USA > Indiana > Posey County > History and directory of Posey County [Indiana] : containing an account of the early settlement and organization of the county : also a complete list of the tax-payers, their post-office addresses and places of residence, together with a business directory of Mt. Vernon and New Harmony also biographical sketches of prominent citizens of the county > Part 2
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election was held. When the Territory of Indiana was originally formed it contained, as has been previously stated, but four counties ; but when Indiana was admitted as a State it was composed of thirteen counties, viz: Wayne, Franklin, Dearborn, Switzerland, Jefferson, Clark, Harrison, Washington, Knox, Gibson, Warrick, Perry and Posey, and the county of Posey was so sparsely settled that she com- manded very little attention; she was to be brought into importance by the continuous changing of events in human affairs.
Posey County was named in honor of Governor Thomas Posey, a soldier of the Revolution, who administered upon the affairs of the Territory from 1813 until the time immediately preceding its admis- sion as a State; and who, in August, 1816, was defeated as a candi- date for Governor of the State by Jonathan Jennings, the total vote cast being 9, 145, he receiving 3,934 votes. William Hendricks was elected the same year to represent the State in Congress, while Daniel Grass, of Warrick County, was the first to represent the county of Posey in the State Senate, and Dann Lynn (after whom Lynn Town- ship was named,) was the first member of the House of the Legislature from Posey.
The official returns of the population of Indiana Territory, on December 4, 1815, fixed the number of inhabitants of Posey County at 1,619. Frederick Rappe represented Posey County, on May 22, 1820, in conformity with provisions of acts of Congress, April 19, 1816, and March 3, 1819, as one of ten commissioners appointed by the General Assembly of Indiana, who met "at the house of William Connor, on the west fork of White River," to "select and locate a quantity of land, not exceeding four sections, for a site for the per- manent seat of the State Government," which was done on the 7th of June of the same year; and the acts of the commissioners were ap- proved by an act of the Legislature, on January 6, 1821, "which act declared that the new seat of government should be called by the name of Indianapolis." But it was not until January. 10, 1825, that the seat of government was removed from Corydon, Harrison County, the first capital of the State, to the new and existing capital.
While we have referred remotely to the State in general, in other parts of this work, we feel that that portion in which our county is situated should receive particular notice, though circumstances neces- sitate a brief reference. At this period of time, while reviewing the progress and development of Southern Indiana, during the past fifty years, our pride leads us to conclude that no section of country of the same area, surrounded by similar influences, could have attained the position which she occupies. No country can boast a greater variety of products, a soil of greater fertility, a climate more salubrious, a people endowed with greater energy, enterprise and intelligence. It
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can be stated without fear of successful contradiction, that Southern Indiana embraces a galaxy of counties than which no brighter con- stellation can be found. Of these Posey, in many respects, is superior to most of them; while, all things considered, she is inferior to none. For many years "The Pocket " was the subject of derisive remarks, but under the nurturing treatment of her public-spirited residents she has become the wonder and admiration of visitors and strangers. Her commercial and manufacturing interests have increased to a re- markable degree, her population has augmented quite rapidly, her cities and towns have improved in architectural and substantial wealth, her broad acres are intersected by railroads, while the echoes resound with the merry songs of the farmer boy as he drives his team afield, the music of the anvil, the hammer and saw, the puffiing of steam and the clear tones of church bells in every quarter. Monuments of learning, of industry and morality are seen on every hand. What a contrast is presented by this picture when held beside that of fifty years ago! It does not seem possible, even in this wonderful age of improvements, that such a condition could be reached within the recol- lection of that sage of reverential memory, the "oldest inhabitant." With the advantages of advancement in the mechanics and of the im- proved facilities for rapid and cheap transportation, what position must this favored section occupy ere the lapse of the coming half- century ? The period, though short, if we can be governed by the past as a criterion, must witness a greater change than imagination can contemplate. A writer of local reputation, in speaking of this section of the State, says : "Southern Indiana ! Glorious Southern Indiana! A land rightly taking front rank among the fairest beneath the sun; with a clime gentle and inviting; a land dotted with opulent cities and smiling villages; a land whose fertile fields and arable plains can produce almost everything that can tempt the palate of man -- certainly everything that is absolutely needful and of utility- a land tracked and intersected by clear, and bright, and swift rolling streams; with mountains and hills teeming with mineral abundance, which does not lie hidden far beyond the ken of man, but seemingly wearied of lethargy has outcropped and is now sunning its wondrous riches ungathered. Its geographical advantages are peerless. It is the choicest section of one of the most powerful States; it is the pivot of the circle of that Heaven-favored valley stretching from the Alleghaney Mountains to the Mississippi river ; it is almost the heart of the American Continent." This certainly is a picture that is not overdrawn, for the features that are enumerated are presented in all the glory of their beauty in this land of great promise and this land of wonderful developement. The compliments that are paid are not exaggerated; indeed, additional statements could be made eulogizing
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the condition of this section, and still the actual facts would be under- stated. No land, not existing in fable, has called forth more encomia respecting its many advantages and is the possessor of a more thrifty, enterprising and industrious class of business men or inhabitants, who are more hospitable. The treasures of nature and art and the results of industry are so manifold, that contradiction can not be suc- cessfully made. The fame of Southern Indiana abroad has been grow- ing for several years, yet the story of her hidden wealth and developed richness, "as it is seen by the intelligent eye, on a liberal survey," has remained untold. What marvelous changes have indeed been wrought in the fleet passage of a few short years. Eighty-five years ago the solitude of the surrounding forests was first broken by the sound of the white man's voice. Seventy-five years ago the struggles of the pioneers with the Indians began, "when the watch dog was stationed sentinel in the harvest field; when the trusty fire-lock went as regularly to the field as the plow, when the ear of the herdsman was ever on the alert listening for sounds of danger and the silent footsteps of the stealthy foe, and when the return to his lodge at night was the occasion for recounting the perilous adventures of the day and the rendering of thanks to the Great Father of all for His protecting mercies." It has not been more than sixty - five years ago since the "winding trail led from one trading post to another, where some hardy adventurer had planted himself far in ad- vance of civilization for the purpose of traffic and gain with the native tribes." Previous to the year 1811, "the waters of our beautiful Ohio shimmered beneath the laughing beams of a summer's sky, bearing on their bosom the red man's canoe, but they turned no ponderous water- wheel, nor contributed aught to the comfort of civilized man. Our broad acres, blooming in all the loveliness of wild and uncultured charms, presented their virgin bosom to the sun, having wearily awaited, during the long lapse of ages, the fructifying hand of the husbandman.
"Time since then, we say, has wrought many changes, not only in our social and domestic relations, but in the physical aspect of the country. The forests have been subdued, the prairies brought under cultivation, the rivers spanned with bridges, and on their gladsome breasts the 'white-winged navies ride'; cities and towns have sprung up in every quarter, and the sound of the mechanic's hammer, the rattle and whir of machinery keep quick measured time with the rum- bling of wheels and the clank of engines. The spire of the church points its mute yet suggestive finger heavenward, the school and col- lege meet us on every hand. Our surplus products crowd the ware- house and weigh down the car. We are no longer compelled to toil unceasingly from 'early morn to dewy eve' to procure a bare sub- sistence, but have time for relaxation, for mental improvement, for
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
' elegant leisure,' while our tables groan with plenty, and we stand erect in every presence with a feeling of competence and independ- ence. These results have been achieved by no magical or supernatural influence ; nature has not stepped aside from her beaten track to work these changes; no good genii have come from their hiding places to accomplish this task ; no enchanter's wand has bid these structures rise; no fabled Hercules, with giant arm, has come to the aid of our pio- neers. But all that is rich and beautiful around us, contributing to our sustenance and happiness, is the result of LABOR. For the ac- complishment of this end, have the weary days and nights been spent ; for this have the strong sinews been taxed to weariness ; for this men have eaten the bread of carefulness." By labor and by a spirit of pub- lic improvement the wilderness of a few years agone has been made "to blossom as the rose. " A great deal has been accomplished, a great deal will be done. The car of improvement is whirling along at a rapid rate, and its highway of to-day will not be known to morrow, so numerous will the changes be. Only a few years more and our " short and simple annals" will be a matter of past history. Our customs and our peculiarities will be commented upon and held in contrast with those of the coming generations, just as we have traced the course of people who lived in the past. We must be regarded by our descendents as objects of great curiosity, and it must be a matter of wonder to them why we did not "improve our opportunities and make greater advancements. " No doubt the "dullards of the nineteenth century " will be laughed at when their bones lie buried in yon yawning cemetery. We shall pass to that "bourne whence no traveler returns" with a feeling that we have " fought a good fight," and that in our age wonders unparallelled have been achieved. Im- provements upon our inventions will be made, and they will learn from us, just as we have learned from those who have gone before. Alas! perfection can never be attained by man.
The beautiful river which lies at our feet was navigated by our im- mediate ancestors by the power of muscle ; but since then steam has become a motive power and the invention of machinery has displaced physical force. The waters from the river, converted into steam, now drive the vessels which float upon its bosom as "if before the wind. "
TOPOGRAPHY, SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS OF POSEY COUNTY-POPULATION AND CHARACTER OF THE SAME-PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS-FIRST SETT-
LERS-THE BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
Posey County is situated in the extreme Southwestern part of the State of Indiana, and is bounded on the South by the Ohio river, on the North by the Wabash river and Gibson County, on the West by the Wabash river, on the East by Gibson and Vanderburgh Counties,
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having an area of 420 square miles, or 268,800 acres, of which, in 1880, there were 62,759 sown to wheat, 40,369 planted to corn, while 21,613 acres were cultivated in oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, potatoes, melons, tobacco, hay, beans, berries, etc. The total valuation of taxables in the County, for 1881 was $7,522,620. There are probably 125,000 acres of timber land in the County, most of which, when cleared, can be made very productive, and which, during coming years, will con- tribute largely to its revenue. The following table shows the agricultu- ral, horticultural and other productions of the County for 1880:
ITEMS OF PRODUCTION.
No. ACRES.
QUANTITY.
Wheat .
62,759
971,746 Bush.
Corn
40,869
1,335,556
66
Oats .
1,548
15,304
Barley .
133
7,715
66
Buckwheat .
5
76
Irish Potatoes.
556
20,058
Sweet Potatoes
13
1,167
Timothy Seed .
346
Clover Seed.
7,547
Grass Seed
61
Apples.
28,320
Peas.
233
Peaches
4,810
Plums .
363
Quinces
120
Timothy Hay.
4,725
1,355 Tons.
Clover Hay
12,310
3,526
Flax Straw
8
66
Grapes.
10,420 Lbs.
Tobacco
II
2,730
Butter .
153,892
66
Maple Sugar
80
Honey .
12,669
Various Berries
1,665 Gal.
Cherries
998
66
Cider
85,039
Vinegar
6,978
66
Wine
1,538
Sorghum
1,492
Maple Syrup
69
Milk.
534,540
66
Eggs.
69,343 Doz.
Clover Seed.
2,923
66
66
66
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In the consideration of the relation of topography and climate to the health problem for Posey County it is proper to remark that the County is now wholly different from the Posey County of fifty years ago, and deductions based on the early history of the County are of very little value in the discussion of the sanitary conditions of the present day.
The first settlers of this County came from many of the old States, very widely separated, and brought here the heterogeneous habits and tastes which can be found from Vermont to South Carolina, together with a liberal mixture from countries beyond the ocean. These emmi- grants found here a soil of unsurpassed richness-a growth of vegeta- tion of great luxuriance-and forests of the most gigantic size. A large portion of the Southern and Northern part of the County was covered with shallow lakes in which grasses and weeds flourished most luxuriantly. The full streams were subject to frequent over- flows, and along the banks wide marshes were common. The labor required to convert this rich wilderness into farms and homes was very great, and the pioneers were necessarily an overworked race. The undrained marshes generated malaria by the decay of vegetation and thus malaria found easy access to the systems of the weary workers. Thus came the fever and ague of the west. But these conditions are now completely changed. The early settlers have passed away ; the dense forests have been converted into thousands of acres of farming lands; the marshes have, in a great measure, been drained; the streams, deprived of their lakelet reservoirs at their sources, have diminished in size so that overflows are confined now to narrow limits, and the flats have become fruitful fields. "The ax of the woodman carving out a home in the wilderness" has ceased to sound in the County ; the cabin of early days has disappeared and the privations of pioneer life are no longer a necessity. The new generation has come into possession of their rich inheritance with well-equipped farms and comfortable homes. The mixed population of native and foreign origin is rapidly becoming homogeneous in habit, and is developing into a hardy and energetic race.
According to the extent of its territory, Posey County contains a smaller proportion of lands under cultivation than any County in the State, though the variety and amount of its products show either a better system of cultivation or a superior fertility of soil than is shown or contained in the other counties. The County is divided into ten townships, viz: Black, Harmony, Robb, Smith, Robinson, Center, Bethel, Lynn, Point and Marrs, the surface gently undulating, rich and productive, well adapted to the cultivation of corn, wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, &c., and with a salubrious and healthful climate. Apples, pears and grapes very seldom fail, while good crops of peaches
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are frequently gathered and small fruits and berries of all kinds are easily produced and are beginning to form an important factor in the commerce of the County. The County is well supplied with water for stock from several living streams, which run in all directions. But we are advancing too rapidly in the history of the County. Let us retrace our steps, at least in imagination, and begin with the time when such hardy and adventurous pioneers as Thomas Jones, William McFaddin, the founder of "McAaddin's Bluff," (now known as Mt. Vernon) Squire McFaddin, Andrew McFaddin ("Tiddle-de-dum,") an associate of Daniel Boone while in Missouri, "Slim Andy" McFaddin, and others, whom we shall mention elsewhere, camped by the clear waters of our beautiful streams, sleeping under the canvas of their wagons, with tribes of roving savages hovering about on every side ; content with their "Johnny-cakes" and wild game for food and the " buckskin and homespun for clothing ; when the green hills were covered with a thousand varieties of beautiful flowers ; when the woods were alive with the feathered songster, the nimble squirrel and the graceful deer, resting on and under the limbs of the sturdy oak that had never heard the sound of the woodman's ax; when the buffaloand the antelope grazed the sunny slopes and drank the clear, sparkling water from the laughing brooks, without the fear of death dealing missiles from the hunter's rifle; let us contrast the past with the present; let us now take a view in reality, and pass over the well-beaten road with the green hedge or substantial fence on either side, and beyond view the green fields of the stately corn, the rustling, waving wheat and smooth meadow, covered with browsing cattle, sleek horses and bleating sheep-let us rest for a moment and consider in detail some of the many improvements that have sprung up, as if by magic, in our midst.
POPULATION.
In 1816 the vote of Posey County was 326, and the population about 2,240; in 1820 the County contained 4,061 ; in 1830, 6,540 ; in 1840, 9,583, or nearly as many as the vote of the State in 1815, at the first election ; in 1860, 12,549; in 1860, 16, 147; in 1870, 19, 185 ; in 1880, 22,057 inhabitants. Thus it will be seen that the settlement of the County has been gradual since its organization, and that the increase of population has chiefly come from a natural growth. The residents are made up principally of the German and English-speaking classes, most of those of African descent residing in the extreme Southern portion of the County. The chief portion of the Native Americans who settled in the County in early times came from North Carolina and Georgia. At present all the other States of the Union are repre-
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sented in the population. The German element came from Wurtem- berg, the Western provinces of Prussia, Baden, Hesse and the Palatinate. The principal part of the revenue is derived from the agricultural interests. Its people are generous, intelligent and industrious, and show a disposition to improve the County, to elevate the morals, to educate the youth and to encourage public enterprises that is highly commendable. That class of people known as farmers, as a rule, are in very good circumstances, having good farms with substantial and, in many instances, splendid residences and outbuildings. The many highways which traverse every quarter of the County are kept in very good order, while the smiling villages and towns which dot it here and there bear evidences of thrift and prosperity.
RAILROADS.
The Railroad is a feature in transportation which has contributed most largely to the convenience of the public, while its presence has aided in the development of the country more than anything else per- haps. With the advantages of rapid transit offered in the railway system the progress of a country is assured. What a change it has brought about! In the "good old days of long ago," nearly all mer- chandise was brought from Louisville, Ky., by wagon, to Posey County, and it is claimed by some that this fact gave rise to the song " Wait for the wagon, and we'll all take a ride." In those days, too, merchants found it necessary to ride horseback to that city when they desired to buy goods, consuming from three to five weeks on the trip. The only means of transportation, indeed, was by horseback for several years. In 1850 the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad was built, it being the only road in Southern Indiana at that time. Our merchants availed themselves of the advantages offered by steamboats when they ran, but very frequently went to Evansville by stage after the comple- tion of the railroad and thence East over the Evansville & Crawfords- ville Railroad.
In the Spring of 1881 the citizens of Smith Township voted an appropriation of $8,468. 30 (it being two per centum of the valuation of taxable property) to aid the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad in the construction of its line from Owensville, in Gibson County, to Cynthiana. Work was immediately begun and the road was completed soon afterward. A vote for the appropriation of $55,293.80 in Black and Center Townships was taken and carried in October, 1881, to aid that company in extending its line from Cynthiana to Mt. Vernon, of which Black's portion amounted to $48, 102.20.
In the Spring of 1880, the people of Robb Township voted an appropriation of $13,199 to aid the Peoria, Decatur & Evansville Railway in extending its line through that Township.
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In the spring of 1881, an appropriation of $16,000 was voted by the residents of Harmony Township to that road to aid its extension from Poseyville to New Harmony. The work was begun in the sum- mer of that year and completed in the month of December following.
Besides these lines of railway, there is another crossing the South- ern portion of the County, now known as the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, an account of which will be found under the sketch of Mt. Vernon. The probability is, that the extension of the E. & T. H. R. R., from Cynthiana to Mt. Vernon, will be completed before the Summer of 1882, while it is confidently anticipated that the P., D. & E. Company will finally extend its line from New Harmony to the county seat. At present there are fifty miles of railway in the County, represented as follows: L. & N., twenty miles; P., D. & E., twenty- four miles, and the E. & T. H., six miles, exclusive of switches.
It would seem from the present outlook that Posey County is des- tined to be a formidable rival of Vanderburgh. Indeed, it is not hard to understand how the former could outstrip the latter in the race for commercial and manufacturing honors, possessing as she does, supe- rior advantages for the development of these interests, which have been enumerated elsewhere in these pages.
Thus it will be seen that the County is afforded, in addition to the Ohio and Wabash rivers, excellent facilities for the tranportation of its products and trade. Its people have direct communication by rail and telegraph, with the whole "outside world," and when the fact becomes known that its supply of timber is very great and of a supe- rior quality, its manufacturing interests must be rapidly developed.
MANUFACTURING FACILITIES AND RESULTS.
Fuel is cheap, its geographical position is recognized as fovorable and its close proximity to the iron fields of the Cumberland and Mis. souri and the vast deposits of lead in Southern Illinois must contribute very largely in the near future to the material growth of the County. These are facts that cannot be overlooked when capital starts on its pilgrimage of investment-they are invitations which cannot be ignored. Why, then, have we not reason to believe that the era marking the dawn of the coming century will be laden with the golden fruit of a remarkable and permanent development? What reason have we to doubt the assertion of General Alvin P. Hovey that, "when her agricultural capacity is fully developed, Posey County can maintain a vast number of agricultural inhabitants ?" But to return again to the early periods of the County:
About the year 1792, nineteen years before the waters of the beautiful and majestic Ohio were disturbed by the action of machinery
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driven by the power of steam, Thomas Jones, a native of Ireland, left Pittsburgh with a fleet of perogues laden with merchandise. He had no particular place of destination in view, though he contemplated locating somewhere in what is now known as Southern Indiana. He had heard some of the French Soldiers who were garrisoned at Vin- cennes while on a visit to Pittsburgh, say that favorable opportunities were offered to anyone who had the courage and the enterprise to establish a trading post in the neighborhood of the fort, and he determined to profit by the suggestion of the soldiers. He selected his stock in trade, consisting of blankets and whiskey principally, and set out at once upon his lonesome and perilous voyage, accompanied by two men. They reached a point just below the present city of Madison, where they discharged their cargo; and, with horses obtained from the pioneers in that section, removed it to a point on the Wabash river, a few miles below the town now known as Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Here he constructed a log hut and was soon enjoying an excellent trade with the Indians. He remained at this place two years when he con- cluded to remove his place of business and residence to the region at the mouth of the Wabash river, having learned from parties who went to the "Saline country" for salt that it would be a more desirable place for him to locate. In the Fall of 1794 he reached the mouth of that classic stream, where he and two men, whom he had employed to assist him in removing his stock, constructed a small log house, and where he soon found customers among the various tribes of roving Indians and the white settlers who lived near where Shawneetown, Illinois, now is. In a small publication entitled The Navigator, issued in 1817, the author, in speaking of the country lying contiguous to the confluence of the Wabash with the Ohio river, says; "Here is seen a cabin above the mouth of the river, the remnant of a trading establishment here some years ago, but the waters proving detrimental it was abandoned". The "trading establishment" referred to was the one which Thomas Jones and his companions constructed. As nearly as can be ascertained, the "establishment" was "abandoned" about the year 1808. When Mr. Jones located at the mouth of the Wabash a dense forest covered the entire county of Posey, at that time a part of Knox County. Inquiries and research have failed to elicit any information which would establish the opinion that- Thomas Jones was not the first white settler, and for that reason it is safe to say that he is entitled to the honor of being the first white resident of Posey County.
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