USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 46
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Up the long stairs was the railroad, That carried the grain from the wagon's load. At the old mill door, on the horse's back, The freckled faced boy, with corn in a sack, That was shelled by hand the night before, By the dear home folks on the kitchen floor.
He bashfully stands and waits around, Or plays in the stream till his grist is ground, And the corn we parched on the office stove, We'll never forget where e'er we rove. Our laughter all through the mill was heard, As the sweet brown corn we stirred and stirred.
Then we hunted for pennies the miller so sly Had dropped just to see the glad light in our eye As onward we scampered, still searching for more, And wondering how ever they got on the floor Then we waded knee deep in the old tail race, Or fished with long poles, and tan on our face.
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As we breathlessly watched for a "nibble" and took With screams of delight a fish from our hook. Then the old spring house, and peppermint fine, Where we made long curls of the first dandelion. There the birds sang all day, and the soft summer breeze Seemed laughing with us, 'neath the wide-spreading trees.
But gone with the past, as new scenes come in view, Is the water mill, and joys that we knew, With the dear ones that loved us, and lived with us then Who will walk this world with us, ah ! never again, But the sweetest memories of life linger still Around happy days in the old water mill.
THE TREE. ON THE TOWER. By Lida M. Cobb.
Beautiful tree upon the tower, Though your lot be cast on high, Where the town clock tells the hour And storms sweep from the sky.
To thee we lift our wondering eyes And beholding, proudly say Thou art one of nature's wonders Within thine own unique sway.
None know how thy roots are nurtured, All are guessing and some do say Thou art a fake, but every one Admires thee when they pass this way.
There is much inquiry about thee From all sections of the earth, But no one can ever conceive From whence came thy lofty birth.
You are surely enthroned in grandeur, As your branches wave on high, But we know you are only transient And must some day droop and die.
With the leaves of the wild wood Your bright garment, too, must fade And come fluttering down to earth To mingle in death's silent shade.
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Yet, with pride, we now behold thee And friends and strangers, if they will, May come and view our lone tree Towering on and upward still.
When, like all earth, you have perished, Leaving naught but your good name, Still in history you'll be known As the Greensburg tree of fame.
Some extracts of Lewis A. Harding, the editor of this volume, have been included at the request of the publishers and his many personal friends in the county. They are taken from his volume, "The Call of the Hour," and printed with the permission of the Sunflower Publishing Company, Wichita, Kansas. .
THE GREAT FOUNDATION.
Written on the Burning of a Tabernacle.
Hark! The alarm ! It is fire !
Fire! Fire! Fire !
Look! People run ! Hear the bells !
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Oh ! See the smoke! Can it be! But alas ! The Tabernacle !- The Tabernacle is on fire !
Ah! then men hurry quickly to and fro, And desperate firemen dash in maddened flight And pallid faces like the sullen snow,
In terror gaze on that unwonted sight;
While every heart is strained with fear, for soon Those clouds of black, then whitening smoke, shall doom It all to direful flames and ashy ruin !
Behold, on yesterday what splendid pile, When sunrise lit the windows of its dome With all the fresh, fine beams of morning; while At evening, all the twilight of the gloam Seemed caught and held up there in those rich panes To linger as the shadows mounted higher, And then in silence when the westland wanes, At last to mount toward heaven from the spire 1
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But now, behold, what awful pity! Ah- Those saered windows and the splendid wall, That lofty arch and all the fine eclat, Are scorching with the smoky heat ; and all That splendid dome, with heaven-pointing spire, Is wrapt in smoke; and falling windows fly To pieces ; while above, red tongues of fire Leap wildly upward toward the darkened sky !
The scene is awful now! Those sheets of flame Envelope roof and dome and spire, while clouds Of smoke ascend .- Oh, what could drown or tame Those deadly flames that rage beneath the shrouds Of bursting smoke! Behold! that splendid tower, Like some great martyr's sacred head, is bent Amid the withering flames ; and all the power Of that strong crest, now lost in dire destruction!
A few hours do their work. And after all That fearful spectacle of fire and smoke, The only grandeur is the blackened wall; The faithful clock has stopped upon the stroke Of time for service. All the power and worth Of art seem but an ashy heap ere long; But planted deeply in the solid earth The great foundation still stands firm and strong.
O faithful man, renew that house of light Whose walls are built upon the solid roek ; Uprear its columns to their ancient height ; Secure its altar from the tempest's shock ; Its beams and rafters anchor sure and strong, Restore its grandeur to the olden state. And let the cadence of its sacred song Ascend high up to heaven's holy gate !
Methinks I see that temple all renewed, And throngs have entered through the open door, And all its sacred windows seem imbued With holy light, that brightens more and more ! And then I see a wanderer eome apart, And leave the world with all its gloom and night, Some holy book against his faithful heart, His face turned upward toward the higher Light !
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A CHILD'S SOLILOQUY.
I wonder who it is that knows just who or where old Santa is ; and after Christ- mas where he goes with those reindeer of his. If I could see an Esquimau who lives up North where it is cold, I surely think that he would know, for Santa lives up there I'm told.
He doesn't make a bit of stir, but always comes when I'm in bed; my mamma says he's dressed in fur, and papa says his nose is red. I thought I heard him at our door, or coming down our kitchen flue; and mamma saw him at the store,-I wonder who he is, don't you? If I'd sit up I might find out, but papa talks so much of him, and mamma's seen him too, no doubt, and so I think I'll just ask them.
But all of the efforts of Decatur county writers have not been directed toward poetic composition. Some have turned to prose and their product has attained more than a local circulation. One of the most notable prose works produced in the county is a volume on "The Reproach of Capital Punishment," by Hamilton Mercer, the editor of the Greensburg Democrat. This was issued first in 1914 and received very favorable comment from newspapers and magazines generally. This volume is a very effective weapon against all the arguments advanced in favor of capital punishment. Mr. Mercer has made a careful study of his subject, and his wide experience as an editor has enabled him to see the subject from every side.
Mr. Mercer begins his book by the discussion of the subject of vested authority, and from thie very first sentence to the close he shows that he is a logician. He maintains that "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and proceeds to show that if magistrates put men to deatlı they are doing no better than an individual who murders." This is true because the power of the magistrates comes from the individual. In this first chapter Mr. Mercer shows his familiarity with Blackstone and other authorities in jurisprudence.
In the discussion of "Moses and the Death Penalty," the author shows his splendid knowledge of the Bible. He proves that that law requiring death penalty originated when the recognized rule was "blood for blood." But if this be now carried out, "man is nearly two thousand years behind his Creator, who permitted the last blood offering to his name to be sacri- ficed on Calvary." If we hold the old Jewish law concerning the death penalty for murder, then we must hold it for the other crimes that were punishable by death under the law of Moses.
Mr. Mercer shows very clearly that capital punishment is administered not for the reform of the criminal, or would-be criminals, but out of the
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spirit of vengeance. This, of course, is contrary to the teachings of the Scripture which gives the requiring of vengeance to the Lord.
This volume is concluded by some vital statistics showing that capital punishment does not reduce crime.
Other writers of prose include Will Cumback, Lewis A. Harding, Smiley Fowler, Orville Thomson and the various newspaper men of the county, all of whom have written some excellent articles on a wide variety of subjects. The Standard in 1910 had a resume of interesting historical facts gleaned from the early files of that paper. The News has a special correspondent, Noah Rogers, who has written many local historical articles for his paper. The Democrat and Review have also had special historical articles from time to time. Lewis A. Harding has issued one volume, "The Call of the Hour," which has elicited much favorable comment. The volume contains a variety of prose and poetry and shows the author in his best mood. Favorable reviews have been made of this work by such critics as the Indian- apolis Notes, the Kansas City Gazette Globe, the Pittsburg Gasette, the Cincin- nati Enquirer, the Topeka Daily Capital, the Boston Globe, Portland Orc- gonian, etc. Another work of Mr. Harding's is entitled "The Preliminary Diplomacy of the Spanish-American War," with an introduction by Dr. Amos S. Heiskey, instructor in political science and international law in Indiana University. In 1915 was published Mr. Harding's "A Few Spoken Words," with an introduction by Prof. John M. Clapp, head of the department of English of Lake Forest College. He has written many articles for news- papers and magazines. The late Orville Thomson published a history of the Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, setting up the type and doing his own press work. This is remarkable in view of the fact that he was more than eighty years of age at the time. Smiley Fowler is a versatile writer, turning his hand with equal facility to either prose or poetry. Some of his short articles have been widely copied in the newspapers of the country. The addresses and lectures of the late Will Cumback have been gathered in a volume and have found a place in many of the best libraries of the nation.
CHAPTER XXII.
DECATUR COUNTY INDUSTRIES, PAST AND PRESENT.
During pioneer days in the Middle West, when transportation facili- ties were limited and communities were more dependent upon their own resources, industrial enterprises of a county often outnumbered those of the present, since steam and electricity have been harnessed to bring in commodities from every quarter of the globe. Small mills and shops sprung up apace. There was grain to be ground, saddles and harness to be made, cloth to be manufactured and brick to be burned. Civilization had sup- planted the Indian, and the never-ceasing wheels of industry had received their impetus.
In 1823 John House built the first saw-mill and water grist-mill just back of where South Park cemetery is located. House, besides operating these mills, earned a little extra money by gunsmithing and blacksmithing. His son, Isaac, operated the mill for about twenty-five years. The miller in this case took one-eighth of the grain for grinding it. This mill ground mostly corn, but some wheat was raised by the early settlers and taken there to be made into flour.
William Ross built the first horse grist-mill in the same year, one-half mile north of McCoy's. In 1832 Elijah Mitchell built the first oil-mill. It was located one mile west of Greensburg. The following year he built the first steam saw- and grist-mill, on the lot just east of the Garland mills.
The first water-power saw-mill was started by John Forsythe, two miles east of Greensburg, in 1824. Another industry in the same neighbor- hood was that operated by John Layton, who made flax brakes, plow woods, ox yokes and other articles. Layton also made rope and twine from the fiber of a variety of nettles which was very common at that time.
The first water-mill in Sand Creek township was owned by Elijah Davis and the first horse-mill, by William Robbins. Robbins built one of the first water-mills located in Slabtown, six miles east of Greensburg. This mill, which is called Layton's mill, is still running, but steam is now used to operate it.
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In 1836 or 1837 Edward Warthin introduced the first steam engine in Clay township. It was used to run a mill on Clifty creek, below Milford, and is supposed to have been the first steam-mill with a bolting apparatus in the county. However, the first millers of the township were the Critzers, who owned several mills on Clifty creek, one of which is still in use a few miles south of Milford. One of their later competitors was William W. Burton, who operated a horse-mill in the same neighborhood.
The first mill in Marion township was owned by a man named Brush and was located on Sand creek. William Evans owned the first horse-mill in Jackson township. The first grist-mill in Clinton township was built by John and William Hamilton, two brothers, who had emigrated from Vir- ginia in 1822. This mill was placed on Clifty creek. All traces of it dis- appeared years ago.
Some time later, William Buchanan built a corn cracker for Thomas Lanham, which stood on the south fork of Clifty creek. About the same time, the first saw-mill in the neighborhood was built by a man named Doug- lass, who was later killed in its machinery.
At an early day, the Hamilton brothers changed one of their grist- mills into a bark-mill and used in to pulverize slippery elm, dogwood and sassafras bark for shipment to Eastern markets. One of the first grist-mills, carding machines and distilleries, combined, in Fugit township was oper- ated by William Henderson, who lived near what is now Springhill. Another mill was operated near Kingston by a man named Smith.
The first tanyard in Fugit township was built by Lewis Lacker on the farm now owned by Everett Hamilton. In 1841 H. C. Cowles, of Mil- ford, was manufacturing fanning mills for cleaning wheat, rye and oats. These fans were capable of clearing three or four hundred bushels of grain in a day.
Anthony Degant purchased the tanyard owned by Benjamin Martin, two miles from Millhousen, near the Ripley county line, in 1847. He had learned the trade in Germany and operated the establishment on a toll basis, taking a certain per cent of hides tanned for his pay.
Blacksmiths, in the early days, manufactured all plows and other farm implements used. The smiths made plows during the winter, when business was not very brisk, and sold them in the spring when farming activities started. There were two shops in Greensburg which were well known about the county. One was owned by Squires & Johnson and the other by John Roszell.
One of the very early industries of Greensburg was a hat factory,
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which was located on East Washington street. This establishment was doing business as far back as 1825. In addition, there were, of course, the usual number of shoemakers, chairmakers and other workers in wood.
A man from Cincinnati started an oil-mill, for the extraction of oil from flax seed, in 1840. Just a year or two later a Scotchman named Craig began the manufacture of coverlids on the site of the First Methodist church. James Connor started a wagon and buggy shop in 1850 on West Main street and managed it very successfully for a number of years. Seven years later a chair factory was located on the west side of the public square. Ezra Conner, in 1860, began the manufacture of wagons of excellent design which had a wide demand. He sold them for one hundred and twenty-five dollars each. They were, of course, hand-made throughout.
EARLY WOOLEN MILLS.
Decatur county pioneers were very industrious people. While the men were clearing the forest and planting the crops, their wives and daughters found plenty to do in spinning, carding, fulling, dyeing and weaving the wool from the flock of sheep which each householder possessed. These processes were the only means by which the early settlers could obtain cloth, unless they had money with which to purchase it from some trader. After a time, small shops were set up and people pursued this sort of work as a trade, and gradually home spinning was abandoned.
For a number of years, these industries flourished, and then larger establishments drove the smaller concerns out of existence. So completely has the industry been wiped out, that it is now a rare thing to see a carding machine or even a spinning wheel in Decatur county.
John Thompson had a mill for carding wool one-half mile northwest of Greensburg, in 1844. Others who operated woolen mills at Greensburg were Peyton H. Barkley and John T. Hamilton. Hamilton had a shop where he carded wool, flax, linen and linsey. He also has a saddlery and harness shop.
In 1844 Michael Gilman started a shop for carding, fulling and dyeing on the mouth of Mill creek, near St. Omer. He had two sets of carding machines and the other necessary equipment. His terms were plain wool, five cents a pound and mixed wool, seven and one-half cents a pound. He took wheat and other farm products in payment.
Among the older woolen mills, was one at St. Paul, which was oper- ated by John D. Paul in connection with his saw-mill. The mill was pur-
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chased, upon Paul's death in 1867, by Erastus Floyd, who had been in part- nership with him for a number of years. They were also jointly interested in a flour-mill at that place.
Their woolen mill was equipped to handle the finest Merino and Sax- ony wool. They kept in stock a large amount of satinetts, blankets, cassi- meres, full cloths, jeans and yarns to be exchanged for wool. They charged three dollars and a half a pair for making blankets, sixty cents a yard for cloth and thirty-five cents a yard for white flannel. The mill burned in 1877.
In 1845 William Shaner and Samuel Snyder rented the machinery owned by Michael Gilman, and commenced the manufacture of guaranteed products. They stood responsible for all cloth they made, providing the wool they received was first class. They had fixed cash prices, or, in case the customer desired, took one-seventh of the wool in exchange for their preparation of the remainder.
The silk industry was once started in Decatur county, but never resulted in anything permanent. In 1842 W. B. Cobb cultivated four thousand mulberry trees for sale, to be used in cultivation of silk. He sold them at twenty dollars a thousand, which made them good investments for shade purposes, if nothing else.
Millhousen also boasted of a woolen mill, which was destroyed by fire on May 30, 1874. This mill had been very active in its output, but com- petition had begun to tell on its business and, although the loss at that time was estimated at twenty thousand dollars, this was only about one-third of its actual cost.
In 1852 Gageby and Siling ventured on the experiment of making furniture by machinery propelled by steam. This was the first real manu- facturing venture with modern-day equipment in Greensburg. In five years this enterprise had increased and was employing fifteen men, with an annual output of twenty thousand dollars. One of their orders at that time was for the fixtures in the Shelby county court house. Their building was a five-story structure and fifty by seventy-five feet. It was operated until the latter part of the eighties, when it was destroyed by fire and never replaced.
In perusing the files of the Standard for 1874, it is found that the main industries which are listed and commented on in that paper are the marble works of J. & J. Pool and the carriage works of Hazelrigg, Pool & Company. The history of these two manufactories are written up in full, but whether these were all that Greensburg boasted of at this time or whether these were the only ones which made it worth the editor's while to visit and comment on, is not for us to say.
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GREELEY LIMESTONE COMPANY, AT ST. PAUL.
Limestone quarries of the Greeley Stone Company at St. Paul are the most extensive in the county that are operated by local capital. Operations of the plant cover a space of sixteen acres, three and one-half of which have already been excavated to a depth of thirty feet. It is planned to carry the work to a point fourteen feet lower before the end of the year.
The company owns a modern plant, built in 1908. It was a powerful crusher, the largest known, capable of handling seven and one-half tons of fifteen-inch stone at a time. The mill will produce fifteen carloads of crushed stone a day.
Power is supplied by a one hundred and fifty-horse-power engine, driven by steam from a two hundred and fifty-horse-power boiler. Drills are steam driven and the engine pulls cars from the quarry, by means of an endless chain, to the crusher.
A valuable by-product of the plant is pulverized limestone, which makes a valuable fertilizer and is readily sold to farmers wishing to correct the acidity of their soil. About a carload of this limestone dust is produced each day the plant is operated. Chemical analysis shows that this dust is ninety- four per cent. calcium carbide and magnesium.
Twenty-five men are regularly employed at the plant, which is situated in a picturesque location upon the banks of Flat Rock. Cincinnati and a number of Indiana cities are regular customers of the company, taking about one thousand two hundred carloads of crushed stone a year for street con- struction and repair.
The company is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars. Its officers are R. E. Greeley, president and general manager ; Albert Greeley, vice-president, and Clarence Greeley, secretary and treasurer. Albert Greeley is the father of the other two members of the company and is a prominent lumber man of Muncie, Indiana.
CONTRACTORS.
The most extensive constructive business in the county is that of the firm of Pulse & Porter, Greensburg, general contractors. In December, 1887, Alex Porter and Will Pulse formed a partnership and bought the plan- ing-mill and lumber yard on West Main street that had been operated by Edward and Charles A. Porter. At the same time they started in the gen- eral contracting business. Their first ventures were successful and they enlarged their field of operations. Since the firm was organized it has had
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a hand in the construction of some of the largest and best known institutions and plants in the state of Indiana.
Two of the first contracts taken by this firm were for the construction of Science hall and the Hendricks library at Hanover College. The next was Science hall, at Indiana University, a one-hundred-thousand-dollar contract. This firm later secured the contract and erected the buildings for the South- eastern Hospital at Madison, a contract amounting to more than a million and a half of dollars.
Other well-known buildings which have been built by Pulse & Porter are the Gentry hotel, Bloomington, $35,000; the Union Traction Company's power house at Anderson, $200,000; the Maxwell-Briscoe plant, New Castle, $225,000; Odd Fellows Home, Greensburg, $100,000, and the factory of the Bromwell Brush and Wire Company, Greensburg. $30,000.
The sanitary sewer system of Greensburg was laid by this firm. It is nineteen miles in length and cost the city thirty thousand dollars. Since completing this contract it has built power houses at Winona and New Castle, erected the Odd Fellows' hall at Greensburg and the Greensburg and Osgood school buildings, both of which are considered models of their kind. At various times the firm has given employment to more than five hundred men.
All kinds of mill work is done at the planing-mill in West Main street. Wood is sawed out for interior finishing, sash and doors and every con- ceivable purpose. The first contract ever taken by this firm was the erection of the Greensburg Baptist church in 1888. The building is still used as a church.
MEEK ICE COMPANY.
The first artificial ice plant in Greensburg was established by John E. Robbins, on West Railroad street. He conducted the plant for several years and then disposed of it to the Meek Ice Company in 1912. The plant has a daily capacity of forty tons and employs twelve men in the factory and on the delivery wagons. They not only supply the city of Greensburg, but have, built up a large trade with the smaller towns of the county as well. The delivery outside of the city is done with an automobile truck.
BROMWELL BRUSH AND WIRE WORKS.
The Bromwell Brush and Wire Works of Greensburg was established in 1903 as a branch of the Cincinnati firm of the same name. The company is incorporated under the laws of Ohio. In the branch at Greensburg only
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