USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 13
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At an early date there was erected by William Richardson a mill on Duck creek, but it was abandoned after a few years.
James Harvey, Jr., it is believed, was the first person to be buried within Blooming Grove township, his death occurring in 1819.
The first child born was James Hughell, and Henry C. Harvey the ·second.
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The first school house was erected in either 1817 or 1818; it was in the Harvey neighborhood and the teacher was a Mr. Orr.
There are three churches within the township-"Old Ebenezer," on the south line; the Methodist Episcopal at the village of Blooming Grove, and a Protestant Methodist church, all of which are treated in detail in the chapter on Churches.
In the spring of 1915 the following interests were represented at the village of Blooming Grove: A Knights of Pythias lodge, an account of which the reader will find in the Lodge chapter of this volume. A Meth- odist Episcopal church-see Church chapter. General dealers, Powers & Perdiue and W. L. White. The former firm has been in business a half century, and as the firm is now constituted since 1891. . Thomas Ellis is the village blacksmith. Fairfield is on the rural free delivery route from Brook- ville, the postoffice, established many years ago, having been discontinued in 1905.
The brick and drain tile factory of this place is operated for the owner, Mrs. Jennie Waggoner, by John Van Meter. Until recently there was a good steam saw-mill here, but it is abandoned.
The public school building is a good two-room frame building, erected in 1900.
Mrs. Mary Powers Deter, the oldest living resident in the township as well as in Franklin county, is in her ninety-ninth year, possessed of all her faculties, save defective eyesight. She is the last of a family of ten children. in her parents' family.
The township officers in 1915 in Blooming Grove township are : Trus- tee, Deward Wilson; assessor. Lee Wright; advisory board, Charles L. Scheisz, Aaron Apsley, Robert J. Vanmeter ; justice of the peace, Louis C. Chambers; constable, J. W. Chowning: supervisors, Lon Stewart, No. I. William J. Fields, No. 2.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.
Springfield township lies between Bath and White Water townships, on the section line of Franklin county. It contains thirty-six sections. It is identical with congressional township 9 north, range I west. Prior to May 12, 1817, it had been a part of Brookville township, but on that date the county commissioners set it off as a separate subdivision on the petition of Jacob Fausett and thirty other citizens of the township proposed to be formed.
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The order read.as follows: "So much of Brookville township as composed the ninth congressional township in range I west, shall constitute and be known as Springfield township, and that all elections in said township shall be held at the house of Nimrod Brackney."
This portion of Franklin county, generally speaking, is level, except where broken by some one of the streams that flow through its territory. Big Cedar creek flows through the western side of the township from north to south. The banks along this stream are very steep and bold. The stream has a main branch coming from the north-central part. Dry fork, a tribu- tary of White Water, rises east of the central portion, flows south and east- erly and leaves the township near Scipio at the southeastern corner. When first known to the white settlers this township had several ponds, but with the passing years the hand of the owners has caused them all to be drained and today there is not to be discovered a trace of them. The land in the old pond beds is among the most productive within the county.
SETTLEMENT.
The first land entered in this township was by John Remy, October 13, 1804, in the southeast quarter of section 28, hence it stands as one of the first settled portions of the county. Samuel Stewart was next to invade the township, making his advent August 1, 1806. During the same year lands were entered by William Cloud, John Coulter and William Rail. The com- plete entry list, elsewhere in this volume, give the settlers by years. After the War of 1812 the township grew rapidly and immigration kept up until most all of the good land was taken by actual settlers. The above entries have been copied and verified by public land records. However, there were many who entered land, made slight improvements thereon, and. being dissat- isfied with the country or because they were unable to pay for the same, to those who had loaned them money to enter the land at government prices. sold or traded "for a song" to some other man, who became a permanent settler. Hence, it does not necessarily follow that a man who entered land in the township was in fact a permanent settler, but the man who purchased from him who had entered the government land was entitled to be classed among the first settlers in the township. So it will be understood how easy it is to make the mistake of calling an original land purchaser "first settler."
Among the first to become settlers in the true sense was the Fruits family, in the central eastern part of the township, although the name does not appear in the land entries.
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Moses Rariden came in from Kentucky with his family, and settled in section 14 in March, 1810. He had previously entered and improved these lands, but through some irregularity in records and red-tape rules of the land office, the record was not made until 1810.
Philip Lynch was another actual settler who came in very early, pur- hasing an original claim. Following came others, who were in after years well-known factors in the development of this township, and these included Nixon Oliver, Samuel Lee, William Applegate, Moses Hornaday, R. P. Clarkson, Isaac Woods. Thomas Mathews, Philip Rowe, Cyrus Saunders, Joseph Wallace, Amos Appleton, James Ardery, N. V. Simmonson, Samuel Shirk, David Shirk, Timothy Scobey, David Russell, Eli James, Ira Stout, Powell Gulick. William Clark, Joab Howell, Henry Grover, John Merrill, John Barbour, William Armstrong, Samuel Barbour, Philip Jones, Daniel Shafer, W. T. Swift, John Abbott, Nimrod Brackney, James Thompson, Michael Owens, William Ferguson, W. and Thomas Crayton, Alexander Telford, Arthur Cunningham, Captain William Webb, William Gilchrist.
EVENTS OF INTEREST.
During 1812 there was a block-house built on land owned by Moses Rariden, at least it was partly constructed when the war closed and no further trouble was expected by Indian invasions. This was near a large spring, the waters of which were still flowing a few years since.
The early roads were merely traces blazed through the timber, with a notice at each end of the trace, telling where the trail ran to and from.
The name of this township, it is believed, was derived from a large spring, where the block-house was to be erected. Others believe it was named for some town in the East from which came many of the pioneers.
Among the first to bring to the township graded stock was John Bar- bour. One of the first blacksmiths was the father of Isaac Wamsley, whose shop was located on Big Cedar, where the pike crosses that stream.
The Seal family owned a small single thresher, known by some as a "pepper-mill." This was probably the first threshing machine in the county. "Granny Singhorse," as Mrs. Singhorse was commonly called, was probably the first to treat diseases in this township. She used to travel on horseback and wore a hat of peculiar make-up. The earliest regular physi- cians in the county were Drs. Freeman Perry and G. Oliver.
The first school was taught in section 24, in 1814, by Margaret Rariden. About 1816 a school was taught by Thomas Craven, in section 33, on the
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Clendening property. This man, it is related, used to apply the birch rod very effectively.
One of the first mills in this township was erected by Moses Rariden, on a branch of Dry fork, in section 14. Another was constructed by Isaac Wamsley, in section 28, on the Big Cedar. Another very early mill is re- called as having been built near Scipio. What was styled a "husk frame" mill was erected by James Seal in either section 32 or 33, on Big Cedar. Here he had a run of mill stones and did coarse grinding. Later this mill was removed to Laurel Hill. It was covered by a rude shed and had a hand bolting machine, each customer having to turn the crank if he wished bolted flour or meal. Power was furnished by means of a ten-foot overshot water- wheel.
A tannery was established by Thomas Mathews, and Thomas Upjohn also, at a very early date, had a tannery in the township. John Shafer had a tannery in the neighborhood at a very early date.
WV. H. Tucker, of Decatur county, many years ago furnished the sub- joined incident for the newspapers : "Walter Tucker settled on Little Cedar creek in 1815. About 1818 he built what was styled a 'tub-wheel' mill on his place.
"There were plenty of Indians about then. One day an Indian came to his house, when there was no one but a sister of Tucker's at home. The Indian, of course, wanted something to eat, and, upon looking up the chim- ney, he espied some hog entrails which had been hung there to smoke and dry. Mr. Indian pulled down a 'gut' or two, and, after feasting from a pewter plate upon which he laid the sweet morsel, he threw the plate under the bed and the remains of his "feast' upon the floor and glided out of the house."
John Clendening, one of the township's most influential and energetic pioneers, was killed by lightning while standing under a tree in 1844.
Nixon Oliver was among the first militia captains in this section and was also a justice of the peace.
The first brewery in Franklin county was in Springfield township. It was located in the southeastern part of the township, not far from the In- diana-Ohio state line, and was owned and operated by a Mr. DeParr.
Up to 1880 there had been four villages, four postoffices, seven churches and nine brick school houses within this township, bespeaking the thrift and enterprise of the population.
The village of Springfield was platted by William Snodgrass in 1816. It does not now exist.
West Union was platted in 1818, but is defunct. Lebanon, platted in (10)
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1819, is also now defunct. Scipio was platted in 1826, the post office being called Philanthropy. Mt. Carmel was platted in 1853 and now has one hun- dred and forty-three population. Other villages were Palestine (called Wynn now), platted in October, 1847, by Paul Holliday, having a present population of about twenty. Peoria, another hamlet of this township, has fifty inhabitants. The latest platting in the township is Raymond, platted in 1903, as a railroad station on the Chesapeake & Ohio railway line.
MT. CARMEL.
The principal village is Mt. Carmel, in the southern part of the town- ship, which was laid out by J. and S. S. Faucett, in February, 1832, and August, 1836. This section of the county has much of historic interest con- nected with it. At one time there were numerous factories located here, including the celebrated red factory of Bishop, which factory manufactured, for forty years or more, reeds for woolen mills and cotton factories in all parts of the United States. It was the first industry of its class in all the West.
The first store at Mt. Carmel was conducted by Joseph Halstead. It was a log building. The next to engage in merchandise was Isaac Burk- holder, after whom came the Faucett brothers, who platted the town and remained many years.
The citizens of Mt. Carmel, as a rule, have always been opposed to . liquor traffic and hence the village has been saloonless.
The town took its name from Mt. Carmel Presbyterian church, which was organized previous to the platting of the town. If it were not cele- brated for anything else, Mt. Carmel would have a place on the map, be- cause of the fact that it was the birthplace of Miss M. Louisa Chitwood, a child of genius, whose poems are known far and near ; among these may be named "The Old Still House." Mention is elsewhere made in this volume of this striking character, who passed from earth's shining circle all too early.
The present business of the village is as follows: General stores. T. J. Gates & Son, Roy Patterson ; blacksmith shop, F. M. Gant, Alexander Camp- bell ; steam saw-mill, Henry Ferung ; hotel, Charles Logan.
The village has Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias lodges, an account of which is given elsewhere.in this volume in the Lodge chapter. The pres- ent churches are the Methodist Episcopal, Universalist and Presbyterian.
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POSTMASTERS.
The following persons have served as postmaster at what is now known as Mt. Carmel postoffice since its establishment, in January, 1832. The list was furnished the author by the postoffice department at Washington and the dates indicate time of appointment: R. P. Clarkson, appointed as post- master of what was then known as Sentinel, January 12, 1832; name changed to Mount Carmel, February 14, 1840, R. P. Clarkson still postmaster ; Jacob Lanius, March 16, 1848; Caleb Yocum. December 31, 1849; James Hasson, September 4, 1850; Casper Fogel, May 26, 1853; Philip Rowe, February 13, 1856; S. B. Jenkins, March 24, 1863: I. S. Larue, March 9, 1864; J. B. Smith. April 28, 1868; J. A. Gates, October 21, 1869; T. E. McCoy, January 27, 1870; E. M. McCready, January 18, 1871; P. B. Millepaugh, June 4, 1873; Thomas Heap, August 12, 1873; C. W. Stewart, August 24, 1874; William Laird, April 12, 1889; J. W. Merrill, April 14, 1890; Emma Rich- ard, November 14, 1893; Thomas J. Gates, December 13, 1897 ; office discon- tinued March 31, 1906.
The corporation officers in 1915 were: Trustees, William Luse, T. J. Gates, J. J. Jolliff ; clerk, A. W. Lewis; treasurer, E. L. Gates. The date of incorporation was 1881.
Peoria is a small village on the state line, three miles north of Scipio. Ingleside Institute, once a popular academy, was located there. Prof. Will- iam Rust was the founder of the school. Prof. J. P. Cassedy opened a normal school in the same building at a later date: both educational institu- tions have long since passed out of commission.
Mt. Pisgah was a small community of people in the vicinity of Asbury church. There, at one date in the history of the township, there was a saw and grist-mill, which made it a business center; this place, however, was never platted.
The present officers of Springfield townships are: Trustee, Roscoe Hubbard; assessor, John Waltz; advisory board, Albert Biddinger, John B. Nutty, Thomas J. Gates; justice of the peace, Addison Lewis; constable, Harry West; supervisors, John Rockwell, John S. McClure, Al. George, Thomas Freeland.
The population of the township in 1910 was, including Mt. Carmel, I, II8, as against 1, 130 in 1900 and 1,224 in 1890.
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HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP.
Highland township is on the southern boundary of Franklin county, between White Water and Butler townships. It is bounded on its north by Brookville, which also extends a distance of one mile on the west. This civil township of the county comprises twenty-four sections of congressional town- ship 8 north, range 2 west, three whole and four fractional sections of town- ship 9 north, range 3 west, and three fractional sections in township 10 north, range 13 east : in all about thirty-one square miles. This township was orig- inally a part of White Water township, which once extended across the lower part of the county. It was cut off from White Water township by an order of the county commissioners February 12, 1821, at which time it was "Or- dered, that all that part of White Water township lying west of White Water compose and constitute a new township to be called Highland township, and it is further ordered that all elections held in said township to be held at what is now called the Republican school house on the lands of William Fred."
In 1828 the county commissioners described the boundary of this town- ship as follows : "Beginning at the southeast corner of township 8 in range 2 west ; thence north on the township line to the northeast corner of section 13 in township 8 in range 2 west ; thence west along the section line until it inter- sects the Grouseland purchase line; thence a southwesterly course on said line to the western corner of fractional section 6 in town 10 north, range 13 east ; thence south to the county line; thence east to the place of beginning to be called Highland township."
The boundary line between Brookville and Highland townships was not definitely established (Record Book I., page 179) until September 6, 1842, when the commissioners ordered Thomas Winscott, the surveyor of Frank- lin county, to establish a line between Brookville and Highland townships, commencing at the corner of sections 12 and 13 on the boundary line and run- ning due west until it strikes a line dividing Brookville and Ray townships. On December 6, same year, the commissioners declared that the boundary line established by Thomas Winscott pursuant to the order of the board on September 6, 1842, be set aside, and ordered that "said line be re-established on the section line south of the line dividing sections 12 and 13 in township 9, range 13: thence southwest with said boundary to the southeast corner of township II, range 12; the last named points to be the line between Brook- ville township and Highland township." Subsequently it was reduced to its present size by the formation of Butler township, September 5, 1845. It was
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named on account of the high land within its limits. White Water crosses the northeast corner of the township. Blue Creek flows across the west- central portion, having several branches, all of which unite within the township. Gogle's and Ramsey's branches are small tributaries of White Water. The soil is of clay nature and in a few places quite thin. By proper care the farmers have been able to produce good crops of corn, wheat, barley and oats, while live stock has always been a paying branch of the agriculture of the township. The township was originally heavily forested, but most of the valuable timber is now gone.
SETTLEMENT.
Here, as in other places in the county, the first settlement was effected along the streams. Along White Water river, the extreme northeast corner of the township, there was a settlement of "squatters," who made slight improvements before 1805. To John Conner will ever be credited the honor of being the first white man to enter land in this township, but the record shows that he did not buy government land until August, 1810, although he had without question been a resident of this section a few years before that date. It was in this neighborhood that Conner had a store and Indian trading post. In an old account of the first settlement there appears paragraphs such as the following :
"During the latter portion of the last and the first years of the present century [meaning the last years in the eighteenth and first of the nineteenth century], there stood on the river bank a half mile up stream from present Cedar Grove village, a trading post, known as Conner's Post. At present all trace of it has gone, even the land where it stood has long since been washed away by the changing of the stream's current. After it was vacated, the trader, Conner, went further up the river and established another post at the point where now stands Connersville, the town being named for him. This structure was rudely and strongly built of logs, containing for barter those necessities required by the first settlers and many trinkets and bright woven fabrics to attract the Indians to whom they were exchanged for furs. Chief among these commodities were powder, lead and whisky
"At this post the trappers, scouts and hunters would meet and relate their various experiences and purchase their staples, and often the squalid Indian, too, would idle away the long hours in lounging and drinking.
"Thus it happened on a sunny afternoon in autumn time, when a few men were seated about on open boxes, benches and barrels, conversing
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with the trader and each other, there strolled into their midst a tall, power- ful savage with an evil countenance, who, for want of a better name, may be styled 'The Wolf.' He deposited a small quantity of furs and asked for liquor in return, and, having received it, he immediately swallowed it and sat down, glancing here and there, his black eyes flashing with delight and a metallic glitter. He seemed to be known and disliked by the whites, as they seemed to be hated and suspected by him. He drank freely of the whisky traded for, and as his brain became elated with it, he forgot his cun- ning and grew garrulous and boastful, seeking to awe the hunters by stories of his powers and of what to him were his mighty deeds of valor, but which, in reality, were thefts and murder, executed oftener through treachery and cunning than any boldness on his part. Stopping every few sentences to refresh his memory with potent drafts of the whisky, he boasted of securing scalp after scalp, until he led up to what he gloried in as his grandest feat of arms, which victory procured for him the most beautiful of all the scalps which hung in his lodge."
"The Indian finally boasted of having killed and scalped a beautiful young white girl; told all the cursed details, as only a drunken Indian can tell such particulars.
"At the termination of the narrative some of the white men sprang to their feet with bitter curses on the red demon, whose heart was stone, and while the hand of all sought guns and knives, the trader hurried for- ward, and a gray-haired scout, with a fierce, determined look, pointed up the river trail and said, 'Wait.'
"The vaunting savage dimly understood that he had told too much, struggled to his feet, and, after again drinking freely of the liquor, pur- chased a quantity of powder and lead and staggered away from the post up the trail.
"It will not be necessary to follow the Indian very far on his course, because he came to a sudden halt about sunset, at which time a sharp report rang out, a puff of blue smoke floated heavenward, a heavy body fell to the earth. Two hours later the moon rose and sent down through the branches long slanting rays of light that touched red stains which were not drifted sumach leaves! The Indian was never seen again; none of the white men at the post ever questioned whither he had gone."
The land entries in this township were, according to the county and government records, as follows: In 1811, William Helm, Thomas Clark and Stephen Goble. 1814, Nathaniel Herndon, William Ramsey. 1815, Robert- son Jones, William Fread. James Jones, Jr. 1816, Peter Prifogle. the first
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German in Highland, and among the earliest in the county; Corbly Hudson. In 1817, John Halborstadt, William Mintz, Samuel Price, Levi Fortner, William Knowls, J. B. Chapman. In 1818, John Stafford, George W. Matthews, Robert Douglass, William Walker, Bradbury Cottrell, Joseph McCafferty, Phineas Johnson. In 1819, Joshua L. Sparks, Edward Black- burn, Jonathan Moore.
John Ward came to the township in 1816 and founded the town of Cedar Grove.
The following are the present, 1915, township officers of Highland township: Trustee, Theodore B. Schuck; assessor, Anthony Ripperger ; ad- visory board, Frank Bischoff, William Beckman, John Fohl; justice of the peace, John J. Wilhelm; supervisors, Charles Schuck, Joseph Strothman, Lewis Klemme, Joseph Boehmer.
Before 1830, the great mass of new-comers to the western lands were beyond Franklin county, where a rich soil could be had to build homes for themselves. About 1831, the unoccupied area of the southern and western part of the county began to attract the attention of certain German emi- grants, who had assembled at Cincinnati as a center from which to diverge for final settlement. Many of the good people came in parties of two or more families, and had lived in the same neighborhood in the Fatherland.
There were a few farms settled and improvements begun between 1820 and 1830, mainly by the following persons: John Lefforge, 1829; Joseph S. Whitney, 1821; John Bradburn, 1828, he was the pioneer doctor of the township; Samuel Ward, 1826; John Hardin, 1826; Colvin Owen, 1826; Henry Speckman, 1826; Valentine Dill, 1826; William Spradling. 1827; John Spradling, 1833; James McCleary, 1830, the last named set- tling in what was long known as "Burnt Woods."
In 1832-33 the German people began to settle this part of the county. The immigration came from Cincinnati, by way of Harrison and Dearborn counties, and was entirely independent of the Brookville settlement, except for legal and civil purposes. Among the earliest Germans were Michael and Ignatz Ripperger, who entered lands in section 31, in September, 1833. adjoining the town of St. Peters.
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