USA > Indiana > Porter County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 13
USA > Indiana > Lake County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 13
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As an instance of the prosperity attending business even in hard times, M. S. Harrold came to Valparaiso in 1864, with a few hundred dollars, and engaged in the grocery trade, and he has since then secured a comfortable competency in the carrying-on of a legitimate business, while the firm in which he is the principal partner sells annually more than $90,000 in groceries and ships 250 car loads of grain.
The first Blue Lodge of Freemasons was constituted about 1840 or 1841. The charter members were Jonathan Griffin, James Luther, Ruel · Starr, John E. Harris, John Curtis, John Wood, Arthur Buel, Adam S. Campbell, W. K. Talbott and - Cone. After a few years, this lodge (No. 49) went down for want of money and a room to meet in. About 1850, George C. Buel, Isaac Bowman, O. I. Skinner, John Wolf, N. S. Fair- childs, John Woods, John E. Harris, Andrew Hopp, George Z. Salyer, were charter members in the organization of Porter Lodge. Of the first lodge organized John E. Harris was W. M., and George C. Buel W. M. of Porter Lodge. Since the organization, the order has been very flourishing, and has kept itself very pure. A number of years since a Chapter was formed, and still later an Encampment of Knights Templar. The Chapter house and Encampment occupy the upper story in the fine building on the northwest corner of Main and La Fayette streets.
Che-queuk Lodge of Odd Fellows was instituted December 2, 1848, the charter members being Joseph Lomax, E. Ellis Campbell, Robert G. Flint, John Dunning and William Harrison. The officers of the lodge at its organization were Joseph Lomax, N. G .; E. Ellis Campbell, V. G .; John Dunning, Secretary ; William Harrison, I. G .; Robert G. Flint, Treasurer, and were installed by the Grand Officers, Col. Hathaway, G. M., Luther Mann, G. C., and other officiating officers from La Porte, also Dr. Dunning, of La Fayette, and some other notables. The lodge in- creased from that time weekly from the best citizens. Difficulty was ex- perienced in finding sufficient lodge-room until a brick store was erected, where Dr. Edmonds' store now stands, the third floor of which was ob- tained and occupied until it burned August 13, 1859, with all the lodge furniture and costly regalia. In two weeks from that time they opened up again in Hughart's Hall (now William Wilson's). Before the rebellion broke out, the lodge had been established on a solid basis. Most of the members who enlisted had their dues remitted, and the charitable dona- tions were continued. As the lodge prospered, it contributed to the relief
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HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY.
of the sufferers by the great Chicago fire, and later to sufferers by the Michigan fires. Obligations have been kept to pay all sick benefits, to to visit the sick, bury the dead, provide for the orphan and the widow, and all like Christian obligations. This year (1882), the lodge has erected a fine hall for their accommodation, which will, in a short time, be com- pleted and furnished for occupancy. The lodge is flourishing, and new members are being added weekly. Since 1860, an average of $200 per annum has been paid by the lodge for the education and support of or- phans, the relief of widows, funerals and sick benefits.
The Thousand and One order has also flourished at times in Valpa- raiso, and has numbered among its members leading men in business, and the legal and other professions. It is said that the initiations have been of thrilling interest. The meetings have usually been held in the Acade- my of Music. .
The first physicians who located in Valparaiso were Miller Blachley, Seneca Ball, G. W. Salisbury, Dr. Robbins and Dr. Kersey. They rep- resented various schools of practice. Since that time, the number has been great, many staying long enough to make an unsatisfactory trial, and others-charlatans-staying long enough to bleed numerous victims and then going off to fresher fields and newer pastures. Of regular phy- sicians, there are now residing here Drs. J. H. and A. P. Letherman, J. H. Newland, J. F. McCarthy, H. V. Herriott, H. M. Beer ; of eclectics, J. H. Ryan, H. C. Coates and W. A. Yohn ; of homoeopaths, M. F. Sayles and W. O. Cattron.
Among the earlier dentists, the one who stayed longest and attained the greatest success was Dr. George Porter, who died of consumption previous to 1870, and whose family still reside here. There was also Dr. B. M. Thomas, a skillful practitioner and honorable gentleman, now of Santa Fé, N. M. Dr. Boyd succeeded him in practice, and has but lately re- tired with a competency, on account of ill health. The resident dentists at present are J. H. and Mrs. M. E. Edmonds and H. D. Newton.
The first member of the legal profession who came to this place was Josiah S. Masters, said to have been of a good family in the State of New York. He did a very little business in his profession, and taught the first school in Portersville in a house on the northwest corner of Mechanic and Morgan streets. Samuel I. Anthony came and was admitted to the bar in October, 1839. Harlowe S. Orton, now of Madison, Wis., came a little before that time. George W. Turner, who had served one term as Clerk of Court, began the practice of law probably about 1845 or 1846, and left in a peculiar manner in 1856. M. M. Fassett and John W. Murphy came afterward. M. L. De Motte came early in 1855. T. J. Merrifield came July 5, 1855. C. I. Thompson was here from 1859 to
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1865. From the organization of the court in 1837 to 1855, the business was largely done by attorneys from South Bend and La Porte, notably by Joseph L. Jernegan, Joseph W. Chapman, John B. Niles, John H. Brad- ley, James Bradley, Roberts Merrifield, W. C. Hanna and others. Joseph L. Jernegan was the first prosecutor. The resident attorneys at this time are Thomas J. Merrifield, J. M. Howard, A. D. Bartholomew, Edgar D. Crumpacker, William Johnson, Thomas McLoughlin, John E. Cass, W. E. Pinney, Hiram A. and John H. Gillett, John W. Rose, J. Hanford Skinner, A. L. Jones, M. L. De Motte, Frank P. Jones and Nelson J. Bozarth.
The city hall was put up, in 1878, on the south side of the public square, and is not of any particular order of architecture, unless it be the Hoosier. The city bridewell was put up in 1881, just to the rear of the city hall.
Valparaiso was incorporated as a village by special act of the Legis- lature in 1850. The Town Council usually met in the office of the County Recorder. It consisted of six persons, and elections for Councilmen were held annually. No business of great moment was transacted by them. They voted away the money of the people sparingly, and undertook no great public improvements. They had no bonded debt resting upon the town when it became a city. This was in 1865. The Fourth of July was habitually celebrated, and the older inhabitants will not forget the mar- shaling of the processions on those days. Valparaiso boasted a citizen who in form and spirit was designed to wear the marshal's sash and ride upon a charger. He has since become the most noted of Valparaiso's military heroes. It was he who headed the preachers, the Sunday schools and citizens as they filed into the public square to the sound of the old iron cannon to eat the Fourth of July dinner and listen to the reading of the Declaration of Independence and the annual oration. In 1880, the Western Union Telegraph Company established a city office in addition to those at the depots. The Bell Telephone Company estab- lished an office and commenced business here in 1882. F. W. & H. Hunt, after carrying on the dry goods business from the fall of 1846, be- gan banking in 1855. They dissolved partnership in 1856, and the business has since been carried on by F. W. Hunt.
The articles of association of the First National Bank were signed May 20, 1863, with twenty-one stockholders. Levi A. Cass, Jr., A. V. Bartholomew, W. C. Talcott, S. W. Smith, B. F. Schenck, Joseph Peirce and Thomas S. Stanfield were elected Directors July 15, 1863. Levi A. Cass, President, and M. L. McClelland, Cashier. Capital, $50,- 000. Issue, $45,000. First did business on the east side of Washington street, where express office now is. Surplus, July 1, 1877, $43,606.76,
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after having paid 10 per cent dividends yearly. The first loan was made December 12, 1863, and first certificate of deposit issued to Mrs. Mary E. Brown November 30, 1863. B. F. Schenck, President, January 12, 1864, to July 1, 1864; then L. A. Cass to January 12, 1869 ; then S. S. Skinner to January 16, 1878, when D. F. L. Skinner was elected. M. L. McClelland was Cashier till March, 1881. In 1866, C. V. Culver, of New York, owner of 100 shares, and with whose house the bank kept its Eastern balances, being in the oil speculation, failed. The 100 shares of stock were purchased of the Third National Bank of New York at $80 per share, and sold to William Powell for $120.50 per share. With $4,000 profit on this transaction, the stockholders had no reason to feel bad over the failure. The bank went into voluntary liquidation May 29, 1882, and was immediately succeeded by the new First National Bank with a capital of $100,000. Removed to present building on the south third of Lot 2, Block 4, in the fall of 1874.
The Farmers' National Bank of Valparaiso was organized in Novem- ber, 1878, to succeed the private bank of Joseph Gardner, and com- menced business February 1, 1879, with a capital of $50,000. The Board of Directors first elected and serving at present are Joseph Gardner, A. V. Bartholomew, W. P. Wilcox, J. M. Felton and Joseph R. Hill, who represent nine-tenths of the capital stock of the bank. The deposits of the bank at its commencement as a National Bank were about $70,000. Since February 1, 1879, they have gradually increased until at the present date they are $230,000. The average deposits of the bank are $200,000. It has paid semi-annual dividends of 6 per cent since its commencement, and has accumulated a surplus fund at present of $14,- 300. The capital was increased May, 1882, to $70,000. The bank at present has a capital and surplus fund of about $85,000. Joseph Gard- ner, President ; G. F. Bartholomew, Cashier.
Under a general act of the Legislature which permitted towns of 2,000 population or over to put on city airs, an enumeration was had in the fall of that year, and the necessary population was found, or declared to be. By a vote of the citizens Valparaiso became a city, and learned how much it costs to put on style. In 1866, water works (so-called), were put up with some help from the county, supplying several cisterns and occa- sionally a fountain (so-called) in the public square. While it is ridiculous to call these water works, the people could hardly get along without them. The same year the city incurred a debt of $50,000, bearing 10 per cent interest, to bring the Peninsular Railway here. Grounds for a new cemetery were purchased in 1868, more than two miles southeast from the court house. In 1870, the city purchased for $10,000 the build- ing and grounds of the Valparaiso Collegiate Institute, the proceeds of
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which were distributed among the stockholders. Bonds were issued for the erection of a school building, which was put up and occupied the fol- lowing year. The building presents a sightly appearance on the outside, but for the purpose it is used for is faulty in design and construction. Thus the city had a bonded debt of more than $70,000 upon it. Thomas J. Merrifield was Mayor of the city from its organization till May, 1868. Then Thomas G. Lytle till May, 1872. He was succeeded by John N. Skinner, a man of such remarkable mold that he continued to preside over the destinies of the city till his death, this present year, 1882, just before the city election, he being then a candidate for re-election for a sixth term, and was twice a candidate for Congress during the same period. During the latter year of his first term, in the winter of 1873-74, occurred the temperance crusade carried on by the ladies, with watching, prayer, singing, producing intense excitement and feeling throughout the com- munity, and attracting no little attention from abroad. Valparaiso then had eight saloons. It has eighteen now; but the population has well nigh doubled. While the interest was at its height, the Mayor issued the following :
PROCLAMATION !
WHEREAS, For several days last past, large numbers of persons have been engaged in assembling on and about the premises of citizens pursuing a lawful business, and re- maining on said premises against the will of the owners thereof, and for the avowed pur- pose of interfering with their business ; and
WHEREAS, Many of said persons declare their intention of persisting in such conduct. Now, therefore, all such persons so assembling and remaining, are hereby notified that such conduct is unlawful and against the ordinances of the city of Valparaiso, and they are admonished as good citizens to desist from the same, and that it is the duty of the authorities of said city and of all law-abiding citizens in the interest of public peace and order, to enforce the said ordinances and disperse such assemblages.
VALPARAISO, February 23, 1874.
JOHN N. SKINNER, Mayor of Valparaiso.
In a few hours after the appearance of the proclamation, the ladies responded with the following manifesto, which was posted up and freely dis- tributed upon the streets. Both documents are historic, and in some houses they are to be seen hanging up framed side by side.
Why do the Heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing ? The Kings of the Earth set them- selves, and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying-Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh ; the Lord shall have them in derision .- Psalm 2, 1-4.
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye .- Acts, 4, 18-19.
We ought to obey God rather than men .- Acts, 5, 29.
TO THE PUBLIC .- In the temperance movement we have undertaken, we have had no purpose to violate the laws of the State, or interfere with the rights of any citizen. We have malice in our hearts toward none, but charity toward all. We believe we have the right to persuade men to cease from strong drink, and to plead with the liquor seller to cease from his traffic. Believing, too, that God has called us to the high duty of sav- ing our fellow-men, we will not cease to pray and labor to this end. It is our solemn
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HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY.
purpose, with love in our hearts to God and man, to go right forward in the work we have undertaken, and if the hand of violence be laid upon us, we make our humble and confident appeal to the God whom we serve, and to the laws of the State, whose faithful citizens we are.
MRS. A. V. BARTHOLOMEW, MRS. L. C. BUCKLES,
MRS. E. SKINNER,
MRS. A. GURNEY, MRS. E. BALL, Executive Committee.
In behalf of the ladies engaged in the temperance movement.
The succeeding city election was hotly contested, but Mayor Skinner was re-elected. At the end of William Fox's term of office as City Treas- urer, 1872-74, he was found to be a defaulter to a considerable amount. In 1876, the fire department of the city was organized, and there are now three small hand-engines with hose carts and ladders, one of the fire com- panies being composed of Normal students. The present Mayor of the city is the Hon. Thomas G. Lytle.
A word should be said about the early taverns and later hotels of the place. In the fall of 1836, Jimmy Laughlin had built the frame of the building now used by Hans Bornholdt as a meat market. It then stood on the alley opposite the court house, east side of public square. John Herr and Solomon Cheney bought and finished it, and kept tavern there from the spring of 1837 till the fall of 1838. This was the first tavern in the place. The American Eagle House was built at the southeast cor- ner of Main and Franklin, by Abraham Hall, beginning in 1838. In 1839, he opened a tavern there. Herr & Cheney had kept a bar, and had some raspberry brandy which had been well tested by the La Porte lawyers, always good judges of things spirituous, and had been pro- nounced good. Abe Hall thought he must have some of the same when he opened out. When he and another returned from Michigan City with the first load for his bar, they having already well partaken, the barrel of raspberry brandy was taken from the wagon, a hole bored into it and a portion of the contents removed. A high (or low) time followed, and the barrel was forgotten. . There were hogs in that back yard, sleeping in piles of shavings. They smelled the raspberry brandy, tasted it and pro- nounced it good. Their opinion coincided with that of the legal gentle- men aforesaid. After midnight, Herr & Cheney, then living in the house built by John Saylor, were awakened by strange noises from Hall's back yard, and, arising, they beheld a stranger sight. The hogs were cavort- ing, acting for all the world like any drunken hogs, only they were more amusing than the other kind. In the morning, out they came from the tavern with a tin pail for a fresh supply. The writ was returned non est inventus. The barrel was empty and the hogs were helplessly drunk and sick, and had nothing to taper off on. For awhile, the air was blue. In
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that house subsequently David Oaks kept hotel, greatly improving the building. Then came John Dunning and others. There Austin R. Gould first kept public house in Valparaiso. In 1845, Elizabeth Har- rison (from East Tennessee) built a tavern where the Central House now stands, the property now belonging to her descendants, and enlarged it in 1849. About 1855, A. R. Gould moved into it from the American Eagle, and kept it continuously till his death a few years ago, when he was succeeded by his estimable widow until the building was taken down in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Gould became favorably known from New York to San Francisco. What a history is connected with every old hotel, and could the remains of that old house give up their secrets, what pathetic and amusing events they would disclose ! Here is one of the latter : Less than a year before his death, the late Hon. D. D. Pratt, of Logans- port, United States Senator and afterward Solicitor of Internal Revenue, told the writer the following :
It was in 1860. He had been at the National Republican Conven- tion at Chicago which nominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency. Mr. Pratt was a man of gigantic frame and stentorian voice. For these rea- sons he was chosen Secretary of the convention. Wcaried with the labors of that convention, he came to Valparaiso, where, on the following day, he was to be pitted against some of the ablest legal talent in the northern part of the State in a case involving an Indian title to a large quantity of land. When the usual hour arrived, needing rest, he retired to bed and had his own thoughts, etc., for company. He was restless. The hour of midnight came and passed. Just opposite the hotel was a warehouse or grocery and a great pile of salt barrels, and thither at that hour came to- gether all the cows of Valparaiso. There were white and black and brindled cows, dun-colored cows and spotted cows; there were cows with bells and cows with bellows, and they were having a regular picnic there. In the Gould House all was still. Even Mrs. Gould had gone to bed to get her accustomed four hours of rest. The music made by the cows was a sweet lullaby to the denizens of Valparaiso. They were used to it, and couldn't get along without it. But with Mr. Pratt the case was entirely different. He could get along without the ding-donging of the cow bells or their plaintive lowing. He couldn't get along at all with it; and it wouldn't stop. He got out of bed. He tried to " shoo" the cows away from his window, but they wouldn't "shoo." He came "down and out," sans hat, sans coat, sans trousers, and stood "in flowing robes of spotless white " on the sidewalk, under the bright moonlight, and tried to scare the "critters " away. They wouldn't scare. He hunted around for something to throw at them, but they stood their ground. At last he lost his temper, picked up a board and made a charge upon the enemy, and at
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HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY.
last they went in dire dismay with tails erect and a clamor that exceeded all they had made before, and then the dogs awoke to a sense of their duty, and from Frank Hunt's to Sam Campbell's, and from Sager's to Artil Bartholomew's, there was a simultaneous baying and barking. It was, so to speak, as though a certain place had broken loose. Mr. Pratt thought it was time for him to disappear from the scene, which he pre- cipitately did. Hardly had he got into bed, when a cow bell was heard out at the salt barrels, and in a little time the cow carnival was renewed. But the exercise had been beneficial, the legal gentleman's nerves were quieted, and he was soon as oblivious to the noises as though he had been born and brought up in the place. He awoke in the morning refreshed, and, after a hot contest of several days, won his case.
The Gould House has passed away, and the Central has taken its place. The Excelsior Block, on the southeast corner of Mechanic and Washington, was built in 1858-originally designed for a hotel, but used for years for private families and a place where rooms were to let-and at length served its original design by becoming the Winchell House, and now, since 1875, the Merchants' Hotel, with the genial T. T. Maulsby as landlord.
The first school taught in the township was on Section 7, by Miss Mary Hammond, and was in the summer of 1835; therefore, before the county or township organizations, and when Valparaiso was yet a wilder- ness. The first school taught in the village was, as we have seen, by Masters, and in 1837. The first lady teacher in the village was Miss Eldred, a sister of Mrs. Ruel Starr. The schoolhouse was a very diminu- tive building, which Dr. Ball had erected on the rear end of his lot, and which was subsequently moved to Lot 1, Block 18, and many will re- member having seen it long used as a woodhouse on Dr. Ball's residence
lot, and fronting on Jefferson street. The public records, in regard to school matters, are in such condition that it is impossible by them to trace the history of the organization of the districts, the names of teachers, the wages, etc., and tradition in regard to such things is an uncertain quanti- ty. But it appears in the proceedings of the County Commissioners that on the 10th of June, 1841, they sold to the Trustees of School District No. 1, Lot 8 in Block 14, present residence of David Jones, for $5, for the purpose of securing the erection of a permanent school building in that district. The order was rescinded the following day, and another order passed to sell a lot equally eligible for the same purpose and on the same terms. Harvey E. Ball, of Lake County, and Sylvester W. Smith, were afterward teachers in that same little building on Dr. Ball's lot. Later, the Rev. James C. Brown opened a school for young ladies on Lot 3, Block 19, which was taught by himself, by Rev. W. M. Blackburn,
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VALPARAISO, AND CENTRE TOWNSHIP.
and lastly by S. L. Bartholomew. In 1849, the County Seminary was built on Jefferson street and Monroe, north side, Outlot No. 1. Ashley L. Peirce once taught school there. In 1857, through some carelessness, it was burned to the ground. The following year, Ashley L. Peirce opened a school with Rev. Horace Foot as Assistant, nearly opposite the present residence of A. V. Bartholomew. In 1859, the Methodists began the erection of the Valparaiso Male and Female College, the main build- ing of the present Normal School. The first term of the college was opened September 21, 1859, under the Presidency of Rev. C. N. Sims, since widely known as an eloquent preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The attendance of students the first year was 157. Other teachers in the school were F. D. Carley, Miss Moore, Mrs. Loomis and Mrs. Hall. The school was continued with a fine patronage, under sev - eral presidents. In 1867, the east wing of the building was erected. The building, however, was a little too far from the center of population to attract all the local patronage which it might otherwise have enjoyed, and when the public schools were opened in the present large building, it was deemed inexpedient to continue the V. M. & F. C., but it had, in the twelve years of its active existence, done a good work. Shortly after the inception of this enterprise, the Presbyterians of the place organized the Valparaiso Collegiate Institute, purchased the grounds now pertaining to the public school buildings, and on the 16th of April, 1861, opened the school with Rev. S. C. Logan, Principal, and H. A. Newell, Assistant. As soon as the institute building was finished, the school was moved into it, and continued until the sale of the buildings and grounds to the city. In the year 1864, Benjamin Wilcox became connected with it as princi- pal. James McFetrich and Miss Sophie B. Loring were assistants. These all remained in the school while it continued. After the sale of the prop- erty to the city, Mr. Wilcox went to South Bend, where he became Principal of the High School, and continued in that relation till his death, which occurred some years after. He was a teacher of long experience, and has never been excelled by any in the place. The necessity for the erection of the present public school buildings was manifest and pressing. The only buildings in the place for that purpose were four small school- houses, capable of accommodating in the aggregate not more than 240 pupils. On two occasions, it became almost a matter of necessity on the part of the Trustees to avail themselves of the room afforded by the Ro- man Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian school buildings by hiring the teachers of those schools; so that while they went on without any change of administration or influence, they were supported out of the public school fund. Technically, perhaps, this was done according to law, but in violation of its spirit. The schools under the present graded system
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