Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 59

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur 1852-1926. cn; Blanchard, Charles
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey
Number of Pages: 788

USA > Indiana > Porter County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 59
USA > Indiana > Lake County > Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 59

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).

521

CEDAR CREEK TOWNSHIP.

until January, 1882, when they arranged to have preaching once in two weeks, which arrangement is still continued. Rev. Ganzer is the pres- ent priest. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Creston was built in 1876 at a cost of $1,000. The first Trustees were A. H. Carstens, O. G. Taylor, Amos P. Thompson, Samuel Love and Robert Garrison. At first there were about sixty members, among whom were O. G. Tay- lor and wife, L. G. Cutler and wife, Samuel Love and wife, O. J. Thompson and wife, Daniel Lawrence and wife, and E. Scritchfield and wife. Rev. Baker organized the church, and Rev. Saunders, Rev. Henry Vincel and others have preached here. The present minister is the Rev. Straight. Cedar Lake Cemetery joins the church lot on the east. The first one buried here was a German named Schultz, who lived near the head of Cedar Lake. This was in 1846 or 1847. There are about 100 buried here.

Secret and other Organizations .- Colfax Lodge, No. 378, of Masons, located at Lowell, has a charter bearing date of May 27, 1868. It had run for two years prior to that time under a dispensation. The first officers were : Joseph A. Clark, W. M .; James N. Moore, S. W .; C. M. Blachley, J. W. These were charter members with the exception of Blachley. The following are the names of the other charter members : Peter Burhans, K. N. Burnham, C. L. Templeton, Elias Ferguson, Sam- uel Ames, T. V. Frank, J. V. Bates and M. A. Halsted. The present officers are : J. N. Moore, W. M .; J. B. Wilkinson, S.W .; James E. Hale, J. W .; C. L. Templeton, Treasurer ; E. T. Hill, Secretary ; Charles Ful- ler, S. D .; Thomas Smith, J. D .; and W. F. Tuttle, Tiler. The present membership is fifty-nine, and the value of property $800.

I. O. O. F., Lowell Lodge, No. 245, was organized January 11, 1866. The following are the ones who applied for the charter : Hiram P. Rob- bins, Henry Sanger, George M. Death, G. F. Sutton, John M. Scott and, John M. Death. The first and early members besides those named were James M. Moore, S. B. Taylor, R. W. Price, C. M. Blachley, Sidney Sanger, W. M. Halsted, J. H. Irish, William Pulver, James Doran, H. N. Clement, Geo. W. Waters, L. H. Westerman, Charles Groman, Simeon Sanger, Sanford Sanger, John Mendenhall and others. The first officers were : John M. Death, N. G .; G. F. Sutton, V. G .; John M. Scott, Re- cording Secretary ; James H. Sanger, Sr., Treasurer, and G. M. Death, Permanent Secretary. The appointed officers were : H. P. Robbins, R. S. N. G .; William Halsted, L. S. N. G .; R. W. Price, Conductor; James N. Moore, Warden; Sidney Sanger, R. S. S .; C. M. Blachley, L. S. S .; S. B. Taylor, Guardian, and James H. Sanger, Jr., R. S.V. G. The present officers are : H. N. Clement. N. G .; E. R. Bacon, V. G .; George W. Waters, Recording and Permanent Secretary ; Jonah Thorne, Treasurer;

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

James Fuller, Warden; F. W. Wood, Conductor ; George Fuller, Guard- ian and Samuel Miller, D. G. M. There has been at one time as many as 115 members, and not over a dozen deaths have occurred since its organization. The present membership is twenty-six. The property of . the lodge is valued at $1,000.

Lowell Grange of Patrons of Husbandry, in 1873, had a member- ship of eighty. It is now non est. Various temperance organizations have existed here, among which was the Independent Order of Good Tem- plars. The Woman's Temperance Reading Room Society was organized February 29, 1882, and on the 1st of March took possession of the room that they now occupy, and in which they keep a good supply of standard papers and periodicals for the use of the public free of charge. The first and present President of the society is Mrs. Denney. Mrs. Mary Post is Vice President. They started with an investment of $100, and a membership of thirty-two. The old Township Library is kept here, and some books and papers have been donated by those who feel an interest in the enterprise. The object of the association is to furnish healthful reading in a pleasant place, where the surroundings are such as to coun- teract, to some extent, the evil influences that swarm in every town and city.

CHAPTER VI.

BY GEORGE A. GARARD.

HOBART TOWNSHIP-NAME AND BOUNDARIES-LIVERPOOL AND LAKE- VILLAGE OF HOBART-ITS DEVELOPMENT-MANUFACTURING INTER- ESTS-SECRET SOCIETIES-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-BAXTER'S ADDITION TO CHICAGO-SHAW'S SUBDIVISION.

THE township of Hobart took its name from the town of Hobart, T which was named by George Earle for a brother of his. The town- ship was created by an order of the County Commissioners, bearing date of September 5, 1849, which reads as follows : "That the territory commencing at the point where the Calumet River crosses the line be- tween the counties of Lake and Porter, thence on the county line to the southeast corner of Township 36, Range 7, thence west on the line divid- ing Townships 35 and 36, Range 7, and Townships 35 and 36, Range 8, to the northwest corner of Township 35, Range 8, thence north on the range line dividing Township 36, Range 8, and Township 36, Range 9, to the center of the Calumet River, thence up the center of said stream to the place of beginning, should constitute a new township, to be known as Hobart." On December 6, 1853, Sections 4, 5 and 6, Township 35, Range 7, were transferred from Ross Township to Hobart Township, and

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HOBART TOWNSHIP.

Sections 31, 32 and 33, Township 36, Range 8, were transferred from Hobart to Ross, thus leaving Hobart Township with the following boun- daries : Commencing at the point where the Calumet River crosses the line between Lake and Porter Counties, thence down the river to the point where the line between Ranges 8 and 9 crosses said river, thence south along said line to the northwest corner of Section 31, Township 36, Range 8, thence east along the north line of said Section 33, thence south along the east line of said section to the line between Townships 35 and 36, Range 8, thence east along said line to the east line of Range 8, thence south along the west line of Section 6, Township 35, Range 7, to the southwest corner of said section, thence east along the south line of Sections 4, 5 and 6, Township 35, Range 7, to the line between the coun- ties of Lake and Porter, thence north along said line to the place of be- ginning."

General Description .- This region was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber. This was long since cut, and in its stead has come, where allowed to grow, a thick growth of thrifty young trees. All of the northern part of the township is very sandy, and indeed in the soil of the southern part sand largely predominates. Deep River enters the township three miles west of the eastern boundary, and flows north- east, north, west, southwest, west, and northwest, entering the Calumet not far from the center of the north boundary of the township. There are no lakes here, unless an enlargement of Deep River near the site of the defunct city of Liverpool could be so called.

Settlement-Liverpool .- This township was first settled at what was Liverpool, but is now a defunct metropolis. Here on Deep River it was intended to make a " plant" that should grow into a great city. The Calumet and Deep Rivers were to be to this commercial emporium of the future what the Seine is to Paris or the Thames to London. The plot was laid ; the plat was made ; the lots were sold ; but first let us turn to the authentic history of this great rival of England's maritime metro- polis: From the county records we get the following :

Survey of the town of Liverpool situated on Section 24, Town 36 north of Range 8 west. Beginning at a stake standing north 66 degrees west, 45 links from a black oak tree two feet and ten inches in diameter, on the south bank of the river at the ferry place in 1835 and 1836, thence south 24 degrees west 79 rods and 12 links to a stake ; bearing tree 60 degrees and 30 seconds east 392 links ; black oak twenty inches in diameter, 62 degrees and 50 seconds west 34 links ; white oak eighteen inches in diameter ; thence south 66 degrees east 164 rods to a stake. Bearing tree 49 degrees and 30 seconds east 54} links ; black oak eighteen inches in diameter ; thence north 26 degrees east 154 rods to a stake. Bearing trees south 46 degrees and 55 seconds west 962 links ; black oak twelve inches in diameter, north 39 degrees and 40 seconds east 14} links ; black oak eight inches in diameter ; thence south 24 degrees west 59 rods to place of beginning, be- ing subdivided agreeably to annexed plat. NEWTON K. SMITH, Surveyor.

January 30, 1836.

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

The plat shows 455 lots, 191 of which were on the north side of Deep River and the others were on the south side. The streets running east and west beginning at the south were Third, Broadway, Second, Peoria, Lake and Calumet (two short streets on same line), Canal and Penn, the last two named being in the central part, near the river. The streets north of the river were, in order, Dock, Indiana and Michigan. The north and south streets beginning at the east were Juliet, Spruce, Walnut, Chestnut, Market, Mulberry, Sassafras and Chicago. The cen- ter block on the south tier is marked " Public Square." There are two groups of two lots each marked "Market Square" and two marked "Church Square." This place was laid out by John C. Davis and Henry Fredrickson, of Philadelphia, and John B. Chapman, a Western man. They bought an Indian " float " and proceeded to plan a city. At that time the Calumet and Deep Rivers were navigable for vessels of good size up to this point. Both have been obstructed since, especially the Calumet, by the draining of the Cady Marsh, which has caused much sand to be filled into its channel. This was also at that time on an im- portant road, over which most of the emigrants for the Northwest passed. It is stated by those who were on the ground at the time that the excite- ment ran high, and that in 1836, in three days, lots amounting to $16,000 were sold. Two men, one of whom, J. Wood, lived at Deep River, in- vested $2,000 in lots. This has proved a permanent investment, as it has now been forty-six years and the money is not yet out of it. A ferry- boat was placed on the Calumet at this point in 1834 and 1835 and a hotel opened in 1835. George Earle, of Philadelphia, came in 1836 and bought the town and a large section of country round about. Here he lived until 1847. In 1840, the Pottawatomies, under the conduct of Gen. Brady, passed through this place on their way to the then far West. In 1837, a stage line from Michigan City to Joliet passed through the town. In the same year, the stage line from Detroit to Chicago passed through here as well. In April, 1837, at the first session of the Board of Commissioners of the newly organized county, a license was granted by them to the proprietors of Liverpool to " keep a ferry on and over Deep River in said town." For this monopoly, they were charged the sum of $10, and had the rates fixed for them. In 1838-39, a charter was granted by the Legislature for a toll bridge. In 1840, the first store was opened by a man named Philips, who was succeeded by one Davis, and he by Stilson, who sold to George Zuvers. George Earle kept the last stock of goods. The first Postmaster was Abner Stilson, who was succeeded by George Earle, who kept the office until 1847, when he moved to Hobart, taking the office with him to that place. The first hotel was kept by William Heverland ; the second by Murdock & Bucklin,

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HOBART TOWNSHIP.

who rented from Davis, the builder. Chapman built a log hotel, which was the third. He rented it to Stilson. It was run a short time and sold at Sheriff's sale. George Zuvers bought it and kept it as a hotel until the town went down. In 1837, the lots in Liverpool were assessed at $26,440, upon which the total tax was $304.06. Solon Robinson after- ward said that the assessment was too large by three of the left-hand figures, while others insisted it was too large by four. The county seat of Lake County was located at Liverpool in 1839. Crown Point, of which Solon Robinson was the chief proprietor, was the competitor of Liverpool. A court house was built, but as it was not located on the public square but on land that was the property of George Earle, the county refused to pay anything ; so the house was never completed, but was taken down, floated on the Calumet to Blue Island and converted into a hotel. Thus departed the last chance for the growth of the em- bryotic city. Much difference of opinion exists as to the number of houses and people that were in this place during its greatest boom. One says ten houses and fifty inhabitants ; another 100 houses and 500 in- habitants. It is probable that this difference of opinion arises from the fact that many houses were commenced and never completed, as was the court house, and many people were on the ground who lived in tents, and who, when the bubble burst, moved away, feeling as poor in spirit as they were in purse. Two families now watch over the remains of the dead city of Liverpool.

Hobart .- From this dead town we turn to a live one. Liverpool made a great flourish and died. Hobart began in a small way and has gradually grown to be an enterprising and thrifty place. George Earle was the founder of this town and built the first house, a log cabin ; his son, John G. Earle, has been its fosterer. Its official history, with all the recorded additions, is here given : On the plat book bearing date of May 8, 1849, is the following survey of the town of Hobart, situ- ate in the county of Lake, State of Indiana, on Section 32, Township 36 north, of Range 7 west, of the Second Principal Meridian :

Begin at a stake at the corner of Lewis Hammond's tavern house, and thence through Main street south 31 degrees east to the end of said street, and from thence on the line of lots east 31 degrees north to the east side of East street, and from thence north 31 degrees west to the end of said street; from thence west 31 degrees south to Center street ; from thence north 31 degrees west to the end of said Center street- being laid out in town lots and fractional town lots and numbered with their respective dimensions as per plat hereunto annexed. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this May 3, 1849.

GEORGE EARLE. [SEAL. ]

Acknowledged before Ebenezer Dustin, a Justice of the Peace, the 7th day of May 1849.

The streets shown on the annexed plat, beginning at the mill yard

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

on the northwest, are : Front, Second and Third ; beginning at the mill pond on the southwest the streets in order are: Main, Center, East and New. This mill pond, on a map bearing date of 1859, is marked " Lake George " and as containing 1,000 acres. The plat shows ninety-three lots. The following additions have been made to the town : Earle & Davis Addition, recorded June 13, 1859, which shows the following streets: Jane, Franklin, Union, Georgiana, Lillian, Ella, Devonshire, North, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Linda. It shows also the Hobart Cemetery. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Com- pany's Addition bears date of record April 24, 1868. It shows two streets running southeast and northwest, one on the south side of the railroad and the other on the north ; also two streets opening into each of these. John G. Earle's Addition to Hobart was entered of record September 3, 1873. It shows ten lots. Rifenburg's Addition, recorded February 8, 1875, shows eleven lots on Lake avenue. Wood's Addition of January 25, 1851, on the southwest quarter of Section 29, Town- ship 36, Range 7 west, shows thirty lots. January 26, 1878, by George L. Nichols-being a subdivision of the east half of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 1, Township 35, north, Range 8 west, of the Second Principal Meridian. Robert Lymsbonroy was the Civil Engineer.

Although it is stated that deer were killed on the site of the present town in the winter of 1843-44, in 1845 it was quite a thriving village.

At present there are two railroads, the Fort Wayne & Pennsylvania, and the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, with a prospect of more. This was once the head of the lumber trade to Chicago from this region; it was floated down Deep River and the Calumet. There are now three drug stores kept by Vincent Bros., P. P. Gordon & Bro. and Bassett. Of saloons there are seven. Of churches there are seven. Of resident ministers there is but one, a German Methodist. The churches are German Methodist, German Lutheran, Swedish Methodist, Catholic, " Tabernacle " or Free Methodists and Unitarian. There are thirteen stores kept by the following persons or firms : J. H. Ostrander, grocery and bakery; J. N. Hall, dry goods and groceries ; P. P. Gordon & Bro., drugs and groceries ; John Mander, dry goods, hardware and gro- ceries ; George Stoker, boots, shoes, dry goods and groceries ; E. Pas- saw, general store; Joseph Black, groceries ; A. Wood & Son, dry goods and groceries; A. Arboe, hardware; F. Koch, dry goods, gro- ceries and clothing ; William Butler, general store. Besides these, A. D. Hunter and George Gadsby & Son have furniture stores ; A. Ammerman and Mr. Croxford, harness shops. There are two millinery establishments, two shoe shops, two butcher shops-one kept by James Roper & Bro.

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HOBART TOWNSHIP.

and the other by William D. Elting. There is a good mill that was built by George Earle, and has passed through a great many hands, now owned and run by Ballantyne, previously run by Smith & Henderson. L. Wetengale practices law here; A. K. Garhart runs a tailor shop ; H. C. Hanson and C. J. Williams are the jewelers. Mr. Williams has been in the business five years, and Mr. Hanson started about three years ago, having worked for Mr. Williams prior to that time. Before these, Edward Shaffer kept the only store of the kind. There is a wagon and carriage factory, owned and run by M. W. Jory, that is doing a fine business and turning out excellent work. Mr. Corvlin and Mr. Wall run carpenter shops. The physicians are Dr. Vincent, who moved in in 1882 from Deep River, where he had lived for thirty-seven years; Dr. Miller, who has been in town about three years ; Dr. George R. Bas- sett, who has been here for some four years, and Dr. P. P. Gordon, who has long practiced in the place. The post office is now in the hands of C. J. Williams, who has had it almost a year and a half; for two years before the present administration, A. D. Ray kept it ; before him, John E. Mander had it for about seven years ; William H. Rifenburg had it for three or four years before Ray, and Joseph Black for a long time, perhaps ten years, before that. George Earle was the first Post- master. At first it was not thought that the town would attain to any great importance. John G. Earle built a fine residence here and made it his home for years. In this home he kept a large collection of fine paintings that attracted much attention and many visitors. He now resides in Chicago and comes out once a week to attend to his large real estate interests which are centered here. While the growth of the town has been gradual, at the same time it has been substantial, until at pres- ent, with a population of 1,500, it has the air of a city, and is certainly one of the most promising of the many suburban places of the Metrop- olis of the Northwest.

Industries and Manufactures .- The chief industries of the town- ship are stock-raising and dairying in the north, while in the south fine crops are raised. About two miles southwest of Hobart is a cheese factory, owned by Mr. Clinton, which has been running as long as four years. Excellent cheese is made here. A creamery has just been started about half a mile east of Lake Station, by Mr. Banky. There is a vine- yard near Hobart that has been run by D. B. Lightner for several years. He has been selling grapes and making but little wine. A saw mill was established at Hobart in 1845. Hobart owes its prosperity more to its brick yards than to anything else. F. A. Smith now runs one yard, and expects to make in a year about 800,000 brick, besides drain tile. The yard belonged to Sholl, who got it from Nash. George Stalker

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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.

began operations in 1879, and can make about one and a half millions & year. He makes both common and pressed brick. Waterbury & Mills owned the works before Stocker, and they bought of Harland & Mould- ing, who opened up in 1867. By far the largest yard is owned and operated by Hinchliff & Owens. They have two yards at Porter. This yard has been established this year, 1882, and has a capacity of 40,000 a day. They employ fifty hands, and the pay roll foots up over $2,000 a month. The brick are made with a Penfield machine, run by a sixty- horse-power engine. By digging a well they found that there is a thickness of eighty feet of fine blue clay, which is a practically inex- haustible supply. There are now on the yards of this company about three-fourths of a million brick, burnt and unburnt. There is near these brick-yards a large ice house, owned by the Smith Bros., the capacity of which is 4,000 tons.

Lake Station is in the northeastern part of the township, near the the Calumet, at a distance of about fifteen miles from the county seat. It takes its date from the building of the Michigan Central Railroad in 1852, and its name from the county. At this point originates the Joliet Cut-Off. The railroad company has here preserved two fine parks, one on each side of the road, in which stand many fine, large trees saved from the timber vandals. These are by far the finest depot grounds in the county. Here the railroad has a small engine house in which some light repairs are made. Most of the people are connected with the railroad. It is very sandy in and around the town, but the location is fine and the scenery quite pretty. There are two churches, a Catholic and a Meth- odist. The Catholic is reputed to be the oldest church in the township. It is a frame, and stands on a sand-hill and has a small burying ground attached. Just across the way stands the Methodist Church, which is the old schoolhouse. When used for school purposes, it was also used by the Methodists and Lutherans for divine services. Just south of this stands the new schoolhouse, a neat brick, with a belfry and a bell. Surrounded by a natural grove and standing upon a little hill above the town, it pre- sents a fine appearance. All three of these houses are founded upon the sands. The schoolhouse was built in 1878. The town has two saloons, four stores, and the usual number of ordinary artisans for a town of the size. It has one rather fine-looking hotel. On the whole, the town has not improved much for several years.

Churches, etc .- Besides the churches above-named, there is one about one and a half miles east of Lake Station, a Swedish Lutheran; and an- other northeast of Hobart, with a graveyard by it. This was built about six years ago. The Swedish Lutheran Church of Hobart, built in 1869, was the first church edifice erected in town. The following are the

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HOBART TOWNSHIP.

names of those who gave most toward its erection : John E. Mander, A. E. Wall, Andrew Peterson, Gustave Johnson, Andrew Johnson, Charles Neilson and Gustave Isaacson, who each gave $50. Many others gave according to their means, $25, $15 or $10. About $800 was raised ; $150 was obtained from the Conference and a debt of $300 was assumed, which has since been paid. They now have the finest bell in the town, put up in 1874, at a cost of $475. The original membership was about seventy ; it is now about 250. The present minister is the Rev. Chall- man, who has a charge at Chesterton and another at Porter Station.

What is now the Catholic Church was formerly used as a picture gal- lery. It was bought from John Earle in 1874, for $1,200. Humphrey Torphy gave $100, a number gave $50, and others $25, while others gave smaller sums. The first priest was Father O'Reilly, the second, Father Bomgardner, the third, Father Roth, who is the present priest. At first there were but sixteen families; now there are about thirty belong- ing to the congregation. The Unitarian society has a church worth $2,500, is out of debt, and has a present membership of about seventy-five. They have no regular minister at present. Mr. Jennings, of Chicago, who came out for some time every two weeks, was the last regular minister. Their first minister was Carson Parker, in 1876-77. The "Christian Union Church " or " Tabernacle Society," at Hobart, was organized and a church built in 1877. There were about 100 members at first. There is now no church organization, but the Free Methodists hold meet- ings in the church; twenty or thirty support the services. The first minister was Thomas Fluck; the second, David Andrews; the third, John Kelsey, and the fourth and present minister, H. H. Cannon. The church cost about $500. The German Methodist Church at Hobart was organized in 1875. It was built the same year as the Unitarian, at an expense of $1,200. The German Lutheran was built some six or seven years ago. It is a neat brick, and has a good frame parsonage in the same inclosure on the south side of it. The following is a copy of the inscription upon the plate in front of the American Methodist Church : "First M. E. Church, 1871. Trustees-J. T. Stafford, William Lyne, William G. Frank, P. P. Gordon, O. H. Spencer. Building Committee -W. H. Rifenburg, M. Cowlen. Builder-John Warner."

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Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 59

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur 1852-1926. cn; Blanchard, Charles Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey Number of Pages: 788

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur 1852-1926. cn; Blanchard, Charles
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : F. A. Battey
Number of Pages: 788