USA > Indiana > Huntington County > History of Huntington County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 10
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Then there were the shooting matches, generally held about the holi- day season, the husking bees, pitching horseshoes, and the athletic con- tests, such as wrestling, foot racing, etc. After the orchards were old enough to bear fruit came the apple cuttings. There were also quiltings and sheep-shearing contests, which mingled both pleasure and profit. At the corn husking bee those present were divided into two parties, each with a leader; the corn was divided into two piles, as nearly equal in size as possible, and the captain who "won the toss" was entitled to take his choice of the piles. Then began the contest to see which side would first finish the pile of corn. In these matches the women took part as well as the men, and the fellow who found a red ear of corn was en- titled to the privilege of kissing the lassie next to him. The young men often played this part of the game in an underhand way by passing the red ear covertly from one to another.
The man who wore "store clothes" in those days was regarded as an aristocrat. After the wolves were driven out, nearly every settler kept a few sheep. In every settlement there were one or more sets of hand cards-broad-backed brushes with short wire teeth, all bent slightly in one direction-and by means of these primitive, implements the wool was converted into rolls. Then the rolls were spun into yarn on an old-fashioned spinning wheel, which was turned with a stick having a small knob at one end, the housewife walking back and forth as the rapidly revolving spindle reduced the roll into woolen thread. The young
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woman who could spin her "six cuts" a day was looked upon as eligible to be the wife of some thrifty young farmer. How many of the young women who graduated in the Indiana high schools in 1914 can tell what "six cuts" means? After the wool was spun into yarn the latter was dyed with indigo or the bark of some tree-most generally the walnut- and then woven into flannel, jeans or linsey on the old hand loom. Girls wore flannel or linsey dresses, which they learned to make for themselves as soon as they were old enough to handle a needle. Boys were clad in jeans or other homespun material, their suits made by their mother or sisters by hand, as no sewing machine had as yet been invented. The head of the family frequently wore buckskin clothing, for the reason that it would stand rough usage, and the chief headgear of both father and sons was the home-made coonskin cap, with the ringed tail often left to hang down the back of the neck as an ornament.
Through the forests roamed wild animals of various kinds, and often as the family sat around the great fireplace, cracking nuts or popping corn, the howling of wolves could be heard in the woods near the humble cabin. Cockrum, in his "Pioneer History of Indiana," tells the follow- ing story of two boys who came from the East to visit an uncle :
"A neighbor, who was wise in the lore of wild animals, took the boys out on a longed-for hunting trip. They had gone five or six miles from the village, when they spied a large bear running away from them. Mr. Johnson instructed them to tie their horse to a tree, go to a place he pointed out, and not move from there on any account until he returned. On walking around, after waiting a long time, they saw two little animals wrestling much as boys do, rolling and tumbling over each other. They did not have the least idea what they were, but slipped up as closely as they could and made a rush to catch them, which they found hard to do, as the little cubs were much more nimble than they looked. They chased them round over chunks and brush. Finally one of them ran into a hollow log and the younger boy crawled in after it. The older boy finally caught the other little bear, when it set up a whining noise and at the same time scratched and bit him. In a few minutes he heard the brush crackling, and looking up, he saw the old bear coming at him with full force. He let the cub go and climbed up a little tree, fortunately too small for the bear to climb. She would rear up on the tree as though she intended to climb it, and snarl and snort at the boy, who was dread- fully scared. About this time the little boy in the log had squeezed himself through so that he could reach the other cub, whereupon it set up another cry. The old bear left the tree and ran to the log, and over and around it, uncertain where the noise came from. She commenced to tear away the wood, so she could get to the cub, for she was too large
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
to get more than her head in the hollow of the log. The boys were thus imprisoned for more than two hours, when a shot was fired not far away. The boy in the tree set up a terrible hallooing and Mr. Johnson soon came in sight. A second shot soon killed the old bear. The young bear was caught and tied; and the little boy came out of the log dragging the other cub, which they also took home for a pet."
No doubt these two boys had a wonderful story to tell of their bear hunt when they returned to their home in the East. Cockrum does not give the exact location where the incident took place, but the Huntington County boy who reads the story may imagine, if he pleases, that it occurred somewhere near his home, for in the early days such a thing could have happened almost anywhere in the State of Indiana.
But times have changed. No more is heard the howling of the wolves at night near the family dwelling. The log cabin has given way to the modern residence, the grain cradle to the twine binder, the tallow candle to the electric light; the house-raising, the log-rolling, the quilting and the husking bee are unknown except to the oldest residents; meals are no longer prepared before a blazing fire, the cook meanwhile wearing a deep sunbonnet to shield her face from the fierce heat; the old spinning wheel and the hand-loom are seldom seen except in museums, where they are looked upon with curiosity as relics of a bygone civilization ; the great packing companies, with their refrigerating cars, supply the people of the cities with fresh meats, and everybody wears “store clothes." The people of the present generation boast of the accom- plishments of the last century, but are they as unselfish, as genuinely happy, as the pioneers who wore homespun and "swapped work" while they were laying the foundations for the comforts and blessings the people of today enjoy ?
As already stated, work on the Wabash & Erie canal was begun at Fort Wayne in February, 1832. The Legislature of Indiana, in antici- pation of a tide of immigration to the region through which the canal was to be constructed, established several new counties. On February 2, 1832, Gov. Noah Noble approved an act entitled "An act establishing the counties of Huntington, Wabash and Miami." Section 1 of this act read as follows :
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That all that portion of territory included within the following boundary lines, shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and designated by the name of Huntington, in honour of Samuel Huntington, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of Allen county; thence north, with the western boundary thereof, six miles ; thence west along the township line, sixteen
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
miles to the point of intersection with said line and the line dividing sections four and five, of township twenty-nine, north of range eight east ; thence south twenty-four miles to the southwest corner of section thirty- three, in township twenty-six, of range eight east, on the northern boundary of Grant county ; thence along the township line, to its inter- section with the line of range ten east, thence north eighteen miles to the place of beginning."
The act made no provision for the organization of the new counties, Section 4 expressly setting forth that "The several parts of the said new counties shall remain as they are now attached, for representative, senatorial and judicial purposes."
Huntington County was organized under the provisions of the act of February 1, 1834. As that act forms the basis of the county's legal existence as a separate political division of the state, it is here repro- duced in full :
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the county of Huntington shall hereafter enjoy all the rights and privileges, benefits and jurisdictions, which to separate or independent counties do or may properly belong or appertain.
"Section 2. Philip Moore, of the county of Delaware; Joseph Hol- man, of the county of Miami; David Rankin, of the county of Allen; Daniel R. Bearss, of the county of Elkhart, and Benjamin Berry, of the county of Grant, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners, agreeably to the act entitled, 'An act fixing the seat of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off' (approved January 14, 1824). The commission as aforesaid shall meet on the second Monday in May, next, at the house of Elias Murray, in said county of Huntington, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law, and it shall be the duty of the Sheriff of Grant county to notify said com- missioners, either in person or by writing, of their appointment, on or -
before the 15th of April, next, and for such service he shall receive such compensation as the board doing county business in said county of Huntington may, when organized, deem just and reasonable, to be allowed and paid as other county claims.
"Section 3. The circuit court and the board of county commission- ers, when elected under the writ of election from the executive depart- ment, shall hold their sessions as near the centre of the county as a con- venient place can be had, until the public buildings shall have been erected ; and the county commissioners shall each be entitled to the sum of two dollars per day for their services while transacting county business.
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"Section 4. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sale of lots at the county seat of said county of Huntington, shall re- serve ten per cent. out of the proceeds thereof, and pay the same over to such person or persons as may be appointed by law to receive the same for the use of a county library.
"Section 5. The board of commissioners at their first meeting after they are elected, shall appoint some suitable person to assess and collect the county and state revenue of said county of Huntington (and the county of Wabash, which is hereby attached to the county of Hunting- ton for judicial and all other civil purposes), in the assessing and col- lecting of which the said assessor and collector shall be governed by the provisions of 'an act for the assessing and collecting of revenue,' except that he shall not be required to complete the assessing before the 1st of May, as by that act provided.
"Section 6. The county of Grant shall not hereafter assess and collect any revenue from off the citizens of Huntington and Wabash counties.
"This act to be in force from and after its publication in the Indiana Journal."
By Sections 4 and 5 of this act it will be seen that the County of Wabash was attached to Huntington. Under the provisions of the act, Stearns Fisher, John Burke and Lewis Rogers were chosen as county commissioners and upon them devolved the work of completing the county organization. They met on May 5, 1834, in a log house, the exact location of which cannot be ascertained, and their first official act was to issue the following order :
"That all that portion of the county of Huntington being and lying east of Range 8 shall compose the first commissioner's district, viz. : No. 1. That all that portion lying in Range 7 and 8 shall compose the second commissioner's district, viz .: No. 2. And all that portion lying west of Range 7 shall compose the third commissioner's district, viz. : No. 3."
By this order the first district included the present civil townships of Jackson, Clear Creek, Union, Huntington, Rock Creek, Lancaster, Salamonie and Jefferson. The townships of Warren, Dallas, Polk and Wayne were in the second district, the remainder of which and all of District No. 3 were in Wabash County. The board also ordered that what is now Huntington County should constitute a civil township, to be known as Huntington Township, and that an election should be held on the 1st Monday in June, at the house of Jonathan Keller, for the pur- pose of electing two justices of the peace for said township.
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Amos Harris was appointed assessor, as provided for in Section 5 of the organic act, and the following schedule for the taxation of property was announced :
Each 100 acres of first-class land. $0.40
Each 100 acres of second-class land. 0.30
Each 100 acres of third-class land. 0.20
Town and out-lots, for each $100 valuation. 0.50
Each yoke of oxen, three or more years old. 0.50
Horses and mules, each. 0.50
Brass clocks, gold, silver and composition watches, each .. 0.50 White male citizens over 21 years old, not exempt from taxation by state law, each. 0.50
Compared with present rates of taxation in most of the Indian coun- ties, these figures appear "ruinously low," but it must be remembered that expenditures were correspondingly low, the salary of the sheriff for the first year amounting to but $70. Besides, the revenues derived from taxation were supplemented by license fees levied upon and paid by certain occupations. At the first meeting of the board it was ordered that the fee for license to sell groceries, which doubtless included whisky, should be $10 per year. The first license of this character was issued at that meeting to S. & H. Hanna. At a subsequent meeting of the board, about a year later, the license fee for brass or wooden clock peddlers was fixed at $10 per year.
Elias Murray, who was appointed treasurer at the first meeting of the board, reported in October, 1834, that the revenue received by him from all sources amounted $155.23, of which he had disbursed the sum of $147.63, leaving a balance in his hands as treasurer of $8.40. The board ordered that he receive $4.50 for his services.
Champion Helvey served as sheriff until the county was fully organ- ized, when he was succeeded by William G. Johnson. William S. Edsall was the first county clerk, and Charles G. Voorhees was appointed the first county agent for the sale of lots at the county seat and the per- formance of such other duties as might be assigned him by the com- missioners. At the September term in 1835 he reported to the board that he had received the sum of $906.32, all of which had been paid out in accordance with the law and the orders of the board.
The records show that the first session of the Circuit Court ever held in Huntington County was convened on March 2, 1835, "at the house of 'Jonathan Keller, in the town of Huntington, being a place as near the center of said county as can be conveniently had for said purpose."
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
Murdock Lane and Jonathan Keller were the associated judges, citizens of the county, and Gustavus A. Everts, of Laporte County, was the pre- siding judge, being at that time judge of the eighth judicial circuit, which included practically all Northeastern Indiana. Elias Murray was foreman of the grand jury. A more complete account of the early courts will be found in the chapter on the Bench and Bar.
No report of the commissioners named in the organic act to locate the seat of justice of Huntington County can be found, and it is believed that none was ever filed. That they discharged their duty and fixed the county seat at Huntington is certain, but how many and what other sites were proposed is not known. There is a sort of tradition that the Miami chief, La Fontaine, tried to have the seat of justice established at the forks of the Wabash. This is hardly probable, for the reason that La Fontaine was not chief at the time Huntington County was organized in 1834, and lie then lived "near the south side of the prairie, between Huntington and Fort Wayne." According to the story, the chief offered to donate the site, build a suitable structure for a courthouse, and also build a bridge across the Wabash. He did not become chief until after the death of Richardville, in 1841, when he removed to the forks of the Wabash. The county seat had then been located at Huntington for about seven years, and if La Fontaine ever made any effort to have it removed to the "old treaty grounds," no record of it has been preserved.
Some time before the county was organized, Gen. John Tipton, of Logansport, purchased the land that had been entered by the Helvey brothers in 1831, located in Section 15, Township 28, Range 9, upon which the original plat of the Town of Huntington was laid out. Gen- eral Tipton proposed to the commissioners appointed to select a site for the seat of justice that, in consideration of the county seat being located in the new town, he would transfer to the county a number of lots and ercct a building for a courthouse. His offer was accepted, and in this way Huntington became the county seat.
General Tipton carried out his part of the agreement made with the locating commissioners. Through Elias Murray he donated a number of lots to the county authorities to aid in the erection of public buildings and defray other expenses incident to the organization of the county. He also erected a frame building and gave it to the county for a court- house. This first courthouse stood on the northwest corner of Jefferson and Franklin streets. It was completed about 1840 and was used as a courthouse for a number of years, when it passed into the possession of George J. Bippus. The handsome Bippus block now occupies the site.
. Vol. 1-6
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At the September term in 1854 the county commissioners offered a prize of $25 for the best plans and specifications for a new county building, which was to include a court-room, quarters for the various county officers, a jail and a jailer's room, and which could be built for a sum not exceeding $15,000. The plans and specifications were to be submitted to the board at the December session, but more than two years passed before any definite action was taken with regard to the erection of the building. Then it was decided to expend a larger amount of money, and in June, 1857, a contract was let to William McGrew and
OLD COURT HOUSE
David J. Silver for the erection of a new courthouse on the present public square for $23,000. The board of commissioners at that time was composed of John Kenower, James Taylor and Samuel Emley. The cornerstone was laid on April 5, 1858, by Solomon D. Bayless, grand master of Indiana Free and Accepted Masons, the ceremonies being conducted under the direction of Mystic Lodge No. 110, of Huntington, of which John R. Coffroth was at that time worshipful master. Changes and additions were ordered by the board of commissioners while the building was under construction, which increased the cost to $28,000. This second courthouse has been described as follows :
"While not built in the most modern style of architecture, it is a very substantial and commodious building, having two stories above the
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basement and a tower twenty-four feet in diameter and eighty feet in height at the front of the house. It is sixty feet wide and seventy feet long, and stands in a beautiful little park filled with trees and sur- rounded by a neat and substantial iron fence. The first floor is arranged for the county offices, and the second floor contains the court-room, commissioners' room and rooms for jurors."
This building served as the courthouse of Huntington County for nearly half a century, or until it was torn down to make way for the present magnificent edifice.
In the fall of 1902 a petition, asking the board of county commis- sioners to take the necessary steps toward the erection of a new court- house, was circulated for signatures. At that time the law required such petitions to be signed by at least 500 freeholders, and as only about one hundred signers were secured the matter was dropped. A little later the question was revived, and on June 1, 1903, the following petition was presented to the board :
"We, the undersigned freeholders, residents of Huntington county, Indiana, respectfully submit to the board of commissioners, our petition for a new court-house, the court-house in Huntington county having served its purpose.
"The fact that it is too small for the accommodation of the county officers and courts held in Huntington county ; that the same is badly out of repair; that it is requiring constantly the expenditure of large sums of money to keep it in repair; that the court-house is out of date; and that the people of Huntington county, with only a few exceptions, are decidedly in favor of building a new court-house, have prompted your petitioners to ask said board to take the necessary steps for the con- struction of a new court-house, and we ask that such action be taken at once, and that the same be done with as little delay as possible."
This petition, signed by Dr. Daniel Yingling, George Krieg, George Stephan and more than five hundred resident freeholders of the county, was taken under consideration by the board, then composed of Joel C. Littler, E. A. Chenowith and R. M. Redding. After examining the old building they came to the conclusion that it was inadequate to the needs of the county, if not actually unsafe, and that a necessity existed for the erection of a new courthouse "in the near future upon the present courthouse square in the city of Huntington." Consequently, on June 5, 1903, the commissioners cause the following entry to be made upon the records :
"Said board hereby grants said petition, and it hereby orders and decrees that a modern fireproof courthouse be built upon said premises, which shall cost in the neighborhood of two hundred thousand dollars."
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
PRESENT COURT HOUSE
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
On September 9, 1903, the county council approved the action of the board and appropriated the sum of $260,000, which was at that time supposed to be sufficient for the erection of the new building and the filling of the grounds. J. W. Gaddis, of Vincennes, Indiana, was selected as the architect at a meeting of the board of commissioners on November 14, 1903, and on March 10, 1904, the contract for the erection of the building was let to P. H. McCormack & Company, of Columbus, Indiana, for $239,450.
On April 9, 1904, the county council passed an ordinance authoriz- ing the issue of courthouse bonds to the amount of $260,000, bearing interest at the rate of 31/2 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, the last of the bonds to fall due on July 1, 1924. The bonds were sold to the banking firms of J. F. Wild & Company and Meyer & Kiser, of Indianapolis, at a premium of $135.
The cornerstone of the new courthouse was laid on September 28, 1904, under the auspices of Amity Lodge No. 483, Free and Accepted Masons, of Huntington, with Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, of Columbia City, afterward Governor of Indiana and Vice President of the United States, as the principal speaker. The cornerstone, which is at the north- west corner of the building, is a beautiful block of granite from Redstone, Maine, four feet three inches square by three feet eight inches in thick- ness, and weighing five tons. On the north side is the inscription :
HUNTINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE
ERECTED A. D., 1904-5-6
J. W. GADDIS
Architect
Vincennes, Ind.
P. H. MCCORMACK & Co. Contractors Columbus, Ind. M. D. BRINEMAN, Superintendent
The inscription on the west side of the stone is as follows :
COMMISSIONERS
1903
1904
J. C. LITTLER
E. A. CHENOWITH
E. A. CHENOWITH
R. W. REDDING
R. W. REDDING A. C. HOFFMAN
J. Q. CLINE, County Attorney
AUDITORS W. T. WALMSLEY G. S. MORRIS
JAMES C. BRANYAN, Circuit Judge J. W. HOWENSTINE, Com.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
The courthouse is 136 by 169 feet in its outside dimensions and four stories in height. Its architectural style is a pleasing combination of the Roman and Grecian. The corridors from the four entrances converge at the circular opening in the center under the dome. On the first floor are the offices of the auditor, treasurer, assessor and recorder, the cus- todian's room and a public rest room, in which the mural decorations represent scenes from the several townships of the county. On the second floor are the offices of the clerk, sheriff, surveyor, county superintendent of schools, a room for the Grand Army of the Republic, quarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution and an assembly hall for public meetings. The third floor is devoted to the two court-rooms, prose-
SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE AND JAIL
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