USA > Indiana > Clay County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 93
USA > Indiana > Owen County > Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana : Historical and biographical. > Part 93
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The Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, in the eastern part of the township, is a healthy organization and an offshoot of the old Salem Church in Taylor Township. The house of worship is a substantial frame edifice, and the society numbers among its members some of the best citizens of the county.
811
JENNINGS TOWNSHIP.
The Cataract Baptist Church was organized in the year 1876 by Elders Parker and Bicknell with a membership of about twenty. house of worship was erected one year later on ground purchased of T. C. Jennings, at a cost of about $1,000. The pastors of the church have been Revs. James F. Beaman, Robert Moore, James Arnett and Jesse Buchannan. At the present time, the church is without regular preach- ing. Membership about eighty. Church officials are Smith Corns, Clerk; Garrett Brewer and James Burnett, Deacons; William McCor- mack, Superintendent of Sunday School.
VILLAGES.
Fallsboro. - This paper city was laid out in the year 1839 by Rose and Acres, in Section 26, Town 12 north, Range 4 west, and re- ceived its name from the falls of Eel River, near which it was located. The plat shows thirty-five lots, each 66x99 feet in size, and four streets -- Main, Jackson, Van Buren and Washington-the first of which is sixty feet wide and the other three thirty feet each.
The town was platted for the purpose of speculation, but the proprie- tors never realized their anticipated fortune, and disposed of the site many years ago.
Cataract .-- This village takes its name from the falls of the river, and was once the milling and mercantile center for a large area of country before the days of railways. It is situated on Section 2, Town 11 north, Range 4 west, and dates its history from December, 1851, at which time the plat was surveyed and placed upon record. The original survey consisted of fourteen lots, but since then two additions have been made by T. C. Jennings, the first in March, 1860, and the second in September, 1863. The large flouring and saw mill of T. C. Jennings early gave the place considerable importance, and induced many persons to secure lots and settle in the village. A carding machine was one of the first industries of the place, operated by Jennings in conection with his other mills, and a store which was brought to the village soon after it was laid out. The mills were all operated upon an extensive scale, Gosport and Greencastle being the principal markets for lumber, while flour was hauled to Louisville and other distant points for several years. One of the first buildings in the village was erected for a business house by A. M. Bullett, and is still standing, being used at the present time by Frank Parrish as a residence. It was occupied in an early day by Clune & Co., of Cincinnati, who stocked it with a large assortment of miscellaneous merchandise, to the amount of $25,000. They were in business about ten years, and during that period, sold as many if not more goods than any other firm in the county. Other merchants who sold goods from time to time were Creech & Campbell, A. M. Hodge, Jack Lewis, L. T. Gose and T. D. Stilwell, the last named being here at the present time. In addition to Stilwell's store, there is a good drug store kept by E. W. Pritchett & Son, and a wagon and blacksmith shop. The following medical men have practied their profession from the village: W. V. Wiles, - Cole, J. B. Grimes, -- Hamrick. J. M. Jones (who has been the leading physician in the northern part of the county for thirty years), William Nichols, William Hickson, B. F. Spellbring and - Brasier. The present M. D.'s are J. M. Jones, George McNutt and J. H. Medaris.
There are two large saw mills and wood working establishments at the present time operated respectively, by Isaac Russell and H. Barnaby.
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
Russell works from twelve to fifteen hands and does a large business. Barnaby manufactures all kinds of lumber, wagon and buggy material, and operates a planing mill, requiring in all about twenty hands to run the machinery.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
H ARRISON is the smallest division of Owen County, and was orig- inally included in the territory of Wayne Township, from which it was separated in the year 1837, and organized with the following boundaries, to wit: "Beginning at the northeast corner of Section 21, in 'Township 12 north, Range 2 west; thence west along section line four miles, to corner of Montgomery Township; thence south four and a half miles; thence east four miles to county line dividing Owen and Morgan Counties; thence north along county line to place of beginning." It seems that the formation of this township did not meet the approval of all its citizens, for at the March term of the Commissioners' Court of 1837 we find the following record: "Now is presented the petition of Joseph R. Snodgrass and other citizens of Harrison Township, praying that said township be re-attached to Wayne Township," and the court being sufficiently advised of and concerning the premises, order that
said township be and is hereby re-attached to Wayne Township, from " which "township of Wayne it was taken, and that said township of Wayne be bounded as heretofore laid out by this court before said town- ship of Harrison was laid out." At the same term of the court, the above order was reconsidered, as appears from the following: "And now comes Andrew Evans, Jr., and prays an appeal from the aforesaid order and decision of this court, which said appeal is granted by him filing bond herein with the Clerk of this court according to law." "Now the above order and decision is reconsidered and set aside, and the said town- ship of Harrison is ordered to be and remain one of the townships of Owen County." Various modifications were subsequently made in the original outline, and at the present time the area of the township is eighteen square miles, or 11,520 acres. It lies in the northeast corner of the county, north of Wayne and east of Taylor Townships, with Morgan and Putnam Counties as its eastern and northern boundaries. The surface in the northern part is level, and contains a light clay soil resting upon a bed of St. Louis sandstone, and is not very well adapted to agriculture. The southern half is more broken, with a rich limestone soil, and is well adapted for farming and grazing.
Brush Creek and its tributaries flow through the northern part, the main stream rising in Section 20, of Town 12 north, Range 2 west, flowing a southwesterly course, and leaving from Section 25, of Town 12 north, Range 3 west. There are a number of fine springs in various parts of the township, some of which have gained considerable notoriety as resorts for picnic and pleasure parties. The most noted of these are Cave Spring, in Section 5, and Miller's Cave, near the eastern boundary in Section 33. The former is near the village of Old Middletown, and is thus described by Prof. Cox, in his State Geological Report of 1876:
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HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
" The spring flows from an open cavern 30x40 feet, and 6 feet high, and plunges down a narrow chasm worn in the rock some forty feet. It was formerly utilized, driving three buhrs and a carding-machine. The water discharges with a head of three feet, is from 36 to 200 cubic inches, and although now unused has an estimated capacity, with a tur- bine wheel of at least forty-horse power, for at least eight months in the year. The temperature of the external air in July was 90º F., of the Cave 71°; in the gulch below the air was oppressively chilly." This place is easily accessible by rail, being about one mile and a half from the N. A. & C. R. R., and is visited every year by pleasure seekers from all parts of the country. Miller's Cave is still more romantic, and is situ- ated about one mile and a half northeast of the latter, in Section 33, of Town 12 north, Range 2 west. The following description from the re- port of Prof. Cox will give the reader an adequate idea of this noted place: "It is surrounded by wild canon-like scenery, romantic and interesting. The spring here has a fall of forty feet, and was formerly used to drive a 'corn-cracker mill.' The cavern is forty feet wide, and four and a half to five feet high, for one hundred yards, where there is a long room seven feet wide and fifteen feet high. Beyond, the water is deep, and the roof descends to within a foot or two of the water. It has been traced, as Mr. Charles Dow states, more than half a mile to its source in two sinks, one in Morgan and the other in Owen County. In wet weather, the cavern is sometimes filled to its utmost capacity, and the water in the pool is then twenty-five feet deep.". The country sur- rounding these springs is broken and wild, and contains many romantic and pleasing features.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first permanent white settlements in what is now Harrison Town- ship were made about the year 1822, in the northern part, not far from the Morgan County line. The land was open to entry at the land offices at Government prices as early as 1816, but the tract book shows no entry until one year later, when Lewis Gregg, a non-resident, obtained a por- tion of Section 19, in Town 12 north, Range 2 west. The greater por- tion of the township was entered between the years 1822 and 1836. Some of it was taken by speculators, but by far the larger part was se- cured by actual settlers, a fact which proved very beneficial to the county, as there were no land monopolies to retard its development.
It cannot be said, with accuracy, who the first bona fide settler was, but from the most authentic account it appears to have been one John Mannon, who located in Section 19, not far from where Gregg made his first entry of land. Mannon was a Kentuckian, and the father of two sons, W. R. and Robert, both of wbom became land owners and prominent citizens in later years. The father lived upon his original purchase until the time of his death, in 1840. W. R. Mannon is still living in Morgan County, where he has amassed considerable wealth. Robert died several years ago. The old homestead is in possession of descendants of the family, several of whom live in the township at the present time. Henry Hancock, a native of Kentucky, came the same year as the fore- going, and settled in the southeast corner of the township, where he se- cured a valuable tract of land. He was a man of some local prominence during the early days of the country, and one of the first preachers in the township. He met a violent death about twenty years ago, while crossing an old bridge on his way to mill, the bridge giving way and crushing him in its fall.
814
HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
In the year 1823, Samuel Wheeler, Andrew Evans, Jesse Evans, William Evans, Levi Asher and Benjamin Arnold came to the township, all of whom became owners of real estate by entry. Wheeler entered land in the southeast corner of the township, where his son Samuel lives. Andrew Evans was a Kentuckian, and settled in Section 31, Town 12 north, Range 2 west, where he lived until 1840, at which time he sold out and moved to the village of Normanda, in Tipton County. Jesse Evans was brother of Andrew, and secured land in the southern part of the township, where Allan Asher lives, to whom he sold about the year 1840. He became a good farmer, and was a local politician of some note. William Evans, another brother, settled in Section 19, where he entered land two years later. He subsequently sold out and emigrated to Iowa. Asher and Arnold located in the southern part of the township, and became prom- inent citizens. The latter entered the land where Thomas Bailey lives. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and a noted pioneer minister of the Baptist Church. In 1825, Capius Edwards and his son, William C., natives of Kentucky, came to the country, and entered land in Section 21, in the northeast corner of the township. The same year came Mckinney Bolden and his brother James, John H. Holmes, Josiah Buchannan and William Asher.
The Boldens were Kentuckians, as were the majority of the first set- tlers of Harrison. Mckinney settled near the central part of the town- ship, on land owned and occupied by James Johnston. James entered land in the southwestern part of the township, known as the Reno place. He was for several years a Justice of the Peace, and died about the year 1878. Holmes settled where Barton Hartsock lives, and became a prom- inent farmer. Buchannan made his first improvement on land occupied by Joseph Johnson, near the central part of the township. Asher settled in the southern part of the township.
Prior to 1830, the following settlers, additional to those enumerated, secured homes in Harrison, i. e., Frederick Steiwalt, John Brown, Samuel Applegate and Peter Applegate. The first named settled near the Wayne Township line, and was a man of rare business tact. Brown was a man of character in the community, and a minister of the Christian Church. Samuel Applegate settled in the eastern part of the township, where Pe- ter Applegate lives. The latter is a prominent citizen, a leading farm- er, and has for a number of years served the township in different official capacities. Other settlers who came in an early day were John Asher, Levi Johnson, Daniel Smith, A. H. McCarty and Joseph Asher. Later came Benjamin Murphy, Nealy Jones, Thomas Jones, Thomas Holbert, David Shake, Prather Baker, George Johns, Solomon Dunnegan, Will- iam P. Chambers, Eli Craigison, James Wooden, Allan Asher, James Johnston and others. The following persons entered lands in an early day, but were never residents of the township: M. Whittaker, John Mc- Murray, Samuel Bolden, W. B. Hall, Benjamin Freeland, George W. Condiff, Pleasant Trover, William Combs, David Fain, Rebecca Blunk and Ambrose Whitlock.
IMPROVEMENTS.
The first brick house in the township was built by Jesse Evans as early as 1825, and is still standing in a fair state of preservation. He also set out the first orchard, some of the trees of which are still bear- ing. Other early orchards were set out by A. Dunnegan, William Evans,
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HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
Solomon Dunnegan, Frederick Steiwalt and the Ashers. William Asher erected a mill at Cave Spring as early as 1828, and operated it success- fully for several years, doing a good business. It was a water mill, with a large overshot wheel, and received its motive power from the spring branch which issues from the cave. The building was log, and contained buhrs for grinding both corn and wheat. Asher sold out to a man by name of Ricketts, who remodeled the machinery and added a boiler some time afterward. John Gray became the next owner, and did a flourish- ing business for a number of years. The last proprietor was Robert Fincham, who ran the mill until 1867, at which time it was abandoned and allowed to fall into decay. Fincham operated a small distillery in connection with the mill, but never realized a fortune from the venture.
The second mill in the township was built by Valores Butterfield, and stood about two miles east of Cave Spring, near the county line. It was erected about the year 1830, and used until 1877 or 1878, at which time it was abandoned. It was a log building and contained one buhr only, for grinding corn. The last owner was William Miller.
In the year 1834-35, Abraham Snodgrass started a distillery on the Bailey farm, and operated it a short time, afterward moving it to Taylor Township. Prior to this time, however, a small distillery was constructed in the northwest corner of the township by Nicholas Devore, who manu- factured " fire- water" on a limited scale for five or six years.
Small as these distilleries were, they appear to have been extensively patronized, and afforded the early settlers a market for their surplus corn, which was traded for whisky-a bushel of grain being equivalent to a gal- lon of the "juice."
The first saw-mill stood near the Asher Mill, and was operated by water- power. It was erected about the year 1828 or 1830, and manufactured nearly all the lumber used by the early settlers in the construction of their dwellings and other buildings.
ROADS.
The Martinsville and Bowling Green road was the first legally estab- lished highway through Harrison. It was laid out as early as the year 1820, and passes through the township in an irregular course from east to west. An early highway is the County Line road between the town- ship and Morgan County, running north and south. It is in good con- dition and extensively traveled at the present time. The Stilesville & Gosport road passes through the central part of the township from north to south, and was laid out about the year 1820-21.
The Martinsville & Cloverdale road was established in an early day also. Passing through the southwest corner of the township from north- west to southeast, is the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad, one of the earliest railways in the State.
It passes in its course through Section 6, of Town 12 north, and Sections 1 and 7, of Town 11 north, and has been a great benefit to the country by affording good markets and easy communication with the large cities of Indianapolis and New Albany.
CEMETERY.
The oldest graveyard in the township was laid out by Jesse Evans, on the farm owned at the present time by Allan Asher. One of the first burials in this cemetery was Dr. Ross, of Gosport. A man by name of Denney, whose death occurred in an early day, was buried here, as was also Abraham
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
La Master, who was frozen to death while making his way homeward from the Devore Distillery many years ago.
SCHOOLS.
The earliest schools of Harrison were supported by subscription, and not very well patronized. One of the first buildings erected especially for school purposes, was a small log cabin which stood on land belonging to Daniel Y. Smith.
An early house stood at the village of Middletown, and was used by Andrew Steele, who was among the first pedagogues of the township. A man by name of Wedding and John Williams afterward taught at the same place.
Public money was supplied about the year 1848, and three years later the township was divided into two districts, and two frame houses were erected, one in the northcast corner of the township, and one in the southern part.
At the present time there are four houses, all of which are frame and well furnished with the modern educational appliances. The teachers for the years 1882 and 1883 were John S. Lockhart, Adaline Knox, W. H. Beaman and Ira Baldwin. To compensate these teachers required the sum of $754.80. The last enumeration shows 133 children of proper school age living in the township.
Religious services were held in the early times from house to house, by pioneer preachers of different denominations. Among these were Henry Hancock, Benjamin Arnold, of the Baptist Church, and John Brown of the sect known as Christians. There were no organizations effected, nor have there been any church edifices built in the township. These facts cannot be used as arguments against the morals of the country, as the surrounding townships are well supplied with churches, all of which are easily accessible to the citizens of Harrison.
MIDDLETOWN.
A little hamlet of a few houses is situated in the southern part of the township, and was at one time in the early history of the country a promi- nent local point, on account of a flouring mill, and a small store kept by An- drew Evans. Evans sold goods for several years, and was succeeded by Burton Mattock, who left the place after continuing the business a short time. A blacksmith and wheelright shop was one of the institutions of the place, kept by William P., or, as he was more familiarly known, " Pop Corn " Chambers. A harness and saddlery shop was run for several years also. There is no business at the present time, and all that remains of the "city" are the ruins of the old mill and a few dismantled and woe-begone cabins which give the spot a rather dejected appearance.
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LA FAYETTE TOWNSHIP.
LA FAYETTE TOWNSHIP.
BY G. N. BERRY.
A T a session of the Commissioners' Court of Owen County, held in the month of December, 1839, it was ordered that the following described territory be set apart and known as La Fayette Township, to wit : " Begin- ning at the southeast corner of Section 34, in Township 10 north, Range 4 west ; thence north five miles ; thence west six miles ; thence south five miles ; thence east six miles to place of beginning. And it is further or- dered that the boundaries of Jefferson, Morgan and Franklin Townships be so altered as not to include any part of said township of La Fayette." No changes have been made in the above ontline since the formation of the township, and La Fayette boasts of an area of thirty square miles, or 19,200 acres of land, the greater portion of which lies in Town 10 north, Range 4 west. Ten sections lie west of the range line in Township 10 north, Range 5 west. The greater part of the township is broken, and possesses a clay and gravel soil, poorly adapted to farming. Fish Creek is the principal water-course. It enters the township from the north, about a half mile from the eastern boundary, and flows in a southwesterly direction, passing in its course through Sections 10, 15, 22 and 28, and crosses the southern boundary from Section 33 of Town 10 north, Range 4 west. It receives a number of tributaries, none of which are named on the county map. The western part of the township lies in the great coal field of Indiana, and many local mines have been developed in different places, furnishing cheap fuel to the citizens. The coal deposits in La Fayette alone represent a value of untold millions, but the absence of facilities for transportation has served as an effectual barrier to men of capital engaging in the business. The entire face of the country at the time of the first settlement was covered with a dense forest growth, which from time immemorial had been the home and hiding-place of numerous wild animals, such as bears, wolves, deer, etc. Here the red man erected his rude bark wigwam, and amid the thick somber shades hunted the game and fished in the various streams by which the country is traversed. With the advent of the white settlers, the Indians re- moved from their ancestral hunting-grounds, and went to the far West, and their existence here is now but a remembrance. The tribes that then roamed over the lands now covered with well-tilled farms of waving grain and com- fortable homes, have forever disappeared, and another race are the undis- puted possessors of the soil.
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
The early history of La Fayette is similar in most respects to that of the other townships, especially in the facts that are matters of record. The pioneers who first sought homes among the hills and thick forests of this part of the county were not adventurers, but plain, matter-of-fact men, who were allured to the new country by the advantages it offered in the way of cheap lands, which could be obtained at that time for the Government price of $2 per acre. To make a home in the woods was an undertaking attended with difficulties and hardships of which we can form but a faint conception. The absence of roads, mills, etc., and the long distances to be traversed to the nearest market places, together with general poverty of the settlements
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HISTORY OF OWEN COUNTY.
and the immense amount of hard labor and drudgery required in order to obtain a livelihood during the first few years, were obstacles well calculated to shake the determination of the most energetic and brave hearted of the pioneers. Theirs was a hard task, and the years of constant struggle and the motives which animated and nerved them are deserving of all praise, and their examples and achievements are among the richest legacies to a grateful posterity.
The earliest recorded settlements within the present limits of La Fayette appear to have been made near the central part, not far from the village of Vandalia, as early as 1828, and in the southern part a few years later.
Among the earliest pioneers may be mentioned John Crager, who moved here about the year 1828, and settled on land where the Widow Sells lives. About the same time, or perhaps a little later, came a man by name of Con- der, and located in the southern part of the township, on the farm now owned by George Long, where he resided until the year 1863, at which time he sold out to John Hulley, and moved from the county. Jonas and James Fulke came about the year 1830, and secured homes in the southern part of the township. Henry Fiscus located in the southwest part, where his son lives, as early as 1830, and about the same time Jacob Hahn settled in the eastern part, on land where the Widow Need at present resides.
Other pioneers who came in 1830 were Thomas, John, " Shack " and Franklin, all of whom located and secured land about three miles south west of Vandalia.
Later came a man by name of Bivens-a Baptist preacher-and settled in the western part, where he lived until about the year 1850. Jacob Hicks settled not far from Vandalia some time prior to 1834. He was a native of North Carolina, and a man of splendid business qualifications. John Nation, Aaron Branham and John Mayer became residents as early as 1836, the former settling near the central part of the township, where he earned the reputation of being a rough character, and the latter locating near the place where he erected one of the first mills in the country. Other settlers who came in an early day and participated in the privations of pioneer life, were David Fender, who located in the northeastern part where his son William lives ; David Fulkner, who settled not far from the same place ; William Kerr, Henry Smock, John Taylor, all of whom secured land in the eastern part of the township. The following settlers secured lands and became resi- dents of the township prior to the year 1840, viz., Matthew Cummings, J. P. Doyle, Jacob Hauser, John S. Hauser, James and Reuben Stevens, Will- iam Mears, James Jones, Israel Mears, W. W. Wright, Samuel Philips, Nim- rod Fender, Samuel Mears, Martin Philips, Nathan Troth, Richmond Randle- man, Daniel Elliott, Thomas Elliott, Zenos Walgamott, G. W. C. Jones, Joseph Gregory, Solomon Alley, Joseph Witham, John Ridgely, Jonathan Bevins, J. R. McKee, Isaac Brown, Jacob Abrell, Peter Clinger, G. W. Wil- lard, John Sapp, Frederick Sapp, Enoch Sapp, Daniel Price, Eli Toliver, Samuel Bench, Jacob Humble, David Phipps, John F. Branham, Job Cham- bers, James Jeffries, P. Sullivan, Levi Toliver, John Rawley, Andrew Fry, Jacob Griffin, Frederick Fiscus, Elijah Rawley, and others whose names were not learned. The following non-residents secured lands in the town- ship by entry prior to 1840, to wit : Jesse Maddox, T. C. Anthony, Joel Pierce, S. Sutton, John McIndoo, Joseph Cochran, William Randleman, Robert W. Wooden, Stephen Barnes, James Maners, Lawrence Adams, J. M. H. Allison, Amos Harris, Samuel H. Harris, Benjamin Swagerty, Lindsey Medaris, E. Medaris, Alexander Brown, P. B. Brown, Jonathan Bauman, J. T. Mason, Timothy Erasmus, Jacob Hauser, John Donham, Jesse Starr, William Huschner, John Fay, John Rawley and M. Westfall.
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