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 25
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This road enters Huntington County from the northeast, about three miles north of the southeast corner, and follows a general southwesterly direction through the townships of Salamonie and Jefferson. The sta- tions on the road are Boehmer, Buckeye, Warren and Milo. Near the last named station the road crossed the southern boundary and enters Grant County.
In September, 1903, a railroad company was organized through the efforts of Smith H. Bracey, of Chicago, to build a road between Hunt- ington and Union City, Indiana, with a view to extending it later to Cincinnati and Chicago. Late in January, 1904, Mr. Bracey and Allen Russell visited Huntington to awaken interest in the enterprise. On the evening of February 5, 1904, a railroad meeting was held at the courthouse in Huntington, at which Messrs. Bracey and Russell asked the county for a subsidy of $75,000 to aid in building the road, or $125,000 if the shops and terminal offices were located in Huntington. They announced that Bluffton, Pennville and Portland had all agreed to make donations, running from $20,000 to $54,000, and that the track was completed and trains running between Bluffton and Pennville.
The question of subsidizing the road was taken before the board of county commissioners, and a special election was ordered by the board in Huntington Township for March 22, 1904, to vote on the proposition to donate $125,000 to the company. This was defeated by a vote of 1,280 to 1,105, but the minority was large enough to show that there was a decided sentiment in favor of building the road. Another special election was then ordered for June 14, 1904, to vote on the proposition to make the donation or subsidy $78,500, and this time the vote was 1,497 to 612 in favor of the subsidy.
Other donations amounting to about twenty thousand dollars were made by the City and County of Huntington and in 1905 the road was
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
completed and in operation from Portland to Bluffton. A receiver was then appointed and further work was suspended. Under the manage- ment of the receiver, the affairs of the company were placed in better shape, the Huntington County subsidy and donations were paid and the road was completed to Huntington in 1907.
On January 22, 1901, the Fort Wayne & Southwestern Traction Company was granted a franchise by the Huntington city council to occupy certain streets with its tracks. At the council meeting on the 26th of February a proposition was submitted by the company to locate a powerhouse, repair shops, etc., in the City of Huntington, if the council would donate $7,000. The proposition was held in abeyance until certain conditions were complied with by the company, after which the donation was made.
Track laying began in August and about that time a movement was inaugurated to extend the line westward to Wabash, the original plan having been to run southward from Huntington to Warren. In the meantime the Wabash River Traction Company had obtained a franchise through Miami County. An arrangement between the two companies was made and in November, 1901, the old towpath and bed of the Wabash & Erie Canal from Huntington to Lafayette were secured by the consolidated companies for a right of way. The road was com- pleted between Huntington and Roanoke about the first of December, and on December 12, 1901, the first interurban cars began running between Huntington and Fort Wayne.
At the December term in that year the county commissioners of Huntington County granted the company a franchise to extend its line westward from the Huntington city limits, along the Maple Grove road and through certain sections of land in Dallas Township, to the Wabash County line. Work on the road was pushed forward with vigor and in due time the line was completed all the way from Fort Wayne to Lafayette. It is now operated under the name of the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company.
The Marion, Bluffton & Eastern Interurban Railway runs parallel to the Clover Leaf Railroad through the southern part of the county. It was built in the summer of 1906, the first car from Warren to Marion having been run on the last day of September of that year.
Various franchises have been granted to individuals and electric railway companies for the construction of roads that have never been built. In August, 1901, the commissioners granted a franchise to Frank J. Heller to build an electric road northward from Huntington to connect with other interurban roads in the counties of Allen, Whitley, Noble and Kosciusko. The Huntington & Winona Traction Company
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
received a franchise on November 3, 1902, to build a road along the Huntington & Goshen road from the City of Huntington to the county line, and on June 21, 1904, the commissioners granted a franchise to the Portland, Montpelier, Warren & Huntington Railway Company to build an electric line along the gravel road from Huntington to Warren. None of these roads have developed farther than the paper stage so far, but some of them may yet be constructed.
Although drains or ditches for the reclamation of swamp lands are constructed in a manner entirely different from that used in building railroads and public highways, and affect private property only, they indirectly are a benefit to the whole community. For this reason it is deemed appropriate to give the subject some consideration in this chapter.
Railroads are usually built by corporations, with funds raised by the sale of stocks and bonds or voted as subsidies by the people of the townships and counties through which the line passes. Public high- ways are constructed and kept in repair by a general tax levy, but the cost of public ditches is assessed against the lands drained by them in proportion to the benefits received.
Old settlers can remember when certain portions of Huntington County were too wet for agricultural purposes, especially in the early spring when the snows melted, to which were frequently added heavy rains. These low, wet lands were the last to be settled and in their original state they were the source of much of the fever and ague with which the pioneers had to contend. Drainage has improved the land and brought it under cultivation, increasing the profits of the owner many fold. While the advantages to the owner of the swamp land may be reckoned in a pecuniary sense, the drainage of these lands has con- ferred a lasting benefit upon all the adjacent territory by improving the sanitary conditions, thus stamping out malaria and enhancing the general health of the inhabitants.
On March 10, 1873, Governor Hendricks approved an act authoriz- ing the organization of draining associations. Under the provisions of this act, L. P. Milligan, Frederick H. McCulloch, George B. Lawrence and John H. McTaggart, of Huntington County, formed the "Little River Draining Association," for the purpose of "deepening the channel of the Little River, straightening it in places, and cleaning out its tributaries." Articles of association, signed by a large number of owners of wet lands in Huntington, Allen and Whitley counties, were filed in Huntington County on July 30, 1873, in Allen County on August 8th, and in Whitley County on August 17th. Jacob R. Billinger, prosecuting attorney of Allen County, instituted quo warranto proceed-
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
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ings to dissolve the association, on the grounds that it was not legally incorporated, and in the Allen Circuit Court the association was dis- solved. An appeal was then taken to the Supreme Court of the State, which reversed the decision of the lower court and the association proceeded with its work.
John J. Anson, Samuel F. Day and Aaron McKimmey were appointed to fix the assessments for benefits and the awards for damages in Hunt- ington County, and on May 25, 1875, they submitted their report, with a long list of the lands affected by the proposed improvement. In some instances the assessments ran as high as $500 for a forty acre tract of land. Thousands of dollars were spent in straightening, deepen- ing and widening the channel of the river, the most difficult part of the work being the clearing of the stone ledges from the stream at what is known as the "Ox-bow," a short distance above Huntington. A channel thirty feet wide was blasted through the rocks, but this has been found insufficient to carry off the water in wet seasons and several efforts have been made to have the work done over, but so far nothing definite along that line has been accomplished. This was the first big drainage project in Huntington County.
In 1875 the Legislature passed a supplementary act concerning the reclamation of swamp land by ditches, and this law was amended by the Legislature of 1877. Between that time and the close of the year 1880, the county commissioners of Huntington County had granted petitions for the construction of thirty-seven ditches, the aggregate length of which was seventy-seven miles.
The act of 1873 and all supplementary acts were repealed by the Legislature of 1881, which enacted a law "To enable owners of lands to drain and reclaim them, when the same cannot be done without affecting the lands of others, prescribing the powers and duties of county commissioners and other officers in the premises, and to provide for the repair and enlargement of such drains, and repealing certain acts therein specified, and declaring an emergency."
Under the provisions of this act one or more land owners could peti- tion the county commissioners for a ditch, setting forth its general description, and were required to furnish bond that they would pay the cost of the proceedings, in case the ditch was not ordered. If the three disinterested persons, appointed by the commissioners as viewers, reported favorable, and no remonstrance was offered, the board ordered the construction of the ditch. It was not long until the law was found to be so complex and the work of securing the construction of drains under its provisions was hampered by so much "red tape," that it was superseded by what is known as the "Circuit Court Ditch Law."
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
This law created the office of drainage commissioner, the incumbent of which was to be appointed by the county commissioners. The entire proceedings under this law are in the Circuit Court. A petition is presented to the judge, who appoints a commissioner to act with the drainage commissioner and the county surveyor in viewing the proposed ditch. If they report favorable the court orders its construction.
On March 4, 1893, what is known as the Drainage District Law went into effect. Under its provisions a drain may be constructed and kept in repair by mutual agreement of the owners of the lands affected. All ditches therefore come under three general heads: Commissioners' ditch, Circuit Court ditch, or Drainage District ditch. All three systems have been used in Huntington County. The commissioner and circuit court ditches are kept in repair by the township trustees.
The first drain tile was used in the county about 1869 or 1870. After the passage of ditch laws by the Legislature, by means of which outlets for tile drains were secured, the use of tiling increased all over the county. It is estimated by competent persons that in some instances the cost of tile upon a farm runs as high as $25 per acre, or even more. But even at that figure the money thus spent has been found to be a good investment, bringing large returns in the increased value of the crops raised upon such farms.
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CHAPTER XII
FINANCE AND INDUSTRY
PUBLIC FINANCES-BONDED DEBT OF THE COUNTY-GRAVEL ROAD BONDS -RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES-BANKING INSTITUTIONS-AGRICUL- TURE-CROP STATISTICS-LIVE STOCK-MANUFACTURING-EARLY FAC- TORIES-FACTORY FUND ASSOCIATION-FACTORIES AT ROANOKE AND ANDREWS-THE LIME INDUSTRY-NATURAL GAS AND OIL.
It should be a source of congratulation to the people of Huntington County that, from the earlist history of the county to the present day, the public business has been conducted in such a way that at no time has the indebtedness been burdensome to the taxpayers. Bonds have been issued from time to time for specific purposes, but with each issue provisions were made for the redemption of the bonds as they fell due. At the close of the year 1913 the outstanding bonds amounted to $266,170, of which $260,000 represented bonds issued for building the new court- house, and the remaining $6,170 represented school loans.
On June 1, 1914, the gravel road bonds outstanding amounted to a little over three hundred thousand dollars. These bonds are proportioned among the townships, according to the amount expended in each for the construction of improved highways. Strictly speaking, they constitute a debt against the townships, though the bonds are issued by the county commissioners upon petition of the freeholders of the township for a new road. These bonds were distributed among the several townships as follows :
Clear Creek
$ 43,356.75
Dallas
32,603.00
Huntington
101,361.50
Jackson
6,352.12
Jefferson
43,151.50
Lancaster
4,899.50
Polk
4,820.00
Rock Creek
3,937.50
Salamonie
3,668.00
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
Union $ 21,819.40
Warren 28,222.00
Wayne
20,118.00
Total $314,309.27
Although these figures may seem large, when the reader pauses for a moment to reflect that Huntington County has nearly four hundred miles of improved roads, and that the mileage is being constantly in- creased, it will be seen that every dollar of these bonds represents a permanent investment, the profits of which can hardly be estimated. Likewise, the courthouse bonds represent an investment in one of the handsomest, most substantial and best appointed public buildings of its kind in the State of Indiana. According to the tax duplicate for the year 1913, the assessed value of taxable property in the county was over twenty-one million dollars, so that the total bonded indebtedness, not including the gravel road bonds, is less than one and one-third per cent of the property valuation.
In the report of the county auditor for 1913 the total receipts for the year, from all sources, were $103,288.74, and at the close of the year there was a balance of $27,634.20 remaining in the treasury. The heaviest expenditures during the year were $52,398 for new bridges and $33,256 for bridge repairs, made necessary by the great flood in March, 1913. About $7,500 were appropriated by the county council for repairs on the county asylum. Had it not been for these extraordin- ary and unusual demands upon the county revenues the balance would have been much larger, but even with the abnormal demand it may be seen from the above figures that the financial condition of the county is about all that could be desired.
The first banking house in Huntington county was the Huntington County Bank, which was organized under the state banking laws of Indiana in 1854 with a capital stock of $50,000, most of which was held by James R. Weldon, of Mansfield, Ohio. The resident stockholders were Samuel H. Purviance, John Roche, Samuel Moore and Benjamin Orton. It was a bank of issue and at one time had about forty-five thousand dollars of its notes in circulation. John Roche was president during the entire period of the bank's existence; James R. Weldon was cashier, and Thomas Roche, assistant cashier. The bank was well pat- ronized and carried on a general banking business until the financial panic of 1857, when the stockholders decided to wind up its affairs. It therefore went into liquidation, but its outstanding circulation was fully redeemed at 100 cents on the dollar and all depositors were paid in full.
After the closing of this bank in 1857, Huntington County was with-
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
out a bank until the passage of the National Banking Law by Congress, soon after the breaking out of the Civil war. The First National Bank of Huntington was organized in the fall of 1863 and received its charter on December 12, 1863. The incorporators were Samuel H. Purviance, John. R. Coffroth, William McGrew, Charles B. Culver, Thomas S. Stan- field and John Roche. The capital stock was $50,000. Samuel H. Pur- viance was the first president and William McGrew the first cashier. The bank began business in a one story cottage on Jefferson Street, opposite the courthouse. Later it was removed to a one story brick build- ing on the corner of Franklin and Jefferson streets, and still later to West Market Street, near Jefferson. Joseph W. Purviance became presi- dent in 1873 and held the office until 1878, when he was succeeded by William McGrew.
On February 2, 1881, the bank was reorganized under a new charter, with William McGrew as president ; Bals Eisenhauer, vice president, and Sarah F. Dick, cashier. In the meantime the capital stock had been increased to $100,000. In 1886 the bank removed to its present location at the southwest corner of Market and Jefferson streets.
A second reorganization of the institution occurred on October 1, 1902, when Israel H. Heaston was chosen president; Charles McGrew, vice president and John R. Emley, cashier. Mr. Heaston retired from the presidency early in the year 1914 and was succeeded by Charles McGrew, who now holds that position. John R. Emley is now vice presi- dent and cashier, and E. A. Barnhisel and H. W. Gill, assistant cashiers. The capital stock of the bank still remains at $100,000, its surplus and undivided profits amount to about cighty thousand dollars, and its deposits to nearly one million dollars. The First National is one of the substantial banks of the upper Wabash Valley. Its business has always been conducted along safe and conservative lines and it commands the confidence of its patrons and other bankers throughout the country.
The Citizens State Bank of Huntington was first organized on Septem- ber 1, 1871, with a capital stock of $50,000 and the following officers: Frederick Dick, president; Enos T. Taylor, vice president; and John Morgan cashier. Other stockholders were U. D. Cole, Charles H. Nix, A. W. DeLong, Matthias Ludwig and James B. Cole. In 1877 all the stock passed into the hands of Frederick Dick and Enos T. Taylor. The capital was subsequently increased to $100,000. At the beginning of the year 1914 the surplus and undivided profits amounted to nearly as much as the capital stock, and the bank carried deposits of about six hundred thousand dollars. The officers at that time were : Jacob Dick, president ; Thomas Burns and Paul M. Taylor, vice presidents ; E. M. Martin, cash- ier. The Citizens Bank occupies handsome and commodious quarters at
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
the southwest corner of Jefferson and Franklin streets and is universally recognized as one of the reliable banking institutions of the state.
In 1887 the present Huntington County Bank was organized as a priv- ate banking house, with twelve stockholders, to wit: John Gibler, Cyrus E. Briant, Jacob Boos, Henry and Isaac Arnold, William K. Windle, David Hawley, Thomas G. Smith, Edwin B. Ayres, Wesley W. Hawley, Jacob W. Ford and William T. Whitelock. It was reorganized as a state bank in July, 1901, when the capital stock was fixed at $100,000. The bank in May, 1914, had a surplus and undivided profit fund of $80,000 and carried deposits of $900,000. At that time the officers of the bank were: Edwin B. Ayres, president ; Henry L. Emley, vice president and cashier ; E. P. Ayres, assistant cashier. The bank owns a handsome stone front building on North Jefferson Street, where it carries on a general banking business according to the most approved methods.
The Huntington Trust Company was organized in July, 1907, with I. F. Beard as president ; M. B. Stults, vice president, and G. B. White- stine, secretary. The first board of directors consisted of I. F. Beard, Frank S. Bash, W. A. Bucher, C. F. Boyd, A. C. Fast, W. E. Lawver, John Minton, W. E. Mossman, J. F. Harvey, R. C. McGuffey, M. B. Stults, A. H. Shaffer, W. J. Vesey, A. A. Weber, C. L. Wright, Alexander John, J. M. Hicks and I. B. Heaston. Mr. Beard was succeeded in the presidency by C. A. Edwards, who resigned to become a member of the Indiana Public Service Commission, and M. B. Stults was elected presi- dent, leaving a vacancy in the office of vice president, which had not been filled on June 1, 1914. Mr. Whitestine has been secretary of the organization from the beginning. The capital stock of the company is $50,000, all paid up, and among the stockholders are some of the representative citizens of the city and county. The surplus and undi- vided profits are over ten thousand dollars and the deposits over five hundred thousand dollars. The company's place of business is the north- east corner of Jefferson and Market streets.
The Farmers Trust Company, the youngest banking concern in the City of Huntington, was organized in the spring of 1911. Originally the capital stock was $25,000, but this was increased to $50,000 before the doors were opened for the transaction of business on July 22, 1911. At the time of the organization Arthur C. Fast was elected president; J. W. Howenstine, vice president, and L. E. Stephan, secretary. Mr. Fast and Mr. Howenstine still continue in their respective positions, but an addi- tional vice president has been added in the person of Lewis E. Summers. William R. Pressnall is the present secretary. In the three years of its existence the company has accumulated a surplus of about two thousand five hundred dollars and it carries deposits of about two hundred thou-
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
sand dollars. It is located on the west side of Jefferson Street, between Market and Washington.
Outside of the City of Huntington the oldest bank in the county is the Exchange Bank of Warren, which was established in 1883 as a private bank by S. L. Good and G. H. Thompson. The building now occupied by the bank was erected in 1887. From a statement issued by the bank at the close of business on March 4, 1914, it is learned that the capital stock is $50,000, the surplus and undivided profits $25,731.45, and the deposits $565,327. The officers at that time were: George S. Good, president ; Loyd S. Jones, vice president; John L. Priddy, cashier ; Grant M. Fleming, assistant cashier.
In May, 1905, J. W. Cunningham came from Kentucky and began the work of organizing the First National Bank of Warren, which opened its doors for business on January 1, 1906, with a capital stock of $25,000, D. H. Griffith, president, and J. W. Cunningham, cashier. A little later the bank joined with the Odd Fellows' Lodge in the erection of a build- ing, in which the First National has about as well equipped quarters as are to be found in towns of Warren's class. The building cost about twenty thousand dollars. In May, 1914, the president of the bank was Dr. H. E. Laymon and the cashier was J. W. Cunningham. These two officers and the following named gentlemen then constituted the board of directors : Levi Huffman, Samuel J. Huffman, L. F. Huffman, J. W. Beavans, Wilson Hudson, E. P. Miller, Dr. W. D. Bonifield, Dr. L. B. McCollum, H. G. King and H. C. Creviston. The capital stock is $25,000, the surplus and undivided profits, $10,000, and the deposits over two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
About the beginning of the present century a man named J. M. Key came to Andrews and started a bank. Early in the summer of 1901 the bank closed its doors and it was claimed that Mr. Key had worked forged collateral upon the Chicago bankers. On August 4, 1901, he was arrested and confined in the jail at Huntington. H. C. Andrews, of the Capital National Bank of Indianapolis, was placed in charge and wound up the affairs of the bank at Andrews.
The State Bank of Andrews was first organized by E. M. Wasmuth , as a private bank in 1902. In June, 1908, it was duly incorporated under the laws of Indiana with a capital stock of $25,000, E. M. Wasmuth as president, and C. E. Endicott, cashier. The officers in May, 1914, were E. M. Wasmuth, president; R. O. Bixby, cashier. The bank occupies a neat building on the principal street, a short distance south of the Wabash Railroad, and is well patronized by the business men of the town and the farmers in the vicinity. It has a surplus of nearly two thousand dollars and deposits of about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
In 1903 the Farmers and Traders Bank of Markle was organized under the laws of the State of Indiana, with a capital stock of $25,000. It had been established some years prior to that date as a branch of the Studebaker Bank of Bluffton. The bank occupies one of the best appoint- ed rooms in the town and transacts a large volume of business for a country bank. It has a surplus of over ten thousand dollars and deposits of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In June, 1914, R. C. McGuffey was president and D. B. Garber, cashier.
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