USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 12
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Jackson township was among the last to be settled, as its soil was black and wet and the early settlers sought land with natural drainage, that could be cultivated early in the spring. Since farmers have learned the use of tile ditches, Jackson township has come into its own and its burr oak flats are now considered the equal of any farming land in the county. Follow- ing the subdivisions of the original government survey, most of the farms
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in this township are square or oblong, and the roads run on section lines, which make it very convenient in getting about.
Among the early settlers of the township were Henry Hawk and Enoch Foster, who came from Ohio; Daniel Sullivan and Charles Guinea, who came from Jefferson county, and Samuel Eli, from Union county. These men are supposed to have settled in Jackson township in 1828. Others who came soon after were: Samuel Thomson, William Evans, Adam Hall, Adam Petree, Abram Barrett, James Wheeldon, William H. Eddleman, John Chambers, Chesley Woodard, Daniel Eddleman, William and James Chambers, Eliza Moncrieg and Jack Herring.
William Evans built the first saw-mill in Jackson township and the first church in the township was built by the Baptists upon land donated for that purpose by Charles Woodard. Early school teachers of the town- ship were P. N. Bishop and John McCleary. The first school building was built in 1834 on the farm entered by William Evans. Unlike the present comfortable school houses of the township, this early building was very primitive. It had a puncheon floor, clapboard roof and door, split sapling for seats and the large fireplace had only a dirt backwall. The only writing desks were rough boards on two sides of the building, supported by pins driven into the walls. Light was provided through windows made of oiled newspapers.
Writing of this early school, J. A. Dillman, one of its first pupils says : "McCleary was too tender hearted to whip, but one day some of us boys did something that it was necessary to punish us for in order to maintain his authority. Eight of us were sent to the woods and each of us brought in a good-sized beech 'gad'. Then he paired us off and made us whip one another, lap-jacket fashion, only that one of us whipped at a time. I was a weakly boy of ten, and my opponent was a big boy of fourteen, with a pair of buckskin breeches and a fawn-skin vest with woolsey blouse. 1 whipped first and laid it on light, hoping that my friend would do the same-indeed it was no use to strike hard, for you might as well have tried to hurt a rhinoceros ; but when it came his turn he brought down his "gad' like whip- ping a balky ox, while I yelled and screamed with pain. But then ends of justice were satisfied and so were McCleary and the big boy."
The southern part of the township was crossed by a railroad in the eighties and thus the farmers got a much easier access to the markets. Along the railroad sprang up the flourishing towns of Sardinia and Alert. Other towns in the township are Waynesburg and Newburg (Forest Hill).
The present officers of Jackson township are as follow: Trustee, Sam
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Kelly; assessor, William Barton; advisory board, Albert Moncrieff, Jacob Thurston. John H. Cooper : road supervisors, Ed. T. Fraley, Walter Shaw. Dan Carnes and William Golay; justice of the peace. Joseph A. Burns.
FOREST HILL.
The town of Forest Hill was laid out on March 17. 1852, by Newberry Wheeldon as Newburg. It is an inland village, in the extrenie northern part of Jackson township, and is two miles from the Michigan division of the Big Four railroad. The fact that it does not have railroad connection has made it impossible to enjoy much of a growth. It is a pleasant little village. with good. well-shaded streets, and a quiet air of prosperity. A Presby- terian church and a modern two-room school building take care of the religious and educational life of the community. It was once incorporated for both civil and school purposes, but the village did not prove large enough to support itself as an independent community. The present interests are confined to the following : Blacksmith, J. K. Devening; general store, E. T. Fraley; grocery, A. W. Crigler ; physician, M. C. Vest (county coroner ) ; restaurant. Emmett Watson. The present population is about one hundred and twenty-five.
WAYNESBURG.
Waynesburg was laid out in the central western part of Jackson town- ship by George Lough on November 4, 1844. It is three miles from a rail- road and for this reason has never become a town of any importance: The fifteen houses of the town shelter a happy community who find employment in the various enterprises of the town or on farms in the vicinity. The stores are those of Thomas Burch, George Himelich and Henry Purvis. A saw- mill is operated by William Barton and Frank Van Scyoc. John Cornelius is the village blacksmith.
ALERT.
James Bannister is the patron saint of Alert, a town which he laid out on August 30, 1886. It is located in the southeastern part of Jackson township, on the Chicago, Terre Haute & Eastern railroad, and is a thriving business little place which lives up to its name. Several years ago there was a two-story sash saw-mill here which did a big business for many years before it was finally closed down in 1876. The logs were cut with a cross- cut saw instead of a circular saw, a fact which explains why it was a two-
ـدمـ
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SCENES ON MARION ELLIOTT STOCK FARM. JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
LESTER ELLIOTT, JACKSON TOWNSHIP' CORN PRIZE WINNER.
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story building. A bank has been recently established in the town and a can- ning factory was built in the summer of 1915, which was ready to handle the crop of that year.
The business and professional interests of Alert in 1915 included the following : Bank, Alert State Bank; barber, Albert Jordan; blacksmiths, A. B. Blazer, Earl Wright; canning factory, Frank Doty, Jr .; dentist, C. L. Hill; elevator, Blish Milling Co., of Seymour, Edward Talkington, man- ager ; garage, John Saters; general store, S. B. Leach, W. E. Wolfer; har- ness, J. H. Burns ; house mover, Jacob Wolfinger ; postmaster, Thomas J. Morton ; veterinary. Raymond Bannister ; woodworker, Ora Clayton.
In 1914 the railroad company built stock sheds at Alert and a large amount of stock is now shipped from the town. Large quantities of hay and grain are bought annually by the Blish Milling Company, of Seymour, through its local agent. Edward Talkington, and his assistant, Earl Arnold. The Alert Telephone Company has sixty-two patrons on its own line, which is operated through an exchange in charge of J. C. Nicholson. It has free service with all exchanges in Decatur and Bartholomew counties and pay connection with the Bell and Independent long distance lines. Samuel Kelly, who lives at the edge of town, has one of the best small fruit farms in Decatur county and ships a large amount of fruit to the city markets.
SARDINIA.
Sardinia, the largest town in Jackson township, was laid out on May 17, 1865, by J. S. Harper and fifteen others. For a number of years J. S. Harper operated one of the largest stores in the state here, but too much credit forced him out of business. The historian was told that when he closed his store he had ninety thousand dollars worth of accounts due him. Certainly no man could keep a business going on such a basis. Harper built what is still probably the largest house in the county-a magnificent nine- teen-room, brick mansion, which cost upwards of twenty thousand dollars. He lived in regal style and his many colored servants and lavish entertain- ments are well remembered by the older citizens. As long as he was in the town Harper was its main attraction and with the closing out of his busi- ness the town settled down to a quiet existence which still continues undis- turbed by the whirl of the outside world. The postoffice was formerly called Big Creek.
The present interests of the town, few in number, include the following : Barbers, Roscoe McKelvey, Earl McGovern; blacksmiths, Samuel Ammer-
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man, Albert Cornelius; flour mill, George Claypool; general store, McNelan & Anderson; grocery, Harry Taggart; hardware, John Gross & Son; hotel. John Bowen; ice cream parlor, Wilson & Vanblaricum ; livery, John Bowen ; saw-mill, John Gross & Son; station agent, W. HI. Petree; stock buyer, John Dennison, John Smith.
MARION TOWNSHIP.
Marion township, originally a part of Washington township and later of Sand Creek township, was organized by authority of the county commis- sioners on May 2, 1831, when its boundaries were defined as follows : "Beginning at the Washington township line on the section line dividing sections 27 and 28, township 10, range 9; thence north on the section line to the county line; thence eastwardly with the line of the county and Salt Creek township to the Washington township line; thence west with the line of Washington township to the place of beginning."
The population of Marion township is largely German. The northern half of the township is rolling and in some places the land is rough and broken. The eastern and southern portion is flat and was originally covered with oak, maple and gum. A good share of it is poor woods land. The first church in the township was that of the Immaculate Conception at Mill- housen, which was erected in 1840, when Maximillian Schneider donated forty acres of land for this purpose. The first school house was also built by the Catholics and was placed close to the church. Maximillian Schnei- dler, who was one of the leading spirits in the new community, kept the first store, which was located at Millhousen. Later he sold the store to Barney Hardbeck, who had built the first mill at Millhousen. The first mill in Marion township was erected by a man named Bush and was located on the banks of Sand creek.
SETTLEMENT.
The first settlers of Marion township, as indicated by the original land entries, were: John Robbins, Sampson McConnell, Abisha Matherly, John McConnell, James Parnell, John Hazelrigg, Dilliard Hazelrigg, John Line- ville, Thomas Mclaughlin, Jonathan Thompson, Isaac Ricketts, Dudley Anderson, W. White and Thomas Fortune. Other early-comers were John Myres, John and Hiram Fortune, Sarah Anderson, James Hooten, Dudley Taylor and John Morton.
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Early German settlers were Maximillian Schneider, Christian Ruhl, Theodore Frey, Frank Rubard, George and Francis Verkamp, Henry Pulse, Gabriel Pulse, John and Adam Hessler and Theodore Willmer. In another chapter is given an account of the Germans and their part in the county's . history.
The present officers of Marion township are as follows: Trustee, Dan Holcomb ; assessor, Frank Vaske; advisory board, John B. Rolfes, Anthony Schroer and Simeon H. Kennedy; road supervisors, John Vanderpohl, Leonard Alexander and Bernard Kohrman; William Forket, justice of the peace ; William J. Robinson, constable.
MILLHOUSEN.
Millhousen is a Catholic village located on Squaw run, in Marion town- ship, ten miles southeast of Greensburg. Maximillian Schneider, who set- tled here in 1838, donated forty acres of land on June 29. 1840, to Bishop La Halandiere, of Vincennes, for the purpose of establishing a church and laying out a town. The name Millhousen was adopted for the proposed town in honor of Mr. Schneider's native town of the same name in Ger- many. The first settlers were composed of emigrants from various parts of Germany, among whom were thirteen families, most of whom were mechan- ics. All were poor and dependent upon their daily labor for subsistence. In 1840 a plain chapel, twenty by twenty-four feet, was erected, and ten years later a larger building, thirty-eight by sixty feet, was built on the same site. In 1857 a parochial school was added. The present church is one hundred and forty by fifty-five feet, and has a beautiful tower in which is a large clock.
There have been several business enterprises in the town in the past, but changing conditions have seen the disappearance of most of them. The first store and postoffice was kept by Maximillian Schneider. Barney Harde- beck followed Schneider in the same store. Hardebeck also built the first mill in the town, a woolen-inill which was run under several different man- agements until the early eighties. Other owners of this same mill were B. Zapfe & Brinkman, followed by Zapfe alone. Hardebeck again took charge of the mill after Zapfe and, while he was operating it a second time it was burned. He at once rebuilt it and continued to run it until it was permanently closed down.
The town was once larger than it is today and formerly boasted of a population of about four hundred: today there are approximately three
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hundred in the town. The business and professional interests in 1915 in Millhousen are as follows: Barbers, Joseph Pfeifer, John Green; Black- smiths, Edward Henninger, John and Louis Scheidler; brick and stone masons, John Green, Frank Klosterkemper ; carpenters, Theodore Schneider, Anthony Reisman ; drugs, Dr. J. C. Glass; flouring-mill, Joseph Herbert & Sons; general store, B. W. Zapfe, Philomena Moorman; hack line ( Mill- housen & Greensburg), Andrew Butz; harness, Joseph Herbert & Sons; hotel, Ferdinand Wittkemper: ice cream parlor, Mrs. Mollie Herbert ; livery, Edward Henninger; painter and paper hangers, Joseph Pfeifer, John Her- bert, Anthony Reisman: photographer, Louis Scheidler : postmaster, Dr. J. C. Glass; physicians, J. C. Class, Nicholas Bauman; saw-mill, Joseph Her- bert & Sons; tinner. Louis Scheidler: saloons. Will Link, Ferdinand Witt- kemper; wagon makers. George Scheidler, Charles Henninger.
Millhousen is not on a railroad and thus is seriously handicapped in various ways. The mail comes daily from Greensburg in a sealed pouch. B. W. Zapfe runs an automobile truck daily between Millhousen and Greens- burg and hauls all of his goods from the county seat. Zapfe also runs two huckster wagons the year round. The Millhousen Telephone Company, a local concern, has one hundred and twenty-six subscribers. The exchange is now located in B. W. Zapfe's store.
The town has three public buildings-a town hall, with a seating capac- ity of one thousand, a solid stone jail, with two cells, and a fire engine house. The town has recently completed four large fire cisterns, which are so located as to provide ample protection for the whole town. Four years ago there was a destructive fire in the town which burned the hotel, saloon and livery stable of John Spander, the store of J. W. Hardebeck and the dwelling house of Barney Koors. The town now has an excellent eight-man-power fire engine, which is capable of throwing water over any building in town. Edward Henninger is the present fire chief.
The town was platted on April 10, 1858, and has been incorporated for several years. The town officers for 1915 are as follow: Clerk, Will Dai- ley : councilmen, George Walters, first ward; Edward Henninger, second ward : Anthony Harping, third ward ; marshal, John Stuehrenberg.
OTHIER VILLAGES.
Gaynorsville is located in Marion township and, although never platted, is given a place on the county map. There are about ten families in this little village. This is merely a country trading point and its business inter-
الطيار الرمد
PAROCHIAL HOUSE, MILLHOUSEN.
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ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, MILLHOUSEN.
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ests, which consist of a general store and blacksmith shop, are taken care of by Enoch Parker & Son.
Smyrna is also a small hamlet in Marion township, but only a small cluster of houses marks the place at present.
Layton's mill is only a voting precinct in Marion township.
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CLINTON TOWNSHIP.
On July 6, 1829, on the petition of Isaac Seright and others, the board of justices organized Clinton township, with the following limits: Begin- ning on the county line at the center of section 34, township 12, range 9; thence south to the Washington township line; thence east five miles to the center of section 21, township 11, range 10, on the south line of said section; thence north to the county line; thence west with the county line to the place of beginning (volume II, page 43).
The original limits as prescribed by the board of justices who organ- ized this township, have remained the same with two minor exceptions. On September 7, 1829, the board of justices ordered that sections 19 and 20, township II, range 10, be stricken off from Clinton township and attached to Washington ( volume II, page 47). On May 3, 1830, the board of jus- tices "ordered that the west half of section 21, township II, range Io, which lies in Clinton township, be and the same is newly attached to the township of Fugit in the said county of Decatur." With these changes, the township stands today as its first boundaries were given.
The same board which ordered the organization of Clinton township, at the same meeting ordered the first election to be held in the township at the house of George Mclaughlin on the last Saturday in July, 1829. This election was held for the purpose of electing two justices of the peace. Ben- jamin Jones was appointed election inspector. Alexander Hamilton and John Small were appointed as overseers of the poor for that year ( 1829). James Hudson, Robert Wilson and Joseph Lindsay were appointed as first fence viewers (volume II, page 44). In 1830, Joseph Lindsay and James Wilson were appointed as overseers of the poor.
SETTLEMENT.
It is impossible to determine who was the first settler in this township, but it is improbable that there was anyone with a fixed habitation there
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before 1821. There were no land entries from this township during the first year after it was open for settlement, which leads to the supposition that there were people living there who wished to protect their claims to their places of residence.
The first known settler was Jesse Womack, who entered a small tract of land early in 1821. Others who came immediately afterward were John Montgomery, Thomas Craig, Daniel Crume, Joseph Jones and Joseph Wei- hart. Among those who came later this year were Matthew Campbell, Rob- ert Wilson, James Carter. John Thomson. Israel Harris. Henry Glass and George Donner.
Among the other early settlers who located here and contributed to the early progress and history of the township are: Reuben Johnston, who came here from Virginia with his family, and died in 1857: David Munns, who was one of the early Kentucky pioneers; also William Ruddell, from Kentucky; Thomas Power, Robert Crawford. John Lyons, William Sefton, William Bird, Baily Johnston. Josiah Kemble, Elijah E. Smith, Peleg Wheeler, George Butcher, A. E. Rankin, D. Cramer, Benjamin Jones, Philip Martin, Edward Ricketts, Dr. Abram Carter, Gabriel Harrold, William Jones, Robert Wilson, Joseph Lindsay and Andrew J. Dale, who came here from South Carolina, are all numbered among the early settlers of the town- ship and contributed toward its settlement and advancement.
EARLY MILLS.
The first grist-mill in this township was built by John and William Hamilton, two brothers from Virginia, who settled here. This mill was erected in the year 1822 and the power to run the machinery was furnished by Clifty creek. A short time after this mill was erected, another mill. which was only used for eraeking corn for feed, was constructed by Thomas Lanham for William Buchanan, the proprietor. This mill was located on the South fork of Clifty ereek, and was well patronized by the settlers in this locality, as meal was used more extensively for breadstuff than it is at the present time. About the same time, the first saw-mill was erected by a Mr. Douglas on the south fork of Clifty creek. This mill was well pat- ronized and the owner was doing a thriving business, but his prosperity was to be short-lived, for he met with an accident in the mill which cost him his life. The first horse-power mill was introduced and placed in operation on the farm of Thomas Powell, near the poor farm. Mr. Powell owned and
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operated this mill for a number of years, and at that time it was quite an advancement from the old form of water-power mill.
The county poor farm is located in Clinton township.
The first church in the township was built by the Christians. This was erected near the residence of Nathan P. Swails and was known as the Clifty church.
The general surface of this land is unbroken and slightly undulating and there is no great extent of broken land in the township, although it has excellent drainage from the different branches of Clifty creek which flow through the township. The land all drains to the southwest and the soil is uniform and of an equal quality. There is no other township in the county which can boast of so few acres of waste or untillable land as Clinton.
The timber furnished one of the greatest industries in this township in the early days, stave-mills being the chief consumption of this natural resource. The forests consisted chiefly of walnut, poplar, sugar, elm. burr oak, hackberry and beech, but since the timber has become scarce the ener- gies of the settlers have been turned toward agricultural pursuits, and this is yielding equally as great results as did the timber products of old. The blue grass land in the southeastern portion of the township rivals even the famous blue grass districts of Kentucky, and has no equal in any part of the home state.
Another great asset to the farmers of this section is the North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville railroad, which runs through the township. It enables them to place their products on the markets of the leading cities and furnishes railroad facilities for all the different lines of transportation.
The trustee of Clinton township is Henry Mozingo, and Orville Garrett is assessor.
SANDUSKY.
Sandusky, the only town in Clinton township, was laid out along the Michigan division of the Big Four railroad on October 7, 1882, by Olliver C. Sefton. The building of the railroad through the county has made San- dusky a shipping point of importance, especially so since it is the nearest market for most of Fugit and a part of Adams townships. The business interests of 1915 include the following: Blacksmith, Harrell & Cowan, W. O. Rozell; carpenter, A. T. Stanford, Stillman Bros., Elmer Ruddell; ele- vator, Sandusky Farmers Elevator Company, Jesse Anderson, manager ; general store, Horace McDowell: hardware and implements, Horace Mc- Dowell: livery, Charles Ray ; painter and paper hanger, Fleetwood & Seright :
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saw-mill, Steward & Tilley; station agent, A. C. Thorpe ; warehouse, H. C. Doles, of Clarksburg.
J. T. Stanford operates a stone crusher a short distance from the town and furnishes most of the crushed stone used on the roads in the township. In the spring of 1915 about forty of the leading farmers of the community surrounding Sandusky formed a company to operate the elevator at the town and are making extensive repairs to the building which they acquired. They intend to put in a grinding outfit and handle food stuffs of all kinds. A gas company, composed of Knox, Hall & Williams, has four wells, which furnish an abundant supply of gas for the town. They give a flat rate of one dollar a month for a stove and furnish one light. Additional lights cost fifteen cents a month. The county farm, of one hundred and sixty acres, is located a mile southwest of Sandusky. Superintendent D. A. Bur- roughs now has twenty-seven inmates on the farm.
Williamstown is a joint Decatur and Rush county town, and is located on the county line in Clinton township.
SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP.
Salt Creek township bears the distinction of being the last township laid out in the county. It was established by the board of county commis- sioners of Decatur county, September 5, 1836, and, as recorded in the rec- ords of that date, its boundaries were as follow, to wit: "Beginning on the Franklin county line on the line dividing townships 10 and II ; thence west to the northwest corner of section 2, township 10, range IO; thence south to the northwest corner of section 26, township 9, range 10; thence east two miles; thence south one mile ; thence east to the Ripley county line ; thence north to the place of beginning." This was taken verbatim from the record books of the county commissioners (volume III, page 104), but there seems to be some discrepancy in this record, as seen by following the line of boundary, for it would not strike the Ripley county line. The error may come in supplying the name Ripley when in fact the Franklin county line was meant.
The next record which we have defining the boundary of this township is given as follows, to wit: "Beginning on the Franklin county line on the line dividing townships 10 and II ; thence west to the northwest corner of section 2, township 10, range 10; thence south five miles; thence east two miles ; thence south one mile ; thence east one mile; thence south one mile
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