USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County, Indiana, from its earliest settlement to the present time; with Biographical Sketches and Reference to Biographies, Volume I > Part 83
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Voorhis, Jacob, b. 1789, d. 1859.
Williams, John, b. 1817, d.
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Dean, R. E., b. 1833,
Hyre, Abraham, b. 1821, d.
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CHAPTER LI NOBLE TOWNSHIP
(Contributed by Albert O. Brandt)
NAME - LOCATION - CREEKS - EARLY SETTLEMENT - ORGANIZATION - INDUSTRIES - MILLS - ROAD - RAILROADS - STATIONS - SCHOOLS -CHURCHES-CEMETERIES-MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS, ACCIDENTS, ETC. -CHAPULTEPEC-BIOGRAPHIES.
Noble township, named in honor of Noah Noble, governor of Indiana at the time of its organization, is bounded on the west by Jefferson town- ship, on the north by Harrison, on the east by Clay and on the south by Eel township, the city of Logansport and the Wabash river and lies within congressional township 27, north range 1, east. It is thus centrally and favorably located on the north bank of the Wabash, giving it a valuable and picturesque water-front, a most enticing place for pleasure seekers, a sportsman's paradise for fishing and hunting. The running water and beautiful scenery are a desirable asset. The town- ship has a diversified surface and presented to the home seeker all the lays of land from the steep rocky hillside to the low level marsh lands, and its natural resources, stone quarries, gravel and sand deposits, valu- able clays, timber and a rich alluvial soil, springs of crystal pure water, wild fruits and wild game, all these were valuable assets presented to the pioneers of this township. Again the natural advantages of mill-sites which the township possessed was a great inducement for the pioneer to locate in this division of the county and we find the pioneers, very early, locating here to take advantage of its many natural resources. Much of the surface was originally covered by a dense forest and other parts were open prairie. The southern part of the township is broken and hilly; many ravines and hollows running back from the river on the south to the table lands to the north, near the center of the township; then the prairies to the north with several sand ridges interspersed. The township is well watered with numerous streams and water-courses which furnish abundant drainage. The largest of these is "Cottonwood Creek" in the central part of the township, on which numerous mills were erected in the first settlement of the country. This creek runs in a southerly direction and empties into the Wabash near the line between sections 28 and 29.
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Burley Creek which runs through what is known as "Burley Hol- low," a very romantic and picturesque ravine whose precipitious slopes are covered with native trees, empties into the Wabash a short distance west of Cottonwood creek.
The Farlow branch runs south and west and passes through "Fitches Glen" or canyon which is the most picturesque place in the county; it has two distinct waterfalls, a cave and many unique natural forma- tions. Perpendicular limestone cliffs on either side rise to a height
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of seventy-five feet or more, presenting in some places rough craggy rocks, in others the slope is more gradual and is covered with native trees; this with the waterfalls and the crystal stream flowing down the center of the canyon, presents wild and beautiful scenery hardly equalled in northern Indiana.
Horney creek is a stream of considerable importance that drains the eastern part of the township, arising in the northeast corner, flows south and empties into Eel river at Logansport. This creek afforded water power to run mills in early days, which will be noticed elsewhere." These creeks are all fed by numerous springs and therefore have a con-
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FITCH'S GLEN
stant flow. The northwestern part of the township is drained by the small creeks that flow in a southwesterly direction into Crooked creek. This creek has been dredged in recent years and affords ample drainage for the swamp lands in that section, which have been converted into the most fertile and valuable farm lands and the waste places have all been reclaimed.
The eastern and southern half of the township was originally heavy timbered, consisting of walnut, poplar, oak, hickory, elm, sugar, ash, beech, sycamore, basswood and mulberry-some of the latter attaining a diameter of three feet and poplar and walnut were often seven feet in diameter. These, however, were ruthlessly destroyed in clearing the land and in some instances the grand old monarchs of the forest were felled in winrows and burned up. After the canal was completed a
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great many black walnut logs were shipped to the towns and cities along the canal.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
There may be a controversy concerning who was the first settler in Noble township, as there were a number of "squatters," transients, who would built a cabin in the forest for the purpose of hunting, remain for a time and move out further into the wilderness where game was more plenty. Probably James Hood was the first permanent settler in the township. As early as 1827 or 8 he took a claim in section 20, but returned to Carroll county, and in 1829 returned to his claim and remained until his death some years later. He planted the first orchard in the township. He was a soldier in the War of 1812 and his remains repose in Shiloh cemetery. The same year (1829) Henry Garrett accom- panied by his son Joshua and two sons-in-law, William and Leander Dixon, settled in section 22. Mr. Garrett was a prominent pioneer and built the first mill in the township. William Dixon was also an influ- ential man and was the first and only county commissioner that Noble township has been honored with. He served during the building of the old court house in 1841 and his name was inscribed over the door of that building but was torn out in the building of the present court house in 1888.
In 1829 George Richardson settled in the southwest quarter section 16. It is claimed by some authorities that he came early in 1829 and was the first to settle in the township. He cleared (or his sons did) six acres of ground and raised a corn crop and pumpkins that summer (1829). This was the first corn raised in Noble township. Mr. Richardson was a great hunter and after living here a few years, game becoming scarce, he moved into the big reserve in Jackson township where he resided until his death many years thereafter.
During the year 1830, John Watts located on the southwest quarter of section 17, became a leading citizen, and raised an old-fashioned fam- ily of ten children, to-wit: Richard, Israel, William, John, Rhoda, Ailsie, Elizabeth, Martha, James and Eli; the three first lived to be old and prominent citizens of the township. Mr. Watts was a veteran of the War of 1812. He died in 1844 and his wife in 1836.
Eli Cotner came from Carroll county in 1830, and bought land in the northeast quarter of section 18. He set out the second orchard in the township and some of those trees are still standing, of immense size, sur- vivors of pioneer days. Mr. Cotner did not believe in race suicide and was the father of the following thirteen children : William, John, Henry, Peter, Eli, Daniel, Easton, George, David, Samuel, Caroline, Mary and Sarah.
In 1830, Robert McMillen and his widowed mother Jane McMillen, located on section 18 and built a log cabin and began improvements, and soon after came his brothers George, William, James and Thomas, and his sisters Anna, Susan and Sarah. The same year came another family of McMillens, cousins of the former, John, Andrew and Linn McMillen, and settled in sections 21 and 22. The McMillen family became permanent settlers and were prominently and actively engaged in the promotion of everything that was elevating and Christianizing.
In the year 1830 Robert Gibson located on the southeast quarter of section 22 and his brother Joseph Gibson located on the northeast quar- ter of section 22; Benjamin Adair in section 21, where he resided until 1859 when he moved to Kansas, where he experienced many hardships on account of the border ruffian warfare being carried on there between the free soil and pro-slavery parties. He died there in 1874. His daugh-
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ter became the wife of Charles A. Brandt, and died in Noble township about 1907 and Mr. Brandt died January 28, 1913.
John Adair in 1830 settled in the northeast quarter of section 19, where he built the first frame house in the township and also became the first Sunday school superintendent.
Alexander Scott settled on the southeast quarter of section 17, and the first religious services of the Christian denomination were held in his cabin conducted by Elder Scott, and this little band of earnest work- ers afterward developed into the organization of Shiloh Christian church.
The year 1830 saw a large influx of settlers among whom were such well known names as Daniel Dale, John Smith, Richard Howard, Daniel Harwood, Hiram Barnett, Dr. James Wilson, Joseph Washburn, Henry Weirick, Daniel Ellsworth, John Kistler, William Lewis, James Harper, Isaac Hodges, Andrew Fletcher.
In 1831 James Horney settled just north of Logansport on a creek that bears his name. He was for several years associate judge of the circuit court and served one term as sheriff in the thirties. His brother Solomon Horney was also an early settler and lived to a ripe old age.
From 1832 to 1835 came the following prominent settlers: Chris- topher Dale, Sandy Rector, Elizabeth Denbo, Isaac Louderback, John Cary, Joseph and Eli Oliver, Gen. Hyacinth Lasselle, William McKaig, Ephraim Dukes, James Hensley, William Thornton, Joel Elam, Joseph Henderson, Thompson Barnett, Henry Baum, Peter Barrow, Samuel Rader, Dr. Quick, John Pickett, William Neff.
In 1836 came Joseph Corbitt, David Corbitt, James Corbitt, John Sellers, DeHart Booth, Dixon McCoy, Jacob Suming, Nathan Carey, Andrew Pontius, Capt. William Harrison. The following persons set- tled in the township soon after: Jacob Bookwalter, Thornton Burley, George Trapp, Abraham Woolford, Hugh Hardy, and Hiram Butler, who was the first representative to the state legislature from Noble town- ship and was elected in 1840. Later prominent names are: Harvey Thornton, Walker Henderson, Mishop Binney, Philip Ross. Harvey Brown moved from Logansport to Noble township and in 1844 was elected to the lower house of the state legislation.
John Brandt moved to the township from Logansport in 1847 and was interested in the milling business on Cottonwood creek, and that locality is still known as the Brandt settlement. He was a carpenter and cabinet maker and farmer. He was possessed of more than ordinary intellectual activity and was interested in science, and even in his old age would read astronomical and geological works with avidity.
ORGANIZATION
Noble township was formally organized on March 8, 1836, and not long after the organization an election was held at the residence of Robert McMillen when Joel Elam, James Hensley and Robert McMillen were elected to form the first board of township trustees, at that time composed of three members. There were but six votes cast at this first township election and it is needless to say the returns were in before midnight and the candidates were not held on the anxious seat very long, nor did they spend sleepless nights waiting for the count.
Noble township is pre-eminently an agricultural district. The south part of the township is generally self-drained by the hilly character of the land and the numerous creeks which flow through it. Of recent years, many tile ditches, in the central and northern parts of the town- ship, have been put in, until all the waste lands have been made pro- ductive-all kinds of grains, fruits and vegetables, indigenous to a tem-
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perate climate are grown. The sandy, porous soil in some parts produce the largest and finest watermelons for which the township is justly noted.
MILLS AND INDUSTRIES
Noble township lying close to Logansport on the Wabash river and having numerous creeks fed by springs, furnishing convenient water power, was among the first townships to engaged in the mill industry. The first mill in the township was erected in 1831 by Henry Garrett on his farm in the southeast quarter of section 22. Andrew Waymire was the millwright and did the mechanical work in its construction. He was the first, and for many years, the only millwright in the county and was employed to build a number of mills all over the county. This was a small grist mill for grinding corn and buckwheat. The dam was built north of where the Delaware (Kuns) road crosses the creek. It was operated only a few years as the water power was not constant.
Gen. Hyacinth Lasselle erected the first sawmill in the township in 1833. It was located at the mouth of Cottonwood creek in the northeast quarter of section 29 and received its motive power from that creek. It was successfully operated for a number of years and was probably the only sawmill in the county outside of Logansport.
Hugh B. McKeen in 1835 built a sawmill near the south end of "Fitch's Glen," near the present station of Kenneth and the power was derived from the creek flowing through the glen.
The first steam sawmill in the township was erected in 1846 by Wil- liam McKaig and was located south of Gebhart in the southwest quarter of section 16. It was operated by McKaig and Tuttle, then Uhl and Thompson became owners and they did a large business until 1848 when the mill with thousands of feet of lumber was destroyed by fire.
William and Richard Watts in 1847 built a sawmill on Cottonwod creek in the southeast quarter of section 20. The power was supplied by an old-fashioned over-shot water wheel twenty feet in diameter. This mill was successfully operated for ten or more years and John Brandt and Sons were the last operators. John Brandt built a sawmill on his farm in the northeast quarter of section 20, on Cottonwood creek in 1849 and in connection with this was a lath saw. Mr. Brandt operated these mills for many years. At first the power was supplied by an over- shot water wheel but later a modern turbine wheel twenty inches in diameter was introduced. The saw was the old up and down style of pioneer times.
The Ferguson Brothers (James, John and Joseph), erected a steam circular sawmill, at Gebhart in 1860 and operated it until 1864 when Joseph Richards purchased it and installed a muley-saw. Later the property was purchased by Philip Ross and in 1866 by Jacob and Wil- liam Davidson who continued to run it until 1884 when it ceased operations owing to a want of material.
COTTONWOOD FLOURING MILLS
These mills were erected by the Brandt Brothers in 1857 on Cotton- wood creek from which it received its power at first by means of the overshot water wheel but later a "Jim Leffel" turbine wheel was sub- stituted. This was the first and only grist mill in the township and Charles A. Brandt, who died January 28, 1913, was its first miller, followed by William H. Brandt who still resides near the site of this old waterpower mill which did a thriving business until 1881, when it
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closed down owing to newer processes and failure of water power and today there is not a mill in operation within the boundary of Noble township unless it may be a "ginmill" illegitimately operated by some Italian near the Kenneth stone quarries.
In the early thirties Judge James Horney built a sawmill on Horney creek, in Noble township but the site of this mill is now within the city limits of Logansport just east of Michigan avenue. This mill was operated for some years and was a great convenience to the pioneers in that locality but it has long since passed into desuetude.
From 1869 to 1872 Isaac Rector operated a small shingle mill, mak- ing what was called cut shingles. The blocks of wood were steamed and then a knife operated by a.lever would cut the shingles, but it was not profitable and soon ceased operations.
STONE AND LIME INDUSTRY
The best quality of lime stone outcrops in the southern part of the township and during the activities of the old canal from 1840 to 1860 lime kilns were operated along the canal quite extensively and large stone quarries were opened, where scores of men were employed in quar- rying and loading the stone on canal boats, which was shipped to the towns along the canal for building purposes as far as Fort Wayne on the east and Lafayette on the west. The stone used in building the old courthouse in 1841 was shipped by the canal from these quarries.
A mill to saw stones into slabs for building and other purposes was installed at Corktown on the canal during the forties but did not prove a great success and was operated only for a short time.
Casparis Stone Company in 1892 purchased the Dr. Fitch farm, at what is known now as Kenneth and established the largest stone crush- ers in northern Indiana, employing several hundred men and ship thousands of car loads of crushed stone, annually. About six years ago the company bought a tract of lime stone lands lying nearly two miles . west of Kenneth, have abandoned the latter and established their crush- ers at the new location called "Trimmer" where the company is carry- ing on an extensive business.
In the northwest corner of section 28 where flint lime stone abounds, in one corner of the rocky ravines is a large table rock of white sand- stone, a remarkable and peculiar geological formation.
CHARCOAL INDUSTRY
Before the days of the canal in 1838 coal could not be procured and blacksmiths had to use charcoal, and the business of making charcoal was quite an industry in Noble township.
The manner of preparation was to stand cordwood on end, making a round conical shaped pile, with several draught openings filled with kindling wood, after the manner of a modern brick-kiln; then the whole pile of wood was covered over with mud and earth and burned to charcoal.
ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION
The first road opened up through the virgin forests of Noble town- ship was the river road down the Wabash about 1830, and the second road of any note was the Chicago road which leads to Royal Center, and the third was the Laporte road which was straightened and now is known as the Pleasant Grove pike. These, however, were simply lanes cut through the forest, and were full of stumps, and in times of rain,
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mud holes. The roads were first opened up regardless of section lines and generally followed Indian trails. These have been straightened, as a rule, and placed on section lines, except the Royal Center pike which still angles through the township with little regard to surveyed lines. The "White Post road," running westward through the center of the township, is an old road deriving its name from the blazing of trees and the erection of posts painted white in the western sections of the road through the prairies of White county through which it extended.
The first gravel road constructed was the Royal Center pike-built in 1884. It was built by a private company and was a toll road until 1893 when it was purchased by the county. The Pleasant Grove pike was built in 1878 by a company and after several years of operation the company became bankrupt because of suits brought against them for damages by Henry Heil who received injuries owing to neglect to keep the road in repair, obtained judgment and took the road to satisfy this judgment, but the road was worthless as a toll road and the county as- sumed control without any compensation to Mr. Heil.
The first and only free gravel road built in the township or county, by the county is the road along the north bank of the Wabash river about one and a fourth miles, crossing the railroad at Kenneth and ex- tending west to the Welling stone quarry and another section was built on the Burley Hollow road, reaching to the stone school house. These roads were constructed by the authority and under the direction of the county commissioners and paid for out of the county treasury at a cost of about $1,000.
The Casparis Stone Company have improved the roads leading to their quarries with crushed stone. The first stone road to be built un- der the township line road law was constructed in 1911-between Har- rison and Noble townships, about five miles in length and known as the Brandt road. The first stone road built under the "three-mile act" was the Ford's Crossing road in 1912, and designated as the Meyer road. The first gravel road under the "three-mile act," two miles of gravel and one of stone, and known as the Ross road, was built in 1912 and extends through Burley hollow, then west to the township line.
The second road under this act was built in 1912-13, designated as the Forlow road, extending from the north line of Eel township west on the Delaware road to section 21, thence north to the White Post road, thence east to the Royal Center pike. The abundance of gravel in the hills, and the stone crusher located in the township furnishes cheap road material, and all the principal roads are improved by grading and grav- eling.
Noble township being in close proximity to Logansport has no towns or villages, but has had stations on the railroads and canal which have traversed the township. Soon after the completion of the canal in 1840, William L. Brown erected a warehouse on the canal near Fitch's Glen to store his own grain from the adjoining farm and for some years bought and shipped grain and this point became quite a trading post but the business closed with the canal after railroads were completed.
The Chicago and state line divisions of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Vandalia Railroad traverse this township. There is a flag sta- tion, "Verona," on the latter road near the northeast corner of the township. There is a side track here for the accommodation of heavy freight.
Gebhart is a railroad station near the center of the township and Ford's Crossing, another, to the northwest, both on the Chicago division of the Pennsylvania railroad. A postoffice was established at Gebhart soon after the road was completed about 1862 and John Davidson was
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the postmaster, but the office was discontinued about seven years later. Ford's Crossing was established in 1876 and a few houses built, a post- office established, a country store opened, and an Evangelical church erected which were operated until about 1900, when Samuel Granel, who was the last storekeeper and postmaster, threw up the office and quit the store, and soon after even the church was removed and Ford's Crossing is only a flag station for southbound trains, as the northbound trains to Chicago now go by way of the Royal Center cut-off to avoid the steep grade north of Logansport.
Kenneth and Trimmer are flag stations on the state line division of the Pennsylvania. The former was established and a postoffice located there about 1892 when the Casparis Stone Company opened its quarries, but when the company moved its stone crushers to Trimmer Kenneth became only a flag station, and Trimmer is a regular station for local trains. The postoffice at Kenneth was discontinued with the establish- ment of rural mail service in 1903.
An interurban line was surveyed through the township in 1903 but the road never was built beyond the "windy station."
It is reported that the first railroad in the township was the "Un- derground Railroad," which only carried "dark goods" and operated its trains after night, and that station agents communicated with each other by wireless telegraphy even in that early day. Abe Lincolni, how- ever, by freeing the negroes, caused the railroad to wind up its business,
SCHOOLS
Whilst the pioneers were largely dependent upon brawn and muscle for clearing the forests and developing the country, yet they were not unmindful of the value of an educated and well-trained brain to guide their brawny arms, and early sought means to develop the mental faculties of their children as best they could in their forest homes.
According to the best authority, the first schoolhouse in the township was built as early as 1832 or 1833 on the Jane McMillen farm (her son Robert living with her at that time), situated in the southwest corner of section 18, not far from the west line of the township, and a Mr. Dunlap was the first teacher.
This was a primitive structure, eighteen feet square, made of round logs, chinked with sticks and clay mud, clapboard roof weighted down by poles, puncheon floor, fireplace made of nigger-heads, with a stick and mud chimney, a log cut out and oiled paper pasted over the opening for a window, under which a shelf made of a split log smoothed down with an ax and resting on wooden pins driven into auger holes in the logs, this constituted the writing desk for the entire school, who took turns at writing.
Seats were made of similar split logs resting on two wooden pins at each end; the door, constructed of puncheons held together by wooden pins, hung on wooden hinges and fastened by a wooden latch. This was surely a wooden age, and certainly not an iron age, as not an article in the whole temple of learning was made of anything other than wood, except the mud and stone in the fireplace and cracks between the logs.
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