USA > Indiana > Bartholomew County > History of Bartholomew County, Indiana : From the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc. : Together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 49
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These amendments have been opposed and their repeal attempted at almost every meeting of the Legislature since their passage. Yet they still remain on the statute books, and during the fifteen years since their passage no material change has been made by friends of the law except that in relation to an extension of teach- ers' license. W. T. Hacker was elected in 1883, and served ac- ceptably a term of two years. Prof. Amos Burns was elected in 1885, and entered upon the duties of his office with the same care and pains-taking fidelity that had characterized his work fourteen years before. The present incumbent is James W. Wells, elected in 1887. He is now devoting his time faithfully to the duties of his office. During the last five years much good work has been done in the schools of the county. The examination for teachers' license has been made more difficult. The number of pupils who have passed through the graded course of study in the public schools of the county and graduated therefrom has increased each year. The first examination for this purpose was held in ISS2-3. A reading circle has been established for the county, and much in- terest is being manifested in its success. We may add also that in
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addition to the eight common school branches, most of the town graded schools and many of the district schools teach algebra, German, civil government and elements of natural philosophy. We wish here to remark that while much of the early school history of our county has been lost or exists only in the mind of the " oldest inhabitant," yet we have plenty of material from which to draw during the last quarter of a century. But we leave this for the future historian. We are largely indebted to many men who have held high official positions in our State and educational institutions for the high position educationally we hold as a county, from the early labors of ex-State Superintendent Hobbs, down to the pres- ent State Superintendent, La Follette, and especially for the abund- ant labors in our county institutes from the first one held in this county by Prof. J. M. Olcott, in 1865, down to the present time.
An enumeration of the names of the distinguished educators, State Superintendents, college presidents, professors and teachers in normal schools and colleges, and editors of school journals from whom we have drawn both instruction and inspiration at our annual gatherings, would make a list of which any county might be proud.
Our earnest desire is that the beginning of the next century may witness the highest ideal of a perfected county school system, beginning with the kindergarten and ending with the high school, which shall give an education perfectly adapted to develop our children mentally, morally, and physically.
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CHAPTER IX.
BY C. RICKETTS.
TOWNS -CITY OF COLUMBUS-WHEN AND HOW FOUNDED - PRIVATIONS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS - EARLY TAVERNS- PIONEER DOCTORS - FIRST MERCHANTS - RAILROADS - WATER WORKS, GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT-PUBLIC BUILD- INGS-ADDITIONS-NEWSPAPERS -FRATERNITIES-BANKING - MANUFACTORIES - HOPE - ELIZABETHTOWN - HARTS- VILLE - JONESNILLE - ETC.
PRIOR to the year ISIS, when the treaty of St. Mary's extinguished the Indian title to a large region of country in the southern half of Indiana, and opened the land to settlement, there were no white men in what is now Bartholomew County, unless it were an occasional hunter or trapper such as always hovers on the frontier and is a kind of "connecting link " between savage and civilized life, and about as near the one as the other. This barrier removed, the resistless tide of emigration moved onward, and within the next three years settlements were made at a number of points in the county, and much of the land was surveyed and "entered."
The land on which Columbus now stands was bought in August, 1820, by Gen. John Tipton and Luke Bonesteel. In that year Gen. Tipton erected a log house on Mt. Tipton, the most ele- vated and commanding spot in several miles square, and the site of the present beautiful residence of Mr. J. G. Swartzkopf, at the west end of Third Street. Luke Bonesteel built one a little further south on the river bank near where the water works now stand, and John Lindsey one at the west end of Fourth Street near where it is now crossed by the railroad. Early in. IS21 a legal ferry was also established at this point, though perhaps one had existed in fact sometime previous to that, giving the place more local promi- nence. In that early day, when the nearest neighbors were usually
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several mifes apart, this constituted quite a village, which took the name of Tiptonia, in honor of Gen. Tipton. It is thought that some kind of plat was made of the young town, but this is not cer- tain as none was ever placed on record.
On January 9, 1821, by act of the Legislature, Bartholomew County was organized, and by the same act, W. P. Thompson, Edward E. Morgan, John E. Clark, and James Hamilton, were appointed Commissioners to select and lay out a county seat. They proceeded at once to the discharge of their duty, and after due consideration, selected Tiptonia as the future seat of justice for the new county. It must have been rather a forbidding spot at that time on which to found a town, as it was covered by a huge growth of forest trees, surrounded by swamps and bayous from which arose rank gases, filling the air with malaria and rendering it pe- culiarly unhealthy. It is not known what influenced the Commis- sioners to select this site, but we may presume that they had the sagacity to look forward to a time when the forests would be cleared away, the swamps drained and the county become rich and salubrious as we see it to-day. At that time, too, flat-boating was the principal means of shipping produce and goods, and this being at the junction of Flat Rock and Blue rivers, the head of naviga- tion, unless during high water, was a natural shipping point. Per- haps, also, the donation of thirty acres of land by Gen. Tipton was not without its influence. Luke Bonesteel, who seems to have had less public spirit and more acquisitiveness than his neighbor Tipton, sold the Commissioners thirty acres more for $2,000, which must have been rather an exorbitant price at that time. They appointed John Newton, County Agent to survey and lay off the town and ' dispose of the lots at public sale. The Commissioners a few weeks later changed the name from Tiptonia to Columbus, which was rather an ungracious return to Gen. Tipton for his generous donation of land.
The original plat shows that the town-on paper-extended from the present southern boundary, north to Harrison (now 6th) Street, and from the river east to Mechanic Street. The public square, exclusive of streets, contained a little more than two acres. The width of Washington, Jackson, Merriam (2) and Tipton (3)
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streets was eighty feet, and of Lindsey, Brown, Franklin, Me- chanic, Water, Mulberry (1), Walnut (4) and Harrison (5) sixty feet, and the alleys were twelve feet. The lots were 75 feet front and 150 feet deep, and were 222 in number. The first sales were made on the 15th day of June, 1821, and 122 of the lots disposed of; John Newton having in the meantime been removed as County Agent, and John Dowling appointed in his stead. The terms of sale were one-fifth cash, the remainder in three annual payments, with eight per cent. off for cash. The prices ranged from $10 to $200 per lot, and the total amount realized was $6,289. The fol- lowing are the names of some of the carliest purchasers, some from the agent and others from Luke Bonesteel: David Stipps, William McDonald, Jacob Kelly, William Beard, Thomas Maskal, Jacob Rice, Charles Depauw, William Chipman, Col. John C. Vawter, James McKinney, Peter B. Wright, John McEwen, James Dun- lavy, R. H. Jacob, Joseph , Nicely, Harry Brown, David Hall, Thomas Harrison, James Vanmeter, Elizabeth Griffith, Richard .- Fansher, David McEwen, J. B. Fugit, Patrick Murphy, John Mc- Kinney, John. Young, Daniel Grant, John W. Hallister, Philip Switzer, Ira Grover, Benjamin Irwin, Horace Downing, David Hager, Elijah Ferry, John Herrick, Julius R. Matson, Jacob Mc- Adoo, Samuel Mackinson, Solomon Stout, Sophronia Kent, Eben- ezer Ward, James Dunham, Newton C. Jones, Samuel Crittenden, Jacob Lain, Henry McBride, John Orr, Jeremiah Grover, James Dueson, John Moffatt, Philip Redinbaugh, Reuben Henshaw, Jacob Lewis, Hiram H. Lewis, David Dietz and Thomas Hankson. While some of these purchasers were doubtless non-residents who bought for speculative purposes, most of the persons named soon took up their abode in the village, as their names appear on the tax list and other public records at intervals; and the new town seems to have assumed quite a prosperous air for a backwoods place, la- boring under so many disadvantages, of which the present genera- ation can scarcely form a conception.
Judging from the character of their work remaining, and from the estimate of those yet living who can remember them, the found- ers of Columbus must have been men of great energy, resolution and strong common sense, and many of them possessed of a good
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education. They proceeded without delay to organize an orderly community, elect officers, establish courts of justice, provide for «churches and schools, and put in operation all the machinery and agencies of a civilized and enlightened government. Many of them were men who had fought in the War of IS12, the Indian wars, and some even in the Revolution; they were inured to all manner of danger and hardships, and did not hesitate at difficulties that would have been insurmountable to men of less experience and resolution. There were also quite a number from the Eastern States, endowed with more education and refinement, if less ex- perience in the rough life of the frontier, and they exercised an excellent influence in moulding the character and shaping the affairs of the new community.
At first all goods, such as clothing, salt, sugar, whisky, nails and such indispensible articles were carried on pack horses from some point on the river, usually from Madison. With the opening of the State road from that city some time later, wagons came into use and a new industry was established, some persons making a business of hauling goods from the river. Henry Brown, John Adams and Thomas Dudley were among the most noted of these old teamsters. A stage line was established later for the carrying of passengers and the mail. The roads were extremely bad, the streams often swollen, and it sometimes took several days to make the trip even with a very small load. The most of what was ship -. ped out went by flat-boat to New Orleans or other cities down the river, and this was quite a business for a good many years after the town was settled. It was not until some time in 1821, that there was even a postoffice in the limits of the county; previous to that time the people having to go either to Vernon or Brownstown, two 'days' journey, to receive or send their mail and paying as high as twenty-five cents postage on a single letter. But as they handled but little mail, this was one of their minor inconveniences. In IS21 a postoffice was established in Columbus, which answered for the whole county until 1832, in which year offices were located at Azalia, Newbern and Hope.
All the first homes were primitive log cabins, with puncheon floors and doors of the same material, hung on wooden hinges. A
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man who could afford. a house with two rooms, or built of hewn logs, was regarded as an aristocrat - even the first public buildings were made of logs, but it was not many years until the most of these gave way to brick or frame. The public square was in a state of nature and on the first Monday in May after the town was laid out, the clearing of the square was publicly let to the lowest bidder for the sum of $46.621/2. This, however, included only the cutting of the trees and burning the brush. The smaller logs were used in building cabins, but the larger ones remained on the ground until the summer of 1822. In that year Ira G. Grover came from Cincinnati with a stock of goods and opened a store on the south- west corner of the square. He was a public-spirited man as well as a man of fine taste, and could not long brook the unseemly sight of the great logs covering the square and soon raised a popular subscription of $55 and had them cleared away. Many of the large stumps remained for years and were often used as a platform from which politicians and other public speakers harrangued the people, made " stump speeches " in a literal sense. At the same time that the contract was let for cutting the timber on the square, a contract was also let for building an estray pen, price $27, and a log jail, price $112. The house of Lake Bonesteel was used for some years as a court house.
Early Taverns .- Small as the town was, and as few travelers as there naturally would be under the circumstances, it was early supplied with a number of taverns -they did not have hotels in those days. As early as 1821, James Dunston, John Lindsey and David Stipp, are recorded as "keeping taverns," and in 1822, the names of Thomas Hinkson, Newton C. Jones and Samuel Beck, are added to these. It is not to be supposed, however, that these taverns were very imposing structures, elaborate in outfit, or that the income of the proprietors was calculated to make " bloated capitalists." Under the law at that time, tavern-keepers were licensed to sell liquor, and a number of these taverns had no ac- commodation for man or beast, the license merely serving as a cover for the sale of liquor. Afterward the law permitted " gro- ceries" and " stores," to sell liquor also, and many of these estab- lishments had about the same outfit as the " taverns." In addition to
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those given the following named persons were engaged in the same business in Columbus, during the very early years of its history: J. F. Jones, Jerry Grover, Savern Jones, L. M. Hedges, Dr. W. P. Kirger, Aquilla Jones, John B. Hunter, William Wilkerson, W. P. Sims, O. Sims, L. Sims, James N. Laine, B. B. White, James Hobbs, Philip Daily, L. D. Jones, John McKinney, John Adams, John C. Hubbard, Elias Bedford, and John Jacob. Most of these were only temporarily in the business, but a few of them continued in it until a comparatively recent date, notably J. F. Jones, or "Jack " Jones, as he was familiarly known. He kept the " Jones House," on the southeast corner of the square, which for many years was the leading hotel, and was at the height of its popularity during Jones' administration. A history of this noted house under its various names and different landlords would make an interest- ing volume of itself. Although shorn of its former glory and pres- tige by more pretentious and costly hotels, it still remains and does a fair business under the name of " Germania Hotel." Mr. Jones, the old landlord, afterward removed to Greencastle, Ind., where he died in 1886, at an advanced age. One peculiarity about him was that he never ate a bite of solid food from the time he was a mere child, having at that time received a severe injury to the throat by taking a drink of concentrated lye that almost closed the passage ever afterward. . :
Early Mills .- For a number of years after its settlement Col- umbus had no mills, and except what meal and flour was hauled in by wagons, the dependence was on several primitive mills in the country. The first in the county was a hand mill owned by Daniel Branbom, about two miles east of the town, which was kept going day and night, each man doing his own grinding and paying no toll. Soon after a horse mill was established at the McFall set- tlement on Clifty, and another at the present site of Dipper's mill. Next was a small water mill that ground both wheat and corn, on Haw Creek, three miles northeast of Columbus, owned by Joseph Cox and his son Thomas. In 1821, mills were also located at Lowell and at the crossing of Clifty on the State road southeast of the town. In 1831, Thomas Cox built a custom mill on Flat Rock, two miles north of the town, the water supply in Haw Creek hav-
yours Truly a.J. Banken
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ing grown insufficient. This mill did a good business for many years. The first Columbus mill proper, was built by Isaac Patter- son in 1835, on. Flat Rock, north of the city. He experienced much trouble on account of the dam washing out, and after ex- changing hands several times, the mill was abandoned in 1847. The next year Banfill & Griffith extended the race for this mill and built a flouring mill near it, now the east end of the railroad bridge. This was sold to Captain Whitesides, who ran it until 1858, when it was burned. A temporary custom mill was erected in its stead, which ran for a few years, when the water power and site were sold to the woolen mills company who erected a large woolen mill, that was also burned some years later. The first steam mill was built in 1856, by Crane, Gent & Bass, on the present site of the Caroline Mills. It was called the "Railroad Mill," and did a pros- perous business for eighteen years. In 1863, Carr and Upton built an extensive mill on the corner of Washington and Fifth streets, which, after passing through several hands, was burned in 1871. J. V. Story, in 1863, erected the brick mill on the corner of Franklin and Fifth, which in 1875 was changed into a hominy mill. A large steam flouring mill was built by Rominger & Danner in 1875, which did an extensive business until 1887, when it was also burned. This, we believe, includes all the Columbus grain mills that have ceased to exist.
Early Doctors .- The city and surrounding country early af- forded a fruitful field for doctors. The many sluggish streams, · swamps, bayous, the rank and decaying vegetation long rendered the " Driftwood bottoms " proverbial for unhealthfulness, and fevers and malarial diseases of all kinds here found a home. For a long time a swamp in which water stood the year round covered the northwest corner of the square and several acres of adjoining land. There is a well authenticated tradition that at one time in the summer of IS21 there was but one well man in the town and he was soon after drowned on a trip down the river with a flat-boat. F. J. Crump, afterward one of Columbus' most noted citizens, and the wealthiest man the county ever produced, was then a coffin maker and was kept pretty busy, often making two or three a day. The outfit of a doctor was a slight knowledge of medicine, a horse,
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and a large pair of saddle-bags in which he carried his few medi- cines and surgical instruments -- such a thing as sending a prescrip- „tion to' a drug store was unknown. As stated, the principal diseases were of a malarial nature and the chief medicine was calomel - quinine came later - and this was dealt out in copious doses, and many an unhappy patient suffered more from the medi- cine than the disease. The lancet was almost as indespensable as calomel and a patient was bled on the slightest provocation. What, with the malarious climate, the calomel and the lancet, the settlers often had a wretched time of it and many succumbed to the accu- mulated burdens and found but a grave where they had fondly hoped to establish a home. Neither was the life of a physician one to be envied; they bore their full share of the early privations and are entitled to a large portion of the honor and reverence accorded other pioneers. They were expected to respond to all calls, day or night, and often made long journeys through the wilderness over almost impassable roads or no roads, forded streams, endured wet and cold, faced hardships and dangers that required an iron consti- tution, nerves of steel and undaunted courage. Then, too, like the pioneer preacher and teacher, they had to take their pay in " truck," a sack of corn, load of wood, a pig or whatever their patients could spare. The first doctors were not noted for great scientific attain- ments, but many of them were men of strong, practical common sense, skillful for their opportunities and indispensable in the com- munity. They were, perhaps, more generally known and are better remembered than any of the other pioneers, and it would be a pleasant task to give a personal sketch of each did the scope of this article permit.
Dr. Samuel Ritchie was one of the earliest, belonged to the " calomel school," and was considered a safe and reliable practi- tioner. He lived in a two-story log house on the spot where Dr. S. M. Linton's house now is, and his wife was the first woman teacher in Columbus. Dr. Samuel Osborne came from New York, was very popular professionaly and socially, but was unable to withstand the hardships, and soon died. Dr. William L. Wash- burn occupies a prominent place in local history. He was an in- fluential citizen as well as skillful physician, and occupied a num-
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ber of public positions in the county. His descendants still reside here, Mr. William Washburn, Sr., being his grandson. Dr. Joseph A. Baxter was also an eastern man, and probably the best educated of the early pratitioners. Ile was successful and popular among the more intelligent and refined class, though it is said that the rougher elements did not take kindly to his genteel manners. He also kept the first drug store, or apothecary's shop, in Columbus. Dr. Tiffin Davis was a man of immense energy and courage, and attained an enviable reputation, especially as a surgeon, often being called to attend cases of that branch twenty miles away. Dr. Joseph Fasset settled at Lowell Mills, but his practice covered the same territory as the Columbus doctors. He belonged to the " botanic school," which became quite popular for a time and was a kind of protest against the inordinate use of calomel. He was also a Bap- tist preacher and teacher as well as physician, and withal a very useful citizen and highly esteemed. Dr. William P. Kizer was one of the earliest, and a somewhat noted individual in the community, but was regarded as a kind of quack in the profession.
First Merchants .- Perhaps the first store established in Colum- bus was by John Williamson and son Frazier, in the fall of 1821. They had about $300 worth of stock of such articles as could be most easily transported through the wilderness and were indispensable to the settlers. In the spring of 1822, Ira G. Grover erected a store room on the southwest cor- ner of the square, and in June, brought three large wagon loads of goods, bought in Cincinnati and Philadelphia, some $4,000 worth, which was a mammoth stock for that day. He ap- pears to have had almost a monopoly for a short time, but the cli- mate proved too much for him, and in March, 1825, he removed to Greensburg where he lived until a very recent date, a prosperous and honored citizen. Prior to 1830, a number of stores was es- tablished, but many of these were like some of the taverns, only a cover for the sale of liquor, as the law for a time, permitted the sale of this article by store keepers. John C. Hubbard had a store on the east side of the square, where Pape's cigar store is now, and a part of the original building is still standing. John M. Guinn had a brick store room on the west side of the square, about the pres-
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ent site of the Indiana House, and Hager & Wilson one on the northwest corner. Other early merchants, some perhaps as early « as those mentioned, were David Dietz recently deceased, Mitchell & Jones, Z. Tannehill, William Chapman, John McKinney, Wilson & Arnold, William Adams, John Jacobs, Evan Arnold, Giles Mitch- ell, Benjamin Parker, Thomas M. Weaver, and William Singleton.
It was not until 1835 that the town had arrived at such dignity as to think of being incorporated. May 6, of that year, a petition was presented to the County Commissioners asking to be incorpor- ated and an election was ordered to vote on the question, when the proposition was voted down, chiefly through the opposition of John Mckinney. It was revived again in 1837, and an election held on the 15th of April, when the friends of incorporation had a ma- jority. But thirty-five votes were cast at this election, showing that the population was yet very small or that comparatively little interest was felt in the subject.
The town organization continued until June, 1864, when it was concluded that the dignity and population of the town justified a city government, and a petition was presented to the town council asking that the necessary steps be taken to secure a city charter. An enumeration was made and an election ordered, which resulted in favor of the charter, which was secured, and October 24 the first city election was held, at which Smith Jones was elected Mayor.
Early in 1869, the present gas company was formed and cer- tain franchises granted it, by the council; also a contract was en- tered into for lighting the streets. The city erected and owned the posts, while the company furnished the light at so much per post. On November 6th, 1869, the city was lighted with gas for the first time amid much rejoicing. More posts were erected from time to time as needed, until 1887, when the demand for a better light in- duced the company to put in an electric light plant, a contract hav- ing first been secured for lighting the city for two years, and the gaslight for outdoor purposes has been abandoned.
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