History of Jackson County, Indiana, Part 29

Author: Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1886
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 759

USA > Indiana > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Indiana > Part 29

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tion 16, thence west to the northwest corner of Section 19; thence south to the place of beginning.

No. 6. Redding-Commencing at White River on the line dividing Sections 21 and 22, in Township 6, Range 5; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 34; thence east on the township line to the southeast corner of Section 36; thence north on the range line to the northwest corner of Section 19, in Town- ship 6, Range 6; thence east to the southwest corner of Section 16, in said township and range; thence north to the northwest corner of said section; thence east to the southeast corner of Sec- tion 10; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 2; thence east on the township line to the east line of the county; thence north on said line to Sand Creek; thence down said creek and White River to the place of beginning.

No. 7. Vernon-Commencing on the east line of the county on the line dividing Townships 5 and 6; thence west on said line to the north fork of the Muscatatauk River; thence down said river to the junction of the north and south forks of said river; thence up said south fork to the east line of said county; thence north on said county line to the place of beginning.

No. 8. Hamilton-Commencing on White River on the sec- tion line dividing Sections 2 and 3, in Township 5, Range 4; thence north to the northeast corner of Section 27, in Township 6, Range 4; thence west to the southwest corner of Section 21, in said township; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 4; thence east to the northeast corner of Section 3; thence north to the county line; thence east to White River; thence down said river to the place of beginning.

No. 9. Carr-Commencing on White River on the line divid- ing Ranges 3 and 4, thence north to the northeast corner of Sec- tion 13, in Township 5, Range 3; thence west to the northwest corner of Section 15, in said Township and Range; thence south to the southwest corner of the same section; thence west to the

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county line; thence south to White River; thence up said river to the place of beginning.

No. 10. Owen-Commencing at the southeast corner of Sec- tion 12, Township 5, Range 3; thence north to the southwest corner of Section 19, Township 6, Range 4; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 20, in said township and range; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 16; thence west to the county line; thence south on said line to the southwest corner of Section 14, in Township 5, Range 2; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 16, in Township 5, Range 3; thence north to the northwest corner of said section; thence east to the place of beginning.

No. 11. Salt Creek-Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 16, Township 6, Range 4; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 4; thence east with the township line to the northeast corner of Section 3, in said township; thence north to the county line; thence west on the county line to the northwest corner of the county; thence south to the southwest corner of Sec- tion 9, in Township 6, Range 2; thence east to the place of be- ginning.

Since then several minor changes have been made in the boundaries, but the general outline has been maintained of each. Between Driftwood and Brownstown, between Redding and Jack- son, and between Vernon and Jackson, some changes have been made.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

It has been said that the first court house for Jackson County was erected at Vallonia, but that is hardly probable. The first location of the county seat was at Brownstown, where it has ever since remained. As the associate judges were required to erect the necessary public buildings within twelve months at that place, it is not likely that they would incur the expense of an extra court house at Vallonia. A temporary affair may have been

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made for the purpose of holding the first courts in, but nothing more was probably built. The first court house that was built in Brownstown was used but a short time, not more than about four years. It was built by John Ketcham, and is said to have been part log and part frame. The first jail in the county of which any record appears, was built in Brownstown, but it is prob- able than one had been built some time before this one, as they were almost indispensable in that day.

In November, 1821, the board decided to build a new jail, and the county agent was ordered to advertise the letting of the contract for the 15th of December following. On that day the commissioners met in special session and adopted a plan for the jail which was as follows: "The foundation to be of stone, twenty feet square, two feet thick all over, the floor to be raised eight inches above ground, and then a floor of hewn timber squared twelve inches thick, then covered with a floor of oak plank inside of the second or inside wall, of an inch and one-half thick laid and spiked down. The first or outside wall to be twenty feet square, of oak or walnut logs one foot thick; the inside wall to be set inside of the first wall seven inches, the walls to be raised seven feet and one-half from the lower floor to the floor above, the vacancy between the two walls to be filled in with shaved poles, round, set perpendicular, of a size to fill the vacancy; the second floor to be of hewn timber squared, one foot thick, and rest on the inner wall and extend over to the outside wall, and a floor of oak plank laid as the first floor; the outside wall to be raised above the second floor of the first story seven and one-half feet to the upper or third floor, which is to be laid with timber squared one foot thick to be let down two inches; the plates to be pinned down on said floor; a joint shingle roof, shingles eighteen inches long put on good sheeting, the roof to jut over nine inches. There is to be a partition wall of timber one foot thick in the lower story to be let in the inner. There is

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to be a trap door in the second floor in the center of the back room, one door in the lower story to open into the jailer's room; to have two shutters, one to open in, the other out, double plank of oak, one and a half inches thick spiked in diamonds, that there shall not be more than two and a half inches clear of a spike; hinges to be of bar iron and extend across the door; the trap door to be two and a half feet square, to be hung with bar iron hinges to extend across the door and to shut on large staples for locking, and two good and sufficient padlocks. There are to be two windows and grates in the south side of the lower story, two rows of grates in each eighteen inches long and nine inches wide. The upper story to have one door to open in the jailor's room; the doors to be two feet and a half wide and five feet and a half high, to be faced with oak plank two inches and one-half thick, to be dovetailed in the wall above and below, to be pinned on with iron spikes, the shutters to shut on the inside of the logs on the facings; the second story to have two twelve-light windows filled with glass, sash and grates; grates in each window to be of square bars of one inch and to stand within two inches apart; a good and sufficient lock to each door and in addition." The balance of the record made at that time is missing, and the next session was held on the 24th of January, 1822. At that time Alexander C. Craig and John H. Springer, the contractors for the court house, were released from further responsibility in that behalf, and William Crenshaw undertook to complete the build- ing for the sum of $1,590 within twelve months. This was a brick building and for its times was considered a very good one. The size and plans of it are missing, but as it did not last many years they would be of but little importance.

The next order that appears in relation to the new jail was in May, 1825. At that time the board examined the jail built by Abel Findley, and found it to be sufficient and according to contract. They thereupon accepted it as the public jail of Jackson County.

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The court house seems to have withstood the rigor of the seasons but poorly, for in 1828 and 1829 repairs were frequently made upon it. In July, 1829, Abel Findley, William Marshall and Austin Gould were "appointed a committee to examine the court house, fix a plan for repairing the breaches in the walls, and the probable cost of the same." The committee was to report at the next regular session of the board. In November following Samuel Wort, David Benton and Abel Findley were appointed to have the necessary repairs made, and $200 were appropriated for that purpose. In September, 1830, Abel Findley, Thomas Ewing and James Ireland were appointed to report whether it would be better to repair the old court house or build a new one.

The report of this committee was not recorded and is not known, but no further action seems to have been taken until the May, 1832, session. Before then, the "meeting house" had been used for some time. At that session the following petition was presented to the board:

To the Honorable Commissioners of the County Court of Jackson County:

We, your petitioners, citizens of Jackson County, would respectfully show to you that the court house in Brownstown, the county seat of said county, is no longer tenantable, and therefore the various courts of said county have no place wherein to hold their respective sessions, and have been for some time past re- duced to the necessity of renting an inappropriate room for that purpose, to the great inconvenience of the citizens and at the cost of the public. And, further- more, that unless the old court house be forthwith taken down and rebuilt, all the materials therein will be finally and inevitably lost to the county; and that, furthermore, the want of a court house is now affording pretext to persons hav- ing their own sinister views at heart, and not the public welfare, to throw the county into confusion and to retard the spirit of public improvements by the agitation of the removal of the county seat, a state of suspense and commotion much to be deplored by every patriotic citizen of the county. We, therefore, pray your honors to forthwith order the materials of the old court house to be `vn, and, together with such new materials as may be necessary, to con- one on such plan and under such contracts as you may think most a. convenience, dispatch and accuracy into consideration, hoping Astinate the matter beyond your present May session. Re-

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This petition was signed by a number of the citizens of the county, the first two only being given; they were John J. Judy and Rezin S. Judy. This was presented on the 8th of May, and on the day following a record was made which reads: "A petition from sundry citizens of Jackson County praying that the board would suspend the building or repairing the court house in Brownstown for a further time, as the county is in debt, the said petition being removed from the table in a way unknown, which contained near 300 names. * After mature con- sideration it is decided by the board that the building or repair- ing the aforesaid court house should be suspended ; to which Matthew Tanner, one of the commissioners, dissents from the opinion of the board and excepts to the same."

To one of the present day, looking over these petitions and records, it is not hard to read, between the lines, of a strong ef- fort to change the county seat. And it seems, too, that much bitter feeling existed, as is always the case in matters of the kind. It shows also that Brownstown has maintained her posi- tion as the county capital only by a constant struggle, sometimes of the most violent kind.

On the last day of the March term, 1833, the board "ordered that William H. Ewing, agent of Brownstown, advertise the let- ting out the building of a court house in said town, on the 15th day of May next, by advertising the same in the Annotator, a newspaper printed and published in Salem, Washington County, for four weeks, and by written advertisement set up in the coun -. ty, and that the plan will be made known on the first Monday in May, with the terms."

For some reason the contract was not let at the time as or- dered, and at the May session the agent was directed to advertise again for the 1st day of June; the contract to be let to the lowest bidder. The Hon. Abel Findley was appointed to complete the draft of the plans that had already been laid before the

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board. To all of this proceeding Jacob Wells, one of the com- missioners, entered a protest on the ground that it ought to be delayed until the old one was fully settled for, and the county treasury in a more healthy condition for such demands. William H. Crenshaw, the contractor for the old court house, was still de- manding a balance due him on that building. There was a dis- pute as to the amount, and two or three committees had been ap- pointed to adjust the matters between the contractor and board. Such was the condition of the matters of the county when it was determined by a majority of the board to build a new court house. The contract was finally let, however, although the rec- ords do not show the contract price of the buildings. In Novem- ber following Samuel Peck was allowed the sum of $442.50, the first installment on the contract for building the court house in Brownstown. This is the first intimation as to the builder of the old court house. The plans called for a structure 48x32 feet. It was to be built of brick, and was to be two stories high. The building was completed and received of the . contractor in September, 1834. The board drew on the 3 per cent fund for $700 to pay on the court house. The building was put in charge of John Crabb, the sheriff, and Jackson Coun- ty had her fourth court house in less than twenty years.

ANOTHER JAIL.

At the January term, 1840, the sheriff was ordered to adver- tise that a contract would be let to the lowest bidder to erect a new county jail. The date was fixed for the 24th of February, and on the 19th before then the board met and adopted plans and specifications. Its dimensions were to be thirty-five feet long, twenty feet wide, and seventeen feet from the foundation to the eaves. It was to be built of logs of oak. It was in fact a log jail with but little improvement over those of twenty years before that time. It is somewhat surprising that a board would erect a

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public building of the kind at that day. The building was to be completed by the first Monday in November following, at which time one half was to be paid down by the county, and the balance on the first Monday in March, 1841. The contract was let to William H. Ewing, and the building was completed on the 1st of September, and on the 8th was formally received by the county. At that same term he was allowed "$900 in part payment for building the county jail." Another order allows him $700 in part payment for the county jail. These amounts were allowed out of the 3 per cent fund, which for several years was the principal resource for public improvement in Jackson County.

This jail lasted for about thirteen years. In May, 1853, the county board held an extra session for the purpose of contracting for a new jail. Before then the sheriff had been sent to other counties to inspect the different jails and report on the best plan. The building was "to be rectangular in form with a front forty- eight feet, running back in depth twenty-four feet, in height two stories," and was to be constructed of brick. The following bids were made: Miller & Lowell, $3,995; G. B. Durland, $4,000; Daniel H. Long, $4,950; Z. B. Short, $3,850; B. F. Huston, $3,950. The contract was awarded to Z. B. Short, and it was com- pleted in due time. Nearly twenty years now passed by before Jackson County found it necessary to build another court house or jail. In that time the town of Seymour had grown to be the largest and best town in the county, and its citizens made a strong effort to obtain the location of the county seat at that place. Active steps toward that end were taken in the fall of 1869, and at the December term of the commissioners' court a petition was presented praying the change to be made. John H. McCormick, Thomas B. Shields, James L. Gardiner and others were among the leaders in favor of the change. The Hon. Joseph E. McDonald, appeared as attorney for the petitioners. Henry G. Smith, John H. Burrell and John J. Cummins headed the Brownstown cause, and Hon. Cyrus L. Dunham was their attorney.

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EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE COUNTY SEAT.

This effort for the change in the county seat was the most inter- esting and absorbing contest that has ever occurred in Jackson County. The law required that, in order to make the change, 55 per cent of the voters in the county should petition for it. The first petition contained 2,451 names, the necessary 55 per cent being 2,259. But because of some irregularity in the proceedings the petitioners were defeated. This of course was easier to accomplish when two of the county commissioners were opposed to the change. Another petition was at once presented containing 2,458 names of voters praying for the change. The opposition met this with a petition signed by 231 persons, whose names were on the other petition, asking that their names be stricken off the one in favor of the change. This was accordingly done and there was then a lack of thirty-two names to make the required 55 per cent. William K. Marshall, of Seymour, and B. H. Burrell were among the leaders in the latter part of the struggle.

THE NEW COURT HOUSE.

The same faction that advocated the change in the county seat opposed the erection of new public buildings at Brownstown; but the Brownstown element being in the ascendency on the board it was determined to build at once. Accordingly, at the Decem. ber term, 1869, $100 was appropriated for an architect to draw plans for a new court house that was not to exceed a cost of $30,000 in addition to the material already on hand. To this action of the board, Abel Findley, one of the commissioners, ex- cepted. Special sessions were called on the 13th of January, 1870, to examine plans, and on the 29th to let the contract. The plans and specifications of D. A. Bolen, of Indianapolis, were adopted in March, and at a special session on the 6th of April, the contract was let to Travis Carter & Co., of Seymour, for

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$38,220, and they were to take the old court house for $500. The payments were to be made $5,000 down, and the balance on monthly estimates, reserving 15 per cent until the completion of the building. A loan of $40,000 was authorized, and $5,000 in bonds were at once issued bearing interest at 6 per cent. In June, $18,000, and in November, $8,000 more of bonds were issued. The building was completed without delay and the set- tlements made in due time. The contract for furnishing the offices was let to the builder, and $3,000 paid for heating apparatus.

The present jail was built in 1872 and 1873. The plans and specifications were made by Munson Van Gieson, of Fort Wayne. The contract was let on January 6, 1872, for $17,500, to Travis Carter & Co. In June, 1873, the building was completed, re- ceived by the county and paid for in full.

THE POOR ASYLUM.

As early as 1840, perhaps before then, the propriety of pur- chasing a county poor farm was agitated. Nothing was done, however, until the early part of 1847, when the present farm near Brownstown was bought. In December of that year Robert Holmes was appointed the superintendent. He was to have the rent of the farm and be paid $200 besides for a year. In 1849 he was succeeded by Fred Miller. In March, 1850, a log house, 16x25 feet, was erected for housing the poor. John P. Miller was appointed superintendent and he continued in that capacity for several years. In March, 1864, $5,000 were appropriated for building a county asylum. About that time the erection of the present brick buildings on the poor farm was begun, and during the following year completed. The expenditure for this alone was reported in June, 1864, to be $9,981.35, in 1865, $12,870.72, and in 1866, $3,194.56. It is probably not saying too much to estimate the original cost of the buildings now comprising the county asylum at $30,000.

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COUNTY FINANCES.

Perhaps there is nothing that more fully shows the develop- ment of the county than an exhibit of its finances from the ear- liest times. The early system of taxation was different from the methods of to- day. Then the tax was placed upon the article with but little regard for its value. One carriage brought as much tax as another. For 1821 the tax rate for the county was as follows: Poll tax, 50c; on each horse or mule, 37gc; gold watches, 50c; silver watches, 25c; pleasure carriages, what the law directs; work oxen, per head, 25c; Ferry, $5, except Stephen Sparks, and his, $7.50. During that year the total tax of the county only amounted to about $300. The principal source of revenue, however, was from the sale of town lots. For 1824 the amount of tax was about double the above sum. For 1828 the county treasurer's report shows the following: Received during the year: For store license, $35.87; estray, $47.00; fees on writs, . $7.50; county agent, $11.60; county revenue, $672; total re- ceipts, $773.97. The expenditures for the same time were $567.07, leaving a balance on hand for the year of $206.90. Some years later the tax was raised by taxing property according to the valuation. In 1836 the tax levy was 15 cents per $100 in value. By the treasurer's report in June, 1848, the receipts for the preceding year were: For county revenue, $2,975.69; gro- cery license, $154.14; merchants' license, $110.25; ferry license, $29; clock license, $32.50; surplus property, $5.85; inquest money, $20.75; penalty, $53.58; fees refunded, $27; total, $3,408.76. The expenditures were $3.354.90, leaving a balance in favor of the county of $53.86. In 1855 the receipts were $7,391.49, and the expenses were $7,832.12. The levy for that year was: State, 20c; poll, 50c; county, 25c; poll, 50c; schools, 10c; poll, 25c; township libraries, 2gc on each $100 valua- tion.

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CONDITION IN 1861.

At the June term, 1861, the receipts were reported at $10,312.41, while the expenses were $9,553.75, leaving a balance on hand of $758.66. At that same term the levy for county pur- poses was fixed at 25 cents, and poll, 50 cents. During the war the expenditures increased rapidly. For 1863 the levy for county purposes was 30 cents, and poll, 50 cents, and an additional levy for the county asylum of 10 cents on each $100 valuation. The expenses for that year were $13,459. In 1864, the levy was increased to 50 cents for county purposes, and a poll of $1; the expenses were $26,570.18, which included these sums: county officers, $3,567.06; poor, $3,049.13; soldiers, $4,140.98; asylum, $9,981.35. For the year ending June, 1865, the expenditures were $38,101.27, in which amount were these items: Poor, $8,147.67; stationery, $1,494.70; specific, $1,570.53; county asylum, $12,870.72; assessing revenue, $2,967.50; sol- diers' families, $2,119.66; county officers, $6,316.16. At that date there were about $10,000 of county orders outstanding. At the same time $55,000 of county bonds were issued to raise funds to pay the bounties that were offered for volunteers. These bonds, however, were never sold, for the reason that an appeal was taken upon the right of the commissioners to make such an appropria- tion. In 1870, the expenditures amounted to $24,861.20 for the year, but in addition to that sum over $19,000 of outstanding county orders had been redeemed. The total receipts were $42,222.91, and there were still $7,000 of unredeemed county orders, besides the court house bonds. These made a total in- debtedness of $47,000, if the whole of the bonds be included, although some of them were not issued until the latter part of that year, and this in addition to about $20,000 in bridge bonds. The building of the jail, two years later, brought on another increase of taxation. By the auditor's report to the county board at the June term, 1885, it appears that there was at that

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date $7,204.36 outstanding county orders, and $12,000 in bridge bonds, making a total indebtedness of $19,204.36. The net county expense for the year was $23,374.72. Adding to this the amount expended for bridges, $14,775.21, gives a total of $38,- 148.93. The county treasury is now said to contain sufficient funds for the redemption of the bridge bonds. This would leave the county out of debt, save some $6,000 or $8,000 on county orders.

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History of Jackson County, Indiana, Part 29

Author: Brant & Fuller Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Number of Pages: 759

Author: Brant & Fuller
Publication date: 1886
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 759