USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 18
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The town of Brookville was platted August 8, 1808, by Thomas Man- warring and took its name from the middle name of one of the proprietors, Jesse Brooks Thomas, whose mother's maiden name was Brooks. At first it was called "Brooksville," but soon the "s" was dropped and ever since it has been Brookville. The plat was recorded January 8, 1812. In 1820 Brook- ville was a military post and was garrisoned by a company of United States soldiers under command of Captain Grovenor of the regular army. In 1823 the land office was established here with Lazarus Noble as receiver. The office was first kept in a frame house on Court street and later in the building now occupied by Doctor Garrigues. The office was removed to Indianapolis in 1825.
Butler paid the greater part of the purchase money for the tract on which the town was laid out, but Thomas, who seems to have been sort of a trickster, succeeded in having the patent issued in his name. Butler and Thomas were soon at loggerheads and Butler instituted suit against Thomas, which was responsible for the postponement of the lot sales. A compro-
(13)
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
mise was effected by which Butler was given a deed for part of the land and the lots were then put on sale. Thomas later removed to Illinois, became a United States senator from that state and was the author of the famous Missouri Compromise. Butler lived at Brookville until 1818 and then moved to Hanover, Jefferson county, Indiana, where he died and was buried. To Amos Butler belongs the honor of entering the first land on which the town of Brookville stands and to him belongs the honor of being the first settler.
The first town lot was sold on the southwest corner of Walker and Main streets. It was lot number 47. the deed for which was dated March 7, 18II.
In May, 1812, the plat was resurveyed by Samuel C. Vance. John Allen, a Quaker by parentage, came in and entered the northeast quarter of section 29, July 6, 1805, and he too, like Butler, had aspirations. He built a mill, platted an addition and began selling town lots. His tract is situated in the southeast portion of the town, extending across the river. But Butler, not wishing to be out-rivaled, entered the quarter section immediately north of the Thomas tract and to the west of his own section. Both lot owners were in the market with town lots at the same date, May 26, 1812. Both Butler and Allen started their mills at about the same date ; some place Butler first, while others, seemingly as correct, place Allen first.
In 1807 there was but a single land entry, five were made in 1808, none in 1809 and only six in 1810. It was too near the 1795 Indian boundary line and the troublesome Indians to be a desirable stopping place. Among the first to engage in business was James Knight, who entered land north of the town, but soon engaged in trade in the village. His place of business was at the corner of Main and James streets, where now stands the jail. He kept a tavern and also had a stock of merchandise. It was Knight who built the first jail and the first brick court house, but died before the comple- tion of the latter. From an old account book which he kept, the following items were entered :
John Allen to "to-backer" $ .121/2
Half pint .121/2 1 1
Two buckskins 2.00 1 1 1 1 1
Mrs. Eads, credit by 13 pounds butter 1
1 1
1.621/2
Mrs. Eads, Dr., to one quarter pound tea .50
William Kelley credited with seven and a half gallons of whiskey 3.75
William Banister, half pound nails .16
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Fully two-thirds of the day-book entries were for whisky. The date of the above entries was October 12, 1810. The building in which Knight had his store and tavern was originally built in 1808 as a block-house, to which he made additions. It was known as Knight's Tavern, and was re- modeled and later known as the Yellow Tavern. It was torn down in 1861. The first tavern license issued in Brookville, or Franklin county for that matter, was to James Adair, whose house stood on lot 30 in Butler's plat. In ISII tavern-keepers' licenses were granted to Samuel Henry, William Eads. James Knight and Stephen C. Stephens.
With the flight of so many years it is impossible to trace the comings and goings of the various "first dealers" in sundry goods, but the subjoined extract from the old State Gazetteer, published in 1817, will give a correct setting for the town at that date :
"At the close of 1812 Brookville contained but ten or twelve houses. In July, 1817, there are upwards of eighty buildings, exclusive of shops, stables and outbuildings. These buildings are of frame, and a great num- ber of them are handsomely painted. There are within the precincts of the town one grist-mill, two saw-mills, two fulling-mills, three carding ma- chines, one printing office, one silver smith, two saddlers, two cabinet-makers, one hatter, two tailors, four boot and shoemakers, two tanners and curriers. one chairmaker, one cooper, five taverns and seven stores. There are also a jail, a market house and a handsome brick court house.
"Markets -- Wheat is 75 cents per bushel ; flour, $3.00 per hundred; corn and oats, 25 cents; rye, 40 cents; butter and cheese, from 12 to 25 cents ; honey, 50 cents per gallon ; maple sugar, 25 cents ; salt, $2.00 per bushel. European goods somewhat high."
Of the first prime movers at Brookville, it should be recorded in the annals of the place that Amos Butler, a native of Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, first entered land in Dearborn county in 1803. He had some means and after entering his land returned to Pennsylvania, and upon his return found his lands overflowed with the waters of the Ohio river. He at once sought another location, and, coming to the present site of Brookville in the autumn of 1804 on foot, he decided to set his stakes here. As has been said, he remained here until I818, when he removed to Hanover, Indiana, where he died.
John Allen was also a Pennsylvanian. He came here with his two sons, Solomon and Josiah, in 1805. They went back and spent the winter in their native state. In the spring following the two brothers, with a flat- boat load of goods and mill machinery, came down the Ohio, and finally
196
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
reached Brookville; the mill-stones were brought in this cargo. The re- mainder of the family came later in the season. Allen and Butler were rivals both in town-site and milling interests. Allen was probably the first justice of the peace here. He had too many irons in the fire and finally, when hard times set in, he failed and moved to Blooming Grove, where he died, and was buried on the Hayes farm, formerly owned by John Allen, Jr. A brother-in-law of tavern-keeper Knight, already named, came with Allen and was later one of the treasurers of Franklin county.
Lismond Baysea, a Frenchman and a silk dyer by trade, came in 1810 or 18II, entered a quarter section of land and established a store on the old "White Corner" in 1812. He is credited with having built the first regular store building in Brookville, but he was too "Frenchy" for the town and soon retired. Another settler in 1812 was Ruggle Winchell, who erected the first frame house in the town. Nathan D. Gallion, a soldier of the Twenty-eighth Regiment United States regulars during the War of 1812, came to Brookville in 1814 with a stock of goods which he sold at the corner of Main and Claiborne streets-the "White Corner." He died in 1865 after having been in business over forty years. James McGinnis, partner of James Knight, opened a tannery east of Brookville, possibly the first in this county. He committed suicide, being the first to take his own life within the town.
EARLY BUSINESS MEN.
Among the early business men of the new town was William H. Eads, who kept a store on Main street, near the location of the present Brookville bank. He also operated a tannery just south of the present railway station. Another early character of the town was Thomas C. Eads, a brother of William H., and father of the now famous Captain Eads of New Orleans "jetty" fame and the builder of the great St. Louis bridge. William Major, a brick-layer and mason, came in 1815 and was a leader in his honorable craft. Joseph Meeks, the cabinet-maker and wood-working genius, came from New York city in 1818. He built on North Main street, where his daughter, now among the oldest women of the city, still resides in the same house erected by her father almost a century ago. There are many pieces of his handiwork to be seen in the homes of Brookville people today.
Samuel Goodwin, a leader in early Methodism, came from Penn- sylvania. He was a tanner and carried on his trade here many years. His place was near the foot of Claiborne street. The John family, also from the Keystone state, were prominent here in the first decades of the town's
197
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
history. Jehu John and sons, Robert, Enoch D., Jehu, Jr., and Isaac, were all men of rare ability and force of character. In about 1817 Miles C. Eggleston, father of the noted preacher and author of "The Hoosier School- master," came here; he was an able lawyer and once judge of the circuit courts. George W. Kimble came from Maryland in 1816; he was by trade a tailor and engaged in merchandising and manufacturing a number of years. Early traders at this point were Michael Pilky and Charles Telier, partners in a store on the bank of the East Fork, where an abandoned grave- yard will be recalled by the older citizens of Brookville. Telier died in 1815 and was buried near the store. There is a tradition (but not verified by facts), that these men were here when Amos Butler located.
John Beaty, a merchant, located here in 1815 on the east side of Main street near the old Gallion corner. Andrew Wallace became the proprietor in 1818 of a hotel where the Valley House now stands. His card of that date reads: "If his liquors are not such as will exquisitely suit the taste, they are as good as can be procured in the Western country." His son, David Wallace, entered the military academy from Brookville, graduated with honors and became governor of Indiana. David Wallace studied law here under John Test. Thomas Wallace, another son, entered the United States navy. Gen. Lew Wallace, author of "Ben Hur" and a gallant Civil War general, was the son of Gov. David Wallace. His birth place was in the old brick house which stood on the corner lot north of where the Catholic priest residence now stands.
Other early business men were George and Robert Breckenridge, who were merchants many years; Edward Hudson, a chair-maker, came in 1815. Subsequently, he became a shipper of produce and made trips down the rivers and to the West Indies. He lost his life on such a voyage, by ship- wreck in which his cargo was sunk. Nathaniel Hammond, a justice of the peace in 1820, afterward kept the old "Yellow Tavern." The files of old newspapers disclose the fact that the Brookville Inquirer was conducted by Charles Hutchens in 1817. Others of early years were John Jacobs, 1816; Henry Jenkinson, justice of the peace in 1815; Daniel Mason, who came in 1817 and run a tavern; Thomas Smith, a tailor, in 1816; Thomas Winscott, a carpenter, 1815; Thomas W. and James S. Colescott, settlers in 1816, who were men of much activity. Still another whose name should not be over- looked was Sampson Powers, an old-time merchant, who was a brother of the world-famous sculptor, Hiram Powers. The mother was buried in the cemetery near the "brick meeting-house" in March, 1825. Eugene Cory
198
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
was a tanner and operated a tan-yard. It is thought he was interested in the water-power with Amos Church after establishing his wheel shop.
TIIE BROOKVILLE LAND OFFICE.
The Brookville land office was established in the autumn of 1820, and continued here until 1825, being then removed to Indianapolis. The follow- ing is a fac simile of a land advertisement taken from the files of the Brook- ville Inquirer ;
List of Public Lands.
The following is a statement of the Lands which will be offered at the sale, to commence on the first Monday in October next, in the Brookville Land District. VIZ:
In Range
East of 2d Meridian.
North.
No.
do
NO IO & II,
4
do
IO & II,
5
6
do
IO, II, 12, 13 & 14,
10, 11, 12, 13 & 14,
7
do
10, 11, 12, 13 & 14,
8
do
IO, II, 12, 13, & 14,
9
do
10, 11, 12, 13 & 14,
IO
do
Fractional Townships.
IO, II, 12, 13 & Township 14.
II
do
do 13 and 14. .
I2
do
Making in the whole 36 townships and
fractional townships.
ROBERT HANNA,
Register of the Brookville Land
District. . August 17, 1820.
The lands in this district were all in the New Purchase, and outside the boundaries of Franklin county; the tract was nearly square and included congressional townships in the present counties of Rush, Decatur, Bartholo-
Townships
199
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
mew, Shelby, Johnson and Brown, besides fractional townships in adjoining counties.
While the United States land office was located here the town enjoyed good business, but with its removal in 1825 things took a sudden turn. People then realized that something must be done except trying to live on the money that land speculators and immigrants brought in, or the death knell of Brookville would be the result. They turned their attention to legitimate business callings, new factories and mills were installed; better farming methods were introduced; and with the canal ten years later the town again enjoyed prosperity. However, the taking away of the office was a blow which has been felt to this day, for had it remained here vast amounts of money would naturally have been invested in this county instead of going on to western counties, where, prior to that date, there was no general settle- ment. But such was in the very nature of things to be. The location of the old land office was on lot No. 32 of Amos Butler's platting of Brook- ville, where now stands the Masters block. It was torn down in October, 1913.
A CRITICAL PERIOD.
The ten years which elapsed between the time that the land office was moved to Indianapolis and the White Water canal was projected were a critical time in the history of Brookville. It was during this time that Fayette (1819) and Union (1821) counties were organized and this took away from the county much of its most valuable farming land as well as hundreds of its most prosperous farmers. With the land office there went hundreds of people to the new capital and to adjoining counties which were being organized. Many of the most adventurous spirits departed for new fields and the net result was a condition in Brookville which must have bor- dered on the tragic.
The loss of so many excellent citizens in this ten years was a blow from which the town recovered but slowly. A few of these men should be men- tioned. Harvey Bates, Noah Noble, David Wallace and scores of others settled in Indianapolis. Jonathan McCarty was mainly responsible for the organization of Fayette county and he became the first clerk of the new county and several years later represented this district in Congress. John Test and Enoch D. John removed to Lawrenceburg: Miles C. Eggleston located in Madison ; Stephen C. Stephens moved to Vevay and later settled in Madison. Isaac Blackford, one of the greatest lawyers of the state before the Civil War, went to Vincennes and later became a member of the supreme
200
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
court of the state, holding the position longer than any man since his time. Centerville attracted Alexander Moore, Edward Hudson and Thomas G. Noble; Robert Breckenridge took charge of the land office at Fort Wayne at the time of its establishment. Owen Riley became a merchant in Greens- burg; Mason, who had conducted a tavern in Brookville for many years, removed to Harrison and opened a tavern. Charles Test found a new home in Rushville and later served as clerk of Rush county. These are only a few of the inore prominent men who left Brookville never to return. Hun- dreds of farmers entered land in the new counties and there were thousands of acres which had been opened for cultivation that now became overgrown with underbrush. Scores of houses were empty in the town of Brookville, business was at a standstill and the once prosperous town seemed on the verge of ruin. Those who remained were in many cases too poor to buy the property left in the town and this added to the general feeling of desola- tion. It has been said that there was a time in this decade ( 1825-1835) when one house in every five was empty and many of these were the most pretentious dwellings in the town.
But a better time was coming. With the prospect of a canal down the White Water, things began to improve and a marked revival of business in Brookville. The great German immigration to the county began in the mid- dle of the thirties and within a few years thousands of acres of fresh land, as well as land formerly tilled, were brought under cultivation. The comple- tion of the canal ushered in a new era in the growth of the county and the next two decades saw scores of factories rising up along the canal. Saw and grist-mills, cotton and woolen factories, distilleries and breweries, pork- packing establishments, carriage and wagon shops and various other indus- tries were located along the canal and at other parts in the county. With the closing of the canal the railroad was built through the county and this afforded even a better means of reaching markets. As the years went by, better farming methods were introduced, the farmers received better prices for their products and a stable prosperity was established which has con- tinued down to the present day.
The historian who is interested in economic changes can not help but wonder why so many of the prosperous factories have long since disappeared. Where there were once no less than seven cotton and woolen mills, there is today not one; the person who at one time could stand on the top of a hill at Laurel and count the smoke stacks of seventeen distilleries, would today find not one; the pork-packing establishments have disappeared, along with the other industries; only one paper mill is left; of the scores of grist, flour
-
OLD STATE BANK, BROOKVILLE.
HARTMAN'S CHOCER.
WEST
MAILPOUCH
TOBACCO.
SMOKE BAKER'S PERFECTO
OLD LAND OFFICE, BROOKVILLE.
201
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
and saw-mills, only a very few are left. The economist looks for a reason for the abandonment of the once flourishing industries and a number of causes present themselves. Most of the factories along the canal and on the water courses depended for their power on water and each flood that came along meant a temporary cessation in their operation. As the hills along the streams were denuded of the native timber, floods became more frequent and much more destructive. The two floods of 1848 worked great havoc with all the industries along the canal; dams were washed out, mill races were demolished and many mills were practically ruined. Owners were loath to rebuild ; the risk of having an industry literally wiped out over night was one of the main reasons for the disappearance of many mills and factories. By 1861 the usefulness of the canal was at an end; repeated floods had so damaged it that it seemed a waste of money to attempt to put it in condition to resume traffic. Then, again, the building of a railroad through the county was being agitated even before 1861. An old map of the county published in 1858 actually shows a railroad cutting through the northeastern part of the county-a railroad, by the way, which was not con- structed until six years later. From 1861 until the building of railroad through the county in 1866 all manufactured goods had to be hauled out of the county. This meant that the factories could not compete with others more favorably situated and it was during these few years that manufactur- ing interests suffered a sharp decline. . The Civil War helped to disturb con- ditions and added not a little to the gloomy situation. Figures are not available to show how many industries closed during the sixties, but it is known that many of them closed down never to reopen.
With the opening of the railroad, conditions, of course, began to im- prove, but in a few years another factor entered the situation. It was found that small factories could not successfully compete with larger establishments ; gradually the small factories of the county were either absorbed by larger plants or else forced out of business. It was the trust which secured hold of the big distillery in Brookville.
In 1915 there are but two mills in the county run by water power, the paper mill at Brookville and the flouring mill at Metamora. The paper mill also uses steam power in addition to water power. The breweries at Brook- ville, St. Peters and Oldenburg have all closed; the cotton and woolen mills, the pork-packing establishments and scores of other industries have dis- appeared. Now, the paper mill, the furniture factory, four planing mills, a buggy factory, a saw mill and two cigar factories are all the manufacturing industries left in Brookville. There is not even a flouring mill left, the last
202
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
one having burned down in the spring of 1915. The following pages give a detailed account of the many and varied industries which have flourished in Brookville during the past century.
EARLY MILLING OPERATIONS.
Butler's mill, on the East Fork, was among the earliest mills in this county, the date of its construction being 1804. It was at first a log building with rude machinery for grain grinding. Soon after a saw-mill attachment was operated in connection with the flouring-mill. A second grist-mill was built by pioneer Butler; this stood on the site of the old log structure. The last mill was a frame building and had excellent machinery for those times. In 1818 the property was sold to Backhouse & Breckenridge, who operated it until 1822, when it was burned, causing the death of an employe who was sleeping in a bunch of bran sacks in the basement. The mill was immed- iately re-built on borrowed capital from Cincinnati, and this loan caused the financial ruin of the mill owner. James Speer then bought the mill and re- modeled it and made a good merchant mill of it. The saw-mill part was dis- pensed with and in its stead was erected a paper-mill in 1835. This was the second dry-roll paper-mill west of the Alleghany mountains. Later the dam went out and the flouring-mill stood idle. It was torn down in 1905, after having been pointed out as a landmark for so many years. It was built from poplar and walnut timber and was a solid frame of the olden type-strong and substantial. It was finally sold to William Bonwell, Jr., a thrifty farmer near by, who converted it into a barn. It was this ancient mill that came into national prominence through its having been made a model for "The Old Mill" by artists of no less renown than Steele, Forsythe, Adams and others. With its mossy roof and pitiful windows staring one in the face; its majestic, colonial style of architecture and setting of wooded hills for its background, it appealed strongly to the artistic love of the beautiful of those who have sought glory and fame in reproducing on canvas the scenery in the White- water valley.
The Allen mill was on the East Fork near the iron bridge and was built by John Allen, one of the founders of Brookville. By some it is be- lieved to antedate the old Butler mill, just described, but this has not been definitely established. It was a rude, poorly-constructed mill and had infer- ior machinery. It was run in connection with a distillery for many years, even after Allen had left the county. Jesse B. Thomas, one of the founders of the town, built a small mill in the spring of 1805.
203
FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
At a very early day two brothers named Latterett put in a carding machine for wool carding just above the old canal bridge crossing the East Fork south of Brookville, where a raceway was cut through the solid rock by which water was conveyed to the overshot wheel that turned the machin- ery. The mill stood partly over the stream, it is said. It is thought this was the earliest carding machine in Franklin county. It was known for years as "Latterett's Rock," on account of the peculiar conglomerate formation of rocks at that spot. It was indicated as such on the early Indiana maps. The race above mentioned was dug and blasted by Richard Tyner and Abner McCarty.
What was termed the "Company Mill," situated on the main stream of the river, about three miles south of Brookville, was doubtless built in either 1826 or 1827. It operated successfully until the construction of the canal and feeder dam, which ruined the water power at that point. It was the property of Cummings brothers, who received seven thousand dollars in state "script" as damages for ruination of their water power. Coffin broth- ers bought the old mill and moved it to the canal basin and there it was con- verted into a warehouse. Then it was bought by Tyner & Roberts, who converted it into a mill for fouring purposes, and it was for years known as the Champion Flour Mills and was owned and run by Joseph A. Fries for several years. This was the mill that was burned in 1915 and not rebuilt.
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