Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 9

Author: F.A. Battey & Co; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, F.A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 796

USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 9
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 9

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).

Know all men by these presents, that I, Robert Bothrock, acknowledge myself to owe and to be indebted to John Barr, H. E. Hiorth and John Rothrock in the sum of $1,000. good and lawful money of the United States, to the payment of which I bind myself, my heirs, administrators and executors firmly by these presents, signed and sealed this 10th day of September, A. D. 1834.

The conditionof the above obligation is such, that, whereas, the aforesaid John Barr, H. E. Hiorth and John Rothrock having placed in the hands of the said Robert Rothrock the sum of $137.77} for the purpose of entering at the La Porte Land Office the following fractional lots, to wit : the south half of the northeast quarter and the north half of the southeast quarter of Section 33, Township 27 north, Range 3 west, containing in all 110 22-100 acres, which lots were purchased for the purpose of a county seat in White County. Now, if the said Robert Both- rock shall make to the said John Barr, HI. E. Hiorth and John Rothrock good and sufficient title in fee simple, then the above obligation to be null and void ; other- wise to remain in full force and virtue : the above deeds or titles to be made as soon as the patent can be obtained from the Government.

ROBERT ROCKROCK. [SEAL. ]

Attest, JOSHUA LINDSEY,

PETER B. SMITH.

HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.

Tradition says that Robert Rothrock coveted the distinction of having entered the land where the county seat was located, and to humor this ambition the three men furnished him the money, taking his bond as above. The county seat was located, then, by the 5th of September, and on the 6th, as shown by the tract book, Robert Rothrock entered the land at La Porte ; but the above bond was signed and sealed on the 10th of September, four days after the land had been entered. In other words, Robert Rothrock entered the land four days before his bond was signed, and was therefore intrusted with the money before he had ob- ligated himself to transfer the land to the proper owners, Barr, Hiorth and John Rothrock. The title actually passed from Robert Rothrock to these three men, or rather directly to the County Agent, the three men quit-claiming their title.

First Plat .-- As stated above, Monticello was laid out on the 3d of November, 1834, and on the 7th, in pursuance of an order of the County Commissioner, a public sale of the lots took place, Melchi Gray officiat- ing as auctioneer or crier and Joshua Lindsey serving as clerk of the sale. The detailed results of this sale cannot be given. The old plat was bounded on the north by Marion street, east by Tippecanoe, south by Jefferson and west by Illinois. On the 6th of March, 1837, the title to the land not having yet passed from Robert Rothrock to Barr, Hiorth and John Rothrock, the former conveyed the following tract of land to John Barr, County Agent, and his successors in office : Beginning at a point where the west line of Illinois street in the said town of Monticello running north as the town plat of the said town is laid out would inter- sect the north line of the southwest fraction of the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 27 north, Range 3 west, thence east with the north line of said fraction to the Tippecanoe River, thence with the meanderings of the said river to the south line of the northwest fraction of the southeast quarter of Section 33, Township 27 north, Range 3 west, thence with the south line of said last mentioned fraction west to a point where the west line of said Illinois street aforesaid extended south would intersect said last mentionned line, thence north with the west line of said Illinois street, extended as aforesaid to the place of beginning. The conveyance was made upon the express condition that the county seat should forever remain located upon the land. Appended to this document was a quit claim of all the rights, titles and interests of Barr, Hiorth and John Rothrock in the land, conditioned that the land should forever remain the site of the county seat. In view of these conditional trans- fers, and the lapse of time and the growth of public institutions and in- terests, the difficulty of removing the county seat to some other point in White County becomes at once apparent.

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The First Buildings .- Monticello was laid out so late in the fall of 1834 that it is probable that no attempt was made to construct buildings until early the following spring. Two buildings were erected about the same time-an office for William Sill, County Clerk, Auditor and Re- corder, and a small combined store building and dwelling for Henry Orwig, of Delphi, who had purchased a lot or more in the town at the public sale the preceding fall. In May, 1835, Orwig began to sell from a small stock of goods, consisting of a general assortment worth $500. It was necessary, at this time and for many years afterward, for merchants to obtain a license to sell goods ; but Orwig did not obtain his license until the following autumn. The town began to grow rapidly. Carpen- ters, blacksmiths, doctors, merchants, minister, lawyers, speculators and mechanics of all trades began to appear, and the erection of dwellings and shops, both log and frame, soon established the principal streets. The energy of the place was even more pronounced during the year 1836 than during 1835. Rowland Hughes opened his tavern in May, 1836, paying $5 for the license. Parcel & Nicholson opened with a general stock of goods about the same time. The exact value of any of the early stocks of goods cannot be given ; but none exceeded $1,000, as ap- pears from the licenses which are yet in existence. These men paid $10 for their license, as did also Ford, Walker & Co., who began about the same time-May, 1836. Rowland Hughes soon obtained license to sell whisky, and thus laid the foundation for all the subsequent years of traffic in that infernal liquid. The distinction is not to be envied. Pat- rick Sullivan soon opened up with whisky, and was afterward indicted one or more times for selling whisky to the Indians, in violation of the law. It was nothing unusual then to see Indians come into town, some- times on ponies, and to see them enter the shops to buy goods, trade beads and trinkets for the articles they coveted, or to get drunk on " co- cooshy." It is stated that several years later, when Monticello was quite a town, and the citizens were much prouder, two or three deer were seen lying near a large stone and a patch of hazel brush, just north of where the post office now is, as late as 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning. They had enjoyed their night's rest withi no one to molest or make them afraid, and even the appearance of the day brought no disturbers. It is possible that the citizens had become so proud and fashionable that they had assumed city airs, and had not yet arisen. Or perhaps they were so few and made so little noise that the deer were not scared. The fact remains that the deer did not leave their grassy couch until about 8 or 9 o'clock.

Industries .- In September, 1836, the County Commissioners issued orders to have a large pond on Main street filled with logs and gravel.

HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.

These old timbers will be taken out as sound as ever one of these days. William Sill began selling from a general stock in 1836, as did also Reynolds & Cassel. In November, 1836, Monticello presented about the following appearance : William Sill and Peter Martin, variety mer- chants ; James Parker, Sheriff; Jonathan Harbolt, carpenter ; Rowland Hughes, tavern keeper and whisky seller ; Dr. Samuel Rifenberrick, gen- eral merchandise ; Reynolds & Cassel, general merchandise ; Mr. Perces, grocer; James McKinley, carpenter ; T. R. Dawson, carpenter ; Chris- tian Dasher, carpenter; G. R. Bartley, farmer; John Ream, farmer ; Joseph Skidmore, blacksmith ; Thompson Crose, blacksmith; Rev. Joshua Lindsey, minister, Justice of the Peace and Postmaster ; D. M. Tilton, tailor and Deputy Postmaster; Jacob Meyers, tailor; Jacob Thomas, shoe-maker; Asa Allen, Surveyor; Widow Bott; Widow Reese ; Robert Spencer, car- penter ; John Hanawalt, carpenter ; Jacob Franklin cabinet-maker ; Will- iam Brock, plasterer and cabinet-maker ; Nathaniel White, farmer ; John Dicker ; Oliver Hammon, small store; Salmon Sherwood, carpenter ; Abraham Snyder, tanner. There were, perhaps, a few others in town. The population at that time was about one hundred. There was a small frame schoolhouse standing, also a small frame court house. Mr. Heckendorn says that Robert Spencer was employed to erect the court house, which he did ; but a heavy storm blew it down, and so demolished it that Jonathan Harbolt was hired to build another, which he accord- ingly did, the house being the one now occupied by Mr. Switzer as a wagon shop.

In May, 1837, Peter Martin was licensed to conduct a ferry across the river at Monticello, and was required to keep a boat large enough for teams and a smaller boat or canoe for persons. In May, 1838, Peter B. Smith opened a store of general merchandise. The County Commis- sioners in November, 1838, appointed Zebulon Sheets, John Ream and William Sill, Trustees to receive the title to the graveyard north of town, and the sum of $30 was appropriated out of the County Treasury to be expended upon the ground. Reynolds & Cassel went out of business in 1839 ; but Sill, Hughes, Ford, Walker & Co., Melchi Gray, P. B. Smith, Rifenberrick & Brearley were yet plying their crafts, the others mentioned having retired from business. Jacob Beck opened a tavern in September, 1839, and John Brady the same in 1840. Hiorth had an interest in the store of P. B. Smith. Kendall & Bro. were in business in November, 1840. Jacob Beck was the County Census Taker in 1840. Isaac Reynolds conducted a store in 1842. In 1841, Richard Tilton made twenty-four chairs for the court house, receiving $19 for the job. In March, 1843,'James A. Clark became ferryman at Monticello. J. C. Merrian & Co. opened a store in 1844. During all the years up to this

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time, it was a common thing in the colder months to see deer hanging on the streets, or in wagons en route for Delphi, Logansport, La Fayette, or Michigan City. A deer-skin was worth from $1 to $3. A great price was paid for the scalps of wolves, as an inducement to the settlers to make extra effort to rid the county of these marauding creatures. It was a common tale to hear of the destruction of some fine flock of sheep, and to hear some irate owner using emphatic language not prescribed in the dec- alogue, and highly expressive of anger and disapprobation.

Industries, continued .- In about 1845-46, Sill, Hughes, Merrian & Co., C. W. Kendall, Reynolds, Rifenberrick & Brearley, Andrew Sproule, William Sheets & Co., and perhaps a few others were conduct- ing stores at the county seat. Reynolds and Merrian became partners in 1846. In December of this year, John R. Willey and William Wolf took charge of the ferry at Monticello. The Kendall Brothers owned a fine large store of general merchandise in 1848. Sheets & Co. had greatly increased their stock by 1849. James L. Pauley took the ferry in June, 1851. At this time there was extensive travel across the river and the ferryman realized no little from the general prosperity. A newspaper had been started in 1849, and the great water-power had been developed by an incorporated company of the citizens, and the manu- facturing enterprises had just been started with immense and rapidly in- creasing patronage and usefulness. Monticello at this time was a lively place. Strangers with money to invest thronged its streets ; artisans and mechanics flocked in and erected shops ; merchants doubled their stocks of goods ; secret societies were founded ; large quantities of wool and grain sought the mills ; schools and churches multiplied in number and usefulness, and all interests, both public and private, expanded with the activity of the times. The previous sluggish currents of commerce were changed into torrents by the floods of wild-cat bank issues that were literally rained down upon the channels of trade. Notwithstanding the fact that the actual value of private bank paper was usually unknown, the knowledge of its cheapness and its doubtful value served to float it more swiftly through commercial channels, as all holders of it feared its becoming worthless on their hands. Under the pressure of all this growth, the town was incorporated, and the citizens carried their heads at a prouder angle. In addition to all this, there was talk of a railroad ! The New Albany & Salem Railroad was to be built and rumor extended the track through Monticello, and fancy already saw the iron horse. The County Commissioners voted to assist the enterprise. But the county seat was doomed to grievous disappointment. The citizens could scarcely believe that the road was to pass so near them and yet so far. To add to the general distress, Reynolds sprang into active life, and soon laid

HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.

claims for the county seat. But this was not to be. The development of the conditions fixing the seat by justice at Monticello soon quieted all serious apprehensions, and it is to be hoped that the matter is forever at rest.

Later Merchants and Business Men .- It is not within the scope of a work of this character to enter into all the details of merchandising at Monticello, even if it were possible to do so, which it is not. In about 1852, J. & D. K. Ream opened a store, as did also Lovejoy & Rey- nolds. Harbolt & Hartman, who had been in the furniture business for years on a small scale, enlarged their operations, and their shop became a prominent factor of the business enterprises of the place. They furnished coffins for a large section of country. Sheets & Braden were merchants about 1855. Hogland & Russell began selling flannels, satinets, etc., about this time, or soon afterward. Among the business establishments, etc., in 1859-62, were the following : James E. Ballard, drugs; Drs. R. Spencer & Son, drugs ; Reich & Son, marble dealers; H. C. Kirk, mar- ble dealer ; W. B. Keefer, merchant tailor ; John C. Brown, boot and shoe manufacturer; W. A. Parry, grocer; W. H. Parcels, blacksmith ; Samuel Cooper, barber ; George Bowman, Professor of Public School ; Faling & Anderson. groceries and drugs; Richard Brown, stoves and tin- ware; J. & J. C. Reynolds, dry goods ; W. W. Willey, wagon factory ; E. J. C. Hilderbrand, wagon and plow factory ; Jesse Kilgore, meat market ; Kilgore & Shepard, merchandise; N. C. Pettit, grocery and bakery ; Robert Tinsdale, grocery; M. A. Berkey, grocery; C. C. Loomis, dry goods ; N. Hetherington, saddle and harness shop; Van Voorst Hotel ; Monticello House, by E. Hill ; D. M. Tilton, real estate; Jennings & Stockdill, manufacturers of wagons, harrows, plows, cultivators, corn planters, carts, wheelbarrows, etc. ; R. Voorhies and L. Trenary, milliners and dress-makers ; W. H. Collins, jeweler ; Andrew Jackson, grocery ; W. A. Underhill, miller ; George Inman, bakery ; Morgan & Fairman, marble shop; Edward Neff, jeweler ; Monticello Sax-Horn Band; C. W. Kendall, dry goods ; Hogland & Ayers, woolen factory; F. H. Keif- haber, plow factory; Kingsbury & Lynch, successors to Hogland & Ayers, woolen factory ; Benjamin Spencer, photographer ; J. C. Rey- nolds, brick kiln ; and many others who did not advertise, and therefore their names cannot be given. During this period (1859-62), the town received another impulse that multiplied every department of business. The Logansport, Peoria & Burlington Railroad was projected and com- pleted through the county from east to west, and a station was located at Monticello. This no sooner became a certainty than the "boom" of 1849 -53 was repeated, only on a grander scale. The population of the town almost doubled, and buildings of all descriptions went up to accommodate

UNION TOWNSHIP.

the increase. The village was incorporated, and an extensive system of labor was begun to properly drain and grade the streets, and to provide suitable sidewalks. Stock was restrained from running at large, and the evidence that there was such a body as " The City Fathers" became ap- parent. It was about this time, also, that certain men of wealth living in the town made themselves disagreeably conspicuous by a fawning refusal to assist in various publie enterprises that were projected ; and even when capitalists appeared ready to invest in some ereditable pursuit that would greatly enhance the value of real estate and property of all kinds, not a foot of land was sold them, and they were permitted to depart with pesti- lential stories of Monticello. The march of improvement went on, however, despite these dogs in the manger, and has con- tinued with somewhat lessened vigor until the present. The comple- tion of the Indianapolis, Delphi & Chicago Railroad a few years ago gave increased growth to the town. Monticello is now well supplied with ship- ping facilities. Large quantities of grain and great numbers of live stock are shipped annually to distant points.

Present Business Interests .- The present business interests of Monti- cello may be summed up as follows : Dry goods, MeCollum & Turner, R. Hughes, W. R. Kendall, Snyder & Snyder, J. M. Jost ; grocer- ies, N. C. Pettit, E. Bennett & Sons, H. P. Bennett, T. Bennett & Brother, D. O. Spencer & Son, W. Jost & Brother, Davis Brothers, Joseph Young, Robert Tinsdale; hardware, Roberts & Vinson, I. Nordyke & Son, Robert Van Voorst ; drugs, John McConnell, William Spencer ; jewelry, T. J. Woltz, J. S. Wigmore, McCollum & Turner; restaurants, J. H. Burns, R. Pettit ; furniture, A. W. Loughry & Co .; milliners, Miss Hannah Casey, Mrs. Dunfrey, Mrs. B. O. Spen- cer & Co., Mrs. A. J. Bailey ; barbers, Mrs. Aldrich, J. Snecken- berger, W. Parcells, Mr. Ewalt; harness, Roberts & Vinson, R. Van Voorst, Mr. Obenchain; boots and shoes, same as in dry goods, also E. Long; bankers, Shirk & MeLean ; lumber, McCollum & Turner, Michael Beiderwolf ; grist mills, A. W. Loughry & Co., R. D. Roberts & Co; paper mill, Tippecanoe Paper Company ; woolen factory, Snyder & Snyder; elevator, McCollum & Turner; hay barn, MeCollum & Turner ; hotels, McCuaig House, Anderson House, Lear House, Failing House ; cabinet shops, Samuel Heckendorn, Roth Brothers ; newspapers, Herald, Democrat, National ; agricultural im- plements, Roberts & Vinson, John Switzer, Israel Nordyke & Son, Ed. Gardner; undertaking, M. Beiderwolf; secret societies, Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Sovereigns of the Red Star, Wo- man's Christian Temperance Union (not secret) ; carriages and wagons, John Switzer, Mahlon Frazer ; stoves and tinware, Ed Gardner, Mr.

HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.

Bennett, M. Beiderwolf; merchant tailors, W. H. Thompson, W. B. Keefer, William F. Ford, Mrs. Jane Thompson; musical instruments, George Snyder; butchers, Zink Brothers, Drake & Coonrod, Jesse Spencer ; abstracts, Guthrie & Bushnell, Reynolds & Sellers, William McCulloch; real estate, O. McConahay, Guthrie & Bushnell, Wal- ter Hartman ; saloons, Fox & Carp, John H. Peet, Mr. Mercer, Lin- derman & Ellis, Fritz & Bardfelt ; livery stables, McCuaig & Dun- lap, Wallace & Matthews ; blacksmiths, John Day, Henderson & Hay, David Rhoades ; dentists, W. P. Crowell, A. H. Wirt, Mr. Mower ; marble shop, L. M. Watt; contractors and builders, John Saunders, Roth Brothers, Richard Imes, Jesse Tice, James Perkins; dress- makers, Miss Nancy Gardner, Mrs. Coen, Miss Josephine Cowger ; plasterers, Warfel & Thompson, Abraham Hanawalt; concrete manu- facturers, Kingsbury & Peck; cigar factories, Henry Geppinger, Frank Temple ; ready made clothing, McCollum & Turner, R. Hughes, W. R. Kendall, J. M. Jost ; sewing machines, McCollum & Turner, George Snyder, Roberts & Vinson; photographers, A. J. Bailey & Co .; churches, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, German Lu- theran; ministers, J. B. Smith, J. H. Johnson, George Washburn ; doctors, R. J. Clark, S. B. Bushnell, S. R. Cowger, C. Scott, T. B. Robinson, A. J. Wood, William Spencer ; lawyers, Sill & Palmer, Reynolds & Sellers, D. D. Dale, W. J. Gridley, John Wallace, Wal- ter Hartman, Owens & Uhl, O. McConahay, W. H. Hammell, Thomas Stanford, Thomas Neil, T. N. Bunnell, Guthrie & Bushnell, Robert Gregory.

Hydraulic Companies .- In February, 1848, the Legislature enacted that Phillip Wolverton, John Burns, Ashley L. Pierce, Henry Ensmiger, Randolph Brearley, John C. Merriam, Zachariah Van Buskirk, Isaac Reynolds and Zebulon Sheets should constitute a " body politic and cor- porate under the name and style of the Monticello Hydraulic Company," whose object was to develop the water-power of the Tippecanoe River at Monticello. In January, 1849, the company bought a small tract of land of a man known as R. Hughes, and in June of the same year another small tract of Zebulon Sheets, one of the members. Under a lease, Messrs. Reynolds & Brearley erected a large frame grist mill for merchant work ; and about the same time Hogland & Conkling built the woolen factory. A saw mill was also built by Zebulon Sheets. A second saw mill was afterward built by Hogland & Conkling; it became the furniture factory. Reynolds & Brearley erected the large frame warehouse that was afterward used many years for a schoolhouse. All these enterprises began active work, the results of which are narrated a few pages back. The utilization of this water-power marks an important

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era in the history of Monticello. The leases were for ten years, and in- cluded certain portions of the water-power and small pieces of adjacent land. These mills have been operated until the present, and their value to Monticello cannot be estimated in figures. Probably the first wool dealer was Peter Price, who for a number of years before a factory was built in the county bought and traded for a considerable quantity of wool which was shipped in wagons to Delphi, La Fayette, and other places on the Wabash & Erie Canal, and even hauled to Michigan City, the trip consuming about a week. He also kept in his house west of town woolen cloths which were either traded for wool or sold for cash. Arthur Rus- sell, Ayres, Kingsbury, Lynch, were at times connected with the woolen factory at Monticello. During the war, Kingsbury & Lynch renewed the lease of the water-power necessary to run their factory for another ten years. The other establishments on the dam did the same. In 1866, Markle & Cowdin erected the woolen factory on the east side of the river. The Dales, Keefer & Roberts, and perhaps others were afterward con- nected with it, but a few years ago the building was fitted up to do mer- chant work in grinding grain, and thus continues at present.

In April, 1872, the Tippecanoe Hydraulic Company was organized as a sort of successor to the old Monticello Hydraulic Company, the object being the development of the water-power at or near the county seat. The members subscribed $60,000 worth of stock, the same being divided into shares of $50 each, and the organization was to continue fifty years. The first Trustees were Albert Reynolds, W. S. Ayres, Robert M. Strait, J. C. Blake and William Braden. The operations of the company were to be carried on at Monticello. At the same time, the Monticello Lumbering & Barrel Heading Manufacturing Company was created, the most of the members also belonging to the Hydraulic Com- pany. These companies have greatly added to the industrial interests centering at Monticello. The paper mill below town and in Carroll County is one of the results.

The Banking Business .- In 1871-72, a private banking business was begun, a comparatively new man in the town, one J. C. Wilson, becom- ing President. A number of the best citizens were connected with this bank during the time from its origin until it became the First National Bank of Monticello in the winter of 1874-75. The announced capital was $25,000; but owing to dissensions which arose among the members, and to other causes which are largely speculative, the bank failed to realize the expectations of its founders, or gain the entire confidence of the pub- lic. This led to its transformation into the First National Bank. The new stockholders were as follows: John Burns, $1,000 ; R. Hughes, $1,600; J. D. Timmons, $1,000; J. E. Loughry, $1,000,C. C. Spen-

HISTORY OF WHITE COUNTY.

cer, $1,600 ; William Spencer, $1,600; C. W. Kendall, $1,600; Jo- seph Kious, $1,600; L. M. Burns, $1,600; Lowe Brothers, $3,100 W. W. Reynolds, $5,000; Irvin Greer, $1,000 ; Perry Spencer, $1,000 ; Jephtha Crouch, $500 ; and the balance to make $50,000 was owned by J. C. Wilson and A. W. Reynolds. The bank from the start had the entire confidence of the community, and within about eight months the deposits amounted to $110,000. In a short time, internal troubles arose, and the members began to dispose of their stock and withdraw. Deposi- tors lost confidence and called for their money. The Herald began to suggest that all was not right. It became evident that Wilson, and per- haps others, was speculating in wheat, horses, wool, etc., very likely with the money belonging to the bank, and it likewise became evident that heavy reverses had been met. Serious complaints arrived from distant parts, which involved the credit of the bank. The Herald continued its criticisms and denunciations, and was finally notified that suit had been commenced against it for criminal libel, the damages claimed amounting to $20,000. But the paper showed this to be a clever dodge to escape the charges of unlawful, at least improper, behavior, and continued with no abatement in the severity of its articles. In June, 1879, the bank closed its doors, the President, J. C. Wilson, absconded to Canada, and a number of stockholders, depositors and creditors clamored in vain for their money. A receiver was appointed, various law suits were instituted, and thus the matter remains at present.

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Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical, Part 9

Author: F.A. Battey & Co; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, F.A. Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 796

Author: F.A. Battey & Co; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, F.A. Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 796