History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 19

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 19

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The Jeremiah Woods flouring-mill was built near the north end of the old canal basin in the early days of Brookville. Before that he had run a small grist and cotton-mill in the old canal basin to the southeast of the present paper-mill site. The last mill venture of Woods was a failure and in a short time the building was converted into a machine shop and cotton fac- tory combined. The machinery was moved from Woodsville, in part section 24. This, too, was a failure financially, and was at last abandoned. While the White Water railroad (now Big Four) was being constructed, this old building was used for a boarding house. It was in 1865 that Hanna & Ayres utilized it for a paper-mill, later selling to the Stewart Paper Company, who operated it till 1870, when it was burned.

The Kimble mills were situated where now stands the south end of the Thomson-Norris paper mills, at a point where the road crosses the bridge to the city cemetery. This mill seems to have been put in operation about 18II by Jeremiah Corey, who operated a carding machine and probably a fulling-mill. North of the Corey mill Pegg & Davis fitted up a mill for dressing cloth. This firm also owned a large tan-yard, adjoining the mill lot on the east; they were also interested in the mercantile and real estate

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business. In the winter of 1821-22 the mill was burned, after which the firm dissolved. John Pegg then rebuilt the mill in part, while the tannery was sold to William H. Eads, who ran it along with his mercantile house and other sundry speculations in which he was interested. The newly-built mill was of brick and had good machinery. In 1826 the property went into the hands of George W. Kimble, who rented the brick building to one Henrie for a hemp-mill and rope walk.

In 1831 Mr. Kimble built a frame cotton-mill a few rods north of the hemp-mill, and in 1844 he tore down the brick hemp-mill and erected a large four-story flouring-mill on its site. After 1847 the waters of the canal were used as a mill power for this mill. In 1871 the property was sold and con- verted into Stewart's paper-mill, an account of which is given in this chapter. It was burned on May 29, 1876.

The tannery property owned by Kimble was destroyed by the canal, which was dug through the center of the lot.

John Davis & Company were engaged in cloth dressing and wool card- ing as early as 1818, probably succeeding Jeremiah Corey.

The Sylvan factory was a mile or so above town, on the north bank of West Fork. It was built in 1819 by Jacob, John and Noble, and Enoch D. John was its manager. When the canal was dug the mill had somewhat run down and this waterway ruined it.

The White Water cotton factory was on the point of the boundary hill. Sims & Clements first built a grist and saw-mill at that site about 1817-18. It changed hands, as is seen by deed records, until, in 1823, it was in pos- session of William C. Rogers, of Cincinnati. Later it was owned by Jere- miah Woods and a Mr. Miller. It is said to have been an extensive milling plant for those early days. In February, 1833, under management of Agent Lewis S. Ingals, it was turning sixteen hundred spindles and a dozen or more power looms. After 1840 the dam washed out and the mill was abandoned, Jeremiah Woods removing the machinery, as elsewhere stated, to the old canal basin, south of town. In the eighties it was written of this location : "This place was called Woodville; one or two stone chimneys, and a few yards of crumbling masonry, overgrown by a rank thicket of shrubbery, is all that now remains of Woodville." There are left the cellars of at least half a dozen buildings, which may still (1915) be plainly seen.

In December, 1812-one hundred and three years ago-began the his- tory of what was styled the "Halstead Mill." Chilon Foster and John Test were granted permission to erect a small mill in section 3, township II, range 23, which mill site was opposite the mouth of Yellow Bank creek, at the

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mouth of Snail creek. This mill became one of the leading mills in Franklin county and continued to serve custom trade many years. John Halstead finally purchased the property; later a great flood in this valley swept it away and it was never rebuilt.

In 1817 Moses Green, a York-state Yankee, commenced building a saw- mill on a lot to the north of Brookville, on the East Fork, a few rods north of the old toll-gate. On returning down the Ohio from a trip to Pittsburgh, where he went for his family, the boat capsized and he was drowned. The mill was completed by others, run a few years and then abandoned.

A distillery, on a small scale, was built by Johnston & Miller about 1862-3 on the site of the old Linck & Farquahar grain house. Then F. A. Walz became the owner, and in 1870 he erected a large stone warehouse and commenced the manufacture of the celebrated "Walz Bourbon." In 1878 the property passed into the hands of Kuhlman & Teepen, who made it one of the largest distilleries in this section of the country. It was operated by them until 1890, when the still and warehouse were sold to the present owner, Peter Werst, the deed being dated May 23, 1893. Mr. Werst immediately tore away the still and erected a fine brick building on the front end of the lot. The old still proper was located in the rear building, which was partly brick and partly frame, and which was demolished by the flood of March, 1913. The old stone warehouse, erected in 1870, together with the building erected by Mr. Werst, serves him now as his extensive grain and seed houses ; he also deals in lumber.

The changes in ownership of the distillery property are indicated by the deed records and disclose the following chain of titles: Miller & Martin sold to Walz; the latter to Billingsly & Morgan in 1878; the new owners transferring to Kuhlman & Teepen in the same year; in May, 1893, Peter Werst became the owner. The old distillery went into the "trust" and hence was discontinued at Brookville, although it was a profitable business at the time it was taken over by the "trust." There were several small distilleries in the immediate vicinity of Brookville, but most of them only served local customers.

A brewery was established by Gotleib Seibel in 1865 and operated until 1873, when it closed down. It stood where now stands the brick warehouse of the Thomson-Norris Paper Company, and opposite the old still-house property, now the seed house of Peter Werst. Another brewery was estab- lished by Weidener and, after his death, a man by the name of Moritz Schlenck married his widow and continued to operate the plant. Moritz

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Schlenck disposed of it to Mr. Sutton, who sold it a few years later to Mr. Stock, who operated it until it closed down.

Tollitson's forge was situated on the East Fork, half a mile above the Whitcomb turnpike bridge. It was built by Mr. Tollitson and derived its power from the river. A huge rock formed the foundation for the anvil on which the trip-hammer worked. Its owner died of consumption soon after he started the enterprise, and it was never carried on afterwards.

About 1887 Henry Kimble erected on the site of the old livery barn, at the top of the street leading from the depot and fronting on Main street, a roller flouring-mill, in which the best of modern machinery was installed. It was successfully operated until it was burned, in the spring of 1915. This is said to have been the first roller mill in Franklin county. This mill was styled the "Nickle Plate Mills."

A hub factory was started in Brookville in 1905, largely by local capital. It was situated in "Stavetown," on the flats, and the following notice ap- peared in a local paper concerning it: "The new hub factory at Stavetown begins operations Monday. It will give employment to ten men. Sufficient logs are already on hand in the yard to keep the plant running for the next two months and there is an untold amount of good hub timber within draw- ing distance in the woods about here." This plant was washed away by the great flood of 1913 and never rebuilt.

French Brothers, the large creamery firm of Cincinnati, Ohio, established a creamery at Brookville on the grounds opposite the George Morise resi- dence property, in the northeast part of town, overlooking the valley of the East Fork. This was in 1906. Five hundred cows were pledged the com- pany in February of that year. The plant cost about five thousand dollars, and was successfully operated for a time. Of late years it has not made butter, but is simply a milk and cream-gathering station, the product being shipped to the company's plant in Cincinnati.

In the nineties there was a patent folding-bed manufactured in Brook- ville by John Baker, the present well-known architect and wood-worker, of the place. This was an ingenious bed, which, when folded, resembled a wardrobe, for which purpose it was used in part. It was rather com- plicated in its construction, and was manufactured only about two years. Some of these beds are still in use in and around Brookville.

PAPER-MAKING INDUSTRY.

This industry was among the early ones in Brookville, though at first it was run on a small scale. It is now the leading enterprise of the town.

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Near the "Hermitage" was erected a new flouring-mill in 1822 upon bor- rowed capital from Cincinnati. The builders failed and the bank foreclosed the mortgage and the property was sold to James Speer, who tore down the saw-mill attachment and there built a small frame paper-mill, about thirty by eighty feet in size. This was put in operation July 1, 1835, and the event was marked by a flourish of local trumpets by the good citizens of Brookville. Later a large brick building was erected and what was known to paper- makers as the "Fourdinier" system was introduced. During the last years of its existence it was the property of Phillips & Speer. This firm failed in business and had to abandon their cherished enterprise. Rags were carted from Cincinnati to this mill and paper taken back by the same teams.

The third paper-mill was installed. on the site of the old 'Kimble flouring-mills, near the present passenger station. In 1847 the mill com- menced to take its water from the canal, while the cotton-mill, operated in connection with it, was propelled by the waters of the river. Mr. Kimble, owner of the property, disposed of it in 1851, and about 1871 it became the property of the Stewart Paper Company, who converted it into a paper-mill, which was burned May 29, 1876. The loss was fifty thousand dollars, with twenty-nine thousand dollars insurance.

The next venture at paper-making in Brookville was made in 1865 by Hanna & Ayers, who converted the old cotton factory and machine shop of Jeremiah Woods at the old canal basin, in the southeast part of town, into a paper-mill. After a short time they disposed of the plant to the Stewart Paper Company, who operated it until it was burned, in November, 1870.

In 1869 F. M. Stone commenced paper-making in the old mill near the canal basin and after a few years became insolvent. His creditors then formed the Stewart Paper Company and continued, the same being con- ducted by Hanna & Ayers till it burned down, in 1870, with a loss of forty thousand dollars. Sixty men were employed in the mill at the time.

The pulp-mill that stood near the first canal lock, to the northwest of town, the ruins of which may still be seen, was built by the paper company in 1869. Thomas Lindsey had charge of this enterprise a number of years. It was one of the best concerns in this section of the state. Thirty hands turned out a daily output of sixty-five thousand pounds of newspaper stock. The flood of 1898 ruined this plant, which had been destroyed by fire at least twice for Mr. Lindsey, who died after the last fire.

For many years the entire output of the Stewart paper mills was con- sumed by the Cincinnati Enquirer. After failures and fires, the Stewart Paper Company went into the hands of a receiver and was operated by the

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receivers until about 1849. In 1898 the Thomson & Norris Company pur- chased the remains of the old Stewart company, including their lands along the canal, with their pulp-mill to the northwest of the town, and the canal basin southeast of town. The new company operated the pulp-mill until 1903, when it was abandoned, but still stood there and was totally ruined by the great flood of March, 1913.

The Thomson & Norris Company own plants at Brooklyn, New York, Boston, Niagara Falls, Brookville and Chicago. They manufacture at the Brookville plant only light strawboard, from which is made corrugated paper and boxes such as are used by shippers of glass, millinery and parcel-post packages. They now employ about one hundred and twenty-five men. The power of this plant is one thousand horse-power, of which two hundred and fifty is derived from the waters of the old canal, while the rest is steam power. The raw material, which is straw, is largely shipped from four ad- joining counties, Shelby, Decatur, Rush and Bartholomew. Each fall they intend putting in a stock of from three to four thousand tons of straw. The daily capacity of the mills is twenty-five tons.

The manner of producing strawboard in this mill is interesting. First the straw is cooked in large steel vats about fourteen feet in diameter. These are filled with straw and lime water, and cooked at a low pressure for about twelve hours. The stock is then conveyed by carriers to the "beaters," which remove the lime and grind the straw to a fine pulp, which is passed on to driers and through .rollers, making sheets about two by four feet in size. These are shipped to the markets of the country, and to the branch plants at Boston, Niagara Falls, Chicago, Brooklyn and New York.

The flood of 1913 materially injured this plant, but all has been rebuilt and it is now running full time. The buildings, both factory and warehouses, are large brick structures. On December 23, 1911, a fire burned a portion of the four-story building, causing considerable confusion and loss, otherwise the plant has been highly successful and quite fortunate in its operation under the present management.

BROOKVILLE FURNITURE COMPANY.

Among the leading manufacturing enterprises of Brookville is the ex- tensive furniture manufactory established in 1882 by C. A. Bishop, A. W. Johnstone and A. M. Tucker, in a brick building that had been erected in 1873 for the old Brookville machine shop, the owners of which failed. The first-named gentleman manufactured a line of walnut bed-room suites, with

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various grades of oak furniture. Mr. Johnstone's health failed, after which Bishop & Tucker conducted the business until 1894, when C. A. Bishop acquired the sole interest and organized the C. A. Bishop Company. The company continued until 1896 and then failed. The mortgage on the prop- erty was then foreclosed by the bank holding it and in 1897 A. M. Tucker and others formed the A. M. Tucker Furniture Company, which operated until 1907, when Tucker sold his interest to J. C. Shirk. The business was then reorganized as the present Brookville Furniture Company. They now make a high-grade of walnut and mahogany furniture, chiefly bed-chamber suites, some of which, in the fifteen-piece sets, retail as high as six hundred dollars. Distributing depots are maintained at Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Boston. The output of the factory is valued at about one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars annually. The building, which was erected in 1910, is a fine brick structure, forty by one hundred and twenty-five feet, and four stories high. The machinery is run by electric motors, with a central plant of their own. The average number of men employed is about eighty, and the annual pay-roll is forty-five thousand dollars. Goods are sold in all parts of the United States.

The present officers of the company are as follow: J. C. Shirk, presi- dent and treasurer; J. Buckley, vice-president; J. H. Bishop, secretary and salesman; William Otto, superintendent; Samuel Shirk, director and travel- ing salesman.

PLANING MILLS.

There are now four planing-mills in Brookville. One has a saw-mill in connection. One of these mills is situated on the hill in the main part of town, on Sixth street, and was established in about 1890 by William Fowler on grounds now occupied by the paper company near their straw yards. He sold to Ferris & Son and in about 1900 they sold to Fieber & Holmes, who continued in business in the above place about three years. They then moved to their new quarters on the hill and at the same time the saw-mill depart- ment was abandoned. This firm has furnished, as contractors, fine wood work for many public and private buildings, including the depots for the Big Four Railroad at Brookville, Cedar Grove and New Trenton, to take the place of the ones washed away by the floods of 1913; the school building, Methodist parsonage, the Sisters' school and many fine residences at Brook- ville ; the fire station at Muncie, etc.

The John Ferris & Son's planing-mill is situated in the northeast part

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of Brookville, on the site of the old carriage factory, and where originally stood an excelsior (fiber) mill. This firm does general contract work. They have a thirty-five horse-power coal-oil engine, run at an expense of nine dollars per week. Members of this firm had been in the wholesale lumber trade a number of years before engaging in the present business.

Of the old excelsior mills it may be said that they were established by Baker & Reynolds, who operated only a short time. Then the plant was converted into a furniture factory by Baker, Reynolds & Schiltz. The last industry, like the former, was not highly successful and went down. Then Schiltz was manager of the Brookville Buggy Company. After his death it was sold to Eugene Horn, who moved the plant to Main street, and Ferris began operating the present planing-mill and wood-working plant.

Another planing-mill . and saw-mill is located in the west part of town, near the old canal and railroad tracks. About 1895 Dudley & Gettig put in operation a saw-mill and planer and were followed, after they had failed, by Beckman brothers, who purchased the plant of the receiver who had been appointed for the first firm. The Beckman brothers came into possession of the property in 1914, and now have the only saw-mill in the town.

Still another mill is that of Albert J. Cooksey, an expert mechanic, in the north part of town, who started what is styled the Brookville Novelty Works in about 1911. He does general hard and soft-wood work, contracts and does a creditable business.

THE SCENIC VALLEY ICE AND DAIRY PRODUCT COMPANY.

Another lively industry of present Brookville is the Scenic Valley Ice and Dairy Product. Company, owned by John Webber, late of Newport, Kentucky, who, in 1913, purchased the old canning factory plant, in the valley at the foot of the ridge in this town, and converted it into an artificial ice plant. It has a daily capacity of producing twelve and a half tons of pure ice from deep-well water. This ice finds ready sale at home and supplies the majority of ice consumers in Brookville. The average price for this superior ice is five dollars and fifty cents per ton. In connection with the plant is a modern ice-cream factory, which makes a greater part of all the ice cream sold in the county. The ice is delivered daily in the ice season by teams owned by Mr. Webber. The building is now a one-story brick, but formerly was a three-story structure, when used for canning and candy

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factory purposes. It was destroyed by fire a few years ago and reroofed as a one-story building. Every modern facility for producing ice and ice cream is here installed. After the fire burned the plant out, the premises were again used as a vegetable canning factory for a time before it was sold to its present owner.

Another ice house is that of Joseph Seidling, which is located at the foot of Main street, near the canal basin. Here one finds a large ice house in which is stored natural ice, the most of. which is consumed by the various saloons of Brookville, who purchase beer of the proprietor. Mr. Seidling also conducts a bottling works on the hill near the Catholic school. This industry was founded about twenty years ago by Mr. Seilding.

The Brookville Produce Company, which is managed by Wilbert Rog- ers for the owners at Cincinnati, Armacost & Riley, was established by T. J. Buckingham in 1893. Buckingham operated it nine years and then sold to Bloom & Dreifus, who continued five years and sold to a Mr. Lloyd, of Greensburg, who was its owner till he sold to the present owners about 191I. The business is carried on at the foot of the hill, southwest of the Catholic church. The buildings are partly frame and partly brick. During the flood of 1913 the brick building was partly ruined, causing a loss of about six hundred and fifty dollars, while there was a total loss in stock on hand amounting to one thousand one hundred dollars. This concern handles poul- try, butter and eggs, which are shipped to Cincinnati. Wagons are run through the surrounding country to gather the produce from farmers. Huck- sters also sell much to this company. The business for the last five years has amounted to about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The ware- house is located on a convenient spur of the Big Four railroad.

F. J. Sauter has a small poultry produce house in the north end of town.

BROOKVILLE MARBLE AND GRANITE WORKS.

The Brookville Granite and Marble Works were established about 1898 by Frank X. Seibert and A. J. Cook, who continued until 1904, when Mr. Seibert took full control, and, with his son, both expert stone cutters and monument makers, has since handled the business. They import granite and marble from Scotland, as well as large quantities from New England and Wisconsin. Their designs and artistic workmanship are to be seen and ad- mired in many of the "silent cities" of Franklin and adjoining counties. The excellent lettering on their tombstones and shafts will stand as a record for them when future decades shall have passed away.

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CIGAR FACTORIES.

There are now two cigar factories in Brookville. One, operated by F. J. Baker in the northwest part of town, was established as revenue num- ber 528, in 1893, and now works eight cigar makers. Mr. Baker sells special brands of cigars known as "LaFolda," "Baker's Perfecto," "Chief Execu- tive," and "No. 1129." These goods find ready sale in a radius of Brook- ville of about one hundred miles. The factory puts out a half million cigars annually.

The oldest cigar factory, however, in Brookville is the one on the corner of Main and Fourth streets, owned and operated by F. M. Hathaway, who came from Rising Sun, in March, 1883, and established a business in the same quarters which he is now occupying. It is styled the "Spot Cigar Fac- tory," and is No. 22 in district No. 6 of Indiana. The name was derived from a beautiful coach dog the proprietor owned and he took a picture of the . dog and from it made his trade-mark, so familiar to smokers in this section of the country. He runs as high as seventeen cigar-makers and has made upon an average of a half million cigars annually for twenty-nine years. These goods are sold chiefly in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The raw ma- terial is largely from the tobacco fields of Cuba, Connecticut and a small part from Wisconsin and Ohio. The brands include "Spot," "Hath," "Hath- away's Monogram," "Robert Walker," "Indiana Queen" and "Telephone." His pay-roll has amounted to about one hundred and fifty dollars per week since the establishment of his business, twenty-nine years ago.

TELEPHONE LINES.

Telephone lines now reach nearly every corner of Franklin county and according to the statistics of 1914 cover a total of 518.69 miles. There are twelve lines of this wonderfully useful utility in the county and four connect with the central station at Brookville. The principal company is known as the Brookville Telephone Company, which was organized in April, 1895. Its franchise has recently expired and a new one has been applied for. This company has six hundred subscribers, and makes direct connection with Cin- cinnati, via the Bell telephone system.

The other local corporations operating telephone lines include the Laurel Telephone Company, organized a few years ago by Ray Goudie and his mother. This company has one hundred and fifty subscribers. Mr. Goudie and his mother also operate a line from Brookville to Oldenburg, having about

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forty instruments in use. The Brookville & St. Peters line is owned and operated by Frank Wright and others, twenty-five of the twenty-eight shares which is held by Mr. Wright. This line operates one wire and serves fifteen patrons in a satisfactory manner.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 19

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648