Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 11

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Indiana > Brown County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 11
USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 11
USA > Indiana > Morgan County > Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 11

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).

Christian, Rev. Bowles, pastor ; Catholic, Father Stanislaus, priest. Tailor-E. Brown. Stave dealers-Vansickle & Co., John Wilcox. Spoke dealer-A. B. Walker. Live stock dealers-Cunningham & Asher. Lawyers-F. P. A. Phelps, Mitchell & Cox, Davis & Steele, Adams & Newby, A. W. Scott, Ferguson, Smock & Renner, Harrison & McCord, Grubbs & Parks, J. J. Hilton, Shirley & Ray, A. M. Cunning, Jordan & Mathews. Doctors-Daniel P. Kennedy, R. H. Tarleton, S. A. Tilford, B. E. Tilford, U. H. Farr, H. C. Robinett, B. D. Blackstone' J. J. Johnston, C. M. Gravis, E. V. Green, W. E. Hendricks, H. W' Cure.

THE OLD RACE TRACK .*

Soon after the county seat was established, the sporting characters for miles around effected an organization which met every Saturday in the town to run horses, drink whisky and have a good time generally. A track was established east and west along the north side of the square, the starting point being several hundred yards east, and the terminus west. Mr. Phelps, then a small boy, remembers distinctly seeing many of these races. There was a low place along the north side of the square, which in the spring of the year contained considerable water. Mr. Phelps en- joyed seeing the horses, whipped down to the race, splash through this pond. After a few years, the public safety demanded a cessation of races in the town, and the track was removed about a quarter of a mile south, where for years the owners of fast horses enjoyed their sports with no one to molest or make them afraid. The liquor dealers enjoyed a large and lucrative trade at these races. J. M. Mitchell made considerable money at the detestable liquor business. In fact he owned the distillery near the big spring where the liquid hell was made.

INCORPORATION OF MARTINSVILLE.

Attempts were made to incorporate the town during the fifties cer- tainly, and possibly during the forties, but without success. The Gazette, under Mr. Callis, was an earnest and constant advocate of the measure ; but the men of money were sufficiently strong to prevent successful results until 1863, when an election held to decide the matter declared a decided majority in its favor. The first meeting of the first Board of Trustees was held on the 29th of June, 1863. The first year was mainly employed

*The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to F. P. A. Phelps, John Ray, William Taylor and others for much of the material contained in this chapter. A few refused to impart any information. They seemed to want to be subsidized. They were among the oldest and wealthiest citizens.

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

in drafting suitable ordinances for the town. The first seal was adopted at the second meeting. The following were the first metes and bounds of the incorporation :

Beginning 68 poles and 17 links east, and 80 poles and 12 links south of the northwest corner of Section 4, Township 11 north, Range 1 east, at a stone corner; thence running north 5 degrees and 20 minutes west 175 poles ; thence east 6 degrees and 15 minutes north 160 poles ; thence south 5 degrees and 20 minutes east 175 poles ; thence west 5 degrees south 160 poles to the place of beginning. This territory was divided into five wards. The Town Treasurer's report for the first fiscal year was as follows :

RECEIPTS.

Taxes

$365 39

Theaters.

4 00

Shows and peddlars.

6 00

Fines.

2 00

Total

$377 39

EXPENSES.

Embezzled

$170 88

Delinquent tax. 132 00

Error ...

Total.

$303 58

Receipt balance 73 81

Active work was soon begun on the streets and sidewalks. In 1866-67, the ordinances were revised and multiplied, strict regulations being adopted for the sale of liquor and for public behavior. Street lamps-thirty in number-were ordered erected early in 1876, pursuant to the prayer of a petition signed by about two hundred citizens. The lamps cost about $8.65 each. The number has since been added to as the wants demanded. In September, 1879, one hundred and fifteen citizens petitioned the board to construct water works for the town from the large spring-the property of the town-mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. A competent engineer, employed for the purpose, reported the following facts: The spring was 88.44 feet above the square, and flowed 23,171 gallons of water per day. A reservoir, 80x80 feet at the surface, 12 feet deep, and 40x40 feet at the bottom, would hold about 300,000 gallons. The water pressure at the square would be 38.27 pounds, and the total estimated cost of the works would be $13,000. One hundred and ninety votes were polled for the water works, and 148 against the same. The vote was made upon the basis of the above estimated cost. Before the contract for the pipes, etc., could be closed, iron rose nearly 50 per cent in value, largely increasing the cost of the works should the enterprise be continued, and rendering the vote null by reason of increasing the cost. The project was wholly abandoned, and has remained so until the present. In 1881, one hundred rubber fire buckets were purchased for about $165. The above are the principal events since the incorporation of the town. The following is a complete list of the town officers since 1863 :

OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION.

Trustees, First Ward, Oliver J. Glessner ; Second Ward, Abraham

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AND MARTINSVILLE.

DeTurk ; Third Ward, Abram A. Barrackman ; Fourth Ward, Harvey Satterwhite ; Fifth Ward, Henry Sims; also Marshal and Treasurer, Adam Howe; Clerk and Assessor, Cyrus F. McNutt. Howe was soon succeeded by Charles W. Wells, who was removed in January, 1864, for malfeasance in office, and P. F. Douglas was appointed. The officers elected the following year (1864) were James M. Baldwin, Cyrus F. Mc- Nutt, George W. Crawford, Adam Howe and Harvey Satterwhite, Trust- ees ; James V. Mitchell, Clerk and Assessor; Henry Sims, Marshal and Treasurer. Mr. Sims did not qualify, and James Davidson was appointed, but he soon resigned and Isaac S. Johnson was appointed. Mr. Mitchell removed from town in April, 1865, and Samuel S. Griffitt took his place. The officers of 1865 were B. D. Blackstone, I. D. Sheppard, T. E. Lister, J. H. Mitchell and Charles Day, Trustees; Harvey Satter- white, Treasurer; G. W. Warner, Marshal; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor; Aquilla Wigginton succeeded Blackstone in June. The officers of 1866 were George W. Clapper, Alfred Ennis, James E. Goodhue, James V. Mitchell and Charles Day, Trustees ; John R. Elliott, Marshal ; Harvey Satterwhite, Treasurer ; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor. In August 1866, T. B. Mitchell took Goodhue's place as Trustee. The officers of 1867 were W. R. Harrison, James A. Lewis, John G. Crawford, Joseph Reese and James C. Craig, Trustees ; George W. Warner, Mar- shal ; Harvey Satterwhite, Treasurer; Samuel S. Griffitt Clerk and As- sessor. . In 1868, the officers were Thomas Morrison, Salem A. Tilford, A. R. Chase, P. F. Douglas and Jonathan H. Henry, Trustees ; William Killian, Marshal; Henry Satterwhite, Treasurer; Gainford F. Ennis, Clerk and Assessor. In 1869, the officers were Thomas Morrison, Harvey Satterwhite, A. R. Chase, P. F. Douglas and S. S. Griffitt, Trustees ; G. W. Warner, Marshal ; John K. Mitchell. Treasurer; R. McBride, Clerk and Assessor. In 1870, the officers were : N. T. Cunningham, J. A. Lewis, H. T. Craig, J. W. Piercy and J. R. Elliott, Trustees ; Cal- vin F. Sims, Marshal; John K. Mitchell, Treasurer ; J. D. Whitted, Clerk and Assessor ; Lafayette Sims, took Craig's place in November. In 1871, the officers were : William B. Taylor, James A. Lewis, Noble F. Davis, Benjamin Hayward and Salem A. Tilford, Trustees ; C. F. Sims, Marshal ; T. H. Parks, Treasurer ; A. McCracken, Clerk and Assessor. McCraken soon resigned and S. S. Griffitt was appointed. G. W. Pres- ton soon took Sims' place, and G. W. Warner soon took Preston's place. In 1872, the officers were : W. B. Taylor, James A. Lewis, Noble F. Davis, Benjamin Hayward and S. M. Tilford, Trustees ; G. W. Warner, Mar- shal ; T. H. Parks, Treasurer; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor. In 1873, the officers were : W. B. Taylor, S. H. Schofield, George Crawford, W. P. Clark and John R. Elliott, Trustees ; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Asses sor ; Stephen McCracken, Treasurer : Absalom M. Bailey, Mar- shal. In 1874, the officers were: John Hardrick, Joshua Davis, George A. Danley, Abraham DeTurk and John Forgey, Trustees ; James A. Lewis. Treasurer ; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor ; Andrew H. Ellis, Marshal. A. B. Douglas took Danley's place in August. L. S. Hatley succeeded Ellis, and G. W. Warner succeeded Hatley. In 1875, the officers were : Samuel J. Mandeville, Joshua Davis, T. B. Mitchell, Abra- ham DeTurk and Sylvanus Barnard, Trustees ; James A. Lewis, Treasurer;

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor ; G. W. Warner, Marshal. E. F. Branch soon took Lewis' place. In 1876, the officers were : S. J. Mande- ville, Joshua Davis, T. H. Parks, A. DeTurk and D. D. Cramer, Trust- ees ; E. F. Branch, Treasurer ; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor; G. W. Warner, Marshal. In 1877, the officers were : S. J. Mandeville, G. W. Egbert, T. H. Parks, A. DeTurk and D. D. Cramer, Trustees ; Calvin A. McCracken, Treasurer; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor ; William Cox, Marshal. In 1878, the officers were : James E. Barton, W. W. Kennedy, A. B. Douglas, J. M. Blair and J. H. Jones, Trustees ; E. E. Riley, Treasurer ; S. S. Griffitt, Clerk and Assessor ; G. W. Warner, Marshal. In 1879, the officers were : S. J. Mandeville, J. Williams, E. P. Ritchey, A. S. Mitchell and J. H. Henry, Trustees ; E. E. Riley, Treasurer ; Preston Graver, Clerk ; William Cox, Marshal. In 1880, the officers were : John Stevens, John M. Clark, William M. Crider, Julius C. Keifer and John R. Elliott, Trustees ; Preston Graver, Clerk and Assessor ; E. E. Riley, Treasurer ; William Cox, Marshal. In 18º1, the officers were: John Stevens, C. A. McCracken, H. E. Branch, F. M. Warner and L. P. DeTurk, Trustees ; Preston Graver, Clerk and Asses- sor; A. S. Mitchell, Treasurer; William Cox, Marshal. In 1882, the officers were John Stevens, J. E. Toner and T. A. Parks (McCracken and Warner held over), Trustees; Preston Graver, Clerk and Assessor ; A. S. Mitchell, Treasurer ; William Cox, Marshal. In 1883, the officers were : W. C. Barnett and E. V. Mitchell (Stevens, Toner and Parks held over), Trustees ; Preston Graver, Clerk and Asseesor ; A. S. Mitchell, Treas- urer ; William Cox, Marshal. The following is the town Treasurer's re- port for the year ending April 16, 1883 :

RECEIPTS.

On hand April 17, 1882.

$1,764 14

Taxes.

2,111 25

Fines.

28 55

Liquor license

455 00

Billiard tables.

70 00

Peddlers.

29 00

Auctioneers

5 00

Hawking goods.

5 00

Patent medicine venders.

2 00

Throwing balls.

6 00

Shooting gallery

2 00

Striking machine.

8 00

Shows and theaters.

18 00

Hite & Parks hall.

25 00

Total.

$4,528 94

EXPENSES.

Paid on orders.

$2,788 41

Paid on roads.

354 50

Balance on hand

1,386 03

Total.

$4,528 94

SECRET SOCIETIES.

Martinsville Lodge, No. 74, was established in June, 1849, but as the records were destroyed by fire the details of the organization cannot be given. B. F. Barnard was the first Senior Warden and William A.

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AND MARTINSVILLE.

Rooker, Junior Warden. The lodge yet survives, with a membership of about ninety-five.

In October, 1868, Osceola Encampment, No. 71, was established by the following first members : H. T. Craig, O. O. Thwing, Willis Record, Charles Day, Charles Seaton, A. S. Griggs, J. M. Stafford, William Hines and Benjamin Hayward. The officers were O. O. Thwing, H. P .; Benjamin Hayward, K .; H. T. Craig, S.

In December, 1872, the Order of the Eastern Star, Queen Esther Chapter, No. 15, was established with the following membership: Lillie Schofield, Josie Richardson, Ann Clark, Manda Acton, Minerva Wig- ginton, Mary Richardson, Carrie Tarleton, Ettie Baldwin, Dora Barnard, Alice Thomas, Anna B. Craig, Clara Faselman, Dora L. Egbert, Mary A. Gilman, Martha Donavan, Cassie Wampler and Ann Tilford. . Mrs. Ann Tilford was Matron ; Josie Richardson, A. M.

The order of the Sons of Temperance was first instituted in Indiana in 1847, and within two years a lodge was established at Martinsville, of which nothing can be said, as the records are missing.

In March, 1867, Callis Lodge, No. 274, Odd Fellows, was organized at Martinsville, with the following probable first membership : E. W. Cal- lis, G. W. Busbee, J. S. Piercy, M. W. Coleman, Willis Record, O. J. Kennedy, A. Carver, B. E. Orner, T. H. Parks, T. F. Orner, C. F. Sims, T. A. Sloan, C. B. Huxley, J. D. Whitted, W. A. S. Mitchell, A. B. Douglas and J. R. McBride. The charter was granted in February, 1867. The name of the lodge was afterward changed from Callis to Mar- tinsville. It had been named in honor of E. W. Callis, the well-known and universally respected editor of the Gazette. J. D. Whitted was the first Secretary, and J. H. Piercy the first Treasurer. The present offi- cers are R. A. Asher, N. G .; John F. Ray, V. G .; W. E. Shawcross, R. S .; Samuel Guthridge, P. S .; W. H. Miller, Treasurer. The lodge is in excellent condition, numerically and financially, having a fund of over $2,000 at interest, besides valuable paraphernalia of the order, and an active membership of seventy-two. The rent of their hall in Park & Hites' building is $50 per annum.

Martinsville Encampment, No. 93, was established in November, 1868, with the following membership : E. W. Callis, J. D. Whitted, W. Record, J. A. Lewis, A. R. Chase, John Allen, T. H. Parks, J. E. Ken- nedy, G. W. Preston, G. W. Busbee, J. H. Piercy. The Encampment is prosperous.

In January, 1873, Loraine Lodge, No. 95, Rebekah Degree, was es- tablished with the following membership: J. A. Lewis, F. A. Rein- hart, H. W. Cure, A. Carver, A. R. Chase, O. J. Kennedy, G. A. Dan- ley, J. N. Thompson, J. W. Duncan, J. E. Kennedy, Catharine Lewis, Harriett E. Kennedy, Ann E. Henderson, Catharine A. Carver and Susan Whitted. The lodge is in good working order.

A Post of. the Grand Army of the Republic was organized at the county seat under the old lodge ritual in 1868, but did not survive longer than a few months. On the 14th of June, 1882, another was organized under the revised ritual, with the following charter membership: W. H. Miller, J. G. Bain, W. W. Kennedy, Levi Ferguson, D. P. Kennedy, W. G. Grubbs, F. E. McNair, John Miller, C. Hill, M. B. Collins, J.

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

E. Toner, T. A. Kennedy, H. H. Olds, W. A. Mars, J. S. Sheppard, S. V. List, W. H. Dryden, John Hardrick. J. C. Comer, W. G. Garri- son, E. M. Woody, J. E. Burton, W. J. Childers, A. B. Douglas, J. E. Brant, J. H. Seaman, G. W. Warner, M. Kinworthy, Thomas Evans, W. O. Pool, Charles Stoker, E. G. Cox, Moses Bailey, E. F. Stimpson, Absalom Ross, E. M. Baldwin, George Hubbard, U. H. Farr, John Kriner, Josiah L. Burton and Ezra Deweese. The first officers were: D. P. Kennedy, S. V .; W. H. Miller, J. V .; J. E. Brant, Chaplain ; U. H. Farr, Surgeon ; W. H. Dryden, O. of .D .; J. L. Burton, O. of G .; J. E. Toner, Q. M .; J. H. Seaman, Q. M. S. The present officers are W. G. Grubbs, P. C .; W. H. Miller, S. V .; , U. H. Farr, J. V .; D. P. Kennedy, Surgeon ; W. H. Dryden, O. of D .; M. B. Collins, O. of G .; J. E. Toner, Q. M .; J. H. Seaman, Q. M. S .; H. H. Olds, S. M. The post was named Perry M. Blankenship, No. 77, in honor of an old set- tler and prominent citizen and soldier. The present membership is about sixty-five, and the Post meets in the hall of the K. of P. The organization is prosperous.

Anniversary Lodge, No. 89, Knights of Pythias, was instituted Feb- ruarv 19, 1880, the following persons being the charter members : J. M. Blair, A. J. Baldwin, W. G. Bain, B. W. Burns, F. D. Baldwin, E. A. Bourn, J. E. Cardell, J. C. Comer, J. M. Coleman, Ben Dessauer, Aaron Guthridge, J. T. Gurley, J. M. Headley, John Hutchins, D. W. Hogan, Smith Johnson, George Johnson, I. S. Johnson, D. P. Kennedy, J. C. Kriner, Adolphus Kaiser, B. F. Kriner, E. E. Kriner, C. W. Kaiser, Alexander Lockhart, E. L. Moran, J. V. Mitchell, M. J. Nickum, W. R. Nosler, C. W. Olds, A. S. Pearce, W. Y. Pratt, E. A. Platt, James Quinn, F. D. Rundell, Lloyd Rariden, H. A. Smock, J. C. Simpson, Samuel Seiders, J. E. Toner, A. B. Walker, W. H. Webb, Jonathan Williams and J. A. Yager. The first officers were A. S. Pearce, C. C .; James Blair, P. C .; H. A. Smock, V. C .; D. P. Kennedy, Prelate ; M. J. Nickum, M. F .; J. C. Simpson, M. of E. The lodge is in prosperous condition, with a membership of over sixty. Meetings are held in their hall in Park & Hite's building on the east side. The hall rent is $50 per annum. Two deaths only have occurred since the organization of the lodge. The present officers are A. S. Pearce, D. G. C .; C. Rose, C. C .; Eb Henderson, V. C .; F. D. Rundell, P. C .; E. E. Kriner, K. of R. S .; J. J. Hilton, Prelate ; Walter Nutter, M. F .; J. A. Lewis, M. of E .; F. D. Baldwin, M. A.

BANKING ENTERPRISES.

In 1860, P. M. Parks & Co. founded a private bank at Martinsville, under the old State banking law, with a capital of $50,000. Milton Hite was one of the company, and J. J. Deakins was Cashier. The bank was in the Parks & Hite building on the east side. In 1865, so pros- perous had been the bank during the feverish times of the war, the capi- tal had a little more than doubled itself. At the latter date a National Bank was organized under Congressional enactment, the following per- sons being stockholders: P. M. Parks, Milton Hite, N. T. Cunningham, O. R. Daugherty, Henry Sims, J. J. Johnson, Clement Nutter, Jackson Record, Cyrus Whetzel, W. R. Harrison, T. H. Parks, Jacob Adams,

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AND MARTINSVILLE.

H. Satterwhite, Robert Smith, Mrs. Julia Egbert, O. J. Glessner, Eb Henderson and Franklin Landers. The capital was $100,000. P. M. Parks was President; Milton Hite, Vice President, and H. Satterwhite, Cashier. P. M. Parks died in 1867, and Milton Hite became President ; A. E. Graham, became Assistant Cashier. Mr. Hite died in September, 1877, and T. H. Parks became President. The bank charter will expire in 1885. The following was the statement of the bank on the 22d of June, 1883 :

RESOURCES.

Loans and discounts.

$147,747 22

Overdrafts

2,474 43

U. S. bonds to secure circulation

50,000 00

Due from approved reserve agents. 8,589 37

Due from other National Banks.

24,648 47

Real estate, furniture and fixtures

27,300 00

Current expenses and taxes paid

1,701 78

Bills of other banks

5,110 00

Fractional paper currency, nickles and pennies.

56 36

Specie

20,638 00

Legal tender notes.

3,200 00

Redemption fund with United States Treasurer (5 per cent

of circulation).

2,250 00

Total

$293,715 63

LIABILITIES.

Capital stock paid in

$100,000 00

Surplus fund ..

25,000 00

Undivided profits

21,138 53

National Bank notes outstanding.

45,000 00

Individual deposits subject to check.

51,985 40

Demand certificates of deposit ..

50,591 70

Total

$293,715 63

The Mitchells are doing a limited banking business in the town.

EDUCATION AT THE COUNTY SEAT.

But little can be learned of the early schools of Martinsville. No school was probably taught until 1823, and might have been as late as 1824, but at that date there was certainly a school taught during the warm months on the porch of an old house on the west side of the square, by Dr. John Morrison. The names of all the early teachers cannot be stated. After that date, school was held more or less every year, in private dwellings, in houses that had been vacated by the owner, and in the old log court house on the southwest corner of the square. Some have said that the first school at Martinsville was taught by James Cunning, in a barn northeast of town, said to have been the property of Samuel Scott. Amy Magee was an early teacher also. In 1827, an old vacated log-building on the square was used for school purposes. All these schools were supported by subscription, the parents paying from $1 to $2 for each of their children for the term usually of three months. About the year 1833, a small frame schoolhouse was erected near the present residence of Mr. Branch, which was used continuously until 1839. Two of the teachers in this house were William Lee and a Mr. Welch. It is stated that a man named Hiram Lamb taught in the

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

town as early as 1828 or 1829. His name is one of the earliest that can be mentioned. He taught reading in the testament, writing on rude pa- per with a quill pen, and " ciphering" from Pike's arithmetic. Welch taught several terms, and was a man of considerable learning. He was a strict disciplinarian, and flogged his pupils on the least provocation with a long hickory gad well seasoned in the hot embers of the fire. Mr. Lee was club-footed, and also had some peculiar deformity of his hands or arms. He knew how to whip. The old "dunce cap " was a favorite institution of his, and many a time and oft did it grace the heads of of- fending pupils.

In about 1839, the first school was taught in the county seminary by an eccentric Irishman named David Anderson. He was well educated for that day, and was an accomplished instructor and disciplinarian. As the seminary was an institution of the county, it was well attended from the start, not only by the young men and women of the county seat, but by others from distant portions of the county, the latter boarding in town during each session of school. The smaller children of the town were largely excluded, and were provided for in the old frame schoolhouse and elsewhere. The educational center, however, was the seminary. Excellent schools were held, many of the higher branches being taught there from the first, and a thorough preparation for college being fur- nished a few years later. The present common school system of to-day was unknown then. All the ordinary schools were sustained by private means, and by the proceeds from the sale of the sixteenth section in Congressional townships. The advocates of popular taxation for the sup- port of public schools were regarded as fanatical and wholly unjust in their views. Then the burden fell upon the parents of large families, who, owing to their poverty, were the least able to educate their children. Citizens in good circumstances, but without children, escaped the burden. The county seminary scheme was quite popular, as it furnished an educa- tion higher than could be secured at the subscription schools. But as time passed public sentiment was molded in favor of making property the basis of taxation for the support of public schools and not the number of children. This led eventually to the adoption of the foundation of the present free public school system, first in 1843 and later in 1852. Dur- ing the forties, the steady decadence of the seminary system transpired. That institution in Morgan County lost favor, and gradually became a school for the county seat and vicinity, and not for the whole county.

The attendance from abroad steadily decreased until in 1846 the institution was no longer one for the whole county. After 1853, school- houses, built and supported by taxation upon property, sprang up in all portions of the county, and the seminary was ordered sold, and the pro- ceeds became part and parcel of the common school fund. The old sem- inary did good service in its day.

About the time the seminary was sold, two or three small frame school- houses were erected in Martinsville, one in the southern part, one in the northeastern, and one in the northwestern. They were not built, how- ever, at the same time, but at intervals during the fifties. Why one large building with two or three rooms was not built is not clear. But the novelty of the common school system, and the prevailing ignorance

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AND MARTINSVILLE.

of its practical working, prevented it for a period of years from exclud- ing the old private or subscription schools, which had formerly been the universal source of education of the masses from the town, and accord- ingly during the fifties numerous private schools were taught, a strong demand existing for the higher branches. In 1855, M. L. Johnson opened the " Martinsville Female Academy," in the rooms over Mr. Crary's store. Several terms were taught, and considerable energy was manifested, but the institution did not sustain the hopes of its founder. Various other schools of a similar character were conducted for short pe- riods about the same time. In about 1860, the old Baptist Church, which had stood unused for some time, was transformed into a high school building under the private control of Dr. Snoddy, who, if reports are cor- rect, conducted a select school of great excellence for about two years. He was succeeded in 1862 by Miss M. F. Jones (now Mrs. Wigginton), who taught with universal favor for three consecutive years. In 1865, R. V. Marshall succeeded Miss Jones, and had as assistants A. M. Cunning and Miss Comer. Marshall was a capable man, having been educated at the State University at Bloomington. In 1867, the front part of the present high school building was constructed at a cost of about $13,500, William Orner being the contractor. About one-third of the cost was paid by Washington Township. As yet, the town, though incorporated, was one of the common school districts of the township. Mr. Marshall, with two as- sistants and with a salary of $1,000, was employed to commence the school in the new building, which he did, continuing for about two years. His suc- cessor was Prof. Webster, who remained but a short time. In 1870, the town became an independent school district, and immediately purchased for $4,000 the interest which Washington Township owned in the high school building. In 1877, a fine addition to the building was erected for $6,000. Mrs. Stanford succeeded Prof. Webster, and was in turn succeeded by Prof. French. The present Principal, Prof. Starkey, took charge of the school about six years ago. Under his management the usefulness of the school has been doubled. Heis a man of fine talent and culture. The school is one of the best of the kind in the State. In July, 1883, the town Trustees purchased an entire block in the south- eastern part of town for $2,000, upon which a temporary frame school- house is to be erected. This was rendered necessary by the inefficacy of the present house to meet the wants of the town. After a few years, the frame building to be erected will be converted into a janitor's residence, and a fine brick school building will take its place. This is glancing ahead, however.

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Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 11

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co. Number of Pages: 814

Author: Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900, ed. cn
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, F. A. Battey & co.
Number of Pages: 814