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 11
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cuting attorney's office, judges' chambers, jury rooms, quarters for the court reporter, the library, etc., and on the fourth, called the mezzanine floor, is a room set apart for the Women's Christian Temperance Union, committee rooms, etc.
Few counties in Indiana have better courthouses than Huntington, but, as frequently happens in the erection of public buildings, the structure was not completed within the original appropriation. The total cost of the courthouse, including the mahogany and steel furniture, was $346,773.77. These figures are taken from article written by Frank S. Bash, former county recorder, and published in the Huntington Herald of December 28, 1908.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
At the August session of the Commissioners' Court in 1834, the clerk was ordered to advertise for bids for a county jail, the contract to be let to the lowest responsible bidder on October 4, 1834. On that date the contract was awarded to William H. Wallis for $400. The jail erected under this agreement stood on the southeast corner of the public square. It was a hewed log structure, two stories in height, but without any outside opening to the lower floor, except two very small and strongly ironed windows. Prisoners were taken up a stairway on the outside to the second floor and then made to descend a ladder to the "donjon keep," after which the ladder was drawn up and the trap- door secured. The walls of the jail were double, the space between being filled with concrete, and the floor was constructed of hewed logs. On the second floor was a room called the "debtor's room," the law of that period allowing imprisonment for debt.
At the time this jail was built it was considered a veritable "Bastile" for strength, but on more than one occasion it was seriously damaged by fires started by prisoners confined within its walls, in the hope of burning a way to liberty. After several years a prisoner known as "Old Man Lafferty" started a fire that gave the officials considerable trouble in saving the inmates of the jail.
When the courthouse was built in 1858, the basement was fitted up with cells and used as a jail for more than twenty years before some one discovered that the damp atmosphere, always to be found in under- ground rooms, was not conducive to the health of the prisoners and a movement was started for the erection of a new jail.
On January 21, 1880, Matilda Blackburn conveyed to the county commissioners of Huntington County lot No. 121, in the original plat of the Town of Huntington, for a consideration of $2,000, the intention being to use the site for a new jail building. More than two years elapsed before the project assumed definite shape, but on April 19, 1882, the board of commissioners-Joseph Wagoner, David Burket and George Buzzard-entered into a contract with Joel W. Hinckley to erect a sheriff's residence and jail on the Blackburn lot, according to plans and specifications furnished by E. J. Hodgson, an Indianapolis archi- tect, for $23,975. This jail, located at the corner of State and Cherry streets, is still in service. It is a substantial brick building, which compares favorably with county jails throughout the state.
A history of the county infirmary, or "poor house," will be found in the chapter devoted to charitable institutions.
Since the organization of the county in 1834, it has pursued "the even tenor of its way." The routine business of the county and its courts differ but little from that in other counties, but mention of the most important incidents will be found in the appropriate chapters.
CHAPTER VI
TOWNSHIP HISTORY
FORMATION OF HUNTINGTON TOWNSHIP IN MAY, 1834-ITS SUBSEQUENT DIVISION INTO TWELVE CIVIL TOWNSHIPS-LIST OF PRESENT DAY TOWNSHIPS-THE PIONEER'S PLACE IN HISTORY-CLEAR CREEK- DALLAS - HUNTINGTON-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-LANCASTER-EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN EACH-FIRST BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS- EARLY INDUSTRIES-FIRST CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS-PRESENT SCHOOL SYSTEM-TOWNS AND VILLAGES-TRANSPORTATION-POPULATION AND WEALTH-MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS.
At the first meeting of the county commissioners, in May, 1834, all the present County of Huntington was erected into a township "to be known and designated as Huntington township." As the popula- tion increased, the inconveniences arising from one township sixteen miles wide and twenty-four miles long became manifest and from time to time new townships were created until there are now twelve in the county, to wit: Clear Creek, Dallas, Huntington. Jackson, Jefferson, Lancaster, Polk, Rock Creek, Salamonie, Union, Warren and Wayne.
More than three-quarters of a century have passed since the County of Huntington was organized and the first civil townships were erected. In this chapter and the one following, the object is to present the names of many of the men who came here at an early day and aided in redeeming this portion of the Wabash Valley from the wilderness and the savage : to chronicle some of the principal events that have occurred in different parts of the county, and to show the progress of settle- ment, the development of industry and the increase in population that have led to the formation of twelve political subdivisions called town- ships. In these chapters the reader will no doubt notice and recognize the names of many pioneers whose descendants still reside in Hunt- ington County.
But the men who organized the county and started it upon its career have passed from the stage of action, and few are left who assisted in shaping the county's destiny during the early years of its history. Many interesting incidents have been forgotten, because they have been allowed to pass unrecorded. If this chapter and its successor shall con-
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tribute in rescuing from fast fading tradition some of the simple annals of the pioneers, their object will have been accomplished.
It has been said, and probably with some truth, that the lives of the early settlers were aimless and void of ambition, their chief purpose having been to provide sustenance for themselves and the families dependent upon them. Yet they builded wiser than they knew when they braved the dangers and hardships of the frontier, worked out their self-appointed tasks with patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice, and paved the way for the manifold blessings and comforts the present generation enjoys.
History is always ready to record the glorious deeds of the military commander who leads his army to victory, the scientist who gives to the world a great discovery, or the statesman who thrills a public audience or a legislative body with his logic and oratory. But the humble pioneer, who, with his ax and his rifle, pushed boldly into the unexplored and unconquered regions and established his modest log cabin as the outpost of civilization, is entitled to honorable mention in the records of the nation's progress. True, they achieved no great mili- tary victories, made no great discoveries, nor. inventions, but by their patient toil they made possible the great development of later years. Without them the general, the scientist and the statesman might not have won their laurels; the introduction of the railroad might never have come, nor the great manufacturing concerns and the cities with which the land is dotted over at the beginning of this Twentieth century.
It is to be hoped that some day their labors, their customs and the importance that attaches to their simple mode of living will be better understood and more appreciated. If this chapter and the next shall assist, in the slightest degree, in bringing about that better understand- ing and appreciation, they will not have been written in vain.
CLEAR CREEK TOWNSHIP
This township was set apart as a separate political subdivision of the county by order of the board of county commissioners on February 14, 1838. When first established it embraced all that part of the county north of the line separating Congressional townships 28 and 29, but has since been reduced to its present dimensions by the formation of Jackson and Warren townships. It is bounded on the north by the County of Whitley; on the east by Jackson Township; on the south by Hunting- ton, and on the west by the Township of Warren. Its area is thirty- six square miles, corresponding to Congressional Township 29, Range 9 east.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
Clear Creek Township derives its name from its principal stream, which is composed of two branches. The east fork enters the township from Whitley County in Section 2 and the west fork crosses the northern boundary about two miles farther west. They form a junction in Sec- tion 16, from which point the main stream flows a southwesterly direc- tion and crosses the southern boundary about a mile from the southwest corner. In early days Clear Creek furnished power for a number of saw and grist mills, but with the introduction of steam as a motive power, the old water mills gave way to the march of progress, and the principal function of the creek now is to furnish an outlet for the natural drainage of a large portion of the township.
The general surface is that of a gently rolling or undulating plain, which greatly facilitates artificial drainage. Along Clear Creek there
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PIONEER CABIN
are a few hills in places, but in no part is the land too broken for cultiva- tion. The soil is fertile, well adapted to all the fruits and field crops that are grown in this latitude, and as an agricultural district Clear Creek Township ranks among the best in the county. When the first settlers came they found the land covered by a heavy forest growthı, much of which was cleared off in the work of opening farms and fields, while in later years large quantities of valuable timber found their way to the saw-mill to supply the constantly increasing demand for lumber. Consequently there is at present very little timbered land in the township.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
In 1834, about the time the county was organized, Michael Doyle, a contractor on the Wabash & Erie Canal, and, as his name would indi- cate, a native of the Emerald Isle, came into Clear Creek and located on Section 33, near the southern border, where he built a cabin and lived until the following spring. He then removed to Carroll County, following the course of the construction of the canal, and afterward sold his land in Huntington County. He is credited with having been the first actual settler in what is now Clear Creek Township.
Soon after Doyle established himself, John R. and Fletcher Emley, two brothers, came from New Jersey on a prospecting tour, with a view of purchasing land in the new county. The former selected and bought a tract of land in Section 29, a short distance northwest of Doyle's claim, and returned to New Jersey for his family. Leaving his home in Salem County, New Jersey, after a wearisome journey he ar- rived at Huntington on January 8, 1835. There he left his wife and the younger members of the family, and accompanied by his two sons, Anthony and Wesley, set out for his land on Clear Creek. For three weeks these three lived in a tent, in the dead of winter, while they built a typical log cabin, into which the family removed in February. Then a small patch of ground was cleared and in the spring of 1835 Mr. Emley planted the first crops that were ever planted in Clear Creek Township-a little field of corn and a few potatoes.
Some idea of the hardships that beset the pioneers may be gained from the experiences of Mr. Emley. When the farmer of Clear Creek today needs supplies for his farm or his household, all he has to do is to jump into his buggy or automobile and make a short trip over a modern highway to the City of Huntington, where he will find a num- ber of well-stocked mercantile establishments ready to provide for all his wants. But it was not so in 1835. Provisions were scarce in the new settlements and several trips were made to Goshen, then quite a trading point, for the necessaries of life. After a time, thinking he could do better at Greenville, Ohio, Mr. Emley sent his two sons to that place, a distance of eighty miles, to purchase the needed supplies for the coming season. They reached Greenville, bought the provisions and after a short rest started on the homeward journey. Heavy rains had made the roads impassable and when about half-way they were com- pelled to abandon the wagon and carry their goods the remainder of the way home on horseback. After the first crop was harvested, the family managed to subsist without the inconvenience of frequent long journeys to distant trading posts.
Five sons of Mr. Emley also became residents of Clear Creek Town- ship. Wesley, Anthony and Sexton arrived with their parents in Janu-
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ary, 1835, and Joel C. and Samuel came later in that year. John R. Emley was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in April, 1787. After coming to Huntington County he took an active part in public affairs, was influential in having Clear Creek Township established, and served two terms as county commissioner. His sons, Samuel and Sex- ton, also served as county commissioner at different times, and the family was one of the best known among the pioneer settlers.
In March, 1835, Thomas Delvin came from Perry County, Ohio, and settled on Section 32, directly south of Emley, and about a month later Henry Miller located on the eastern part of the same section. During the year 1836 the additions to the population were Joseph and John Buchanan, who settled in the eastern part; Felix Binkley, who was the first justice of the peace after the township was organized; James Belton and Samuel Smith. John Buchanan was elected sheriff of the county in 1844.
The year 1837 witnessed a marked increase of immigration to Clear Creek. Among those who came in this year were John Moon, Davis Dougherty, Christopher Daily and John Byers.
Early in the winter of 1837-38 a petition was prepared and at the next session was presented to the board of county commissioners, ask- ing for the erection of a new township. The order for the erection of Clear Creek was issued by the commissioners on February 14, 1838, and it was at the same time ordered that an election for township officers should be held at the house of John R. Emley on the first Monday in April. At that election John R. Emley was inspector ; James Belton and Christopher Daily, judges, and Thomas Delvin, clerk. Besides the five members of the election board there were but three voters exercised the right of suffrage, viz: Anthony Emley, Henry Miller and Felix Binkley. The last named was elected justice of the peace, though he was the only man who voted the whig ticket, the other seven all voting as democrats. John R. Emley, Christopher and James Belton were elected trustees; Andrew Ream, constable, and Henry Miller, supervisor.
Other pioneers who came into the township about the time it was organized, or in the years immediately following, were: Isaac Kitt, David Shoemaker, James McKinney, Oliver Dwight, Thomas Dial, John Crull, James Brown, Samuel Groves, Daniel and Darius Boylen, Robert Morrow, Thomas Epps, John and Abraham Irich, Levi Reynolds, Peter Goble, Jacob Mishler, James Best, Samuel Kruegar, Philip Zahm, Daniel Helser, John Oliver, Abraham Mishler, Robert Nipple, the Web- ster and Lininger families and a number of others, many of whose descendants still live in the township.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
Early Events-The first log-rolling was on the farm of Thomas Delvin, in 1835. The first white child born in the township was Eliza- beth, daughter of Henry Miller, who was born in May, 1836. The first mill, a rude "corn cracker," was built by John R. Emley in 1836 or 1837. David Shoemaker made the first brick in 1842. John Moon was the first carpenter and John Householder the first blacksmith. The United Brethren Church, erected on Section 32, in 1840, was the first church. Robert Nipple was the first cabinet maker, and the first school was taught by Abraham Binkley in a cabin built for the purpose on the farm of John R. Emlcy. The first death was that of Wesley Emley, in November, 1841. About the same time the first marriage in the township was solemnized, the contracting parties being Samuel Ream and Louisa Dial. John and Samuel Emley built the first frame houses, and the first brick houses were built by David Beghtel and Abraham Mishler. The first religious meeting in the township was held at the house of John R. Emley in 1839, a Methodist minister named Reed conducting the services. The first church building was erected by the United Brethren, near the center of the township, about 1857.
In 1850 and 1851 the Huntington & Liberty Mills plank road was constructed through the township, which gave the people living along the line better facilities for going to the county seat. At that time it was thought that nothing better could ever be deviscd, but compared with the excellent gravel and stone roads that traverse the township in all directions at the present time, the old plank road was but a crude thoroughfare.
The first school in the township was the one taught by Abraham Binkley, previously mentioned, in 1839. Mr. Binkley was a good teacher for that day and old settlers, who were among the eighteen or twenty pupils that attended his school, speak in flattering terms of his work. The second schoolhouse was probably the one built on Section 31, in the southwest corner of the township, where the first teacher was James Delvin. Other early teachers were Lewellen Boles and a man named Anderson. About 1855, after the free school system was fully inaug- urated under the new constitution of the state, the township was divided into districts and the work of building better schoolhouses began. In 1914 Clear Creek had a central high school building and eight district buildings, valued at $22,500. In these nine buildings twelve teachers were employed during the school year of 1912-13, receiving in salaries the sum of $5,228.
Clear Creek Township is without a railroad and is primarily an agricultural community. The value of taxable property in 1913 was $1,414,940. Goblesville is the only village in the township. It is situ-
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
ated in the northern part, between the forks of Clear Creek and about a mile south of the Whitley County line.
DALLAS TOWNSHIP
At the March term in 1847 the county commissioners issued the order for the establishment of a new township in the western part of the county to be called "Dallas," in honor of George M. Dallas, vice president of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Warren Township; on the east by Huntington; on the south by Polk, and on the west by the County of Wabash. In extent it is four miles from east to west and six miles from north to south, and has an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres. The Wabash River enters from the east, near the center, and flows a southwesterly direction across the township. Its principal tributaries within the limits of Dallas are Silver Creek from the north and Loon Creek from the south. Along the streams the surface is slightly broken, but farther back it is gently undulating and well adapted to cultivation. The soil is productive, and resting upon a clay subsoil, is as fertile as any along the Wabash Valley. Originally the township was heavily timbered, but the native timber has about all disappeared through the clearing of farms and the opera- tions of the commercial saw-mill. During the years immediately fol- lowing the completion of the Wabash Railroad large quantities of lum- ber were shipped.
To Dallas Township belongs the distinction of being the first in the county to be settled. About the middle of August, 1828, Artemus D. Woodworth, with his family of five persons, came from Marion, Grant County, and located on the northwest quarter of Section 14, about a mile and a half north of the present Town of Andrews. His cabin stood near what was known as the Cheesebro lock, on the Wabash & Erie Canal. He has been described as "a very intelligent and dignified gentleman, whose principal fault was a somewhat irascible temper." After a residence there of a few years he returned to Marion, where he died.
In the latter part of 1829, or early in the year 1830, Elias Murray came into the township and settled not far from the Woodworth cabin. On October 12, 1830, he entered the northwest quarter of Section 13 and there established his home. Captain Murray was a man of considerable local prominence. He laid out the City of Huntington and the Town of Markle, took 'an active part in political affairs, and served a term in the state senate. He afterward removed to Wabash County and laid
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
out the Town of Lagro. He was a nephew of Samuel Huntington, for whom the county was named.
Others who entered land and settled in the township in 1830 were: Isaac Bedsall, on Section 13, adjoining Murray's place on the south ; Samuel Hanna, William Huston and Newton Silsby, Section 22. Fol- lowing these pioneers came George and Charles Scott, who located in the northern part; Christian Young, who entered land about two miles north of Andrews; Samuel Davis, W. L. Spencer, Benjamin Mason, Alfred and Samuel Moore, Job Willetts, Adam and Jacob Schenckel, Peter Smallsreid, Samuel Foulke, Benjamin Cole and a few others, all of whom located north of the Wabash River. South of the river Solomon Holman entered land in Section 28, in the year 1833, and Martin Harvey settled where the Town of Andrews is now located. A short distance southwest of Harvey the Beauchamp family-the father and four sons -settled upon the land afterward known as the Jonathan Dille farm. The four Beauchamp boys, John, Daniel, Isaac and Henry, were well known in the settlement of the township. Still others who located south of the river in an early day were Samuel Bressler, William Harrison, Sebastian Racy, William Bross and the Moon and Tedrick families.
Joseph Cheesebro came to the township for the purpose of build- ing a lock on the Wabash & Erie Canal, then under construction. This lock, which was generally known to canal navigators by the name of the builder, was located almost directly north of Andrews. Liking the appearance of the country, Mr. Cheesebro entered a tract of land in Section 14, adjoining that of Artemus D. Woodworth, and became a permanent resident of the township. He was a native of the State of New York, a man of considerable ability, and at one time represented Huntington County in the state legislature. His death occurred in August, 1863.
In 1837 John Moore, a native of North Carolina, came from Wayne County, Indiana, where he had settled about 1825. Some years later he founded the "Friends' Meeting," in the northern part of the township. Through his influence other members of that society became citizens of Dallas. He died in 1872, aged nearly eighty-four years. Some of his descendants still live in Huntington County.
Early Events-The first birth in the township, which was also the first within the present limits of Huntington County of civilized white parents, was that of Marcia Murray, daughter of Elias and Henrietta Murray, in the year 1830. The first marriage was that of Joseph Cheese- bro and Susan C. Woodworth, which was solemnized on November 18, 1836. The first saw-mill was built in 1833 by Artemus Woodworth and William G. Campbell. It stood on the west branch of Silver Creek,
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
about a mile and a half from the Wabash River, and was operated suc- cessfully for several years. The first flour mill was built by Elijah Snowden in 1862 in the Town of Antioch (now Andrews). The first log- rolling was on the farm of Artemus D. Woodworth, and the first school was taught by Elizabeth H. Edwards in the winter of 1844-45, in the Friends' meeting house, which was the first church erected in the township.
With the completion of the Wabash Railroad, in the early '50s, Dallas Township was provided with shipping facilities and its indus- tries went forward by leaps and bounds. The Town of Andrews was laid out in 1853 and soon became an important trading center and ship- ping point. A history of the town will be found in Chapter IX. The Wabash Railroad runs almost parallel to the Wabash River through the southern part of the township, and north of the river is the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana traction line, which is an important addition to the transportation facilities. A splendid system of gravel roads ramifies all parts of the township, so the farmers have excellent means of marketing their products. The population of Dallas in 1910 was 1,575, an increase of 120 during the preceding decade.
Dallas, being one of the smaller townships of the western tier, has not as many schools as the larger townships. The schools in the Town of Andrews are under the control of the town school board and are not included in the county superintendent's report for the township. Aside from the Andrews schools, Dallas employed three teachers during the school year of 1912-13, and paid in teachers' salaries the sum of $1,071. The school property of the township is valued at $9,000.
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