History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 5

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1326

USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 5

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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

That they did many overt acts cannot be questioned and that they collected arms for traitorous designs cannot be denied. The famous battle of Pogue's Run was the result of the activities of this secret organization. Governor Mor- ton and General Carrington, by a system of close espionage, were able to know at all times just what was transpiring in the councils of these orders. In the campaign of 1864 there was an open denunciation through the Republican press of the Sons of Liberty. On October 8 of that year the Republican news- papers carried these startling headlines: "You can rebuke this treason. The traitors intend to bring war to your home. Meet them at the ballot box while Grant and Sherman meet them on the battle-field." A number of the leaders were arrested, convicted in a military court and sentenced to be shot. However, they were later pardoned by the President.

The 'Spanish-American War of 1898 was the next one in which troops from Indiana played a part. When President Mckinley issued a call for 75,000 volunteers on April 25, 1898, Indiana was called upon to furnish three regiments. War was officially declared April 25, and formally came to an end by the signing of a protocol on August 12 of the same year. The main engagements of importance were the sea battles of Manila and Santiago and the land engagements of El Caney and San Juan Hill. Accord- ing to the treaty of Paris, signed December 12, 1898, Spain relinquished her sovereignty over Cuba, ceded to the United States Porto Rico and her other West India Island possessions, as well as the island of Guam, in the Pacific. Spain also transferred her rights in the Philippines for the sum of twenty million dollars paid to her for public works and improvements . con- structed by the Spanish government.

In 1916 Indiana sent three regiments to the Mexican front, but none of them saw fighting service. The last two regiments were ordered back to the state in February, 1917.

POLITICAL IIISTORY.

It is not possible to trace in detail the political history of Indiana for the past century and in this connection an attempt is made only to survey it briefly. For more than half a-century- Indiana has been known as a pivotal state in politics. In 1816 there was only one political party and Jennings, Noble, Taylor, Hendricks and all of the politicians of that day were grouped into this one-the Democratic party. Whatever differences in views they might have held were due to local issues and not to any questions of national portent. Questions concerning the improvements of rivers, the building of

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

canals, the removal of court houses and similar questions of state and county importance divided the politicians in the early history of Indiana into groups. There was one group known as the White Water faction, another called the Vincennes crowd, and still another designated as the White River dele- gation. From 1816 until as late as 1832, Indiana was the scene of personal politics, and during the years Adams, Clay and Jackson were candidates for the presidency on the same ticket, men were known politically as Adams men, Clay men or Jackson men. The election returns in the twenties and thirties disclose no tickets labeled Democrat, Whig or Republican, but instead the words "Adams." "Clay." or "Jackson."

The question of internal improvements which arose in the Legislature of 1836 was a large contributing factor in the division of the politicians of the state. The Whig party may be dated from 1832, although it was not until four years later that it came into national prominence. The Democrats elected the state officials, including the governor, down to 1831, but in that year the opposition party, later called the Whigs, elected Noah Noble gov- ernor. For the next twelve years the Whigs, with their cry of internal improvements, controlled the state. The Whigs went out of power with Sammel Bigger in 1843, and when they came into power again they appeared under the name of Republican in 1861. Since the Civil War the two parties have practically divided the leadership between them, there having been eight Republicans and six Democrats elected governor of the state. The following table gives a list of the governors of the Northwest Territory, Indiana Terri- tory and the state of Indiana. The Federalists were in control up to 1800 and- Harrison' and his followers may be classed as Democratic-Republicans. The politics of the governors of the state are indicated in the table.

GOVERNORS OF INDIANA.

Of the Territory Northwest of the Ohio-

Arthur St. Clair 1787-1800

Of the Territory of Indiana- John Gibson ( acting } July 4. 1800-1801

William .H. Harrison 1801-1812

Thomas Posey 1812-1816 Of the State of Indiana-

Jonathan Jennings, Dem. 1816-1822

Ratliff Boon (acting), Dem Sept. 12 to Dec. 5. 1822

William Hendricks, Dem. 1822-1825

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

James B. Ray (acting ), Dem. Feb. 12 to Dec. 11, 1825

James B. Ray, Dem, 1825-1831

Noah Noble, Whig 1831-1837

David Wallace, Whig 1837-1840

Samel Bigger, Whig 1840-1843 I

James Whitcomb, Dem. 1843-1848 1

Paris C. Dunning (acting), Dem. 1848-1849 I

Joseph A. Wright, Dem. 1849-1857

Ashbel P. Willard, Dem. 1857-1860

Abraham A. Hammond (acting), Dem. 1860-1861

Henry S. Lane. Rep. -January 14 to January 16, 1861

Oliver P. Morton (acting), Rep. 1861-1865

Oliver P. Morton, Rep. 1865-1867

Conrad Baker (acting). Rep. 1867-1869

Conrad Baker, Rep. 1869-1873

Thomas A. Hendricks, Dem. 1873-1877

James D. Williams, Dem. 1877-1880

Isaac P. Gray (acting), Dem. I880-1881

Albert G. Porter, Rep.

1881-1885

Alvin P. Hovey, Rep.

Ira J. Chase (acting), Rep

Nov. 24, 1891, to Jan. 9, 1893

Claude Matthews, Dem.

1893-1897

James A. Mount, Rep.

1897-1901

Winfield T. Durbin, Rep. 1901-1905

J. Frank Hanly, Rep. 1905-1909

Thomas R. Marshall, Dem. 1909-1913

Samuel M. Ralston, Dem.

1913-1917

James P. Goodrich, Rep.

1917-

A CENTURY OF GROWTH.

Indiana was the first territory and the second state created out of the old Northwest Territory. It has just celebrated its one hundred anniversary, and it becomes the purpose of the historian in this connection to give a brief survey of what these one hundred years have done for the state. There has been no change in territorial limits, but the original territory has been subdivided into counties year by year, as the population warranted, until from

1885-1889

Isaac P. Gray, Dem. 1889-1891

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

thirteen counties in 1816 the state grew to ninety-two counties in 1859. From 1816 to 1840 new counties were organized every year with the exception of one year. Starting in with a population of 5,641 in 1800, Indiana has increased by leaps and bounds and in 19to had a population of two million seven hundred thousand eight hundred and seventy-six. The appended table is interesting in showing the growth of population by decades since 1800:

Census Decades.

Population.

Increase.

Pct. of Inc.

1800

5,641

1810

24,520

18,879

334.7

1820

147,178

1 22,658

500.2

1830

343,031

195.853

133.1

1840

685,866

342,835

99.9

1850

988,416

302,550

44. 1

1860

1.350,428

362,012

36.6

1870

1,680,637

330,209

24.5

1880

1,978,301

297,664

17.7

1890

2,192,404

214,103

10.8

1900

2.516,462

324,058

14.8

1910

2,700,876

184,414

7.3

Statistics are usually very dry and uninteresting, but there are a few figures which are at least instructive if not interesting. For instance, in 1910, 1, 143.835 people of Indiana lived in cities and towns of more than 2,500. There were 822,434 voters, and 580,557 men between the ages of eighteen and forty-four were eligible for military service. The interesting book of statistics from which these figures are taken, covering every phase of the growth of the state, is the biennial report of the state statistician.

The state has increased in wealth as well as population and the total state tax of six thousand forty-three dollars and thirty-six cents of 1816 increased in 1916 to more than six million. In 1816 the only factories in the state were grist- and saw-mills ; all of the clothing. furniture and most of the farming tools were made by the pioneers themselves. At that time the farmer was his own doctor, his own blacksmith, his own lawyer, his own dentist and, if he had divine services, he had to be the preacher. But now it is changed. The spin- ning wheel finds its resting place in the attic ; a score of occupations have arisen to satisfy the manifold wants of the farmer. Millions of dollars are now in- vested in factories, other millions are invested in steam and electric roads, still other millions in public utility plants of all kinds. The governor now receives

(5) '

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

a larger salary than did all the state officials put together in 1816, while the county sheriff has a salary which is more than double the compensation allowed the first governor of the state.

Indiana is rich in natural resources. It not only has millions of acres of good farming land, but it has had fine forests in the past. From the timber of its woods have been built the homes for the past one hundred years and, if rightly conserved, there is timber for many years yet to come. The state has beds of coal and quarries of stone which are not surpassed in any state in the Union. For many years natural gas was a boon to Indiana manufacturing, but it was used so extravagantly that it soon became exhausted. Some of the largest factories of their kind in the country are to be found in the Hoosier state. The steel works at Gary employs tens of thousands of men and are constantly increasing in importance. At Elwood is the largest tin plate fac- tory in the world, while Evansville boasts of the largest cigar factory in the world. At South Bend the Studebaker and Oliver manufacturing plants turn out millions of dollars worth of goods every year. When it is known that over half of the population of the state is now living in towns and cities, it must be readily seen that farming is no longer the sole occupation.

A system of railroads has been built which brings every corner of the state in close touch with Indianapolis. In fact, every county seat but four is in railroad connection with the capital of the state. Since 1900 electric lines have been huilt all over the state, no less than nine lines radiating from Indi- anapolis. Every county has its local telephone systems, its rural free deliveries and its good roads unifying the various parts of the county. All of this makes for better civilization and a happier and more contented people.

Indiana prides herself on her educational system. With sixteen thousand public and parochial school teachers, with three state institutions of learning, a score of church schools of all kinds as well as private institutions of learning. Indiana stands high in educational circles. The state maintains, universities at Bloomington and Lafayette and a normal school at Terre Haute. Many of the churches have schools supported in part by their denominations. The Catholics have the largest Catholic university in the United States at Notre Dame, while St. Mary's of the Woods at Terre Haute is known all over the world. Academies under Catholic supervision are maintained at Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Rensselaer, St. Meinrad, Jasper and Oldenburg. The Methodists have institutions at DePauw. Moore's Hill and Upland. The Presbyterian schools are Wabash and Hanover Colleges. The Christian church is in control of Butler and Merom Colleges. Concordia at Ft. Wayne is one of the largest Lutheran schools in the United States. The Quakers

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

support Earlham College, as well as academies at Fairmount, Bloomingdale, Plainfield and Spiceland. The Baptists are in charge of Franklin College, while the United Brethren give their allegiance to Indiana Central University at Indianapolis. The Seventh-Day Adventists have a school at Boggstown. The Dunkards at North Manchester and the Mennonites at Goshen maintain schools for their respective churches.

The state seeks to take care of all of its unfortunates. Its charitable, benevolent and correctional institutions rank high among similar institutions in the country. Insane asylums are located at Indianapolis, Richmond, Logarisport, Evansville and Madison. The State Soldiers' Home is at Lafayette, while the National Soldiers' Home is at Marion. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home at Knightstown, is maintained for the care and education of the orphan children of Union soldiers and sailors. The state educates and keeps them until they are sixteen years of age if they have not been given homes in families before they reach that age. Institutions for the education of the blind and also the deaf and dumb are located at Indianapolis. The state educates all children so afflicted and teaches them some useful trade which will enable them to make their own way in the world. The School for Feeble Minded at Fort Wayne has had more than one thousand children in attendance annually for several years. Within the past few years an epileptic village has been established at New Castle, Indiana, for the care of those so afflicted.

A prison is located at Michigan City for the incarceration of male crim- inals convicted in any of the courts of the state of treason, murder in the first or second degree. and of all persons convicted of any felony who at the time of conviction are thirty years of age and over. The Reformatory at Jeffer- sonville takes care of male criminals between the ages of sixteen and thirty, who are guilty of crimes other than those just mentioned. \ state penal farm was established by the 1915 Legislature and it is now in successful opera- tion in Putnam county. Female criminals from the ages of fifteen upwards are kept in the women's prison at Indianapolis. . \ school for incorrigible boys is maintained at Plainfield. It receives boys between the ages of seven and eighteen, although no boy can be kept after he reaches the age of twenty- one. Each county provides for its own poor and practically every county in the state has a poor farm and many of them have homes for orphaned or indigent children. Each county in the state also maintains a correctional institution known as the jail, in which prisoners are committed while waiting for trial or as punishment for convicted crime.

But Indiana is great not alone in its material prosperity, but also in those

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

things which make for a better appreciation of life. Within the limits of our state have been born men who were destined to become known through- out the nation. Statesmen. ministers, diplomats, educators, artists and literary men of Hoosier birth have given the state a reputation which is envied by her sister states. Indiana has furnished Presidents and Vice- Presidents, distinguished members of the cabinet and diplomats of world wide fame: her literary men have spread the fame of Indiana from coast to coast. Who has not heard of Wallace, Thompson, Nicholson, Tarking- ton, Mccutcheon, Bolton. Ade, Major, Stratton-Porter, Riley and hundreds of others who have courted the muses ?

And we would like to be living one hundred years from today and see whether as much progress will have been made in the growth of the state as in the first one hundred years of its history. In 2017 poverty and crime will be reduced to a minimum. Poor houses will be unknown, orphanages will have vanished and society will have reached the stage where happiness and con- tentment reign supreme. Every loyal Hoosier should feel as our poetess, Sarah T. Bolton, has said :

"The heavens never spanned, The breezes never fanned, A fairer, brighter land Than our Indiana."

CHAPTER II.

GEOLOGY.

The last geological survey of Fayette county was made by the state geological department in 1909 and this chapter is largely a summary of the report made that year by A. E. Taylor, one of the field assistants attached to the department. The chapter is supplemented by data secured from other sources, but the main facts have been gleaned from the report of 1909.

Fayette county covers 215 square miles, or a total of 138,240 acres. In 1909 there were 82,732 acres under cultivation, 21,000 were in pasture, 11,000 in woodland pasture, and 8,500 in woodland.

WHITE WATER RIVER.

Traversing the county almost centrally from north to south is the large valley of the West fork of White Water river. Its width varies from one to two miles, and its lower bottom is from one hundred to two hundred feet below the adjacent uplands. This valley, together with the valleys of many tributary streams, has developed a deeply dissected surface over the greater part of the county. In the eastern part of the county the areas which have escaped the eroding power of the streams have generally been found by the tributaries of the East fork of White Water, which runs through Union county, about one mile east of the Fayette-Union county line. The only gently rolling surface in the county is found in Posey and Fairview town- ships and the western half of Orange.

STREAMS.

The main streams tributary to White Water river in the county are as follow: . Williams creek, which rises in Posey township and, meandering south and east, empties into White Water about three miles south of Con- nersville, its main tributary being known as Little Williams creek; Lick creek, also rising in Posey township, and coursing south and east, empties into White Water about two miles north of Connersville: Village creek, ris- ing in Union county, and running through Jennings and Connersville town-

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

ships, empties into White Water two miles below the county seat; Wilson creek, rising in Jennings township, flows through Jennings and Jackson townships and, uniting with White Water river at Nulltown; Fall creek, rising in Connersville township, passes through that township and Columbia and empties into White Water about four miles below the county seat; Gar- rison creek, and one large tributary, both rising in Orange township, flow- ing through Orange and Columbia townships, empty into White Water in Franklin county. The only other stream of any size emptying into White Water in the county is Noland's fork, which rises in Delaware county and empties in White Water about four miles north of Connersville. Simpson creek runs south through the eastern part of Waterloo township and empties into the East fork of White Water in Union county.

DRIFT FORMATIONS.

With the exception of a small district in the southern part of the county, situated on either side of the White Water, where the Illinoisan drift appears as the surface formation, the later Wisconsin drift covers the entire county. The southern boundary of this drift on the west side of White Water is marked by a morainic ridge entering Fayette county from northwestern Franklin county, and continuing north in a northeasterly direction to a point along the White Water about four miles south of Connersville. Here it meets a morainic ridge on the east side, which extends south into Franklin county, also marking the southern limit of the Wisconsin drift. From the point four miles south of Connersville, along White Water, an interlobate moraine was formed, extending northward into Henry and Wayne counties. In the upland the moraine is seldom less than fifty feet in thickness and is generally one hundred feet or more.

In addition to these drifts which have been described, all belonging to the Pleistocene period, there are outcrops of the Laurel limestone of the Silurian period in the southwestern part of the county, and of the Cincin- nati limestone and shales of the Ordovician in the western portion of the county. Much of the stone is valuable for building purposes, the best being about six inches in thickness. There was considerable stone quarried in the southeastern part of Harrison township and the northwestern part of Con- nersville township during the years when the canal and railroads were being built through the county. . This stone was used for locks on the canals and abutments on railroad bridges. It was also largely used for the foundations of houses, and at least one house in Harrison township was wholly con-

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

structed of this stratified stone. In the southwestern part of Connersville township there was formerly considerable lime produced by the burning of the stone. A good quality of clay is found in large areas, which is suitable for the manufacture of tile and brick.

SOILS.

There are eight types of soil found in Fayette county, six of which are upland and two bottom soils. The Miami series, which is by far the most extensive, occurs as the Miami clay loam, Miami silt loam, Miami loam and Miami black clay loam, and has had its derivation from the Later Wisconsin drift. With the exception of some small spots of Miami black clay loam in the western and northwestern portions of the county, some very limited areas of the Miami loam along the slopes of White Water and the Miami silt loam of the southeastern quarter of the county, the Miami clay loam covers all the county except Jackson and Columbia townships. The southern half of Columbia and a small area in southwestern Jackson have Oak Forest silt loam as the surface soil. The first and second terraces along the West Fork of White Water are mantled with Huntington loam, while the bottoms of the smaller valleys contain an impure form of the same type. On a very few narrow valley floors in Columbia and Jackson townships, where the limestone talus has accumulated extensively, the bottom-land soils should be more properly termed Hamburg loam.

The following table shows the extent of each of the types :

AREAS OF DIFFERENT SOILS.

Soil.

Square miles.

Per

cent.

Miami clay loan

149.5

69.5

Miami silt loam

34.0

15.8

Miami black clay loam

I.O

Miami loam

I.O

Oak Forest silt loam

12.0

5.5

Huntington loam

16.0

7.4

Hamburg loam

I.O

Limestone slope clay loam

Totals

215.0

99.9

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

MIAMI-CLAY LOAM.

Miami clay loam is very closely allied to its occurrences in Union, south- ern Rush and southern Wayne counties. It is a light brown or ash-gray clay loam or silt loam, with a depth of from six to eleven inches. When rubbed between the fingers it imparts a smooth feeling, which is indicative of a high percentage of silt.

The subsoil is a brown or yellow clay loam, becoming a sandy clay at a depth of two and one-half feet. This subsoil, because of the hillside wash, often appears as plow soil. In such cases the crops yield poorly and the land may be classed as untillable. Many farmers remember when these hillsides produced as well as any of the upland, but through careless plow- ing and cropping, so as to leave the land bare, the soil has been carried down into the bottoms. A few suggestions from successful farmers as to how · to improve a soil of this character have been taken up in general discussion. Blue grass and crops that hold the soil should be grown on the slopes instead of corn.

There are a number of farmers on the Miami clay loam who hold that tiling is not necessary where there is sufficient slope for the water to run off from the surface, but those who have experimented along this line are of an entirely different opinion. They find that it not only makes a decided differ- ence in the surface wash, but that it drains the water from the little inter- vening spaces between the grains of dirt and so permits the air to circulate more readily. This facilitates the conveying of the nitrogenous foods to the roots of the leguminous plants, which results in a richer soil and better yields. In one case in the northeastern part of Waterloo township the corn crop was more than trebled by tiling a rolling surface which would ordinarily be said to drain itself.

An average corn crop for this type is about thirty-three bushels to the acre, while the leading farmers are getting fifty-five and sixty. Wheat aver- ages fourteen bushels to the acre and oats about thirty. Clover ranges between one and two tons, and timothy from one to one and a half tons to the acre.

MIAMI SILT LOAM.

Miami silt loam is an extension of the Miami silt loam areas of Union and Franklin counties. It has a similar texture, color and subsoil, and bears about the same relation to the Miami clay loam. It differs, however, from

FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.

the Union county soil in that a larger percentage of its area occurs on a decidedly rolling surface, thus permitting a large amount of wash, which has left either a very thin soil or has uncovered the subsoil. This results in cheaper land as a result of lighter crops. The average farmer is getting about thirty-two bushels of corn and fourteen of wheat to the acre, while the best farmers get fifty of corn and seventeen of wheat.

MIAMI LOAM.

Miami loam occupies a very limited area (one square mile) along White Water river in the northern part of the county. It is found on the steeper slopes and has consequently been subjected to a greater surface wash.

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History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 5

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1326

Author: Barrows, Frederic Irving, 1873-1949
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1326