USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County Indiana (Volume 1) > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43
From the little Duck Creek postoffice, established on February 5, 1855, with William Barton as postmaster, the postal business of El- wood has grown to such proportions as to justify the erection of a spe- cial building by the Federal government for its accommodation. Accord- ingly, an appropriation was made for that purpose by Congress and work on the building was commenced on April 22, 1912. On July 21, 1913, it was opened to the public. The new postoffice is located at the
Digitized by Google
--..
119
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
corner of North A and Anderson streets, near the business center of the city, and was completed at a cost of $57,555. Besides the postmaster and assistant postmaster, the office employs five clerks and six carriers in the city and six rural carriers deliver mail from the Elwood office to the surrounding country.
Since the incorporation of Elwood as a city, several clubs or associa- tions have been formed by the business men for the promotion of the material welfare of the city and its industries. The present Merchants' and Manufacturers' Club was organized on September 13, 1911, and numbers ninety-eight members. The officers for 1913 were: M. J. Fo- garty, president; B. H. Campbell, vice president; R. J. Weber, secretary ; W. E. Harting, treasurer.
The Elwood of today has twelve miles of brick streets, five modern public school buildings, twelve churches, a free public library, a central heating plant that supplies hot water heat to over one hundred buildings, lodges of all the leading fraternal organizations, four of which own their homes, two daily newspapers, three banks and one trust company with deposits of about $1,500,000, good hotels and theaters, two large grain elevators, a well equipped flour mill, several important manufac- turing establishments, over one hundred retail mercantile houses, and is surrounded by one of the best agricultural districts in the state. Excel- lent transportation and shipping facilities are afforded by the Lake Erie & Western and Pan Handle railroads and the Indiana Union Traction Company. In 1910 the population, according to the United States census, was 11,028, and the assessed value of the property in 1912 was $3,188,690.
The business development of Elwood, bringing it up from a mere vil- lage to a city of large proportions, is largely due to the enterprise and loyalty of the Dehority family and the Callaways. These two families were in business in Elwood when it was but a "speck" on the map, and they both prospered to such an extent that when the moment came to make strides toward making Elwood a city, they were there, ready to lead the procession. No proposition for the betterment of Elwood has ever presented itself that did not receive their hearty support.
ALEXANDRIA
Alexandria, the third city of the county in population, is situated on Pipe creek, near the center of Monroe township, ten miles north of Anderson, with which city it is connected by the Michigan division of the Big Four railway, and a line of the Indiana Union Traction system. The first white settler in Monroe township, Micajah Chamness, located here in 1831. Others came soon after and quite a settlement had grown up in the vicinity before the town was formally laid out. Soon after the passage of the internal improvement act by the state legislature of 1836, John D. Stephenson and William Connor came to the conclusion that the Indiana Central canal must pass near this settlement and conceived the idea of starting a town on the banks of Pipe creek. They therefore purchased of Micajah Chamness the east half of the northeast quarter of section 24 and employed Nineveh Berry, at that time county surveyor, to lay out the town. The survey and plat were completed on June 3, 1836,
Digitized by Google
120
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and on the next day was held the first sale of lots. News of the canal had spread and a large number of buyers were present, the prices of lots ranging from ten to fifty-three dollars.
Thus the town started off under favorable auspices. Soon after it was laid out Nineveh Berry erected a log house at the southeast corner of what are now Berry and Clinton streets and, as the agent of Conner & Stephenson, put in a stock of general merchandise. This was the first mercantile establishment in Monroe township. In a few months Colonel Berry's official duties as surveyor called him to Anderson and David L. Pickard became his successor as manager of the store. About this time a postoffice was established and Mr. Pickard was appointed postmaster. He was succeeded by Nathan E. Tomlinson, who came from Yorktown, Delaware county, in 1839 as manager of the store of Burner & Company.
The first hotel in the town was opened by David L. Pickard in 1838, in a log house weather-boarded on the outside, located at the corner of Harrison and Berry streets, where it remained standing for fifty years or more as one of Alexandria's landmarks. In that day there were no railroads, and, as most of the travel was on horseback, the frontier hotels were generally prepared to furnish "entertainment for both man and beast." For this service Mr. Pickard's rates were sixty cents per day.
Connor and Stephenson had judged rightly when they anticipated that the canal would pass Alexandria, and when it was located in 1838 the town enjoyed an era of prosperity that lasted until the canal project was abandoned about two years later. For the twenty years from 1840 to 1860 the growth of Alexandria was rather slow. Among the enter- prises established during this period were the mercantile houses of William Calloway (1845) and William T. Scott (1847), and the fan- ning mill factory of Wolfe & Sherman in 1850. At the beginning of the Civil war in 1861 the population of Alexandria was about 350.
In 1875 two railroads-the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan and the Lafayette, Muncie & Bloomington-were completed through Alexandria. The former of these roads is now the Michigan division of the Big Four, and the latter is the Lake Erie & Western. With the advent of the rail- roads Alexandria experienced a marked increase in both population and business activity. So much so, indeed, that early in the summer of 1876 the town was incorporated with the following officers: Nathan E. Tomlinson, E. B. Chamness and Gideon Kiefer, trustees; J. M. Tomlin- son, clerk; Seth B. Henshaw, treasurer; Marion Tuttle, marshal. The first meeting of the town board was held on July 5, 1876.
Attracted to the enterprising little town, Joseph Fenimore started the publication of the Alexandria Bee in 1877, but he "reckoned with- out his host," for the patronage was not equal to his expectations and after a somewhat precarious career of a few months the Bee was forced to suspend.
On March 27, 1887, the first natural gas well in Madison county, near the end of East Washington street came in with a strong pressure and for the third time Alexandria was due for a boom. The population was then about 800. The enterprising citizens were not slow to recog- nize the possibilities and offered flattering inducements to manufac-
Digitized by Google
--
121
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
turers to locate in Alexandria. The first window glass factory in the county was started by Harper & Cruzen in 1888. Within the next three years two large brick factories, four glass works, the Kelly Ax Works and the Union Steel Company, established themselves in Alexandria. The 3,500 men employed by these concerns, as well as a number employed by several smaller concerns, added materially to the population and it soon became evident that the old town government was too antiquated in form for a municipality that was going forward by leaps and bounds like Alexandria. Consequently Alexandria was incorporated as a city in 1893, with the following officers: John E. Sherman, mayor; L. J. Hernly, clerk; E. C. Robinson, treasurer; W. W. Fenimore, marshal; C. F. Heritage and John Reese, councilmen for the First ward; Joseph Brannum and Henry Herr, Second ward; T. W. Mullen and Peter Hartman, Third ward.
In 1913 the city government was administered by James H. Edwards, mayor; Bernard M. Madden, city clerk; Horace J. Inlow, treasurer; D.
Harrison Street. Alexandria. Ind
DEEH
ALEXANDRIA VIEW
A. Allman and John M. Walker, councilmen at large; George C. Har- man, First ward; Charles F. Meyer, Second ward; John F. Kelly, Third ward; D. R. Jones, city attorney ; S. E. Donahoo, chief of police; John F. Merker, chief of the fire department; Emmet N. Hollowell, assistant chief ; Dr. E. J. Beardsley, health officer.
On the night of December 6, 1891, fire was discovered in Pauly's jew- elry store about midnight and every building in that square was de- stroyed before the flames could be checked. All the buildings were frame except the one occupied by H. P. Williams' saloon. A few days after the fire the walls of this structure fell and buried John Fink and William Morley, the latter a boy about fifteen years old, in the ruins. Both were unconscious when rescued and died soon afterward. Another disastrous fire occurred on the night of January 21, 1893, starting in Clayton's grocery on the west side of Harrison street, between Church and Wood streets. Although the citizens rendered such aid as they could on both these occasions, it was apparent that the city needed some systematic protection against conflagrations. The city council was
Digitized by Google
122
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
appealed to by the citizens to establish a fire department, but the state of the public finances was such that nothing could be done by the munic- ipal authorities.
In this emergency R. H. Hannah, A. E. Harlan, S. E. Young, Anthony Bertsche and J. P. Condo, five of the public spirited citizens, came forward with a proposition to furnish the money to purchase a hook and ladder truck, a two-horse chemical engine and a small fire extinguisher if the people would undertake to man them. The appa- ratus was purchased in Chicago and upon its arrival in Alexandria a " meeting was held at the office of Mayor Sherman to organize a fire com- pany. Forty men volunteered and Pink Varble, Joseph Brannum, Joseph Fulton and T. W. Mullen were elected a board of directors. This was the beginning of Alexandria's fire department. As the city pos- sessed no suitable building for the chemical engine and hook and lad- der truck, they were kept in a livery stable until more adequate quar- ters could be provided.
After the completion of the water works the chemical engine was dispensed with, and the department at the present time consists of a chief, assistant chief and four men, all paid by the city. The apparatus consists of a hook and ladder truck and a hose wagon, stationed in a building on Wayne street, just south of the city building.
On September 2, 1895, bonds to the amount of $40,000 were issued for the purpose of constructing a water works system for the city. Mains were laid through all the principal streets, both in the business and residence districts, a large steel stand-pipe and pumping station were erected and a number of deep wells were sunk to furnish the water supply. All the bonds have been paid except $4,000, which are not due until 1915. Alexandria has a modern water works system and a bountiful supply of good water and the entire plant is owned by the city.
In 1893 the Alexandria Electric Lighting Company was organized and within a comparatively short time had its plant in operation. This plant is now operated by the Indiana Service Company.
For more than ten years after the city was incorporated, the munic- ipal officers occupied rented quarters, but in 1905 a lot was purchased at the southeast corner of Church and Wayne streets and James McGuire was employed to make plans for a city building. From the inscrip- tion on the corner stone it is learned that J. II. Edwards was then mayor; H. J. Inlow, city clerk ; J. S. Wales, treasurer ; J. W. Mountain, marshal; A. II. Jones, attorney ; M. Miller, F. C. Jones, N. Booth, A. Schilling, J. F. Kelly and J. H. Frank, councilmen; O'Hara & Good- win, contractors. The cost of the administration building was $7,679 and the contract provided that it should be completed by May 1, 1906. Just south of this building is the city prison, or jail, which was erected about the same time at a cost of $950, and south of the jail is a brick building for the use of the fire department, erected in 1905 at a cost of about $3,000. With these buildings Alexandria is as well provided with municipal accommodations as any city of its size in the state. Immediately across Wayne street from the administration building is the Carnegie Library.
Digitized by Google
--- .....
123
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
The citizens of Alexandria have always been alert to any and every- thing that would conduce to the material welfare and progress of their city. To this end the Alexandria Business Men's Association was organ- ized on January 24, 1911, and now numbers seventy-five members, with the following officers: F. C. Jones, druggist, president; L. S. Mahony, shoe merchant, vice-president; William P. Snethen, tailoring, secre- tary; S. G. Phillips, banker, treasurer. This association assumes charge of celebrations, advertising, etc., and in other ways endeavors to pro- mote the interests of the city and its people.
According to the United States census of 1910, the population of Alexandria was then 5,096. In 1912 the property of the city was assessed for taxes at $1,159,275, or about $225 for each man, woman and child living within the corporate limits. The city has four modern pub- lic school buildings, two banks, two newspapers, one of which issues a daily edition, fourteen religious organizations, adequate fire and police departments, a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, well paved streets over a large part of the city, good hotels, and although the industries of the city suffered great inconvenience through the failure of natural gas, there are still several large manufactories at Alexan- dria. The United States postoffice employs six persons in the office, four city and eight rural carriers and annually handles a large amount of mail. John C. Brattain was postmaster in 1913. The first lawyer to locate in Alexandria was Peter H. Lemon, who opened an office there in 1842. The first resident physician was a Dr. Spence, who established himself in the village soon after it was laid out and built the first brick house in the town. The city now has its full quota of lawyers and doc- tors.
PENDLETON
This town has the distinction of being one of the oldest in the county. It is situated near the center of Fall Creek township, on the main line of the Big Four Railway, eight miles southwest of Anderson. In the early settle- ment of Fall Creek township a majority of the pioneers located along Fall creek, near the falls, and their houses were so near to each other that the settlement had the appearance of a town without ever having been laid out as such. Thomas M. Pendleton, who owned the land upon which the major portion of the town now stands, and for whom the place was named, seeing the desirability of the location, decided to found a town in the regular way. Accordingly, he employed a surveyor and on January 13, 1830, had his farm divided into lots and a copy of the plat filed with the county recorder.
When the county of Madison was erected in 1823, the seat of jus- tice was established at Pendleton, the organic act providing that the sessions of the court should be held at the house of William McCartney, which stood near the falls of Fall Creek. Oliver II. Smith, in his "Early Reminiscences of Indiana," in giving an account of the famous trials of the white men for the Indian murders, says: "A new log building was erected at the north part of Pendleton, with two rooms, one for the court and one for the grand jury. The court room was about
Digitized by Google
124
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
twenty by thirty feet with a heavy 'puncheon' floor, a platform at one end, three feet high, a bench for the judges, a plain table for the clerk, in front, a long bench for the counsel, a little pen for the prisoners, a side bench for the witnesses, and a long pole in front, substantially sup- ported, to separate the crowd from the bar."
This was doubtless the first courthouse ever erected in the county. The business of the county was transacted at Pendleton until after the passage of the act of. January 26, 1827, which appointed a commission to select a location for a permanent county seat. A full account of the work of this commission, and the establishment of the seat of justice at Anderson, will be found in Chapter IV.
Thomas Silver had opened a store a year or two before the town was surveyed. He was the pioneer merchant and the brick building erected by him on the corner of State and Main streets was the first business building of that kind in Pendleton. Other early merchants were Palmer Patrick, James Gray, Joseph Bowman and William Silver. Palmer Patrick was associated for a time with Thomas Silver. James Gray came in 1833 and at the time of his death in 1850 was considered the leading merchant of the town. Joseph Bowman remained but a short time, when he removed to Middletown, where he finally died. William Silver came in 1838 and engaged in business alone. Ten years later he transferred his store to his son, J. R. Silver, who conducted it for many years.
The first tavern was a frame building on the south side of State street, a short distance west of Main. It was built by Jacob Mingle for a residence, but, the town being without a hotel, he opened it for the accommodation of travelers, chiefly immigrants seeking homes in "the new country."
James Bell, who came to Pendleton in 1833, conducted a hotel for awhile at the corner of State and Main streets, but later converted the building into a mercantile establishment. The "Madison House," a two-story frame building on the south side of Main street, west of State, was erected and opened as a hotel by Jesse Boston about 1835. He died two years later, but his widow continued to conduct the hotel until her death some years afterward, when the house was closed. The building occupied by James Gray's residence and store, at the northeast corner of State and Main streets, was converted into a hotel about 1852 and was first conducted by James H. Smithers, under the name of the Pen- dleton House. After several changes in ownership it passed into the hands of F. E. Ireland, who changed the name to the Commercial Hotel. This building was destroyed by fire on July 7, 1897.
During the first twenty years of its career, the growth of Pendle- ton was "slow but sure." In 1850 the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad (now the Big Four) was completed to Pendleton and proved a great stimulus to the town. On October 12, 1850, Nineveh Berry made a new survey of Pendleton and about the same time two or three addi- tions were made to the original plat. A year or so later a movement was started for the incorporation of the town, and after the usual pre- liminaries in the way of circulating petitions, etc., an election was ordered for December 24, 1853, to determine the question. Nathaniel
Digitized by Google
---
.
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
125
Richmond, T. G. Mitchell and G. M. Rogers were the election inspectors, and upon canvassing the returns they found thirty-seven votes for the incorporation and only four against it. The first officers were as fol- lows: Nathaniel Richmond, William Silver, Joseph Stephenson, M. . Chapman and R. Clark, trustees; T. G. Mitchell, clerk; John Huston (or Houston), treasurer; David Bousman, marshal. The first meeting of the town board was held on March 31, 1854, when Nathaniel Rich- mond was elected president of the board.
The present town government is composed of William Swain, Fred Lantz, Stephen Hair, T. A. Baker and J. W. Linder, trustees; D. B. Cole, clerk and treasurer; Edward Burdette, marshal. The school board is made up of J. J. Rodger, president; Dr. L. E. Alexander, secretary ; George P. Longnecker, treasurer.
In Harden's "Pioneer," published in 1895, is an article from the pen of Mrs. Caroline E. Russell, giving her early recollections of Pendle- ton. Mrs. Russell says that about 1831 the citizens decided to have a pub- lic well and a man by the name of Adam Anderson was employed to dig it. At the brick store, where many of the inhabitants were in the habit of loafing of evenings, a collection would be taken up each evening to pay Anderson for his day's work. If there was not enough to satisfy his demand he would cover up the well and wait until he received his wages before proceeding with the work. In time, however, the well was completed and was the principal source of water supply for the greater part of the town. Before it was dug the people carried water for some distance from two springs-one known as the "Spout Spring," which was located south of the central part of the town near the right of way of the Big Four Railroad, and the other north of Fall creek, not far from the Fishersburg pike.
In common with other Madison county towns, Pendleton enjoyed a prosperous career for a few years following the discovery of natural gas. Several new manufacturing establishments were located and for a time the town wore an atmosphere of industrial activity. With the failure of the gas supply most of the factories were discontinued or removed to other points, though there are still some industries of this nature in operation, mention of which is made in the chapter on Finance and Industries. Pendleton has a commercial club, of which A. B. Tay- lor is president and Charles Goodrich is secretary, the purpose of which is similar to that of such organizations in other towns-to adver- tise Pendleton and its advantages and by cooperating secure favor- able freight rates, etc. The Big Four Railroad and one of the principal lines of the Indiana Union Traction Company afford excellent transpor- tation and shipping facilities.
The Pendleton of the present day has a modern school building, four churches, a weekly newspaper, well paved streets, two banks, several well equipped mercantile establishments and a number of handsome residences. The population in 1910 was 1,293.
-
SUMMITVILLE
This town was laid out in 1867 by Aaron M. Williams, who was one of the pioneers in that section of the county. He established a tanyard,
Digitized by Google
.
.
126
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
which he operated in connection with his farm, kept a general store and also entertained travelers at his residence. A settlement grew up about the store and tannery and Mr. Williams sold several lots by metes and bounds before any regular plat of the town was made and recorded.
Summitville is located a little west of the center of Van Buren town- ship, seventeen miles north of Anderson. It was first called "Skipper- ville," but when the surveyors marked the line of the old Indianapolis & Fort Wayne state road, some years before any settlement was made where Summitville now stands, they marked that point as the highest ground between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The name of Skipper- ville not being very dignified or euphonious, it was changed to Summit- ville, which name was adopted to correspond to the report of the sur- veyors. A short distance north of the town is the watershed that divides the valleys of the Wabash and the White river.
Among the early settlers in the vicinity of Summitville were Thomas Cartwright and his son, William T., who came from Wayne county, Indiana, early in the fall of 1835. Seven years before that the family had come from North Carolina and settled at Milton, Wayne county. Thomas Cartwright kept a tavern on the canal, just south of Summit- ville. He was one of the three trustees that ordered the erection of the second public schoolhouse in Van Buren township. His grandson, T. E. Cartwright, of Summitville, still has in possession the old clock brought to the settlement by his grandfather in 1835.
Other pioneers who located near where Summitville now stands were John Thurston, Sr., Asbury Chaplin, George M. and Henry Vinson, James Oldfield, Harrison Mclain, Lemuel Jones, James M. Hundley, Isaac Woods, John M. Harris, John Allman, Aquila Moore, Aaron M. Williams and John Beck.
In November, 1867, Henry Roby opened a store-the first business enterprise to be established after the town was laid out-but soon after- ward sold out to Aquila Moore & Son. Some time before that a post- office had been established about two miles north of the town and Wil- liam Knowland was the first postmaster. About the time Moore & Son purchased Mr. Roby's interests, the postoffice was removed to the store and Aquila Moore was appointed postmaster. The first mails were car- ried on horseback from Strawtown, Hamilton county, over "blazed" roads through the woods. Daniel Dwiggins was the first mail rider. Then Caleb May and Kuhn Slagle began running a stage line between Anderson and Marion and they carried the mails-north one day and south the next. Thomas Cranfill was the last man to carry the mails by vehicle prior to the completion of the railroad.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.