History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 20

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901

USA > Indiana > Greene County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 20
USA > Indiana > Sullivan County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 20

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

AN INDIAN STRATEGY.

The Indians were quite numerous, though friendly. They came often to the cabins for food, or to barter furs and trinkets for pork or vegetables. They were not conventional in their habits, as they entered cabins without warning or invitation, lighted their pipes of tobacco or dried willow leaves, (called Killikinick), and smoked on as if no one except themselves was in the room and as if they were lords of the rude mansion. Sometimes they came intoxicated to the cabins, and were then very dangerous. They took . great delight in frightening the women. When Henry Vanslyke was yet a toddling boy, they sometimes came cautiously to the cabin, entered the room while Mrs. Vanslykes' attention was engaged outside, stole the little fellow from his cradle and then with enough noise to arouse the startled mother, causing her baby to cry very likely, they would run away with the child in their arms followed by the screaming, crying woman. Or, very likely, they would draw their knives or tomahawks and with their wild scalp halloo made by the peculiar motion of the hand upon the lips, would act as if they intended to brain or scalp the crying child. When they had carried their joke far enough, they would return the boy and laugh heartily with Fal- staffian mirth over their act. After a time, they found they could not scare her. In a short time they left the country for the far West.

EARLY INDUSTRIES, INCIDENTS, ETC.

The first water mill was built in 1819, by William and Ebenezer Welton, a short distance below the mouth of Beech Creek. After running a number of years, it was burned to the ground, soon after which the site passed to Alexander Craig, who rebuilt the mill and improved the dam. It was after- ward owned by Benjamin Turley and others. It was very useful to the early settlers. The next was built on Richland Creek, near Bloomfield, in 1820, by Col. Levi Fellows, and in its day was the most famous in all the central part of the county. It was a saw mill and grist mill combined, and of course was operated by water-power. All the old houses at Bloomfield and near there were built with lumber from this saw mill, and all the old settlers and their children were fed by the grist mill. Lumber for the old court house was obtained at the Fellows Mill. Another early mill was built on the Tibbett's Mill site by Peter Lester. The first blacksmith shop was built by Thomas Bradford, at his house, just south of Bloomfield. All the early courts and elections were held at Mr. Bradford's house. Peter C. Vanslyke started the first horse m ill and distillery, an account of which is found fur ther along in this chapter. Joshua Dobbins taught the first school in the eastern part of the township. Children from the families of the Walkers, Dobbinses, Heatons, Turleys, Roaches, and others, went to him. Fannie Cushman taught the first school in a small log cabin near the Fellows Mill. Joseph Scott was probably the first child born. The first weddings were Carpus Shaw to Sally Vanslyke, Thomas Warnick to Lydia Gilam, Samuel Smith to Lydia Kossolow, Jesse Branham to Elizabeth Johnson, James Stone to Mahala Heaton, Andrew Johnson to Elizabeth Lawrence.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

BURLINGTON.

This town was the first county seat of Greene County, and was located on Sections 9 and 10, Township 7 north, Range 5 west, by Amos Rogers, Abraham Case, Charles Polk and William White, State Commissioners, early in the month of March, 1821. The first action taken by the County Board looking to the laying-off and platting of the town was in May, when James Galletly was appointed to survey the donation of land which had been made the county by Frederick Shaver, in consideration of having the county seat established at that point. Donations either of money, land or labor had also been made by Zebulon Hogue, Thomas Bradford, Frederick Shepard, and perhaps others. Detailed instructions were given the surveyor as to how to lay out the town. It was at this time. when the order for the survey was made, that the town was named Burlington. Thomas Bradford donated sixty acres in one place and forty in another ; Frederick Shepard donated twenty acres, and Zebulon Hogue donated twenty more, making in all 140 acres. In addition to this, these men and others donated certain services and moneys to be used in the construction of the county buildings to be erected at the county seat. The town was laid out in accordance with the directions of the County Board, and David Smith contracted to clear the public square of timber for $47. Augustine Passmore was paid $12.75 to clear a lot upon which county offices were to be erected. The first sale of lots occurred in June, 1821, and among the few purchasers were Zebulon Hogue, Thomas Bradford, Ephraim Owen, Frederick Shepard, Augustine Passmore, Zebulon Jenkins, Solomon Dixon, Peter C. Vanslyke and others. The second sale was in October or November, and was almost a failure. In November, the County Agent, Ephraim Owen, reported $11.60 as the total cash receipts. from the sale of lots at the county seat up to that time. The sale had been advertised in the papers at Vincennes, but without material effect as far as sales or receipts were concerned. In November the court house was ordered built, and all the lots of the town then unsold were ordered sold at the best figure, whatever that might be, they would bring. The destruction of tim- ber on the town lots became so great that it was found necessary to appoint Zebulon Hogue, Superintendent, to see that the slanghter stopped. Who built the first house in Burlington cannot be named with certainty. Augus- tine Passmore was one of the first. He opened a tavern, and brought on a stock of liquor and groceries to a limited extent. Zebulon Hoque probably built the first house; he was the village blacksmith. Frederick Shaver lived there, and James Brown also. In the spring of 1822, a large pond on the streets of the town was ordered "dreaned," but an interdiction was laid against projecting the outlet to White River in an angling direction across the lots. Thomas Warnick "cried " the sales of lots, and furnished free whisky, by order of the County Board, to be paid for out of the county treasury. Burlington saw serious trouble from the start, owing to the want of good water. A well was ordered dug, and the work took much money and time. It was found, eventually, that even the well was inadequate to

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meet the wants of the town, and talk of changing the county seat was freely current. All the citizens worked on the well until they were tired and dis- gusted. Upon petition, the Legislature passed an act during the session of 1823-24, to re-locate the county seat of Greene County, and when this became known the County Board ordered that no more timber should be cut on the town lots, as it was seen that the property was to revert to the former owners. In February, 1824, the Commissioners appointed by the Legislature to re-locate the county seat-G. W. Demies, John Allen, John Johnson, Henry Ruble and Andrew Berry-met, and after viewing the various sites, established the new county seat at Bloomfield.

BLOOMFIELD.

Peter C. Vanslyke donated sixty-two acres where Bloomfield now stands, and on the bluff southwest, near the river. At this time, there were living upon the present town site or in the immediate vicinity the families of Mr. Vanslyke, Daniel Carlin, John Vanverse, Thomas Bradford, William Robin- son, William Scott, James Warnick, Peter Hill, Isaac Anderson, John Mason and others. The first settlers on the scattering town site were the families of John Vanverse and Daniel Carlin. They had come from Washington, Daviess County, as the tenants of Mr. Vanslyke, who had purchased a con- siderable tract of land at Bloomfield in 1816, when the land sale took place at Vincennes. Late in the autumn of 1817, before cold weather had per- manently set in, these men had come to the land of Mr. Vanslyke with his permission, had erected themselves rude log cabins in the southwestern part of Bloomfield, and had begun the work of clearing a piece of land for the crop of the coming year. They remained there at hard work all winter, " baching," and living on wild meat and fat pork and bread brought from time to time from Washington. In the spring of 1818, the families were moved out. These families raised small crops of corn and vegetables during the season, clearing in the meantime quite a tract of land for Mr. Vanslyke and themselves, and in November, 1818, the Vanslykes came on. These were the first efforts to subject the wilderness around Bloomfield to the cultiva- tion and civilization of white men.

SALES OF LOTS.

As stated above, the town was laid out in February, 1824, and the first sale of lots was ordered advertised for the 22d of April. One or more other sales took place the same year. The following men were the buyers this year : Augustine Passmore, George Milam, P. C. Vanslyke, Thomas War- nick, Ruel Learned, Thomas Bradford and others. Among those who bought in 1825 were Benjamin Harshaw, Peter Hill, Hallet B. Dean, Benjamin Tur- ley, Daniel Wasson, Nathan H. Cochran, Otis Hinkley, Peter R. Lester, Ed- ward W. Rose, Zebulon Hogue, John B. Kelshaw, Cornelius Westfall. After this and prior to about 1835, the following additional men bought lots : Thomas Brown, James Coffin, Thomas Plummer, Joel Benham, William

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Milam, Oliver Cushman, E. P. Cushman, John Hill, Ephraim Owen, Duncan Darrock, Norris & Ayton, John Owen, Willis D. Lester, Elijah Atkinson, Joseph Davis, Moses Ritter, Hugh L. Livingston, John Inman, James Boyd, Benson Jones, Marcus Clark, Hilton Wagoner, John Moore, Ben- jamin Brooks, Thomas Patterson, J. H. Lawrence, Tyre Laffoon, John Freeland, Samuel D. Chipman, Alexander Downing, Andrew Down- ing, Thomas Linticum, W. T. James, J. W. Dobson, W. C. Hicks and Samuel R. Cavins, and a little later Frederick Slinkard, Samuel Simons, William Watson, William Ferguson, John Shirley and others. Not more than half of these men ever lived in Bloomfield. After the laying-out of Bloomfield, Peter Hill built the first house. A total of 168 lots was laid out besides a block for a public square and another for the county seminary. These blocks were where they are at present. The surveyors of the town were Hansford Stalcup and John O'Neall. By the 6th of August, 1831, a total of $1,670.064 cash, had been received from the sale of town lots, and $69.93 was yet outstanding. Of these amounts, ten per centum belonged to the county library.

RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN.

Among the first families to live in Bloomfield, or what is now Bloom- field, were those of Peter Hill, Thomas Bradford, Augustine Passmore, Peter C. Vanslyke, Thomas Warnick, Otis Hinkley, Hallet B. Dean, and a little later Willis D. Lester, Moses Ritter, H. L. Livingston, James Boyd, Elijah Atkinson, Hilton Wagoner, Thomas Warnick, James Warnick, Elisha P. Cushman and others. Augustine Passmore was called the "general purpose " man. He followed the county seat from Burlington and opened his tavern and small store of groceries and liquors in Bloomfield in the spring of 1824. The new court house was ordered built in May, 1824, and the workman soon filled Passmore's tavern. It is wondered now why the county seat was located at Bloomfield, but when it is considered that the " hole " south of the court house was then a beautiful slope covered with green grass, and that at the bottom was a fine spring of pure cold water, and when it is further considered that in that day the tendency everywhere in the new country was not only to locate on springs of good water, but also on high, and even sandy, hills, the selection of the locating Commis- sioners must not be wondered at. It should be noticed also that much, or, perhaps all of the sand on the streets around the square has been washed down the hill from the north. The public spring in the " hole " was curbed and put in excellent condition, and kept so at considerable labor and expense. The records show that Nancy Gillam, Hansford Stalcup and others besides Mr. Vanslyke made donations to the county when Bloomfield was located. The donators agreed to furnish the timber for the court house, and in May, 1825, they were called upon to comply with their contract. John Hill built a stray-pen on the northwest corner of the public square, and Augustine Passmore, the general purpose man, was appointed Pound Keeper. As soon as Bloomfield started into life, Burlington was abandoned by the half dozen -

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families living there. Even the court house there was torn down to be used in building the new. The County Justices in 1825 met at the tavern of Augustine Passmore, who kept the first public house and sold the first groceries and liquor, beginning in 1824, and paying a license of $5 per an- num. In January, 1825, Otis Hinkley brought to the town about $800 worth of a general assortment of goods, and was thus really the first store- keeper. He also took out a license to sell liquor, which he kept in the back part of his store free for his patrons. At this time, the winter of 1825-26, there were about ten families in the little village which proudly sported the sounding title of "county seat."

BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.

Otis Hinkley was the first merchant. He kept calico, muslin, linen goods, prints, a few notions, such as thread, needles, ribbon, hair-pins, etc., hardware, some queensware, boots and shoes, hats and caps. Within a year after commencing, his stock was increased to over $1,000, as shown by bis old license. He sold glass, nails, etc., that were used in the construction of the court house at Bloomfield and in the construction of many of the dwell- ings. In 1826, James Greene opened a small store, but did not continue many years. It was in this year also that Duncan Darroch started a store. He opened in July with over $1,000 worth of a general stock, and was required to pay a license of $10. About the same time, William M. Norris & Co. opened a store of goods worth about $1,500. This stock was after- ward doubled, and finally tripled and quadrupled. In 1827, M. Rust opened a tavern and sold liquor at his bar. The office of a hotel was then always called a bar-room, and you will hear old settlers from habit call it that yet. It was during this year also that Elijah Atkinson started a small store. He did not continue many years. In 1828, Moses Ritter & Co. opened a store with over $1,000 worth of goods. These stocks were nearly all brought by teamsters from Louisville. Samuel Brooks commenced keeping tavern, and, of course, sold liquor. By 1828, it is probable that Hinkley, Greene, Dar- roch had retired from the mercantile business, having made their fortunes. Ruel Learned began selling liquor and keeping tavern in 1828. Atkinson had so increased his stock by this time that he was required to pay a license of $15 on his sales of merchandise and liquor. In 1829, John and Robert Inman started with about $1,000 worth of goods. In 1830, the Inmans, Atkinson, Norris & Co. and Ritter & Co. were the merchants. The town was by this time a thriving little place. A schoolhouse had been built sev- eral years before ; the Methodists and the Presbyterians had small, though flourishing classes ; a postal route from Princeton via Petersburg, Washing- ton, Bloomfield, Martinsville to Indianapolis had been established as early as 1825, and put in action the following year, with Willis D. Lester as the agent of Uncle Sam at Bloomfield ; blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, law- yers, doctors, ministers, mechanics, artisans and prospectors had come, a few frame houses and one brick house had been built, and the population num-

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bered about thirty families. Besides this, there was a tannery, a distillery and a prospective carding mill and horse grist mill. As a whole, the town had reason to be proud of its progress. The public spring in the "hole" had begun to cause much trouble, and a few years before this a well had been dug on the public square.

OTHER INDUSTRIES.

In 1831, Andrew Downing opened tavern and a bar-room with liquor. Did all the old settlers get their start by keeping tavern and selling liquor ? Peter Hill followed this business, beginning in 1832. In 1832, the Inmans had a big store for so small a town ; they established a branch at Fairplay. Soon after this, the attention of merchants was turned to the profitable busi- ness of running flat-boats down the river with loads of pork, grain, flour, etc. The Vanslykes and others engaged in the business. John S. Moore opened tavern in 1833. Andrew Downing brought on a stock of groceries in 1833, which he sold in connection with his liquors. Benjamin Brooks started a small store in 1834.

Early in 1835, Norris & Downing formed a partnership in the mercan- tile pursuit. Lester, the Inmans, Brooks, Norris & Downing were the merchants early in 1835, but later the same year Johnson & Wright opened a general store, and James H. Hicks a tavern with liquor. Brooks in- creased his stock of goods to some extent. In 1836, Norris & Downing seem to have dissolved partnership, for the firm of Norris & Cushman was formed and launched into business. It was this year also that Shryer &. Shryer commenced merchandising. These men were William Shryer and Marcus H. Shryer, the latter being the present banker and excellent citizen of Bloomfield. In 1838, Thomas Patterson opened a store, and Lester S .. Jones did likewise. In November of this year, Hill & Terrell brought about $1,200 worth of goods to the town and commenced selling. Andrew Down- ing seems to have started again in business without a partner about this time. In 1839, Edward West commenced selling from a general stock of goods worth about $2,000. In 1840, the business men were Andrew Down- ing, O. T. Barker, L. S. Jones, John B. Stropes, groceries ; John Inman, Edward West, whose license was $20, and perhaps others. The population at this time is said to have been about 250.

MANUFACTORIES.

The tannery at Bloomfield had been built as early as 1823, by Cornelius Vanslyke, and soon became well known and patronized. He tanned many deer skins, and large numbers of skins of domestic cattle. He also tanned a limited number of bear, wolf, coon, and skins of other wild animals. There were twelve or fifteen vats, and the tannery ran twenty-five or thirty years, and was a prominent feature of the early business enterprises of the town. It was owned by various persons, Franklin and Anderson being two of them. Peter C. Vanslyke started a small horse mill and a distillery at

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an early day, that were operated with profit for a series of years. The mill was built to supply the distillery with meal, and did not extend its useful- ness much beyond that design. The distillery had a capacity of about twenty gallons per day, and furnished a market for corn that was appreciat- ed by the early residents. Everybody drank liquor then ; it was regarded as one of the necessaries of life. The Vanslykes and others ran flat-boats down Richland Creek, and thence down the rivers to Southern markets. Considerable flour and grain were shipped from the old Fellows Mill. Boats from up the river were daily passing, loaded with all kinds of produce ; and from numerous points of .Greene County others were launched during the flood seasons, and large quantities of pork and grain were sent down to Southern markets. This did not take place from Greene County, however, until the forties, and comparatively late at that.

The carding mill at Bloomfield was erected early in the thirties. Mr. Bannister is said to have been the builder. It was a rude affair, but did considerable carding for a large section of country. Its machinery was op- erated by horse-power. The venture did not get farther along in the busi- ness than carding. The mill was afterward owned by Moses Ritter, Reuben Edwards, Mr. Padgett, W. K. Routt, Hugh Livingston, John Cole and oth- ers, or, at least, these men at times had some claims upon the property. It was abandoned about the year 1846. About the time it started, a saw mill was also built in the town, and was operated for many years by cattle or horses walking in perpetual pain on an inclined plane. Its usefulness and patronage were limited. These enterprises gave the little town quite an 88- pect of thrift in the year 1840.

BUSINESS MEN FROM 1840 TO 1850.

The merchants and grocers during the decade of the forties, in nearly the chronological order, are as follows : O. T. Barker, L. S. Jones, John B. Stropes, Andrew Downing, John Inman, Edward West, John Jones, Jr., 1845 ; Stephen Lockwood, John Cole, Shelton Franklin, Augustus H. John- son, 1846 ; E. M. Stanard, Jeremiah L. Stropes, W. D. Lester, 1848 ; Moses Ritter, 1849 ; Dighton Bennett, 1849 ; and James Vanslyke, 1849. Several of these men sold nothing but liquor. The leading merchants were L. S. Jones, Edward West and Augustus H. Johnson. No manufacturing enter- prises of note sprang into life in Bloomfield during this decade. The old furnace was the center of attraction.

It was during the forties, probably about the year 1846, that the citizens of Bloomfield took steps to have the town incorporated. No definite infor- mation on the subject could be found by the writer. It is said that the in- corporation was effected, and that a full quota of municipal officers was elected and regularly installed for the transaction of business. Some work was done on the streets and a few sidewalks built. A series of town ordi- nances was adopted, and their enforcement begun, but within a year or two the municipal scheme was abandoned.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

RESIDENTS IN 1845.

In 1845, the following men, besides a few others, lived in Bloomfield : Samuel Cavins, James Ferguson, W. D. Lester, Moses Ritter, E. P. Cush- man, Joseph Eveleigh, Hilton Wagoner, Henry Vanslyke, Adam Stropes, John B. Stropes, Edward West, John Cole, William Scott (on poor farm), Dr. W. C. Smydth, Ruel Learned, W. M. Norris, M. Rust, John McCarty, Samuel Brooks, John Jones, Benjamin Brooks, A. L. Rhodes, A. H. John- son, William Johnson, Drayton Ritter, L. H. Rousseau, R. H. Rousseau, H. L. Livingston, Dr. William Freeland (east of town), John Vanverse, Carpus Shaw, Thomas Patterson, Baum Bros., L. B. Edwards, S. H. Lockwood, Shel- ton Franklin, John Anderson, James Hunter, E. M. Stanard, James Van- slyke, Dighton Bennett, W. H. Yancy, William Mason, John Scott, Thomas Anderson, A. J. Franks, John Knox, John Raper and others.

LATER BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.

Early in the fifties, the business men of the town were about as follows : W. D. Lester, James Vanslyke, Ed West, W. H. Yancy, John Cole, John Jones, Johnson & Co., Stropes & Mason, Slinkard & Co., and many others too numerous to mention. By this time the mercantile pursuit had become 80 extensive that no attempt will be made to name the merchants. During the decades of the forties and fifties, Bloomfield, then a little town of from 250. to 400 population, suffered much from its not being on the canal, which be- gan operations early in the fifties, and from the fact that Richland Furnace was during that entire period the center of attraction at the expense of the county seat. Reference to this furnace will be found farther along. Imme- diately after the last war, when it became certain that the present I. & V. Railroad was to pass through the county, strong efforts were made to remove the county seat from Bloomfield, but although the town lost the road, it managed quite easily to retain the seat of justice. The question is yet agi- tated from time to time, and when a new court house will be erected lively times may be expected. It was soon after the war that the town began to grow at a more rapid rate. In 1870, the population was about 650. By 1880, it had increased to almost 1,000, and at the present time (January, 1884), numbers nearly 1,200. Efforts were made about the year 1874 to revive the corporate status of the town, but nothing lasting was done. The completion of the Narrow Guage Railroad in 1875 gave the town quite a boom, as will be seen from the increased population in 1880. By this date (1880), many substantial brick buildings had been erected, and Bloomfield, considering all things, was a good trading point. In 1883, the following were the business interests of Bloomfield.

PRESENT BUSINESS INTERESTS.

General merchandise-T. D. Huff, L. H. Stalcup, Gainey & Co., Combs, Warren & Co., W. G. Jones, Hatfield & Lehman. Groceries several of the above and Myers & Co., and M. E. Slinkard. Hardware-Shryer & Co. and

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History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 20

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 901

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901