USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 34
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EARLY SETTLEMENT.
John Miller is accredited with being the first settler in Barton township. He came in the autumn of 1814 and located on section 8, township 3, range 9, builded himself a rude cabin of logs and housed his family there during the following winter. He was a native of Kentucky, and traveled here on foot and with a pack horse. Elisha Strickland came in the summer of 1815, and also Jacob Skelton. In 1818 came William McCleary. The first settler in the southeastern part of the township was John Kilpatrick, who came in 1821. William Barrett, Andrew McGregor, James Breedlove and Eli J. Oliver were other early residents.
Perhaps the first marriage of the township was that of John Skelton, Sr. They rode to the minister's home on horseback, the bride mounted on the pillion. Stephen Strickland, Jacob Bouty and John Kell were the earliest ministers here. Providence church, a log house, was the first house of wor- ship. The first water-mill for grinding corn was erected by Jacob Bouty, on Smith's fork of Pigeon creek. Dr. George Austin was the first physician of the township.
Coal digging began in this township about 1833, on section 5, township
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3, range 8. 1880 was the year that a destructive cyclone passed over the township, demolishing homes and killing animals
After the organization of this territory into Barton township the first election was held at the house of Blueford H. Griswell, September 30, 1843. Jacob Skelton was appointed first overseer of the poor.
The history of the early-day schools will be found in the chapter on Education. The churches are also mentioned in the Church chapter.
The first child born in this township was John Miller in 1815, he being the son of the first settler. It is believed that the first death was that of Seth Adkinson in 1817.
AN EARLY UNPUNISHED CRIME.
In the early days at a log-rolling an incident occurred which would now be called a great crime. An Indian came to where a party of settlers had assembled at a log-rolling, on which occasion it was always the custom for the host to supply a plentiful supply of liquors as well as good meals at meal time. Some of the crowd had become in a measure intoxicated, par- ticularly a man named Wheeler, and when the Indian above mentioned had imbibed quite freely of the liquor he became boastful of his former exploits, relating a circumstance of how he went to the house of a white family when they were at dinner and compelled them to eat until they were gorged, after which he offered other indignities. This so enraged Wheeler that he at- tacked the Indian, striking him over the head with a handspike, crushing his skull and killing him instantly. As the victim was only an Indian but little attention was given to this cowardly crime by the settlers.
Barton township has two postoffices, each a hamlet, Somerville and Buckskin. The latter is in the southern part of the township and Somerville in the more northerly portion and on the railroad.
SOMERVILLE.
This was formerly known as Summittville and was laid out by J. E. Smith in 1853. The town site being located on an elevated piece of ground, Mr. Smith chose the name "Summittville." The first house there was erected by Van Nada and Baldwin and was used by them as a general store. The first postmaster was George Van Nada. In 1853 Jackson Taylor built a blacksmith shop, the first industry of the sort in that neighborhood. Other persons who have been connected with this village are C. T. Shanner & Son,
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Robert Moore, S. G. Barrett, J. W. Skelton, John Walker, William Helm, J. S. McCoy, A. Woodruff and Thomas Moore.
In 1910 Somerville had a population of two hundred. It had several small stores and shops, etc., yet it has always served well the convenience of the farming community which makes up the general population of Barton township. Since the building of the railroad the markets seem nearer the farm than in early days when far removed from the outside world.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP.
At the September term, 1825, the Gibson county board of justices created Columbia township, and the first election was held on the October following.
This township is bounded on the north by the Patoka river, on the east by Pike county, south by Barton township and west by Center. Coal and stone are found in various quantities throughout this township. The land is rich and productive and is drained by the Patoka river and its tributaries, including Keg and Bear creeks, Bucks, Hurricane, South fork of the Patoka and Turkey creeks.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The early settlers of Columbia township subsisted largely on the game which was then plentiful in the surrounding forest. Bears were very numer- ous and many of them were killed.
John Farmer, a native of the Old Dominion, was one of the earliest settlers of the township. He was a farmer and had the distinction of intro- ducing the first Durham cattle and Berkshire hogs into this locality. Phile- mon Dill, a Scotch-Irishman from Tennessee, came to this township in 1814, and his family is still prominent in Oakland City and vicinity. William Hopkins and family, John Wallace, James M. Steel, William J. Summers, William Nossett, James W. Cockrum, Samuel Baldwin, Jacob Skelton were others among the pioneers of this section.
OAKLAND CITY.
Situated at the crossing of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the Southern Railroads, the town of Oakland City has grown to be the second town in the county, in size, commercial standards and importance. The present population is two thousand three hundred and seventy, and it is an incorporated town, the town having been made such in 1885.
Jesse Houchins was one of the earliest known residents in this town, followed by many others whose families are yet identified with the interests
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of Oakland. The first steam grist-mill was built in 1855 by a stock company, and cost eight thousand dollars. Jacob W. Hargrove and James W. Cock- rum built the first store room. Cockrum and Warrick platted the town on January 15, 1856, and since then there have been many additions made. Solomon Harris had the first blacksmith shop, Franklin Rose the first wagon shop, these during the year 1857. The first person born in the present city limits was D. C. Barrett, in 1827. W. M. Cockrum and J. W. Hargrove opened the first harness shop, also a shoe shop. N. C. Crister had the first furniture and cabinet shop. The Oakland cemetery was laid out in 1855 by James W. Cockrum. The first resident physician of Oakland was Dr. William R. Leister. The Independent of 1871 was the first newspaper. The first school house was constructed in 1860, and J. M. Henderson was the first teacher. Among the early manufactures which flourished and up to 1885, were the Columbia Mills, the agle Mills, barrel and stave heading factory, tile and brick works. .
AS SEEN IN 1913.
The present officers of Oakland City are: Councilmen, Fred Schrentrup, Rudolph P. Smith, Elwood Burkhardt; clerk-treasurer is Ed. Redman; and the marshal is Ellis Montgomery. The town owns a town hall, which was built in 1911 at a cost of $3,550. There are twelve men and one chief in the fire department, which is maintained by actual fire runs. There is one com- bination wagon in the equipment. The city owns its own water company, which is named the Oakland City Water Company, supplying the town from an artificial lake. The company organized in 1903, and the plant is worth $40,000. The Oakland City Electric Light and Power Company, incor- porated, is valued at $32,000. Light is supplied about five hundred patrons, and thirty-two street lights are kept. The city pays an annual sum of about two thousand dollars to the corporation.
The business interests of 1914 line up as follows: Saw mills, Downey, Coleman & Co., H. R. Crawford; flour mills, E. H. Baker, Butcher & Mc- Cord: attorneys, John M. Vandeveer, John Bilderback, Abraham Cole; doc- tors, R. S. Mason, G. C. Mason, J. W. McGowan, W. H. Ashby, W. H. Smith, W. L. Leister; dentists, J. E. Wood, J. W. McCord ; drugs, R. M. Stormont, A. G. Troutman, O. B. Troutman, W. B. Osborne; groceries, A. Deutsch & Bros., G. W. Smith, R. P. Smith, E. O. Hedlin, T. F. Davis; variety stores, A. M. Fowler, O. L. Smith, P. H. Walker ; department stores, S. V. Levi; dry goods, the When Company, O. A. Kelsey ; clothing. Kell &
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Galligan ; hardware, Creek & Heldt Co., Kays & Beardsley Co., Butler Hard- ware Co., Charles J. Shurig; implement, A. H. McFarland; news stand, Ros- coe Farmer ; photographer, F. C. Benton ; blacksmiths, Percy E. Slack, John Hamilton, Milburn Hubbard, John Randolph, Mont Campbell: livery, Mc- Cord & Co., P. H. Lamb & Son, George A. Vierling ; garage, Oakland City Auto Co., Charles Reed, Mont Campbell; hotels, Redman Hotel, Cottage Hotel; lumber, Greer-Wilkinson branch; poultry, C. W. Jean Company, A. B. Stahl & Co .; restaurants, William Elwyn, William Martin, John Daily; confectionaries, Warrick Mason. Geise Brothers; veterinaries, Sylvester Hale; jeweler, M. O. Cockrum; wagon shops, R. N. Campbell ; general stores, Massett & Murphy ; meat markets, T. H. Lowrey. T. F. Davis. There is one paper, the Semi-Weekly Journal.
The First National Bank was organized in 1889, and reorganized in 1909. The first officers were J. J. Murphy, president ; J. F. VanZandt, vice- president; W. L. West, cashier. The first capital was $25.000. The pres- ent officers are: W. L. West, president; L. J. Deutsch, vice-president; Alvin Wilson, cashier. The capital is $50,000, the surplus, $6,000, and the de- posits, $375,500.
The Columbia State Bank was organized in 1903, with a capital of $25,000. The first officers were John D. Kell, president; J. W. Skeavington, vice-president; C. A. Simon, cashier. The present capital is the same, also the officers, with the exception of cashier, who is now W. T. Creek. The surplus is $9,000, and the deposits, $160,000. The bank building was erected in 1903, and cost $2,000.
While the Miscellaneous chapter speaks of the platting of this place, it is well here to refer to the fact that it was platted by James W. Cockrum and Warrick Hargrove, on part of the southwest and part of the southeast quarters of section 18, township 2, range 8. The streets and alleys are wide. This plat was filed of record January 15, 1856. It was originally known and recorded as Oakland on account of the beautiful grove of oaks which covered a portion of its site. But later it was changed to Oakland City, there being another Oakland postoffice in Indiana already.
Other chapters speak in detail of schools, churches and lodges, hence will not here be inserted, but suffice to say these are all well represented in this modern little city in the "Kingdom of Gibson."
CHAPTER XXIX.
CENTER TOWNSHIP.
Center township is bounded on the north by Washington township, east by Pike county and Columbia township, south by Barton and Patoka town- ships and west by Patoka township. The Patoka river and its tributaries, Lost, Keg and Mud creeks, drain the land. The heavy timber which orig- inally covered the ground and furnished such excellent hunting grounds, is all cleared, and farms dot the country in places.
Perhaps the earliest settler of the township was one William Reavis, a North Carolinian by birth and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Isam and Daniel Reavis came in 1818; David Johnson, Thomas Birchfield, Samuel Beasley and Thomas H. McKedy were other early settlers. The early history of this township coincides with the other and more important townships, in which its earlier history is included.
EARLY SETTLERS.
In 1817 William Reavis married Catherine Hensley and soon after this event they made the long and tedious trip to this county on pack-horses, ar- riving in the summer of the same year. They settled near the present town of Francisco, about a mile southwest, in the timber, where they cleared a tract, erected the usual log cabin, and by industry made them a fine farm home. One of their children was Alexander, who became a soldier in the Union army in the Civil war, and died in Andersonville prison. Mr. Reavis died at the old homestead in 1855. His widow survived him about two years. They were both of the Regular Baptist faith.
Isam and Daniel Reavis, brothers of William, with their families, came in 1818 and made a settlement not far from their brother's place. They had both formerly resided in Kentucky. About 1827 Isam was killed while as- sisting in raising a log house, one of the logs falling upon him. The Reavis brothers, for a few years after coming here, occasionally had their milling done at the then distant Post Vincennes. Charles Reavis later removed to Illinois. They were expert hunters and killed many deer, wolves and other
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animals. They all had large families and had numerous descendants, many of whom are still in this section.
David Johnson was among the early pioneers of this county, having settled in the southern part in November, 1810, and in the spring of 1817 he located on a tract in the timber, about two miles north of Francisco. He was from Tennessee and had lived in Kentucky before coming here.
Thomas Birchfield was among the old settlers of the county, a native of Kentucky. He came here with his family in 1821. He was a brother of Larkin Birchfield, who was an old-timer in the county. When Thomas Birch- field came in Indians were very numerous. He, however, got along with them in a peaceful manner. His first abode was in a small squatter's cabin. Meats for his table the first winter consisted of the deer, wild turkey and other games of the forest. He later bought out the improvements of Col. James W. Cockrum, where Francisco is now situated.
Samuel Beasley, a native of North Carolina, settled with his family a mile and a half south of Francisco in 1830. He had a large family. John S. Meade, though not an old resident here, is a son of one of the earliest settlers. His father was a native of New York and, when a single man, came to Gibson county in 1815. Here he married Mary Pritchett, a daughter of John Pritchett, an old Revolutionary soldier. The Pritchetts moved from Tennessee to Gibson county very early. They settled in Montgomery town- ship a short distance from Owensville. Stephen Meade married, in 1820, and located in Johnson township. This couple had fourteen children, twelve sons and two daughters.
Dr. J. C. Patten, of Francisco, is a descendant of one of the early descendants of this county. His grandfather, James Patten, was a captain in the Revolutionary war. After the war ended he moved to Tennessee, and in 1804 settled on Green island, Kentucky, and later came to Gibson county, Indiana. He settled near Fort Branch, lived there until 1816 and died there. He raised a large family, among whom was Hugh Patten, who was for many years a leading physician in Princeton. Dr. Hugh l'atten died, aged eighty years, in 1876. He was the father of Dr. James C. Patten, who was a resi- dent of Francisco during the later years of his life.
FRANCISCO.
This was a town whose heydey was during the time of the Wabash & Erie canal. It was platted and laid out in January, 1851. by John Perkins. Originally it was on the east side and up to the banks of the canal, on section
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19, township 2 south, range 9. Several business houses and two flouring mills were built by Perkins, and the town flourished until 1858. Mrs. Sweeney taught the first school here. The first church was built in 1855. Dr. J. M. Ireland was the first resident physician.
Those who remember Mr. Perkins say he was energetic man. He built two flouring-mills, a saw-mill and several houses. For a number of years he was a merchant and real estate dealer. Francisco was a very busy place in 1854 and 1858. Three large packing establishments, three large grain warehouses, a number of general stores and a few smaller places of business gave an impetus to the hamlet.
Among the pioneer merchants and business men, who labored earnestly for Francisco were Reuben Baldwin, William Moore, S. G. Barnett and Moore & Knowles.
Francisco was incorporated as a town in the year 1907 and has at present a population of six hundred. The trustees are George Schafer, R. C. Stor- mont and John H. McConnell; the clerk, Ralph Goldman; the treasurer, A. J. Peveler; the marshal, A. L. Wright. The business interests are as fol- lows in 1913: Physician, D. H. Swan; general stores, A. J. Smith, O. T. Downey, A. J. Loveless, W. M. Stormont, Joseph Thompson; meat market, Horace Swartz; blacksmiths, William Gentry, George Schafer ; barbers, Mon- roe Hubbard; livery, C. H. Alarden; hardware, Stanford Witherspoon, Will- iam Hasselbinck; drugs, L. B. Wallace; restaurants, Walter Downey, E. W. Dill, Shuh & Peveler operate a tile factory. The Wyoming Coal Company operate mine here, mining a good quality of bituminous coal, which is shipped to all parts of the country.
The Francisco State Bank was organized in 1908 and chartered in the same year. The first officers were: D. H. Swan, president; J. R. Morrow, vice-president; W. B. Critser, cashier. The first capital was $25,000, and is the same at present. The officers of the institution now are: S. R. Davis, president; J. R. Morrow, vice-president, and J. W. Finch, cashier. The sur- plus is $3,500, and the deposits, $55,000. The bank building, which was erected in 1908, cost $1,900.
EARLY DAYS OF FRANCISCO.
By Ella Garrison McCormick.
Situated seven miles directly east of the Gibson county seat lies the pretty and flourishing town of Francisco, with a population of some seven or eight hundred, and as I have known the little town for many years most inti-
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mately it will perhaps be of some interest on this occasion (the centennial celebration) for readers of the Clarion-News to hear something of what the town was fifty years and more ago.
This is my remembrance of it in the early fifties. It was situated on the east side of the Wabash & Erie canal, then but a few years' in operation. Running south from Hugh Murphy's blacksmith shop was a road that led to Evansville. and one led west to Princeton. While there were other winding country roads. these two were the only established roads into or out of Fran- cisco. The Princeton road did indeed wind on east to Somerville and the same kind of road found its devious way to Oakland City, east of us. Fran- cisco at that time was but a little hamlet of perhaps a dozen houses and I will place them as I now remember them.
At the southeast was a little log cabin in which lived a family by the name of Taylor; just northeast of this cabin was our home, a small frame house of four rooms ; just across the street-the streets were laid out north of our house-lived a family named Cassel. A little north of Cassel's lived "Uncle" Hughey Murphy, the village blacksmith pioneer; west of Murphy's lived John Perkins and family; across from this, the other side of Main street as it was then and ever since known, were three residences, one occu- pied by James Perkins, one by Mike Redburn, the other by George Beasley. A little farther north was a very small log cabin, but I do not now remem- ber by whom it was occupied; farther west, near the grist mill which stood on the banks of the canal, was where John Shanner lived ; south of the grist mill was a saw mill; south of the saw mill, near the canal bridge, was another log house, but I do not remember who lived in it. There was a little postoffice on Main street and to the best of my recollection it was kept by John Perkins. The mails were received and distributed once a week, every Saturday. At- tached to the postoffice was a small store, also conducted by Mr .. Perkins. The school house, a frame building probably sixteen by eighteen feet in size, was just south of our home. This building was also used as a church. Dr. J. M. Ireland had just located there to practice his profession and he made that place his home until less than one year ago, when he was called to his reward to answer for all the good deeds during a long and useful life that he had done for the people of Francisco.
As the years rolled on other houses were built. Stores were opened, pork and warehouses were established along the canal and the place became a good market for all kinds of produce. Among some of the earlier comers should be named Reuben Baldwin, who had a store on Main street; Joseph
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Moore and others, who had stores along that thoroughfare. Stephen J. Lindsey had a big cooper shop, George Granger and Seth Fairchild estab- lished a blacksmith and wagon shop and a number of other enterprises started up.
At that time Francisco bade fair to become quite a place, but the canal was found to be too expensive to keep up and compete with railroads, then in operation and being established. It was making no money for its stockhold- ers and gradually began to run down. When we consider that it took two days to make the trip by canal to Evansville from Francisco it is not to be wondered at that it was not a popular mode of transportation. I can just remember seeing the boats pulled along by two horses hitched tandem to a big cable fastened to the boat, the horses on the tow-path and the small boy riding one of them. Think of traveling that way now.
Among some of the families living near Francisco in the early fifties I can mention the following: Living west was Thomas Harbinson and family, Mrs. Margaret Wilson, the mother of Squire James Sprowl, of Princeton; James Hussey, Dustin Mills, the Lawrence family, while north of Francisco lived Thomas McKedy, James Aydelotte, Thomas Johnson, James McClel- land, Vardiman Yeager, David Johnson and Fleming Farmer. To the east lived Jackson Malone, Calvin Drysdale, McGrady Downey and Thomas Burchfield, while south there lived Charles Cross, who was a Methodist minister for that circuit; Porter Carnahan, Hardy Beasley, William Davis and several families of the Reavis'. Southeast lived the McConnells, one of whom was "Aunt Nancy," or better known as Granny McConnell, who was in those days famed the county over as a doctor. There was no practicing physician anywhere in the county who had a larger practice or better success than had "Granny" McConnell. She was one of the first and greatest charity workers that Gibson county ever had. She refused no call from the suffer- ing; the night was never too dark, the weather too bad, the roads-which, after all, were often only cattle paths through the woods-too muddy or rough for her to travel to help those who needed her aid. Her pay was small, very often nothing at all and in cases of obstetrics her charges were only two dollars and fifty cents, her aim and sole object in life seemingly to be to do good to her fellow beings.
There are a few incidents in my life in Francisco that stand out more vividly in memory's book. In November of 1857, when I was but a small child, a tornado started near the head of the old reservoir and, coming north- east through the heavy timber that covered nearly all the intervening country.
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it struck our little home, completely demolishing it. My mother and grand- mother were most seriously injured, but through some dispensation of Provi- dence, though the bed I was lying upon was torn to fragments, I was not injured, but the recollections of that day-or rather morning-are indelibly stamped upon my memory. Several other buildings were wrecked, but no one was killed. The Methodist church near our house was wrecked, but none of the buildings were so completely demolished as was ours.
KILLING OF WORRELL.
When the Civil war came on and there was a call to arms, the patriotic zeal of the men and boys of Francisco was not excelled by any town of its size. No other town in the state sent more brave men to the war than did this little community and the country surrounding it, and many who answered that call never returned to their home. I remember the time when there was not a single able-bodied man in that place, except a very few whose sym- pathies were with the South and they were wise enough to keep a still tongue in their heads. Some very thrilling occurrences took place in the town while the war was in progress, one especially that was not only dramatic but full of tragedy to one of the participants.
It was during the exacting days when the country was thrilled by the report that Morgan's men were invading Indiana and sweeping all before them. A few months previous to this there had come to Francisco a stranger who seemed to be a very quiet, inoffensive kind of man, but one who told no one his business or where he came from. Some looked upon him as a South- ern spy, interested in the Morgan movement, yet, try as they might, no one could find out anything about the stranger. During those perilous times it was the understanding among the soldiers that no Southern man could come into the North without giving a strict account of himself and live. While this stranger was in Francisco a number of the Gibson county soldier boys were home on furlough and with the Francisco boys came several of the far Southern state boys, who had joined them in Tennessee and decided to spend their furlough at home with them. It was on Saturday afternoon and, knowing of the presence of the soldiers, a great many had come into town until quite a crowd was upon the streets. Francisco had become quite a little village by that time and politics was all the talk. The fact that the strange man had been seen in company with several well-known Southern sympath- izers was mentioned and, he coming upon the street about that time, one of the foreign soldiers deliberately shot and killed him there upon the street.
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