USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 27
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
POSTOFFICES IN DAVIESS COUNTY, OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON.
Following are the names of those who have served as postmasters at the several postoffices in Daviess county, outside of Washington, and the dates of their appointments :
ALFORDSVILLE.
Office established, April 1, 1856. James P. Gilley appointed postmaster on that date, but was not commissioned. Isaac W. Jackman was commissioned, April 14, 1856; J. A. McCord, June 28, 1861; Florian Bartl, Jr., October 23, 1866; A. W. Bingham, July 8, 1867; William B. Walls, November 22, 1869; J. A. McCord, December 5, 1870; William B. Walls, April 17, 1871; Mason McCord, May 13, 1873; J. A. McCord, April 23, 1877; J. T. Hed- rick, August 31, 1885; W. T. Brown, October 31, 1887; John W. Robin- son, April 4, 1889; Spencer Jackman, March 30, 1893; Matthew McCracken, April 15, 1897; Wayne Gilley, February 13, 1899; J. W. Allen, March 3, 1906; Orian Hembree, July 16, 1914.
BLACK OAK RIDGE.
Established May 4, 1858, Alva Clark, postmaster; Thomas J. Lafferty, November 26; 1872. Name changed, April 10, 1873, to Cannelburg.
CANNELBURG.
John Sullivan, September 18, 1873; William F. O'Brien, July 16, 1875; Emma Clark, December 21, 1887; H. L. Tucker, November 1, 1889; Lizzie Harris, February 1, 1890; Emma Clark, April 14, 1893; L. P. Cahill, April 22, 1901; Anna A. Harris, July 21, 1905; Alodia F. Haag, June 17, 1908.
CORNETTSVILLE.
Established, April 9, 1878; William Critchlow, first postmaster; Will- iam R. Baker, October 23, 1878; Thomas Queen, Jr., June 14, 1893; Flor- ence M. Achor, July 16, 1897; office discontinued, November 29, 1902.
OWL PRAIRIE.
Office established, Harvey Hagans, postmaster, December 20, 1831; Richard Fulton, March 25, 1835; Isaiah Johnston, June 4, 1839; Thomas
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Elmore, November 9, 1840; William Watts, February 9, 1848; Thomas 1 Elmore, May II, 1849; Harvey Taylor, January 31, 1851; S. W. Elmore, June 30, 1851; A. M. Helphenstine, June 16, 1854; William D. Clary, No- vember 7, 1857; office discontinued, December 24, 1862. Re-established, March 30, 1865, W. T. Franklin, postmaster; William H. Moore, March 6, 1866; O. H. McKittrick, November 9, 1868; William D. Clerry, May 9,. 1870; J. P. Grayble, December 12, 1870; F. L. Killion, April 13, 1871 ; David Taylor, March 27, 1874; J. R. Wadsworth, December 10, 1874; A. R. Stal- cup, March 7, 1876; D. H. Taylor, September 8, 1885; name changed, De- cember II, 1885, to Elnora.
ELNORA.
Asa Haig, April 18, 1889; J. F. Danner, March 31, 1893; John W .. Robinson, April 16, 1897; J. E. Pershing, September 16, 1902; Francis A. McMullen, February II, 1914.
HUDSONVILLE.
Office established, January 5, 1901, P. J. Bradfield, postmaster ; Will- iam F. Colbert, November 5, 1901 ; office discontinued, December 31, 1904.
HYATT.
Office established, February 20, 1904; Hiram Simpson, postmaster ; O. M. Albright, November 15, 1894; William A. Frets, April 12, 1898; A. L. Vickery, July 6, 1899; O. M. Albright, December 4, 1903; office discon- tinued, July 15, 1910.
MONTGOMERY STATION.
Office established, February 16, 1859; James C. Montgomery; William Wizard, August II, 1871; William Ward, March 6, 1872; William Done, May 22, 1872; Howard Love, March 27, 1874; James C. Montgomery, Oc- tober 22, 1874; name of office changed, February 12, 1880, to Montgomery ; William C. Willeford, March 6, 1882; James Farrell, October 16, 1885; O. B. Nixon, April 4, 1889; Lawrence Weimer, May 28, 1892; L. B. Spald- ing, April 17, 1893; D. L. Weimer, April 15, 1897; James W. Kennedy, July 1, 1914.
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
PERKINS STORE
William A. Perkins served as postmaster from the time the office was established, July 25, 1856, to May 13, 1858, during which time the name of the postoffice was changed twice; first to Walnut Hill, July 29, 1857; then to Clark's Prairie, May 13, 1858. On this date W. B. Lutes became postmaster ; Howard Crooke, June 5, 1862; Clement Correll, June 10, 1865 ; J. V. Smith, February 13, 1871 ; Alex. Odell, June 25, 1877; J. M. Crooke, February 16, 1881. Name changed, April 4, 1881, to Odon.
ODON.
Alex. Odell, November 24, 1884; C. L. Pierson, September 3, 1885; T. J. Hubard, May 28, 1889; C. E. Odell, September 15, 1892; William J. Danner, January 6, 1894; William T. O'Donald, October 19, 1894; George D. Abraham, May 10, 1897; H. H. Crooke, April 22, 1908; Daniel Gantz, May 20, 1913.
PLAINVILLE.
Office established, May 31, 1856; Clement Lee ; James Webster, August II, 1860; C. M. Reiley, December 9, 1864; L. H. Lester, August 15, 1866; T. L. Broyles, June 27, 1873; A. E. Dibble, April 24, 1876; L. H. Dilley, April 10, 1877; David Rankin, October 29, 1877; W. B. McRae, April 12, 1880; William Hildreth, February 21, 1882; William F. Killion, December II, 1885; J. C. Wright, April 4, 1889; William H. Allen, March 30, 1893; William J. Hildreth, April 16, 1897; John A. Evans, June 22, 1901 ; W. H. Bunch, 1905; Charles McWilliams, 1914.
CHAPTER XX.
THE CITY OF WASHINGTON.
i ne county seat of Daviess county was formerly called Liverpool, this being the name of the town in Indiana territory, as laid out in the forks of White river, in Knox county, by Isaac Galland, George Curtis and David Flora. The original plat contained one hundred and eighty-six lots, each being sixty feet in width and one hundred and twenty feet in length; each street, sixty feet wide, to."remain open for the benefit of the public forever." The deed was recorded on November II, 1815, and on May 9, 1816, the record says :
"Isaac Galland sold to David Flora one-half of this same tract of land for one thousand four hundred and seventy-four dollars, the same price for which David Flora had sold the entire tract seven months previous, and the deed to the land is described as being the land sold to said Galland and George Curtis by said Flora by deed October 16, 1815, and being the tract of land on which the town of Liverpool is now located." The deed to Gal- land and Curtis by David Flora on October 16, 1815, was witnessed ;by Emanuel Van Trees, William Wallace and John Wallace, as David Flora could not sign his name. The plat of the town was made by Galland, Curtis and Flora, on land purchased by them in 1813, lying within sections 27 and 24, township 3, range 7.
The plat of the town of Washington was made and recorded on March 31, 1817. It comprises portions of sections 26, 27, 28, 33, 34 and 35, town- ship 3 north, range 7 west, consisting of one hundred and thirty-six lots, each lot being eighty by one hundred and thirty-two feet in size. Lots 5, 35, 40 and 65 belonged to Emanuel Van Trees. Lots 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 50, 55, 80, 85 and 90 belonged to Wilkins. The public square, lying between Walnut and Main and Second and Third streets, was not to be sold, and the rest of the plat was to be sold for the benefit of the county. Main street, in this plat, is now Hefron street, and the town boundaries were substantially Van Trees, Flora, Meridian and East Sixth streets. Four squares and four lots, however, lay west of Meridian street. This plat included the town of Liverpool, which was merged in the larger town of
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Washington when that was designated as the name of the county seat, on the organization of Daviess county.
The first additions to the original plat of Washington were made by Emanuel Van Trees and Peter Wilkins, August 18, 1817. One hundred and sixty-five lots, each sixty-five by one hundred and twenty feet in size, were laid out in these additions. These enterprising pioneers found ready sale for their lots, at prices ranging from thirty-five to one hundred dollars. The record shows that Samuel J. Kelso was the first purchaser of a lot in the new town of Washington, his purchase being lot 49, located on the north side of Walnut street, midway between Fourth and Fifth streets. This sale was made by Emanuel Van Trees, November 13, 1816. Among the purchasers of lots in 1817 were: Michael Wiley, William Chapman, James G. Reed, Richard Palmer and John Allen.
On the 9th and 10th of June, 1817, a great public sale of lots was held. One hundred and eight lots were disposed of at this sale, ranging in price from ten to two hundred and thirty-five dollars. Lot 107 was purchased by James Street for ten dollars; lot 79 by John McClure and Blackford, for two hundred and thirty-five dollars. The total amount received for this sale of lots was about six thousand dollars.
There were several inhabitants of the town prior to this great sale of lots, but their names and the location of their residences have not been pre- served. The first house that was built was probably located near the site of the present high school building. It was a log building, as were all other residences at that early time. This building, however, was of hewed logs. and a little above the average in appearance, as compared to the log cabins. of the time. The first store in the town was kept by James Read. His store building was a log structure, located on the southwest corner of Main and Second streets. This store was opened in 1817. After continuing in the business for about a year Mr. Read sold his store to Joseph Warner and Seth Rodick, who continued the business under the firm name of War- ner & Rodick, until 1825. A second store was opened in 1818 by a Mr. Van Camp, from Kentucky; this store was located about one hundred feet from the southeast corner of Main and First streets. According to the memory of the oldest inhabitant, the first blacksmith to locate in the new town was: Friend Spears. Oher blacksmiths who came about the same time were Will- iam Bratton and Thomas Brown.
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
EARLY BUSINESS INTERESTS
In 1823 the town had a population of about one hundred and was showing a steady and substantial growth. By this time there were four stores in the town. Isaac Hedden and Stephen Belding, shoemakers, had come in and established shops for their trade; William Ballow, James Cal- houn and Robert Stephens were engaged in making hats. Stephens came from Pennsylvania, arriving in Washington on May 15, 1822. A few years prior to this Alexander Hinton and Alexander Bruce had opened "taverns" in the town. The Hinton tavern was located near the southwest corner of Main and East Second streets; the Bruce hostelry was at the corner of Main and East First street. Among those living along Main street about 1822 and 1823 were: Samuel Miller, a wheelwright; Colonel Berry, who kept a boarding house; Richard Weaver; Thomas Tuning, a saddler and harnessmaker; George Bruner, who kept a market and whiskey shop in the old blockhouse; a family named Blankenship, two of whom assisted "Uncle Dick" Palmer to kidnap Sam, the colored man; George Bradford, who kept a small store; A. C. Kinney, the lawyer, who procured the freedom of the two colored boys, an account of which will be found in another chapter in this volume. Emanuel Van Trees, whose name is most prominently con- nected with the early history of Washington, was also located on Main street ; also John and Michael Murphy, general merchants. A Mr. Carr had a treadwheel grist-mill on Walnut street, near Friend Spears' black- smith shop. A yoke of oxen on the treadwheel was the motive power that operated the grist-mill.
The professions were well represented in those early days. Reverend Pipher was an Episcopalian minister; Doctor Holland was a local preacher in the Methodist church, and also a practicing physician. The Washington circuit, in 1823, was in charge of Reverend Ray, from Kentucky; Reverend Martin was the resident minister of the Presbyterian church, and Rev. Hiram Hunter ( father of D. Eckley Hunter, a prominent teacher known in later times) was pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The legal profession was represented by Judge Call, Judge Dewey, Judge Blake, John Ewing and A. C. Kinney, all men of marked ability.
SLOW GROWTH.
For a few years after the first sale of lots and the impetus given the town by the rush of early settlers, the interest in the new town began to decline. There was but small increase in the population of Washington
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
from 1825 to 1857. There was little in the advantages afforded by the town to attract men of capital and business enterprise. There were no rail- roads and the products of the farm were sent in flat boats on White river to a southern market. Merchandise was brought in on wagons from Evans- ville, Louisville and other points. The stage coach was the only public utility afforded for travel to distant places. This was the condition until 1857, when the construction of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad through the town instantly awakened Washington and the surrounding country to real life. New men and fresh capital came in and the first real boom that Washington had long hoped for began to be a realization.
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN.
Washington experimented with a form of government under a board of trustees for several years with indifferent success. There was complaint among the citizens that the board neglected its duties, which is not an unusual complaint against municipal authorities and it is not an unusual case for such complaints to be well-founded, as they probably were in this instance. Anyhow, the criticism of the official negligence of the Wash- ington town board, by press and people, became so strong that a petition was made to the court for a dissolution of the board, and the petition was granted on March 15, 1867. Then a movement was immediately started to reincorporate, or to adopt a city charter, if, upon taking a census, a suffi- cient number of inhabitants were found to entitle them to such a charter. The citizens were not united on either of these propositions. Some favored one, some the other, and a great many were indifferent. The following extract from one of the papers published in the town at that time will serve to show the feelings of the citizens with reference to this question :
"Our citizens have tried the beauties of a corporation for some time past, and have found, to their sorrow, that it was impossible to find men for the various offices that would see the law strictly enforced. A seeming dread that they would get into difficulty, or that the corporation was not sound, would take possession of their minds, and violations of the law were disregarded by the officers, and the law set at defiance by rowdies. We hope that a census of the population of Washington and its additions will be taken, and if we have a sufficient population to entitle us to a city charter let us have it ; and if not, revive the corporation and 'grin and bear it' until we are entitled to a city charter. By all means let us have law and order in: our town."
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Whether a census was taken or not, or whether there was at that time a sufficient number of inhabitants in Washington to entitle it to a city char- ter, is not a matter of record. It is probable that there were those who at that time were sufficiently informed to make a safe guess that Washington did not measure up to the requirements for a city charter, and that this guess of well-informed citizens was accepted in lieu of a census as proposed .. At any rate steps were immediately taken for a reorganization of the cor- poration. A meeting of citizens was held on April 18, 1867, at the court house, at which it was agreed to circulate a petition to be presented to the board of county commissioners, asking for an election on the question of corporation or no corporation. Things then moved along pretty swiftly .. The petition was presented to the board on May 13, showing a large num- ber of signatures in favor of calling an election. An election was ordered by the board to be held on May 29, at which there were two hundred and nine votes in favor of the re-incorporation of the town, and only forty in opposition. An election was held, June 18, for trustees and other officers under the new organization, resulting in the election of the following :
Trustees : J. H. O'Neal, J. C. Spink, S. D. Wright, J. E. Thompson, Elisha Hyatt, Wilson Keith, A. B. Bruner. William E. Thompson was elected clerk; W. W. Feagans, assessor; George Kauffman, treasurer; John McCarty, marshal. The trustees organized, June 25, by the election of Elisha Hyatt as president of that body. There were several resignations and changes soon after the organiaztion was effected.
ORGANIZED UNDER A CITY CHARTER.
With an established form of government, organized as a town corpo- ration, Washington enjoyed peace and prosperity for a few years. There was a continued growth of population during these years. In the spring of 1871 the population had become sufficient to entitle Washington to a city charter, with a mayor and six councilmen. Accordingly, the necessary steps were taken to organize under a city charter. The city was divided into three wards, two councilmen to be chosen to represent each ward. At an election held after the necessary preliminaries, David J. Hefron was elected mayor; J. C. Spink, William Tranter, Sr., Albert Logan, Henry Walter, John Hyatt and Elijah Eskridge were elected as councilmen. Mr. Hefron served as mayor until 1875, when he was succeeded by William D. Bynum, who served four years. From that time the following have served the city as mayor :
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
James W. Ogdon, 1879 to 1881; Arthur Beddoe, 1882 to 1883; Will- iam P. Ellis, 1884 to 1886; James W. Ogdon, 1887 to 1891; C. K. Tharp, 1891 to 1893; John H. Spencer, 1894 to 1898; Joseph Wilson (died during term), 1898 to 1900; John Downey, 1900 to 1902; Hale Clark, 1902 to 1906; Robert Russell, 1906 to 1910; John W. McCarty, 1910, the present mayor.
THE BANKS OF WASHINGTON.
The first banking enterprise in Washington was a private concern, organized in 1868 by William Sanford, Frank Overton and C. W. Levings, under the name of Sanford, Levings & Company. The capital stock of the firm was ten thousand dollars. Mr. Sanford was president, and C. W. Abell, cashier of this institution at the organization. Several changes in the pro- prietorship of this bank were made within a year or two after its organiza- tion. In 1870 Elisha Hyatt purchased a controlling interest and at that time the name of the concern was changed to the Washington Exchange Bank. Dr. A. M. Whitten and Elliott Mccullough were taken in as part- ners about one year later, and, with their investment, the capital stock was increased to twenty thousand dollars. Two years later Mr. Mccullough died and his interest was withdrawn; about a year later Doctor Whitten withdrew his interest. This reduced the capital stock to the original amount, ten thousand dollars. In 1874 Hiram Hyatt invested one thousand dollars, raising the capital stock to eleven thousand dollars, and the name of the firm was Hyatt, Levings & Company. This firm continued to conduct the business until November, 1884, when the bank closed its doors on account of failure to make collections on loans made. Concerning this unfortunate ·ending of Washington's first banking enterprise, an old historian makes this comment :
"The failure of the bank involved Elisha Hyatt's personal estate and, in order to make settlement, he submitted to his and the bank's creditors the proposition to pay his own creditors in full, and seventy cents on the dollar to those of the bank, an extremely liberal and altogether unusual proposition."
The failure of this bank, however, did not leave Washington without an institution of this kind. About twelve years prior to this time another banking enterprise had been established and was at this time in successful operation, and has continued as one of the permanent and successful finan- cial institutions of Washington for more than forty years.
B. & O. SHOPS AND ROUNDHOUSE, WASHINGTON.
-
Nepia .
THIRD AND MAIN STREETS, LOOKING WEST, WASHINGTON.
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL BANK.
The Washington National Bank was organized on August 28, 1872. The original stockholders were: F. W. Viehe, James Campbell, M. L. Brett, W. M. Tyler, W. J. Williams, C. Lee, and S. H. Taylor. F. W. Viehe, W. M. Tyler, S. H. Taylor and M. L. Brett were the first board of directors; F. W. Viehe, the first president, and M. L. Brett, the first cashier. This bank was organized with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, but on March II, 1907, the capital stock was increased to one hundred thousand dollars. At the expiration of the original charter, August 28, 1912, the charter was renewed and extended for twenty years. The present directors are: J. N. Jones, F. M. Harned and W. R. Meredith; N. G. Read, presi- dent; F. M. Harned, vice-president; Louis I. Read, cashier; A. C. Wise, assistant cashier. The report of the condition of the bank at the close of business, May 1, 1915, shows the following :
Loans and discounts (notes held in bank), $365, 118.50; other items included in resources, $521,813.18; capital stock paid in, $100,000.00; sur- plus fund, $130,000.00; undivided profits, $19,152.77; individual and time deposits, $538,778.91.
THE PEOPLE'S NATIONAL BANK.
The People's National Bank of Washington was organized on February 2, 1888, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. The first board of directors were : Hugh Barr, James W. Ogdon, John Downey, George Kauff- man, Richard C. Graham, Magness J. Carnahan and Alfred B. Davis. The first officers were: Hugh Barr, president; James W. Ogdon, vice-president; R. C. Davis, cashier. On February 12, 1907, the capital stock was in- creased to one hundred thousand dollars. The present officers are: M. F. Burke, president; E. L. Hatfield, first vice-president; C. F. Cochran, second vice-president ; P. A. Hastings, cashier ; T. R. McPherson, assistant cashier. From the report of this bank at the close of business, May 1, 1915, the following items are taken: Loans and discounts (notes held in bank), $369,754.67; other items included in Resources, $211,229.31; capital stock paid in, $100,000.00; surplus fund, $60,000.00; individual and time de- posits, $312,120.27.
(20)
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
THE CITIZENS LOAN AND TRUST COMPANY.
The Citizens Loan and Trust Company was organized on November 2, 1902, and was incorporated under the laws of the state, November 26, 1902, being authorized by law to conduct a general financial, savings, deposit, loan and trust business. The officers for the first year were: James W. Ogdon, president; Henry Aikman, vice-president; William Kennedy, sec- retary ; William M. Aikman, assistant secretary. The first board of directors. were : James W. Ogdon, John C. Hagerty, Ed F. Meridith, Henry Aikman, Harry H. Crooke, G. J. Nichols, John Murphy, Miles G. O'Neal and Will- iam Heffernan.
This company was organized with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars. In 1904 it was consolidated with the Washington Trust Company and the capital stock was increased to sixty-five thousand dollars. In 1907 the capital stock was increased to one hundred thousand dollars. The pres- ent board of directors are : James W. Ogdon, M. G. O'Neal, William Heffer- nan, J. A. Colbert, W. B. Deffendall, Jacob Beitman, J. N. Jones, L. E. Hamersly and William R. Meridith. The present officials are: James W. Ogdon, president ; Miles G. O'Neal, vice-president ; William Kennedy, secre- tary; W. M. Young, assistant secretary. From a statement of the condition of this company at the close of business May 1, 1915, the following items are taken: Loans and discounts, $229,912.87; other items included in re- sources, $36,687.41 ; capital stock paid in, $100,000.00; surplus and undi- vided profits, $37,352.05 ; demand and time deposits, $125,440.34.
STATE BANK OF WASHINGTON.
The State Bank of Washington was organized on January 16, 1910, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. The persons identi- fied with the organization of this enterprise were: W. J. McCord, P. J. Cavanaugh, Basil B. Pritchett, Lewis W. Keith, William R. Gardiner, W. L. Jackson, Lewis H. Keith, Frank B. Fornwald, Marie H. Kelley, and others, comprising a list of sixty-five stockholders. The first officers were : George Godwin, president; H. F. Vollmer, vice-president; J. M. Twitty, cashier. Judge W. R. Gardiner succeeded Godwin as president, January 7. 1912; George J. Keith succeeded Vollmer as vice-president, July, 1914; William P. Walter was appointed assistant cashier, April 1, 1912. These, with John M. Twitty, cashier, compose the present bank officers. The pres-
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DAVIESS COUNTY, INDIANA.
ent directors of the bank are: William R. Gardiner, C. K. Tharp, John Ormsby, A. O. Fulkerson, George J. Keith, R. J. Barr, Ezra Mattingly, M. D. Kelley and Martin Cahill. From the report of the condition of this bank at the close of business, May I, 1915, the following items are taken: Loans and discounts, $159,093.58; other items included in resources, $37,- 864.99; capital stock paid in, $100,000.00; surplus fund, $5,500.00; de- mand deposits and certificates, $89,479.39.
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