USA > Indiana > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Indiana > Part 21
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SCENE ON THE OHIO RIVER.
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the Corinthian style, while each wing is similarly overcapped The porticoes, cornices and verandahs are gotten up with exquisite taste, and the former are molded after the principle of Ionic archi- tecture. The building is very favorably situated, and occupies a space of eight acres.
The nucleus of a fund for supplying indigent graduates of the institution with an outfit suitable to their trades, or with money in lieu thereof, promises to meet with many additions. The fund is the out-come of the benevolence of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, a resident of Delaware, in this State, and appears to be suggested by the fact that her daughter, who was smitten with blindness, studied as a pupil in the institute, and became singularly attached to many of its inmates. The following passage from the lady's will bears testimony not only to her own sympathetic nature but also to the efficiency of the establishment which so won her esteemn. " I give to each of the following persons, friends and associates of my blind daughter, Margaret Louisa, the sumn of $100 to each, to wit, viz: Melissa and Phoebe Garrettson, Frances Cundiff, Dallas Newland, Naomi Unthunk, and a girl whose name before marriage was Rachel Martin, her husband's name not recollected. The balance of my estate, after paying the expenses of administering, I give to the superintendent of the blind asylum and his successor, in trust, for the use and benefit of the indigent blind of Indiana who may attend the Indiana blind asylum, to be given to them on leaving in such sums as the superintendent may deem proper, but not more than $50 to any one person. I direct that the amount above direct- ed be loaned at interest, and the interest and principal be distributed as above, agreeably to the best judgment of the superintendent, so as to do the greatest good to the greatest number of blind persons."
The following rules, regulating the institution, after laying down in preamble that the institute is strictly an educational estab- lishment, having its main object the moral, intellectual and phys- ical training of the young blind of the State, and is not an asylum for the aged and helpless, nor an hospital wherein the diseases of the eye may be treated, proceed as follows:
1. The school year commences the first Wednesday after the 15th day of September, and closes on the last Wednesday in June, showing a session of 40 weeks, and a vacation term of 84 days.
2. Applicants for admission must be from 9 to 21 years of age; but the trustees have power to admit blind students under 9 or
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over 21 years of age; but this power is extended only in very extreme cases.
3. Imbecile or unsound persons, or confirmed immoralists, cannot be admitted knowingly; neither can admitted pupils who prove disobedient or incompetent to receive instruction be retained on the roll.
4. No charge is made for the instruction and board given to pupils from the State of Indiana; and even those without the State have only to pay $200 for board and education during the 40 weeks' session.
5. An abundant and good supply of comfortable clothing for both summer and winter wear, is an indispensable adjunct of the pupil.
6. The owner's name must be distinctly marked on each article of clothing.
7. In cases of extreme indigence the institution may provide clothing and defray the traveling expenses of such pupil and levy the amount so expended on the county wherein his or her home is situated.
8. The pupil, or friends of the pupil, must remove him or her from the institute during the annual vacation, and in case of their failure to do so, a legal provision enables the superintendent to forward such pupil to the trustee of the township where he or she resides, and the expense of such transit and board to be charged to the county.
9. Friends of the pupils accompanying them to the institution, or visiting them thereat, cannot enter as boarders or lodgers.
10. Letters to the pupils should be addressed to the care of the Superintendent of the Institute for the Education of the Blind, so as the better to insure delivery.
11. Persons desirous of admission of pupils should apply to the . superintendent for a printed copy of instructions, and no pupil should be sent thereto until the instructions have been complied with.
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.
In 1843 the Governor was also instructed to obtain plans and information respecting the care of mutes, and the Legislature also levied a tax to provide for them. The first one to agitate the subject was William Willard, himself a mute, who visited Indiana in 1843, and opened a school for mutes on his own account, with 16 pupils.
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The next year the Legislature adopted this school as a State insti- tution, appointing a Board of Trustees for its management, consist- ing of the Governor and Secretary of State, ex-officio,and Revs. Henry Ward Beecher, Phineas D. Gurley, L. H. Jameson, Dr. Dunlap, Hon. James Morrison and Rev. Matthew Simpson. They rented the large building on the southeast corner of Illinois and Maryland streets, and opened the first State asylum there in 1844; but in 1846, a site for a permanent building just east of Indianapolis was selected, consisting first of 30 acres, to which 100 more have been added. On this site the two first structures were commenced in 1849, and completed in the fall of 1850, at a cost of $30,000. The school was immediately transferred to the new building, where it is still flourishing, with enlarged buildings and ample facilities for instruc- tion in agriculture. In 1869-'70, another building was erected, and the three together now constitute one of the most benefi- cent and beautiful institutions to be found on this continent, at an aggregate cost of $220,000. The main building has a facade of 260 feet. Here are the offices, study rooms, the quarters of officers and teachers, the pupils' dormitories and the library. The center of this building has a frontage of eighty feet, and is five stories high, with wings on either side 60 feet in frontage. In this Central structure are the store rooms, dining-hall, servants' rooms, hospital, laundry, kitchen, bakery and several school-rooms. Another struct- are known as the " rear building " contains the chapel and another set of school-rooms. It is two stories high, the center being 50 feet square and the wings 40 by 20 feet. In addition to these there are many detached buildings, containing the shops of the industrial department, the engine-house and wash-house.
The grounds comprise 105 acres, which in the immediate vicinity of the buildings partake of the character of ornamental or pleasure gardens, comprising a space devoted to fruits, flowers and veget- ables, while the greater part is devoted to pasture and agriculture.
The first instructor in the institution was Wm. Willard, a deaf mute, who had up to 1844 conducted a small school for the instruc- tion of the deaf at Indianapolis, and now is employed by the State, at a salary of $800 per annum, to follow a similar vocation in its service. In 1853 he was succeeded by J. S. Brown, and subse- quently by Thomas McIntire, who continues principal of the institution.
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HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
The Legislature of 1832-'3 adopted measures providing for a State hospital for the insane. This good work would have been done much earlier had it not been for the hard times of 1837, intensified by the results of the gigantic scheme of internal improve- ment. In order to survey the situation and awaken public sympa- thy, the county assessors were ordered to make a return of the insane in their respective counties. During the year 1842 the Governor, acting under the direction of the Legislature, procured considerable information in regard to hospitals for the insane in other States; and Dr. John Evans lectured before the Legislature on the subject of insanity and its treatment. As a result of these efforts the authorities determined to take active steps for the estab- lishment of such a hospital. Plans and suggestions from the superintendents and hospitals of other States were submitted to.the Legislature in 1844, which body ordered the levy of a tax of one cent on the $100 for the purpose of establishing the hospital. In 1845 a commission was appointed to obtain a site not exceeding 200 acres. Mount Jackson, then the residence of Nathaniel Bolton, was selected, and the Legislature in 1846 ordered the commissioners to proceed with the erection of the building. Accordingly, in 1847, the central building was completed, at a cost of $75,000. It has since been enlarged by the addition of wings, some of which are larger than the old central building, until it has become an immense structure, having cost over half a million dollars.
The wings of the main building are four stories high, and entirely devoted to wards for patients, being capable of accommodating 500.
The grounds of the institution comprise 160 acres, and, like those of the institute for the deaf and dumb, are beautifully laid out.
This hospital was opened for the reception of patients in 1848. The principal structure comprises what is known as the central building and the right and left wings, and like the institute for the deaf and dumb, erected at various times and probably under various adverse circumstances, it certainly does not hold the appearance of any one design, but seems to be a combination of many. Not- withstanding these little defects in arrangement, it presents a very imposing appearance, and shows what may be termed a frontage
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of 624 feet. The central building is five stories in height and con- tains the store-rooms, offices, reception parlors, medical dispensing rooms, mess-rooms and the apartments of the superintendent and other officers, with those of the female employes. Immediately in the rear of the central building, and connected with it by a corridor, is the chapel, a building 50 by 60 feet. This chapel occupies the third floor, while the under stories hold the kitchen, bakery, employes' dining-room, steward's office, employes' apart- ments and sewing rooms. In rear of this again is the engine- house, 60 by 50 feet, containing all the paraphernalia for such an establishment, such . as boilers, pumping works, fire plugs, hose, and above, on the second floor, the laundry and apartments of male employes.
THE STATE PRISON SOUTH.
The first penal institution of importance is known as the "State Prison South," located at Jeffersonville, and was the only prison until 1859. It was established in 1821. Before that time it was customary to resort to the old-time punishment of the whipping- post. Later the manual labor system was inaugurated, and the convicts were hired out to employers, among whom were Capt. Westover, afterward killed at Alamo, Texas, with Crockett, James Keigwin, who in an affray was fired at and severely wounded by a convict named Williams, Messrs. Patterson Hensley, and Jos. R. Pratt. During the rule of the latter of these lessees, the atten- tion of the authorities was turned to a more practical method of utilizing convict labor; and instead of the prisoners being per- mitted to serve private entries, their work was turned in the direc- tion of their own prison, where for the next few years they were employed in erecting the new buildings now known as the " State Prison South." This structure, the result of prison labor, stands on 16 acres of ground, and comprises the cell houses and work- shops, together with the prisoners' garden, or pleasure-ground.
It seems that in the erection of these buildings the aim of the overseers was to create so many petty dungeons and unventilated laboratories, into which disease in every form would be apt to . creep. This fact was evident from the high mortality character- izing life within the prison; and in the efforts made by the Government to remedy a state of things which had been permitted to exist far too long, the advance in prison reform has become a reality. From 1857 to 1871 the labor of the prisoners was devoted
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to the manufacture of wagons and farm implements; and again the old policy of hiring the convicts was resorted to; for in the latter year, 1871, the Southwestern Car Company was organized, and every prisoner capable of taking a part in the work of car-building was leased out. This did very well until the panic of 1873, when the company suffered irretrievable losses; and previous to its final down-fall in 1876 the warden withdrew convict labor a second time, leaving the prisoners to enjoy a luxurious idleness around the prison which themselves helped to raise.
In later years the State Prison South has gained some notoriety from the desperate character of some of its inmates. During the civil war a convict named Harding mutilated in a most horrible manner and ultimately killed one of the jailors named Tesley. In 1874, two prisoners named Kennedy and Applegate, possessing themselves of some arms, and joined by two other convicts named Port and Stanley, made a break for freedom, swept past the guard, Chamberlain, and gained the fields. Chamberlain went in pursuit but had not gone very far when Kennedy turned on his pursuer, fired and killed him instantly. Subsequently three of the prisoners were captured alive and one of them paid the penalty of death, while Kennedy, the murderer of Chamberlain, failing committal for murder, was sent back to his old cell to spend the remainder of his life. Bill Rodifer, better known as "The Hoosier Jack Sheppard," effected his escape in 1875, in the very presence of a large guard, but was recaptured and has since been kept in irons.
This establishment, owing to former mismanagement, has fallen very much behind, financially, and has asked for and received an appropriation of $20,000 to meet its expenses, while the contrary is the case at the Michigan City prison.
THE STATE PRISON NORTH.
In 1859 the first steps toward the erection of a prison in the northern part of the State were taken, and by an act of the Legis- lature approved March 5, this year, authority was given to construct prison buildings at some point north of the National road. For this purpose $50,000 were appropriated, and a large number of convicts from the Jeffersonville prison were transported northward to Michigan City, which was just selected as the location for the new penitentiary. The work was soon entered upon, and continued to meet with additions and improvements down to a very recent period. So late as 1875 the Legislature appropriated $20,000
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toward the construction of new cells, and in other directions also the work of improvement has been going on. The system of government and discipline is similar to that enforced at the Jeffer- sonville prison; and, strange to say, by its economical working has not only met the expenses of the administration, but very recently had amassed over $11,000 in excess of current expenses, from its annual savings. This is due almost entirely to the continual employment of the convicts in the manufacture of cigars and chairs, and in their great prison industry, cooperage. It differs widely from the Southern, insomuch as its sanitary condition has been above the average of similar institutions. The strictness of its silent system is better enforced. The petty revolutions of its inmates have been very few and insignificant, and the number of punishments inflicted comparatively small. From whatever point this northern prison may be looked at, it will bear a very favorable comparison with the largest and best administered of like establish- ments throughout the world, and cannot fail to bring high credit to its Board of Directors and its able warden.
FEMALE PRISON AND REFORMATORY.
The prison reform agitation which in this State attained telling proportions in 1869, caused a Legislative measure to be brought forward, which would have a tendency to ameliorate the condition of female convicts. Gov. Baker recommended it to the General Assembly, and the members of that body showed their appreciation of the Governor's philanthropic desire by conferring upon the bill the authority of a statute; and further, appropriated $50,000 to aid in carrying out the objects of the act. The main provisions con- tained in the bill may be set forth in the following extracts from the proclamation of the Governor:
" Whenever said institution shall have been proclaimed to be open for the reception of girls in the reformatory department thereof, it shall be lawful for said Board of Managers to receive them into their care and management, and the said reformatory department, girls under the age of 15 years who may be committed to their custody, in either of the following modes, to-wit:
"1. When committed by any judge of a Circuit or Common Pleas Court, either in term time or in vacation, on complaint and due proof by the parent or guardian that by reason of her incorrig- ible or vicious conduct she has rendered her control beyond the power of such parent or guardian, and made it manifestly requisite
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that from regard to the future welfare of such infant. and for the protection of society, she should be placed under such guardianship.
"2. When such infant has been committed by such judge, as aforesaid, upon complaint by any citizen, and due proof of such complaint that such infant is a proper subject of the guardianship of such institution in consequence of her vagrancy or incorrigible or vicious conduct, and that from the moral depravity or other- wise of her parent or guardian in whose custody she may be, such parent or guardian is incapable or unwilling to exercise the proper care or discipline over such incorrigible or vicious infant.
"3. When such infant has been committed by such judge as aforesaid, on complaint and due proof thereof by the township trustee of the township where such infant resides, that such infant is destitute of a suitable home and of adequate means of obtaining an honest living, or that she is in danger of being brought up to lead an idle and immoral life."
In addition to these articles of the bill, a formal section of instruction to the wardens of State prisons was embodied in the act, causing such wardens to report the number of all the female convicts under their charge and prepare to have them transferred to the female reformatory immediately after it was declared to be ready for their reception. After the passage of the act the Governor appointed a Board of Managers, and these gentlemen, securing the services of Isaac Hodgson, caused him to draft a plan of the proposed institution, and further, on his recommendation, asked the people for an appropriation of another $50,000, which the Legislature granted in February, 1873. The work of construc- tion was then entered upon and carried out so steadily, that on the 6th of September, 1873, the building was declared ready for the reception of its future inmates. Gov. Baker lost no time in proclaiming this fact, and October 4 he caused the wardens of the State prisons to be instructed to transfer all the female convicts in their custody to the new institution which may be said to rest on the advanced intelligence of the age. It is now called the " Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls."
This building is located immediately north of the deaf and dumb asylum, near the arsenal, at Indianapolis. It is a three- story brick structure in the French style, and shows a frontage of 174 feet, comprising a main building, with lateral and transverse wings. In front of the central portion is the residence of the superintendent and his associate reformatory officers, while in the
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rear is the engine house, with all the ways and means for heating the buildings. Enlargements, additions and improvements are still in progress. There is also a school and library in the main building, which are sources of vast good.
October 31, 1879, there were 66 convicts in the " penal " depart- ment and 147 in the " girls' reformatory " department. The "ticket-of-leave " system has been adopted, with entire satisfaction, and the conduct of the institution appears to be up with the times.
INDIANA HOUSE OF REFUGE.
In 1867 the Legislature appropriated $50,000 to aid in the formation of an institution to be entitled a house for the correction and reformation of juvenile defenders, and vested with full powers in a Board of Control, the members of which were to be appointed by the Governor, and with the advice and consent of the Senate. This Board assembled at the Governor's house at Indianapolis, April 3, 1867, and elected Charles F. Coffin, as president, and visited Chicago, so that a visit to the reform school there might lead to a fuller knowledge and guide their future proceedings. The House of Refuge at Cincinnati, and the Ohio State Reform school were also visited with this design; and after full consider- ation of the varied governments of these institutions, the Board resolved to adopt the method known as the "family " system, which divides the inmates into fraternal bodies, or small classes, each class having a separate house, house father and family offices, -all under the control of a general superintendent. The system being adopted, the question of a suitable location next presented itself, and proximity to a large city being considered rather detrimental to the welfare of such an institution, Gov. Baker selected the site three-fourths of a mile south of Plainfield, and about fourteen miles from Indianapolis, which, in view of its eligibility and convenience, was fully concurred in by the Board of Control. Therefore, a farm of 225 acres, claiming a fertile soil and a most picturesque situation, and possessing streams of running water, was purchased, and on a plateau in its center a site for the proposed house of refuge was fixed.
. The next movement was to decide upon a plan, which ultimately met the approval of the Governor. It favored the erection of one principal building, one house for a reading room and hospital, two large mechanical shops and eight family houses. January 1, 1868,
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three family houses and work-shop were completed; in 1869 the main building, and one additional family house were added; but previous to this, in August, 1867, a Mr. Frank P. Ainsworth and his wife were appointed by the Board, superintendent and matron respectively, and temporary quarters placed at their disposal. In 1869 they of course removed to the new building. This is 64 by 128 feet, and three stories high. In its basement are kitchen, laundry and vegetable cellar. The first floor is devoted to offices, visitors' room, house father and family dining-room and store- rooms. The general superintendent's private apartments, private offices and five dormitories for officers occupy the second floor; while the third floor is given up to the assistant superintendent's apartment, library, chapel and hospital.
The family houses are similar in style, forming rectangular build- ings 36 by 58 feet. The basement of each contains a furnace room, a store-room and a large wash-room, which is converted into a play-room during inclement weather. On the first floor of each of these buildings are two rooms for the house father and his family, and a school-room, which is also convertible into a sitting. room for the boys. On the third floor is a family dormitory, a clothes-room and a room for the " elder brother," who ranks next to the house father. And since the reception of the first boy, from Hendricks county, January 23, 1868, the house plan has proved equally convenient, even as the management has proved efficient.
Other buildings have since been erected.
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THE LOG CABIN.
After arriving and selecting a suitable location, the next thing to do was to build a log cabin, a description of which may be in- teresting to many of our younger readers, as in some sections these old-time structures are no more to be seen. Trees of uniform size were chosen and cut into logs of the desired length, generally 12 to 15 feet, and hauled to the spot selected for the future dwelling. On an appointed day the few neighbors who were available would assemble and have a "house-raising." Each end of every log was saddled and notched so that they would lie as close down as possi- ble; the next day the proprietor would proceed to "chink and daub" the cabin, to keep out the rain, wind and cold. The house had to be re-daubed every fall, as the rains of the intervening time would wash out a great part of the mortar. The usual height of the house was seven or eight feet. The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at each end of the building near the top. The roof was made by laying very straight small logs or stout poles suitable distances apart, generally about two and a half feet from gable to gable, and on these poles were laid the "clap- boards" after the manner of shingling, showing about two and a half feet to the weather. These clapboards were fastened to their place by "weight-poles," corresponding in place with the joists just described, and these again were held in their place by "runs" or "knees," which were chunks of wood about 18 or 20 inches long fitted between them near the ends. Clapboards were made from the nicest oaks in the vicinity, by chopping or sawing them into four-foot blocks and riving these with a frow, which was a simple blade fiexd at right angles to its handle. This was driven into the blocks of wood by a mallet. As the frow was wrenched down through the wood, the latter was turned alternately over from side to side, one end being held by a forked piece of timber.
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