out near the upper falls many years later, and is still used as a burial place. Among the first laid to rest in this ground were a son of T. C. Jennings, Lewis Hill, Mahala Maze, and a man by name of Willis.
The Cataract Graveyard was laid off about the year 1870 or 1871, on land purchased of T. C. Jennings. The first interment here was Theodosia, daughter of Samuel Beaman; the second was Jane, daughter of James Haltom. Other early burials were Cynthia Huffman and -- Beamer.
The Mount Zion Cemetery is situated in the northeast corner of the township and is the chief place of interment for that locality. In ad- dition to the above, there is a small graveyard at the Mount Pleasant Church in the western part of the township.
EARLY MARRIAGES
The first marriage in Jennings was solemnized about the year 1824 or 1825, the contracting parties being Mrs. Teel, widow of Isaac Teel, and Joseph Acres; Samuel Beaman and Lucinda Rogers, daughter of George Rogers, were joined in the bonds of wedlock in an early day, as were also Alvin Beaman and Winnie Langdon, William Palmer and Charlotte Wooten.
EARLY BIRTHS.
In the eternal fitness of things, births follow close upon marriages, and some of the earliest births occurred in the families previously men- tioned. Calvin, son of James and Lydia Beaman, was born in the year 1832. Alvin Beaman, son of Samuel Beaman, was born in an early day. Another early birth was Silas R., son of Jeptha and Margaret Meek.
45
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
ROADS.
The first roads in Jennings Township were mere trails, and laid out at random to suit the greatest number. In time, they became plain thoroughfares, and were legally established. The first highway surveyed through the township was the one leading from Spencer to Bowling Green, crossing from north to south. It was laid out over fifty years ago, and is still extensively traveled.
The Spencer & Poland road, which crosses the township from north- west to southeast, was an early highway, as is the road leading from Cataract to Bowling Green.
SCHOOLS.
It is difficult to designate the exact time or place where the first school in this township was taught, as opinions concerning it are con- siderably at variance. It is known, however, that a certain Rilly Strong taught a term on the place where James Beaman lived as early as the year 1836. The house in which Strong "wielded the birch " was a rude log affair, erected by the few scattering neighbors, and was in use only a short time. E. Hawkins was an early pedagogue at the same place. An early house, erected for school and church purposes, stood a short distance from Cataract, and was known by the high-sounding title, "Buckskin." It was built by the neighbors, each one giving what he could toward its erection-some giving money, while others contributed articles that could be converted into cash. Among the latter was a "buckskin," given by Arthur Cummings, a fact which gave the house its
name. Other houses were erected from time to time in various parts of the township, but for many years the schools were of an inferior grade, and' not very well patronized. After the public school system was adopted, the cause of education received new impetus and better houses took the place of the simple log structures that had been in use. At the present time there are six schoolhouses in which schools are taught from four to six months in the year, thus bringing the advantages of a common school education within easy reach of all. The teachers for the year 1882 and 1883 were Harvey Miller, Horace Miller, H. V. McCann, O. L. Lyon, S. Sinclair and H. I. Cassida. Amount paid for tuition, $957.90. Enumeration for 1883, 266 scholars.
CHURCHES.
The oldest religious organization in Jennings is the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church organized about the year 1839, by John Sinclair, - Gillaspy and Thomas Evans. The organization was effected at the resi- dence of Wyatt P. Cook, where services were held for some time, after which the Buckskin Schoolhouse was used for a meeting place. A house of worship was erected about the year 1869, on ground donated for the purpose by Shelton Hodge and cost the sum of $800. At one time the society was very strong but at the present time it numbers but few com- municants, owing to deaths and removals. The pastor in charge at the present time is Rev .- Allen
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