USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 50
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Chimney Swift (Chatura pelagica)-Common summer resident. I will copy the following which I had written for the American Ornithology, June, 1902, Worcester, Massachusetts, page 164: "A queer incident that came to my notice was on June 2, 1901. While strolling through a pasture, I observed a bird fly to the ground and disappear. I recognized it as the
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chimney swift and, being anxious to know what had become of it, I at once went to the spot and found an old well about fifteen or eighteen feet deep above water. About ten feet from the ground was the bird resting on a nest with four eggs. I have never heard of a similar circumstance before."
Ruby-throated Humming Bird (Trochilus colubris)-Common summer resident. I have a most beautiful nest and a set of two eggs in.my collection which I took on the farm of Ed. R. Quick, near Brookville, from an elm tree about five feet from the ground and about fifteen feet from the rail- . road track.
Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) --- Common summer resident. Four eggs in my cabinet from Oak Forest.
Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)-Common summer resident. My brother, John C. Honecker, collected a set of four eggs for me at his home at Wolf creek.
Phœbe (Sayornis phœbe)-Common summer resident. Four eggs, in the writer's collection.
Wood Pewee (Contopus virens)-A common summer resident. Three eggs in my cabinet from Brookville.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris)-Rare migrant.
Green-crested Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)-Rare summer re- sident. Breeds.
Traill's Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)-Rare summer resident.
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)-Common migrant.
Prairie Horned Lark (Otocoris alpestris praticola)-Rare summer resident. Amos W. Butler found them breeding in June, 1891.
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)-A common beautiful and well-known bird resident all over the county. Four eggs in my cabinet from Oak Forest.
American Crow (Corvus americanus )-Very common.
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)-Rare, but regular, migrant. Five eggs in my cabinet from Rochester, New York.
Cowbird (Molothrus ater)-Common summer resident. I will copy the following interesting article which I wrote for the American Ornithology, June, 1902: "A COWBIRDS' NEST .- As ornithologists and all bird students think and believe that the cowbird will build no nest, but always lays in the nests of other birds, I am glad to give the results of my experiments. In order to get the desired results, in the spring of 1899 I secured a pair of cowbirds and placed them in a large cage, cared well for them, and supplied them with plenty of nesting material. To my surprise the female built a nest, layed four eggs, hatched them and reared the young, and on July 28th
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young and old were all given their freedom. This will show that the cow- bird will build a nest and care for its young in captivity, which in its wild life it has never been known to do." To assert the matter still more, I obtained several females in the breeding season, and upon dissecting them I found from three to five eggs in different stages of development in their oviduct. So far as known, I am the first and only ornithologist to place this before the public.
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phœniceus)-Abundant summer re- sident. I collected four eggs near Oak Forest.
Meadow Lark (Sturnella magna)-Common resident. Five eggs ob- tained from Ed. R. Quick of Brookville.
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)-Common summer resident. Four eggs in my cabinet from Oak Forest.
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)-This, one of our most beautiful birds, is a common summer resident. Breeds.
Rusty Blackbird (Scolecophagus carolinus)-I never saw this bird in Franklin county, but Amos W. Butler noted it several times at Brookville.
Bronzed Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)-Very common summer resident. I well remember in springtime while I was plowing on the farm of Ed. R. Quick near Brookville, hundreds-I should have said thousands-followed me all day long, picking up the worms and grubs that the plow turned to view. I have a fine set of five eggs taken near Brookville.
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)-Rare migrant.
American Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)-Rare winter resident. Dr. Rufus Haymond reported it in 1869 and Ed. R. Quick and Amos W. Butler the winter of 1882-3 at Brookville. I noted it the winter of 1905-6 near Oak Forest.
White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera)-Rare in winter. I saw one December 28, 1907, at Brookville.
Redpoll (Acanthis linaria) -- Irregular winter visitor. Dr. C. R. Case observed a number February 10, 1881, at Brookville.
American Goldfinch ( Spinus tristis)-Common summer and winter resident. They used to nest in my door-yard on Wolf creek.
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)-Common winter resident. I found a number nearly every winter along the White Water river.
Snowflake (Plectrophenax nivalis)-Rare in winter, when it was re- ported by Dr. Rufus Haymond and Dr. C. R. Case, December, 1880.
Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus)-Rare in winter, when I noted a few near Brookville, March 3, 1907.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Vesper Sparrow (Poocætes gramineus)-Common from March to No- vember.
English Sparrow (Passer domesticus)-A common pest and a public nuisance, found all over the county, and at all seasons.
Savanna Sparrow (Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna)-I found this sparrow quite rare, but Amos W. Butler noted it in small flocks near Brookville.
Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum passerinus)-Com- mon resident, becoming more numerous each year.
LeConte's Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii)-Rare migrant. One in the collection of Amos W. Butler which he shot four miles west of Brook- ville along the railroad track March 12, 1884.
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)-Very common summer resi- dent. The most beautiful set of this bird's eggs I ever saw I obtained from Adam Kuntz of Snail creek, near Oak Forest, four in number, June 6, 1908.
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophyrs)-Common in sum- mer.
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)-Common spring and fall migrant.
Tree Sparrow (Spizella monticola)-Common winter resident.
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis)-Common summer resident. It is familiarly called "chippy." A set of four greenish spotted eggs in my cabinet from Wolf creek, near Oak Forest.
Field Sparrow ( Spizella pusilla )-Common summer resident. Breeds. Slate-colored Junco (Junco hyemalis)-Common winter resident.
Song Sparrow (Melospiza fasciata)-Common winter and summer re- sident. Breeds.
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)-Rare. Ed. R. Quick, of Brookville, John W. Shorten and Dr. Frank W. Langdon, of Cincinnati, ob- tained specimens near Brookville.
Swamp Sparrow ( Melospiza georgiana)-Rare summer resident.
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) -- Common spring and fall migrant.
Towhee ( Pipilo erythrophthalmus)-Common summer and winter re- sident. Four eggs in my cabinet from Oak Forest.
Cardinal Grosbeak (Cardinalis cardinalis)-Common summer and win- ter resident. Every one in Franklin county knows the cardinal by its com- mon name of "red-bird."
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludoviciana)-This beautiful bird is a rare summer resident. A male is in the collection of Ed. R. Quick.
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Indigo Bunting ( Passerina cyanea)-Common summer resident. Breeds. Dickcissel (Spiza americana)-Common summer resident. Breeds.
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga erythromelas)-This beautiful tanager is a rare summer resident in Franklin county. I found but one nest, with four eggs, near Oak Forest, which are now in my cabinet.
Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)-More common summer resident than scarlet tanager.
Purple Martin (Progne subis)-Common summer resident in some localities, while in other places it is not found at all. It breeds in bird- houses put up for them, and I always had a number in my dooryard every summer. Six eggs in my collection from my home near Brookville.
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon lunifrons)-Common years ago, but now rare in the greater part of the county. Breeds in colonies. The last nest- ing site I know of was near St. Peter's, which I visited in June, 1901.
Barn Swallow (Chelidon erythrogaster)-Abundant summer resident.
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)-Rare summer resident. Ed. R. Quick reports seeing them years ago in Franklin county.
Bank Swallow (Clivicola riparia)-Common summer resident. About one hundred or more nested every season in a sand bank along the White- water river near Brookville on the Ed. R. Quick farm, where I secured a set of six eggs for my collection.
Rough-winged Swallow (Steligidopteryx serripennis)-Rare summer resident.
Cedar Wawwing ( Ampelis cedrorum)-Abundant summer resident. Ed. R. Quick has a pair mounted in his collection, he also kindly presented me with a set of four eggs.
Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis)-Rare and irregular winter visitor. A male is in my collection, which I took December 28, 1903.
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)-Rare summer resident. have a male and four eggs taken near Oak Forest, May 3, 1905.
I
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)-Common summer resident.
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus )-Rare summer resident. A few specimens have been taken at Brookville by Rolla Rockafellar and Amos \V. Butler.
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)-Summer resident. I once found a nest with four young near Oak Forest.
Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons)-Common summer resident. Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)-Spring and fall migrant.
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White-eyed Vireo (Vireo noveboracensis)-Common summer resident. I found it breeding near Oak Forest.
Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia)-Common summer resi-
dent. I found its nest near Brookville several times.
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)-Rare summer resident. I have taken a set of five eggs near Brookville.
Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitherus vermivorus)-Common in sum-
mer. I found a nest with four eggs along Blue creek, May 2, 1903.
Blue-winged Warbler (Helminthophila pinus)-Common summer resi- dent. I found twenty-one nests in five seasons near Oak Forest.
Golden-winged Warbler (Helminthophila chrysoptera)-Irregular sum- mer resident. I never found this warbler in Franklin county, but Ed. R. Quick and Amos W. Butler reported it a number of times.
Nashville Warbler (Helminthophila ruficapilla)-Rare migrant. I noted three near Brookville, April 15, 1904.
Orange-crowned Warbler (Helminthophila celata)-Rare migrant. This is the rarest of all the warblers in Indiana.
Tennessee Warbler (Helminthophila peregrina)-Common spring and fall migrant.
Parula Warbler (Compsothlypis americana)-Rare in summer, but I found four nests in 1905, along Blue creek.
Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina)-Rare in summer. I saw two near Brookville a few years ago.
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica æstiva)-The beautiful little yellow warbler is the best known and most abundant summer resident of all the warblers in Franklin county.
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica cærulescens)-Common spring and fall migrant. I have noted a large number each season near Oak Forest and Brookville.
Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata )-Abundant resident, some win- ters quite common.
Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica maculosa)-I have found the pretty magnolia warbler a common migrant in the White Water valley, although some seasons quite rare.
Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica rara)-Common summer resident. I found it numerous at Oak Forest a number of years.
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pennsylvanica)-A common mig- rant some years, others rare. I noted it a number of times near Brookville.
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Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea)-My observation shows this warbler to be a rare spring migrant and more common in fall.
Black-poll Warbler ( Dendroica striata)-An irregular migrant, usually rare, but some seasons common. I saw four, May 17, 1904, at Brookville. Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica blackburniæ)-This most pretty of all the warblers found in the United States is a regular migrant.
Sycamore Warbler (Dendroica dominica albilora)-I found this war- bler a common summer resident along the White Water valley as far north as Brookville. Amos W. Butler. gives us an interesting account of the nidification and ovipositing of this warbler, finding a nest in May, 1880 .-- "Birds of Indiana," page 1067.
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)-A well known and common migrant. I found it abundant at Oak Forest.
Pine Warbler (Dendroica vigorsii)-Rare migrant. I never saw this warbler in Franklin county, but Amos W. Butler reports it in the White Water valley, especially near Brookville.
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)-Rare spring and fall migrant. Oven Bird (Seiurus aurocapillus ) --- Common summer resident.
Water Thrush (Seiurus noveboracensis)-I have taken one specimen near Brookville, April 17, 1894.
Louisiana Water Thrush (Seiurus motacilla)-Rare summer resident.
Kentucky Warbler (Geothlypis formosa)-Common summer resident.
Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia)-One reported from Brookville by Amos W. Butler, May 7, 1881.
Maryland Yellow-throat (Geothlypis trichas)-Common summer resi- dent throughout the county.
Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)-Common summer resident. I well remember when I was a small boy in Franklin county, I used to call this warbler the "crazybird," on account of its pecular manner of flight.
Hooded Warbler (Sylvania mitrata)-Rare summer resident. Ed. R. Quick showed me the first hooded warbler near Brookville, in 1906, since then I noted quite a number along the White Water river.
Canadian Warbler (Sylvania canadensis)-Common spring and fall migrant.
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)-Common summer resident. Along the White Water river I found it breeding quite often.
American Pipit ( Anthus pennsylvanicus)-Rare spring and fall migrant.
Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottus)-Rare summer resident. The sum- mer of 1910 I found four nests along Wolf creek.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Cat Bird (Galeoscoptes carolinensis)-Very common summer resident. Brown Thrasher (Harporhynchus rufus)-Common summer resident. Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)-Common summer resident. Bewick's Wren (Thryothorus bewickii)-Common summer resident. House Wren (Troglodytes ædon)-Common summer resident.
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hyemalis)-Common migrant and winter resident. Breeds.
Short-billed Marsh Wren (Cistothorus stellaris)-Amos W. Butler secured two about three miles from Brookville. September, 1897. I never saw this wren in Franklin county.
Long-billed Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)-Rare summer resi- dent. I have taken a set of six eggs from a nest near Oak Forest, and found four other empty nests within sixteen feet, which I think were all built by the same pair of birds.
Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris americana)-Rare and irregular resident. Some seasons, especially in the fall, I have observed quite a num- ber of these creepers.
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)-Very common resident at all seasons. I once found a nest in a hollow beech tree, but instead of finding a set of eggs as I expected, my hand came in contact with a huge black snake, which had evidently feasted on the eggs or young, and, after cutting an opening on a level with the nest, I soon dealt the death blow to Mr. Snake with my pocket knife, and put him out of the oological collecting business. Two weeks later I again visited the nest and found five eggs which are now in my cabinet : the same birds laid a third set of five eggs and reared the young.
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)-Rare migrant, as I only saw a few in April, 1903.
Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor)-Common throughout the year. I noted a number every winter about our yard at Wolf creek.
Chickadee (Parus atricapillus)-More abundant throughout the year than its relative, the tufted titmouse (parus bicolor). A set of six eggs are in my cabinet from Oak Forest.
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)-Rare spring and fall mi- grant.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)-Rare winter resident.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila cærulea)-Common summer resi- dent. William Becker, Jr., of Oak Forest. once presented me with a nest
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of this bird, which he thought was that of the ruby-throated hummingbird (trochilus colubris), which it resembles very much excepting its larger size.
Wood Thrush (Turdus mustelinus)-Very common summer resident.
Wilson's Thrush (Turdus fuscescens)-Very rare. I never saw the veery, as this bird is usually called, in Franklin county, and Amos W. Butler says it is one of the rarest birds, only one having been noted in twenty years.
Gray-cheeked Thrush (Turdus alicia)-Very rare.
Olive-backed Thrush (Turdus ustulatus swainsonii)-Common spring and fall migrant.
Hermit Thrush (Turdus aonalaschkæ pallasii)-Common spring and fall migrant.
American Robin (Merula migratoria)-Very common throughout the . year.
Bluebird (Sialia sialis)-Common throughout the year.
In concluding this article on "Franklin County Ornithology," I wish to express my sincere thanks to all my Franklin county friends for the many kindnesses they have bestowed upon me in assisting me in the quest of my favorite study, and it is most gratifying to me to note that so many are interested in this line of work. I have spent many hours studying birds and have never regretted the time, work or money I spent, for what I sowed I am now reaping, and if there were not a single dollar in it, the pleasure it gave me is well worth ten-fold the work I have done.
I am really proud of the fact that I am a "Hoosier" and a native of Franklin county. I hope that these few meager notes will be interesting.
Spokane, Washington.
CHAPTER XXI.
SIDELIGHTS ON FRANKLIN COUNTY HISTORY.
:
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
The history of Franklin county covers more than a century and during that time there had been many towns platted which never materialized. In the list of towns which is here given there are some which are now within the limits of Fayette and Union counties and a few which have been recorded without any date or location. Many of these towns have changed their names and in many instances the town is locally known by a name which the postoffice department never recognized. In other cases the name of a church gradually became the local name for the town. There may be other towns which have been platted that are not in this list and there are a few cross-roads hamlets still in existence which have never been platted. The fol- lowing list is taken from the plat book in the recorder's office in Brookville :
Andersonville-May 24, 1829; section 10, township 12, range II ; Thomas G. Anderson.
Bath-July 27, 1815; section 14, township 10, range 2; James Mc- Kinney.
Brookville-August 8, 1808; section 20, township 9, range 2; Amos Butler and Jesse B. Thomas.
Buena Vista-July 18, 1848; section 35, township 12, range 13; William Pruett.
Buncombe-July 11, 1851 ; section 20, township 9, range 2; Andrew R. McCleery.
Butler's Run-June 10, 1859; section 20, township 9, range 2; William W. Butler.
Ceylon-November 11, 1837; section 10, township 12, range II ; Fletcher Tevis.
Connersville-March 4, 1813; section 25, township 14, range 12; John Conner.
Darlington.
(34)
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Dunlapsville-No date; John Dunlap.
Edinburg-November 18, 1833; section 23, township 8, range I : John W. Hancock and wife, William Ramey and wife, Joseph Stevens and wife, John Pursell and wife.
Enochsburg-March 12, 1836; section 10, township 10, range II ; Wood- son Clark, Enoch Abrahams.
Fairfield-October II, 1815; section 21, township 10, range 2; James Wilson, Thomas Osborn, George Johnson, Hugh Abernathy.
Ferona-August 5, 1818; Obadiah and Philemon Estes.
Franklin-January 1, 1838; section 30, township II, range 13; William Alley.
Greensburg-July 23, 1816; section 10, township 12, range 13; John Naylor, James Sherwood.
Hamburg-April 27, 1864; section 24, township II, range II; Wesley Marlin.
Huntersville-February 25, 1841; section 19, township 10, range 12; Henry Myrose, Henry Colmin, Henry Shultz.
Laurel-November 30, 1836; section 9, township 12, range 12; James Conwell.
Lebanon-September II, 1819; section 8, township 9, range 1; Peter VanDyke, Henry Groober.
Metamora-March 20, 1838; section 36, township 12, range 12; David Mount, William Holland.
Mixersville-March 18, 1846; section 36, township 10, range 1; William Mixer.
Mount Auburn-February 25, 1850; section 9, township 12, range 12; Francis A. Conwell.
Mt. Carmel-February 2, 1832; section 27, township II, range I ; Jacob Fausett.
New Trenton-December 31, 1816; section 32, township 8, range I; Samuel Rockafellar, Ralph Wildridge.
New Washington-August 17, 1812; Thomas Madden, John Maclin.
Oldenburg-July 10, 1837; section 4, township 10, range 12; John H. Ronnebaum, Henry Rauspohl.
Palestine-October 9, 1849; section 30, township 9, range 1 ; Paul Hol- liday.
Peppertown-August 29, 1859; section 15, township II, range 12; John Koerner.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA.
Raymond-July 27, 1903 ; section 2, township 9, range I ; William C. O'Byrne.
Rochester-September 30, 1837; section 13, township 8, range 2; John Ward.
Sabina-Section 33, township 12, range 12; Samuel Goodwin.
Saint Bernard-July 1, 1869; section I, township 10, range II; Bernard Kamps.
Saint Peters-August 15, 1853; section 25, township 9, range 3; Mau- rice de St. Palais.
Scipio-December 29, 1826; section 36, township 9, range 1; Paul Clover, Joseph Alyeer.
Somerset-October 22, 1816; section 9, township 12, range 12; James and Edward Toner.
South Gate-September 2, 1850; section 35, township 8, range 2; Rich- ard Wood.
Springfield-December 31, 1816; section 9, township 9, range I; Wil- liam Snodgrass.
Union-September 14, 1816; section 13, township 9, range 2; Ebe- nezer Howe.
West Union-September 22, 1818; William Goe, Eli Adams.
SOME DEFUNCT TOWNS.
Of the forty platted towns in the above list, there are only twenty-seven now in existence in the county. Three, Connersville, Bath and Dunlapsville, were in Franklin county until the organization of Fayette (1819) and Union (1821). Three other towns in the list, Darlington, New Washington and West Union, are not located in the plat book, but it is thought that all three were in the territory north of the present limits of Franklin county. Five towns, Ferona, Franklin, St. Bernard, Lebanon and Sabina, have totally dis- appeared. Franklin seems to be the only one of these which ever had more than a house or two in it, although St. Bernard enumerated a saw-mill and a saloon among its industries in the early seventies. Ceylon evidently died a natural death shortly after its birth, since twelve years after it appeared on the scene of action, Thomas G. Anderson brought a new town into existence on the same site and named it in honor of himself. Buncombe and Butler's Run were platted apparently as additions to Brookville and both have long since been swallowed up in incorporations of the town of Brookville or turned into pasture lands. This leaves twenty-seven towns in the county
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which have been platted, and their history is recorded with that of the town- ship in which they are situated.
There are a number of towns or villages which have never been platted, but many of them have played as prominent a part in their respective com- munities as those which have been honored by being recorded in the plat book. Chief among these may be mentioned Haymond, Oak Forest, Blue Creek, Coulter's Corner, Sharptown, Rockdale, Highland Center, Yung and Kokomo.
A general discussion of the towns of the county should make mention of the many towns with two or more names. In Bath township there are two hamlets which have been known as Bath, and to add to the confusion there was another village by the same name across the line in Union county. The village of Coulter's Corner was called Bath, and when the railroad was built through Bath township in 1903 a town was laid out on it a mile and a half east of the Bath township Bath and it was called Bath, or New Bath, while Coulter's Corner had to be satisfied with being called Old Bath. The United States postoffice department never allows two postoffices of the same name in a state, and this fact accounts for the multiplicity of names enjoyed by various towns of Franklin county. The following towns have double cognomens: Mt. Carmel (Sentinel), Edinburg (Drewersburg), Palestine (Wynn), Rochester (Cedar Grove), Union (Whitcomb), Haymond (St. Marys), Highland Center (Knecht), Scipio (Philanthropy), Blue Creek (Klemme's Corner), Peoria (Ingleside), Blooming Grove (Greensburg, or Greensboro, or Greenbrier), Metamora (Duck Creek Crossing), and Laurel (Conwell's Mills).
Franklin county has never boasted of a city, Brookville being the only town which has ever had a population that might justify it being made a city. In fact, there have never been but five towns in the county incorporated, Brookville, Oldenburg, Laurel, Mt. Carmel and Cedar Grove. One notice- able feature of the towns of the county is the fact that so few of them are on a railroad. The Big Four has Laurel, Metamora, Brookville, Cedar Grove and New Trenton; the Chesapeake & Ohio passes through Bath, Ray- mond and Peoria; the Chicago division of the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincin- nati & St. Louis touches only one town in the county, Huntersville.
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