USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnston County, Indiana. From the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 18
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
COAL.
The coal measures, says Prof. E. T. Cox, cover an area of about 6,500 square miles, in the southwestern part of the State, and extend from Warren county on the north to the Ohio river on the south, a distance of about 150 miles. This area comprises the fol- lowing counties : Warren, Fountain, Parke, Vermillion, Vigo, Clay, Sullivan, Greene, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry and a small part of Crawford, Monroc, Putnam and Montgomery.
This coal is all bituminous, but is divisible into three well-marked varieties: · caking-coal, non-caking-coal or block coal and cannel coal. The total depth of the seams or measures is from 600 to 800 feet, with 12 to 14 distinct seams of coal; but these are not all to be found throughout the area; the seams range from one foot to eleven feet in thickness. The caking coal prevails in the western portion of the area described, and has from three to four workable seams, ranging from three and a half to eleven feet in thickness. At most of the places where these are worked the coal is mined by adits driven in on the face of the ridges, and the deepest shafts in the State are less than 300 feet, the average depth for successful mining not being over 75 feet. This is a bright, black, sometimes glossy, coal, makes good coke and contains a very large percentage of pure illuminating gas. One pound will yield about +2 cubic feet of gas, with a power equal to 15 standard sperm candles. The average calculated calorific power of the caking coals is 7,745 heat nnits, pure carbon being 8,080. Both in the northern and southern portions of the field, the caking coals present similar good qualities, and are a great source of private and public wealth.
The block coal prevails in the eastern part of the field and has an area of about 450 square miles. This is excellent, in its raw state, for making pig iron. It is indeed peculiarly fitted for metal- Inrgical purposes. It has a laminated structure with carbonaceous matter, like charcoal, between the lamina, with slaty cleavage, and it rings under the stroke of the hammer. It is " free-burning," makes an open fire, and without caking, swelling, scaffolding in the furnace or changing form, burns like hickory wood until it is con- sumed to a white ash and leaves no clinkers. It is likewise valuable for generating steam and for household uses. Many of the principal railway lines in the State are using it in preference to any other coal, as it does not burn out the fire-boxes, and gives as little trouble as wood.
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There are eight distinct seams of block coal in this zone, three of which are workable, having an average thickness of four feet. In some places this coal is mined by adits, but generally from shafts, 40 to 80 feet deep. The seams are crossed by cleavage lines, and the coal is usually mined without powder, and may be taken ont in blocks weighing a ton or more. When entries or rooms are driven angling across the cleavage lines, the walls of the mine present a zigzag, notched appearance resembling a Virginia worm fence.
In 1871 there were about 24 block coal mines in operation, and about 1,500 tons were mined daily. Since that time this industry has vastly increased. This coal consists of 813 to 833 per cent. of carbon, and not quite three fourths of one per cent. of sulphur. Calculated calorific power equal to S,283 heat units. This coal also is equally good both in the northern and southern parts of the field.
The great Indiana coal field is within 150 miles of Chicago or Michigan City, by railroad, from which ports the Lake Superior specular and red hematite ores are landed from vessels that are able to run in a direct course from the ore banks. Considering the proximity of the vast quantities of iron in Michigan and Missouri, one can readily see what a glorious future awaits Indiana in respect to manufactories.
Of the cannel coal, one of the finest seams to be found in the country is in Daviess county, this State. Here it is three and a half feet thick, underlaid by one and a half feet of a beautiful, jet- black caking coal. There is no clay, shale or other foreigu matter intervening, and fragments of the caking coal are often found adhering to the cannel. There is no gradual change from one to the other, and the character of each is homogeneous throughout.
The cannel coal makes a delightful fire in open grates, and does not pop and throw off scales into the room, as is usual with this kind of coal. This coal is well adapted to the manufacture of illuminating gas, in respect to both quantity and high illuminating power. One ton of 2,000 pounds of this coal yields 10,400 feet of gas, while the best Pennsylvania coal yields but 8,680 cubic feet. This gas has an illuminating power of 25 candles, while the best Pennsylvania coal gas has that of only 17 candles.
Cannel coal is also found in great abundance in Perry, Greene, Parke and Fountain counties, where its commercial value has already been demonstrated.
Numerous deposits of bog iron ore are found in the northern part of the State, and clay iron-stones and impure carbonates and brown
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oxides are found scattered in the vicinity of the coal field. In some places the beds are quite thick and of considerable commercial value.
An abundance of excellent lime is also found in Indiana, espe- cially in Huntington county, where many large kilns are kept in profitable operation.
AGRICULTURAL.
In 1852 the Legislature passed an act authorizing the organization of county and district agricultural societies, and also establishing a State Board, the provisions of which act are substantially as follows:
1. Thirty or more persons in any one or two counties organizing into a society for the improvement of agriculture, adopting a consti- tution and by-laws agreeable to the regulations prescribed by the State Board, and appointing the proper officers and raising a sum of $50 for its own treasury, shall be entitled to the same amount from the fund arising from show licenses in their respective counties.
2. These societies shall offer annual premiums for improvement of soils, tillage, crops, manures, productions, stock, articles of domestic industry, and such other articles, productions and improve- ments as they may deem proper; they shall encourage, by grant of rewards, agricultural and household manufacturing interests, and so regulate the premiums that small farmers will have equal opportunity with the large; and they shall pay special attention to cost and profit of the inventions and improvements, requiring an exact, detailed statement of the processes competing for rewards.
3. They shall publish in a newspaper annually their list of awards and an abstract of their treasurers' accounts, and they shall report in full to the State Board their proceedings. Failing to do the latter they shall receive no payment from their county funds.
STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
The act of Feb. 17, 1852, also established a State Board of Agri- culture, with perpetual succession; its annual meetings to be held at Indianapolis on the first Thursday after the first Monday in January, when the reports of the county societies arc to be received and agricultural interests discussed and determined upon; it shall make an annual report to the Legislature of receipts, expenses, proceedings, etc., of its own meeting as well as of those of the local
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societies; it shall hold State fairs, at such times and places as they may deem proper; may hold two meetings a year, certifying to the State Auditor their expenses, who shall draw his warrant upon the Treasurer for the same.
In 1861 the State Board adopted certain rules, embracing ten sections, for the government of local societies, but in 1868 they were found inexpedient and abandoned. It adopted a resolution admitting delegates from the local societies.
THE EXPOSITION.
As the Board found great difficulty in doing justice to exhibitors without an adequate building, the members went earnestly to work in the fall of 1872 to get up an interest in the matter. They appointed a committee of five to confer with the Council or citizens of Indianapolis as to the best mode to be devised for a more thorough and complete exhibition of the industries of the State. The result of the conference was that the time had arrived for a regular " exposition," like that of the older States. At the Janu- ary meeting in 1873, Hon. Thomas Dowling, of Terre Haute, reported for the committee that they found a general interest in this enterprise, not only at the capital, but also throughout the State. A sub-committee was appointed who devised plans and specifications for the necessary structure, taking lessons mainly from the Kentucky Exposition building at Louisville. All the members of the State Board were in favor of proceeding with the building except Mr. Poole, who feared that, as the interest of the two enterprises were somewhat conflicting, and the Exposition being the more exciting show, it would swallow up the State and county fairs.
The Exposition was opened Sept. 10, 1873, when Hon. John Sutherland, President of the Board, the Mayor of Indianapolis, Senator Morton and Gov. Hendricks delivered addresses. Senator Morton took the high ground that the money spent for an exposi- tion is spent as strictly for educational purposes as that which goes directly into the common school. The exposition is not a mere show, to be idly gazed upon, but an industrial school where one should study and learn. IIc thought that Indiana had less untill- able land than any other State in the Union; 'twas as rich as any and yielded a greater variety of products; and that Indiana was the most prosperous agricultural community in the United States.
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The State had nearly 3,700 miles of railroad, not counting side- track, with 400 miles more under contract for building. In 15 or 18 months one can go from Indianapolis to every county in the State by railroad. Indiana has 6,500 square miles of coal field, 450 of which contain block coal, the best in the United States for manufacturing purposes.
On the subject of cheap transportation, he said: " By the census of 1870, Pennsylvania had, of domestic animals of all kinds, 4,006,- 589, and Indiana, 4,511,094. Pennsylvania had grain to the amount of 60,460,000 bushels, while Indiana had 79,350,454. The value of the farm products of Pennsylvania was estimated to be $183,946,- 000; those of Indiana, $122,914,000. Thus you see that while Indiana had 505,000 head of live stock more, and 19,000,000 bushels of grain more than Pennsylvania, yet the products of Penn- sylvania are estimated at $183,946,000, on account of her greater proximity to market, while those of Indiana are estimated at only $122,914,000. Thus you can understand the importance of cheap transportation to Indiana.
"Let us see how the question of transportation affects us on the other hand, with reference to the manufacturer of Bessemer steel. Of the 174,000 tons of iron ore used in the blast furnaces of Pitts- burg last year, 84,000 tons came from Lake Superior, 64,000 tons from Iron Mountain, Missouri, 20,000 tons from Lake Champlain, and less than 5,000 tons from the home mines of Pennsylvania. They cannot manufacture their iron with the coal they have in Pennsylvania without coking it. We have coal in Indiana with which we can, in its raw state, make the best of iron; while we are 250 miles nearer Lake Superior than Pittsburg, and 430 miles nearer to Iron Mountain. So that the question of transportation determines the fact that Indiana must become the great center for the manufacture of Bessemer steel."
" What we want in this country is diversified labor."
The grand hall of the Exposition buildings is on elevated ground at the head of Alabama street, and commands a fine view of the city. The structure is of brick, 308 feet long by 150 in width, and two stories high. Its elevated galleries extend quite around the building, under the roof, thus affording visitors an opportunity to secure the most commanding view to be had in the city. The lower floor of the grand hall is occupied by the mechanical, geologi- cal and miscellaneous departments, and by the offices of the Board, which extend along the entire front. The second floor, which is
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IIISTORY OF INDIANA.
approached by three wide stairways, accommodates the fine art, musical and other departments of light mechanies, and is brilliantly lighted by windows and skylights. But as we are here entering the description of a subject magnificent to behold, we enter a description too vast to complete, and we may as well stop here as anywhere.
The Presidents of the State Fairs have been: Gov. J. A. Wright, 1852-'4; Gen. Jos. Orr, 1855; Dr. A. C. Stevenson, 1856-'8; G. D. Wagner; 1859-60; D. P. Holloway, 1861; Jas. D. Williams, 1862, 1870-'1; A. D. Hamrick, 1863, 1867-'9; Stearns Fisher, 1864-'6; John Sutherland, 1872-'4; Wm. Crim, 1875. Secretaries: John B. Dillon, 1852-'3, 1855, 1858-'9; Ignatius Brown, 1856-'7; W. T. Den- nis, 1854, 1860-'1; W. H. Loomis, 1862-'6; A. J. Holmes, 1867-'9; Joseph Poole, 1870-'1; Alex. Heron, 1872-'5. Place of fair, Indian- apolis every year except: Lafayette, 1853; Madison, 1854; New Albany, 1859; Fort Wayne, 1865; and Terre Haute, 1867. In 1861 there was no fair. The gate and entry receipts increased from $4,651 in 1852 to $45,330 in 1874.
On the opening of the Exposition, Oct. 7, 1874, addresses were delivered by the President of the Board, Hon. John Sutherland, and by Govs. Hendricks, Bigler and Pollock. Yvon's celebrated painting, the " Great Republic," was unveiled with great ceremony, and many distinguished guests were present to witness it.
The exhibition of 1875 showed that the plate glass from the southern part of the State was equal to the finest French plate; that the force-blowers made in the eastern part of the State was of a world-wide reputation; that the State has within its bounds the largest wagon manufactory in the world; that in other parts of the State there were all sorts and sizes of manufactories, including roll- ing mills and blast furnaces, and in the western part coal was mined and shipped at the rate of 2,500 tons a day from one vicinity; and many other facts, which " would astonish the citizens of Indiana themselves even more than the rest of the world."
INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
This society was organized in 1842, thus taking the lead in the West. At this time Henry Ward Beecher was a resident of Indian- apolis, engaged not only as a minister but also as editor of the Indiana Farmer and Gardener, and his influence was very exten- sive in the interests of horticulture, floriculture and farming. Prominent among his pioneer co-laborers were Judge Coburn,
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Aaron Aldridge, Capt. James Sigarson, D. V. Culley, Reuben Ragan, Stephen Hampton, Cornelius Ratliff, Joshua Lindley, Abner Pope and many others. In the autumn of this year the society held an exhibition, probably the first in the State, if not in the West, in the hall of the new State house. The only pre- mium offered was a set of silver teaspoons for the best seedling apple, which was won by Reuben Ragan, of Putnam county, for an apple christened on this occasion the "Osceola."
The society gave great encouragement to the introduction of new varieties of fruit, especially of the pear, as the soil and eli- mate of Indiana were well adapted to this fruit. But the bright horizon which seemed to be at this time looming up all around the field of the young society's operations was suddenly and thoroughly darkened by the swarm of noxious inseets, diseases, blasts of win- ter and the great distance to market. The prospects of the eause seareely justified a continuation of the expense of assembling from remote parts of the State, and the meetings of the society therefore soon dwindled away until the organization itself became quite extinct.
But when, in 1852 and afterward, railroads began to traverse the State in all directions, the Legislature provided for the organization of a State Board of Agriculture, whose scope was not only agri- eulture but also horticulture and the mechanic and household arts. The rapid growth of the State soon necessitated a differentiation of this body, and in the autumn of 1860, at Indianapolis, there was organized the
INDIANA POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
October 18, Reuben Ragan was elected President and Win H. Loomis, of Marion county, Secretary. The constitution adopted provided for biennial meetings in January, at Indianapolis. At the first regular meeting, Jan. 9, 1861, a committee-man for each congressional district was appointed, all of them together to be known as the "State Fruit Committee," and twenty-five members were enrolled during this session. At the regular meeting in 1863 the constitution was so amended as to provide for annual sessions, and the address of the newly elected President, Hon. I. G. D. Nel- son, of Allen county, urged the establishment of an agricultural college. He continued in the good cause until his work was crowned with success.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
In 1864 there was but little done on account of the exhaust- ive demands of the great war; and the descent of mercury 60° in eighteen hours did so much mischief as to increase the discourage- ment to the verge of despair. The title of the society was at this meeting, Jan., 1864 changed to that of the Indiana Horticultural Society.
The first several meetings of the society were mostly devoted to revision of fruit lists; and although the good work, from its vast- ness and complication, became somewhat monotonous, it has been no exception in this respect to the law that all the greatest and most productive labors of mankind require perseverance and toil.
In 1866, George M. Beeler, who had so indefatigably served as secretary for several years, saw himself hastening to his grave, and showed his love for the cause of fruit culture by bequeathing to the society the sum of $1,000. This year also the State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction was induced to take a copy of the Society's transactions for each of the township libraries in the State, and this enabled the Society to bind its volume of proceedings in a substantial manner.
At the meeting in 1867 many valuable and interesting papers were presented, the office of corresponding secretary was created, and the subject of Legislative aid was discussed. The State Board of Agriculture placed the management of the horticultural depart- ment of the State fair in the care of the Society.
The report for 1868 shows for the first time a balance on hand, after paying expenses, the balance being $61.55. Up to this time the Society had to take care of itself,-meeting current expenses, do- ing its own printing and binding, " boarding and clothing itself," and diffusing annually an amount of knowledge utterly incalcu- lable. During the year called meetings were held at Salem, in the peach and grape season, and evenings during the State fair, whichi was held in Terre Haute the previous fall. The State now assumed the cost of printing and binding, but the volume of transactions was not quite so valuable as that of the former year.
In 1870 $160 was given to this Society by the State Board of Agriculture, to be distributed as prizes for essays, which object was faithfully carried out. The practice has since then been con- tinued.
In 1871 the IIorticultural Society brought out the best volume of papers and proceedings it ever has had published.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
In 1872 the office of corresponding secretary was discontinued; the appropriation by the State Board of Agriculture diverted to the payment of premiums on small fruits given at a show held the previous summer; results of the exhibition not entirely satisfac- tory.
In 1873 the State officials refused to publish the discussions of the members of the Horticultural Society, and the Legislature appropriated $500 for the purpose for each of the ensuing two years.
In 1875 the Legislature enacted a law requiring that one of the trustees of Purdue University shall be selected by the Horticultu- ral Society.
The aggregate annual membership of this society from its organ- ization in 1860 to 1875 was 1,225.
EDUCATION.
The subject of education has been referred to in almost every gubernatorial message from the organization of the Territory to the present time. It is indeed the most favorite enterprise of the Hoosier State. In the first survey of Western lands, Congress set apart a section of land in every township, generally the 16th, for school purposes, the disposition of the land to be in hands of the residents of the respective townships. Besides this, to this State were given two entire townships for the use of a State Seminary, to be under the control of the Legislature. Also, the State con- stitution provides that all fines for the breach of law and all com- mutations for militia service be appropriated to the use of county seminaries. In 1825 the common-school lands amounted to 680,207 acres, estimated at $2 an acre, and valued therefore at $1,216,044. At this time the seminary at Bloomington, supported in part by one of these township grants, was very flourishing. The common schools, however, were in rather a poor condition.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
In 1852 the free-school system was fully established, which has resulted in placing Indiana in the lead of this great nation. Al- though this is a pleasant subject, it is a very large one to treat in a condensed notice, as this has to be.
The free-school system of Indiana first became practically oper .. ative the first Monday of April, 1853, when the township trustees
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
for school purposes were elected through the State. The law com- mitted to them the charge of all the educational affairs in their respective townships. As it was feared by the opponents of the law that it would not be possible to select men in all the town- ships capable of excenting the school laws satisfactorily, the people were thereby awakened to the necessity of electing their very best men; and although, of course, many blunders have been made by trustees, the operation of the law has tended to elevate the adult population as well as the youth; and Indiana still adheres to the policy of appointing its best men to educational positions. The result is a grand surprise to all old fogies, who indeed scarcely dare to appear such any longer.
To instruct the people in the new law and set the educational machinery going, a pamphlet of over 60 pages, embracing the law, with notes and explanations, was issued from the office of a super- intendent of public instruction, and distributed freely throughout the State. The first duty of the Board of Trustees was to establish and conveniently locate a sufficient number of schools for the edu- cation of all the children of their township. But where were the school-honses, and what were they? Previously they had been erected by single districts, but under this law districts were abol- ished, their lines obliterated, and houses previously built by dis- tricts became the property of the township, and all the houses were to be built at the expense of the township by an appropriation of township funds by the trustees. In some townships there was not a single school-house of any kind, and in others there were a few old, leaky, dilapidated log cabins, wholly unfit for use even in sum- mer, and in " winter worse than nothing." Before the people could be tolerably accommodated with schools at least 3,500 school-houses had to be erected in the State.
By a general law, enacted in conformity to the constitution of 1852, cach township was made a municipal corporation, and every voter in the township a member of the corporation; the Board of Trustees constituted the township legislature as well as the execn- tive body, the whole body of voters, however, exercising direct con- trol through freqnent meetings called by the trustees. Special taxes and every other matter of importance were directly voted upon.
Some tax-payers, who were opposed to special townships' taxes, retarded the progress of schools by refusing to pay their assess- ment. Contracts for building school-houses were given up, houses
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half finished were abandoned, and in many townships all school operations were suspended. In some of them, indeed, a rumor was circulated by the enemies of the law that the entire school law from beginning to end had been declared by the Supreme Court uneon- stitntional and void; and the Trustees, believing this, actually dis- missed their schools and considered themselves out of office. Hon. W. C. Larrabee, the (first) Superintendent of Public Instruction, corrected this error as soon as possible.
But while the voting of special taxes was doubted on a constitu- tional point, it became evident that it was weak in a practical point; for in many townships the opponents of the system voted down every proposition for the erection of school-houses.
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