USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 13
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 13
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The Press .- The Brookston Reporter, a six-column folio newspaper, independent in politics, was founded April 17, 1873, by M. H. Ingram. August 3, 1874, it was purchased by D. S. and C. C. French. The partnership continued until January, 1879, when C. C. French became the sole proprietor. During the time that Mr. Ingram published the paper it was issued on Thursday of each week, and for a short time after the Messrs. French became the proprietors of it, Thursday remained publication day. After a short time, however, the publication day was changed to Friday, and has remained so to the present time. It has a patent outside, as have most local papers at the present day. It is a neat and ably conducted little sheet, and is doing much good in the com- munity.
CHAPTER V.
BY M. T. MATTHEWS.
HONEY CREEK TOWNSHIP-NAME AND CREATION-FIRST SETTLE- MENT-EARLY ELECTIONS AND OFFICERS-FIRST LAND ENTRIES -- MILLING INTERESTS-REYNOLDS-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-THE RAILROADS-OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST.
F IROM a stream that wends its course through Honey Creek Town- ship from southwest to northeast, the township derived its name. Previous to 1855, the territory now constituting the above-mentioned township was attached to Union Township for election purposes, and thus remained until the June term of the Commissioners' Court in 1855, when it was "Ordered, that Congressional Township 27 north, of Range 4 west, be and the same is hereby constituted
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Honey Creek Township." The first steps made toward the creation of this new township were by Benjamin Reynolds, Leander H. Jewett, Abram Van Voorst and numerous other citizens, who, in 1854, signed a petition and presented it to the Court of County Commissioners, praying the creation of the township. The township contains thirty-six square miles, has twenty-three thousand and forty acres of land and is bounded on the north by Monon, east by Union, south by Big Creek and west by Princeton. At the time of the formation of Honey Creek Township, in 1855, and for a number of years afterward, the soil was noted for its extreme wetness. So wet was it that it might have been properly termed water township instead of the name it now bears. Since 1860, there has been a large amount of drainage done. At the close of 1882, the township had at least twenty miles of public ditches, besides many constructed at private expense. The greater portion of the land in Honey Creek Township is now under cultivation or is susceptible of cultivation.
First Settlement .- The first settlement in the territory that now composes Honey Creek Township was about the time the county was or- ganized, in 1834. In the spring of 1834, the words, "Go West, young man," seem to have fallen upon the ears of Joshua Rinker and wife, for they were soon found wending their way from their Buckeye home to what is now Honey Creek Township. Mr. Rinker and wife settled on Section 34, and began improvement by erecting a cabin. This structure was not unlike cabins which were built very near the same time. The round logs, the floor of split trees hewed only on one side, the clapboard roof, the old fire-place, the one small window, and the door that for years swung to and fro upon its creaking leather hinges, are some of the remembrances of this the supposed first cabin of Honey Creek Township. Some of the other early settlers were Peter B. Smith (a Norwegian), who came into the township in 1834 and began settle- ment in the northeast corner, on Section 1. A man by the name of Day came into the township in the same year and began settle- ment on Section 35. Day kept "bachelor's hall," the keeping of which need not here be pictured. Joseph Cole, James Cole and Moses Cole began settlement in the township in 1835, and about the same time came Jesse Grooms, Frank Johnson, Moses Johnson and Adison Johnson. William Turner was also among the first to commence set- tlement in the territory. Mr. Turner settled on the range line in the extreme northern part, and about the same date another improvement was begun on Seetion 34, by a man named Bisher. On account of the light- ning striking the cabin and instantly killing a daughter of Mr. Bisher and severely injuring a little son, the house was abandoned. After
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
this, Mr. Bisher and family left the township. Nathaniel White was one of the first to begin settlement in Honey Creek Township. Mr. White came from England about 1833 or 1834, and soon afterward en- tered eighty acres of land in the township and at once erected a cabin in which he lived for many years a lone and solitary life. A. M. Dickin- son, Harry Thompson, John Bates, Joseph De Long, J. E. Dunham, Samuel Verdon, Nicholas Myers, Mrs. Sarah Bunnell, W. H. Rinker, Thomas Rinker, T. N. Bunnell, George W. Bunnell and several others were among the first settlers in the township. Stephen Miller made set- tlement in the township on Section 26, V. McColloch on Section 27 and John Wilson on Section 22, as early as 1836 or 1837. Abram Van Voorst, Cason Wood, Benjamin Reynolds, M. M. and R. W. Sill, Na- thaniel Bunnell and several others were among the early and prominent men in the township. In 1854, there had not been any settlement begun in the township west of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway, and it was not until this railroad was completed through the township that settlement became more rapid than it had hitherto been. During the building of this improvement, the township was flooded with foreigners. After the organization of the township, the Germans commenced settling in the same, and in a few years persons of this nationality held, per- haps, the balance of power. The Germans, as a rule, purchased small farms (forty acre farms) and improved them and then would purchase more land and improve that. Some of the finest and best cultivated farms in Honey Creek Township to-day are those owned by Germans. Civilization leads the way to improvement and culture.
First Elections and Officers .- At an election held at the Reynolds schoolhouse on the 7th day of April, 1856, the following men asserted their rights at the ballot box : Abram Van Voorst, D. L. Hamilton, New- ton Organ, M. M. Sill, O. L. Dale, J. S. Goddard, Ira Keller, James Cole, Aaron Wood, Joseph Cole, Thomas Glanford, Nathaniel Bunnell, Thornton Williams, Samuel Horren, Washington Burnes, Robert W. Sill, Frederick Medorse, Jesse Holton, Marshall Johnson, Adison John- son, Joshua Rinker, George Williams, Thomas Cain, John Jeffcoots, S. A. Miller, Abraham Irvin, Daniel Coble, A. M. Dickinson, Patrick Horn, R. R. Pettit, John Horren, L. H. Jewett, Isaac Barker, Isaac S. Vinson, John Bates, Lewis Kruger, J. W. Balger, J. Q. Bunnell, Na- thaniel White, James Toppy, Isaac M. Cantwell, John Callis and Frederick Helm. The above was the first election held in Honey Creek Town- ship, and at it were elected the following Trustees : Samuel Horren, for a term of three years; Abram Van Voorst, for two years, and A. M. Dickinson for one year. Leander H. Jewett and M. M. Sill were elected Justices of the Peace for two years; R. R. Pettit and Homer
,
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Glassford were elected Constables for one year ; Nathaniel Bunnell was elected Township Treasurer for one year, and Joshua Rinker, Newton Organ and James Coble were elected Supervisors of Roads for the same time. At this clection, thirty-five votes were received for road tax, Ira Kells and A. Wood, Judges, O. S. Dale and M. M. Sill, Clerks.
At an election held at the same place on the second Tuesday in Oc- tober, 1856, the following men voted : James Himes, William White, Aaron Wood, A. M. Dickinson, J. B. Bunnell, Abram Van Voorst, J. H. Thomas, Stephen Miller, L. H. Ambler, Thornton Williams, Marion Hamilton, Samuel Harper, Isaac Ruger, J. S. Reynolds, Samuel Horren, J. W. Brasket, William Harper, R. R. Pettit, Thomas Harper, John Noah, William Headen, Michael Foundry, F. Harper, L. H. Jewett, F. N. Holam, Lewis Shall, F. Kefsis, James S. Miller, George F. Miller, Jacob Heastur, James Dale, M. M. Sill, James Kenton, A. Page, J. F. Goddard, M. Foram, John Candent, E. Lickory, John Boles, Charles Keller, Henry Veslong, M. T. Johnson, John Cole, Anderson Johnson, George Williams, James Cole, Benjamin Clark, Hugh Irvin, Ira Keller, John Lealy, Patrick Henry, D. L. Hamilton, N. W. Bunnell, G. Helar, A. A. Ferryfold, Isaac Kentwell, Joseph Skentington, John Cox, Jeff- coots, B. T. Meyers, A. Weise, George Emery, Nathaniel White, C. Perry, Joshua Perry, James Pettit, Jerry Hamilton, Thomas Spencer, Solomon McColloch, James M. Bragg, John Horn, Nathaniel Bunnell, Adam Morgan, Joshua Rinker, Aden Nordyke, Patrick Horn, Patrick Poating, James Turpie, Joseph Dale, P. Hartman, W. P. Stark, Joseph DeLong, Abram Irvin, and Newton Organ. This was the first State election held in the township, and nearly every voter in it exercised his might through the ballot box.
Previous to the spring election of 1858, a petition had been presented to the Board of County Commissioners, numerously signed by citizens of the township, praying the privilege of electing another Justice of the Peace, and thereby supplying the township with two Justices instead of one, as had been the case since the organization.
The county records show that William Miller Kenton entered land in the township in 1833; John W. Bunnell in 1835; Nathaniel Bunnell in 1834; Thomas Bunnell in 1834; Eliza Ann Bunnell in 1835; John Wilson in 1833; Benjamin H. Dixon in 1836, and Thomas Broomfield in 1836. These were the first or among the first persons to enter home- steads in Honey Creek Township.
Mills .- The first saw mill in the township was built where Reynolds stands, in 1854, by Messrs. Johnson & Cole. This was a steam mill and had a saw of the upright pattern. This enterprise continued for a
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
time, and did a fair business, but ere long reverses came (as they did to many enterprises in those days), and the machinery connected with the mill was soon disposed of at Sheriff's sale. The building stood for years unused, and was finally torn down. Thus quickly died the first and only stationary mill of this kind known in the history of the township.
The first grist mill in the township was a steam one, in a building that was erected by M. M. and R. W. Sill, who had used it for several years as a warehouse. The above-mentioned building is located in the town of Reynolds. About the year 1868, Messrs. Tucker & Jenks pur- chased the property, and placed in the machinery for the grist mill. Two sets of buhrs were used, one for making flour and the other for grinding corn. The firm continued the business about two years, when Tucker disposed of his interest to his partner, and he (Jenks) ran the mill one year and then sold it, and since that time the property has changed hands several times, and now rests in the hands of Messrs. Ream & Hert- lein, the present proprietors.
Railways .- The township has been vastly aided and the price of real estate greatly enhanced since the construction of the railroads though its borders. The Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis road extends through the township east and west. This line was commenced in 1855, and completed through the township in 1859, and the Louisville, New Al- bany & Chicago road was begun in 1853, and finished through the town- ship in 1854.
First Birth and Death .- The first white child born in Honey Creek Township is thought to have been Ellen Rinker, daughter of Joshua Rinker. The first person who died in the township is supposed to have been a lady by the name of Bisher, the same person, however, that was killed by lightning in the early history of Honey Creek Township.
Reynolds .- This town, of more than a common or ordinary interest, is situated in the southern part of Honey Creek Township, at the crossing of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago and the Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis Railways, and has a population of about four hundred and fifty.
The town was named in honor of one of its founders, Benjamin Rey- nolds. On the 10th day of January, 1854, George S. Rose, Benjamin Reynolds, Christian Carrell and William M. Kenton, platted or laid out the original town of Reynolds. The original plat was constructed upon the northeast half of the northeast quarter of Section 34, in Town- ship twenty-seven (27) north, of Range four (4) west, in White County, State of Indiana. The following streets were laid off in the original plat : Main, Sill, Kenton, Boone, First, Second, Third and Fourth. Main
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street was sixty-six feet wide, as were all other streets running north and south, while all streets running east and west were only sixty feet wide. The alleys were all surveyed sixteen feet wide.
This plat (the original) of Reynolds contained 155 lots, each of which had sixty feet front, but the depth varied. The first addition to the town of Reynolds was made by Thomas Bunnell and William M. Kenton on the 24th of January, 1855, and was known as the North Addition, and was made from the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 28, Town 27 north, Range 4 west, containing forty acres more or less, commencing at the southeast corner, the center of Main street, thence north, on the section line about eighty rods, thence west about eighty rods, thence south about eighty rods to the southwest corner of said land, thence east along the section line to the place of beginning. This addition consisted of 141 lots. The second and last addition to the town of Reynolds was made on the 4th of May, 1866, by Mrs. S. A. Vail, and is designated as Vail's Addition, and the same was laid out west of the North Addition to said town and included all that part of the south- west quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 28, Township 27 north, Range 4 west, which laid south of the Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis Railway ; this addition consisted of eighteen lots.
The first business house or building of any description on the present site of Reynolds was what is now known as the Centennial House (a name given it in 1876), that was erected by Benjamin Reynolds in 1852, This was used from the time of its erection until recently as a hotel. The original part of the building was 18x40 feet, one story high. In 1867 the first part was raised and two stories were put under it, and at the same time some additions were attached to the original. The building is now rented to the " Reynolds Light Fantastic Club " for $72 per annum, and in it the lads and the lasses of Reynolds and round about meet once a week and "drive dull care away " through the medium of the merry, merry dance. A man by the name of Burnes carried on the first black- smith shop in Reynolds, and John Horn was the first merchant, and his stock of merchandise consisted of groceries, dry goods, boots, shoes and . whisky. The sale of the last named article predominated greatly. Horn was a representative of that country beyond the Atlantic, that to-day is the saddest upon which the sun casts his rays. The following is a list of the first merchants who sold goods in the town of Reynolds, in about the order in which they began business.
Abram Timmons, 1853; James Rickey, spring of 1854; Aaron Wood, fall of 1854; Nordyke & Bunnell, spring of 1855; Isaac Vinson, fall of 1855; Irvin & Horren, fall of 1855; M. M. & R. W. Sill, spring of 1855; Irvin & Van Voorst, fall of 1856;
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
David K. Ream, 1857; H. T. Howard, spring of 1858; Samuel W. Firth sold goods in the town in 1859; Samuel Brownell, 1860; C. O. Allen, 1860. While making a visit to Louisville in the spring of 1855, M. M. Sill determined that he would launch his boat in the mer- cantile sea, and while in that city purchased $500 worth of groceries and had them shipped over the new railway then completed to Reynolds be- fore he had a house to put them in, but Mr. Sill lost no time in securing a room that had been put up in the fall of 1854, but had not been completed. In the spring of 1855, the store room was completed and in it was placed the stock of groceries and $4,000 worth of dry goods, boots, shoes etc., etc. This was by far the most extensive business yet started in Reynolds. Mr. Sill continued the business about two years, or until 1857, when he sold his entire stock of goods to David K. Ream.
Leander Jewett was the town's first Postmaster and Dr. James H. Thomas was the first physician and minister in the place, or in the town- ship. The first dwelling house in Reynolds was built in the fall of 1852 by Abram Timmons. The house is still standing and is used at present as a blacksmith shop. The second and third houses in the town were built by Jesse Grooms and Edward Day. Years have passed and the settlement of four houses has been exchanged for a thriving and enter- prising town of almost 500 inhabitants. The business interests of Reynolds are at present represented by the following list : Attorneys at law, John A. Batson and James P. Wright ; physicians, R. M. Delzell and S. W. Sluyter ; agricultural implements, Charles Heimlich ; black- smiths, Heimlich Bros. ; boots and shoes, Frank Meyer, F. A. Thomas and Michael Vogel; drugs, John Brucker ; dry goods, John Hertlein, W. S. Johnson & Co. and George Ruppert; grocers, J. E. Dunham, John Hertlein and Aaron Wood; hardware, A. Wood; grain dealer, R. Felget ; furniture, R. Kleist ; wagon-makers, Brucker & Heimlich ; stoves and tinware, Neidenberger & Son ; millinery, Mrs. M. H. Batson and Mrs. L. Wilson ; meat market, G. Weise ; lumber and laths, J. F. Brucker and Paris Nordyke ; real estate agent, J. A. Batson. The " fire- water " interest is carried on by M. Grismer and F. A. Meyer. W. S. Johnson is the town's present Postmaster.
Secret Societies .- Reynolds at one time had two secret organizations. In 1859, the Grand Lodge of the Masonic order of Indiana granted a charter to the Reynolds Lodge, which was numbered 252. Some of the charter members were R. W. Sill, Leander Jewett, Aden Nordyke, John W. Peck, Morton Mordise and John Thompson. The lodge continued in working order for a number of years, but finally it became financially embarrassed on account of a number of members moving away and others failing to pay their dues (mostly the latter), and in 1878 it voluntarily
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surrendered its charter to the Grand Lodge. At the time of the surrender of the charter, the lodge had the following officers : R. M. Delzell, W. M .; John Brucker, S. W .; Henry Chamberlain, J. W .; J. A. Batson, Secretary ; and Paris Nordyke, Treasurer. The other organization was that of the Good Templars, which was started and the charter granted July 4, 1866. For a time, the organization " ran high " and prospered. At one time, the lodge had 130 active members, and had quite an amount of money in the treasury, but when the third anniversary of its birth came round, it had lost the greater part of its strength and in October of the fourth year of the organization it had only twenty-two members and as many dollars in the treasury. These members concluded to abandon the work of " saving men " and voted that the proceeds on hand be used in preparing an oyster supper, and that the supper should be termed the " supper of the faithful few." Thus it was, that that which once was, and prospered, was so soon to become a thing of the dead past.
Schools .- The first schoolhouse in the town of Reynolds, or in the township, was built in the original plat of the place about the year 1855. The house was built by subscription. Nathaniel Bunnell gave $25 for the house and Benjamin Reynolds donated the ground. Miss Nannie Glazebrook is, perhaps, the first teacher who taught in this schoolhouse. The first school held in the town or township was taught in a corn-crib in Reynolds by Miss Ann Braday in the summer of 1854. The crib in which this school was taught was about twelve feet wide, by thirty feet long. The term was a three-months one, and there were about twenty pupils that attended. There are several of these corn-crib scholars living in the vicinity yet. The present school building in Reynolds was erected about the year 1860. The building is a frame, 24x38 feet, one story high, contains two rooms. Thomas James was the first teacher in the new schoolhouse. Jacob Thomas is the present Principal, and Miss Jennie Bernathe is the primary teacher. The school enrolls about 120 pupils and is in a healthy condition.
Churches .- The old Catholic Church erected in 1861, was the first church built in the town of Reynolds. This is a frame structure, and is used, and has been since 1876, for a parsonage. In 1876, the new Catholic Church was erected, and is known as St. Joseph's Church. The building is a large brick one, of elegant finish, erected at a cost of $12,000. There are about forty families belonging to this congregation. There is, in connection with the church, a Catholic school, called St. Joseph's School, and has twenty-six pupils. The total amount of property owned by the Catholics in the town is estimated at $14,000. The Presbyterian- Christian Church was the second house of public worship erected in the town. This is a frame structure, 22x60 feet, built by the Presbyterians
9
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HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.
about the year 1859. The Presbyterians used the building for a number of years, and then sold it to the Christians, and it has since been known as the Christian Church. The building was erected at a cost of $1,600, but was sold to the Christians for $700. The German Lutheran Church (the old one) was built in 1867 : the new one was erected in 1878, and is 30x70 feet in size, and cost about $2,000. This church was built with much care, and does credit to the sixty members who worship at its altars. The old structure is used as a German school building. The school at present is conducted by J. H. Bethke, and has an average attendance of eighty-five pupils. The Methodist Episcopal Church, a frame structure, 40x60 feet, was commenced in 1869, and finished in 1871. From a financial standpoint, this structure was wrongly christened. It should have been named Bunnell's Church, for he (Nathaniel Bunnell) almost built the church from his own pocket. This building cost about $2,000. Previous to the erection of any of the foregoing sanctuaries, services were held in the Reynolds Schoolhouse. This town can proudly boast of its schools and churches, its railways and its business interests.
Reynolds Incorporated .- At the September term of the Commis- sioners' Court in 1875, R. M. Delzell presented a petition signed by himself and fifty-three other residents of Reynolds, praying that the board issue an order declaring that the territory on which Reynolds was located be formed into an incorporation. The petition was approved by the board, and it was ordered, on the 8th of September, 1875, that on the 2d day of October, 1875, a meeting of the qualified voters of said territory be held at the schoolhouse in Reynolds, to determine whether said territory should or should not be an incorporated town. At this election, a majority of the votes cast were in favor of the incorporation, and Reynolds thereafter was designated as an incorporated town. At the first town election, the fol- lowing officers were elected : Councilman of the First Ward, Jacob Pfis- ter ; Second Ward, William Schweiule; Third Ward, Abram Van Voorst ; Clerk, J. E. Dunham ; Marshal, Joshua Bunnell ; Assesssor, Frederick Witenburg. The present town officers are as follows : Councilman of the First Ward, Frederick Witenburg ; Second Ward, John Brucker; Third Ward, John Hartman ; Clerk, J. A. Batson; Marshal, Gustave Weise. The corporation is free from debt, and town orders are at a premium.
No man or set of men can so well and so thoroughly picture the difference between the Reynolds of 1860 and on through the war and the Reynolds of 1882 as those who have lived in the town during both periods. That Reynolds, from 1860 until 1866, was noted for many miles around as one of he "tough " places of earth is not de- nied, and the statement is supported by the best citizens of the town. This was due to the rough element that came to the town when the rail-
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road was first built and when Reynolds aspired to become the county seat. There was a time during the construction of the railroad last built, when expressions similar to the following could be heard concern- ing Reynolds : " A man's life flows at a dangerous ebb if he is in Rey- nolds and the fact that he has money with him is known ;" " You are continuously in danger in Reynolds." An incident that runs as follows has often been reiterated : In 1862, a man (more whisky than man) stumbled aboard a passenger train on the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railway, at LaFayette, and when he was approached by the con- ductor and asked where he was going, replied " To Hell," whereupon the man with the punch collected from the " well filled " individual 75 cents and put him off the train at Reynolds. If this incident is true, Reynolds will no doubt acknowledge the joke. It must be said, however, that to-day Reynolds is a fine, enterprising town.
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