USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 14
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
year, though nearly $15,000 in bonds were paid from the year's earn- ings. The department also holds $32,500 of Anderson city bonds as an investment. Edmund Burke is the superintendent of the plant. Through the successful management of the municipal lighting and water depart- ments the city tax rate has been reduced from $1.08 in 1905 to 65 cents in 1913. It is estimated by the city controller that the net earnings of the lighting plant for the year 1913 will reach $70,000.
The first. effort to organize a fire department for the city was made in the early '70s, when John P. Barnes and Charles T. Doxey, then members of the city council, urged upon that body the necessity of pro- viding some protection against loss by fire. Through their influence the council was induced to authorize the purchase of a Silsby engine at a cost of $7,000. After the engine arrived it was useless without an ade- quate water supply and some of the citizens, seeing that a large expend- iture of money would have to be made in erecting buildings, construct- ing cisterns, etc., applied to the circuit court for an injunction. A temporary restraining order was granted by the court and pending further hearing the engine was locked up in a building on West Eighth street, where it remained until the case was decided against the council by the circuit court of Henry county, where it had been taken on a change of venue. Such was the manner in which the first attempt to establish a fire department ended in failure.
Some years later, while James Hazlett was mayor, he and H. H. Conrad, a member of the city council, after much argument, prevailed upon the council to purchase a small hand engine and a hook and ladder apparatus at a cost of $600. A shed was erected by order of the council on east Eighth street, at the first alley east of the public square, where the engine was kept for several years. There was no organized department, the citizens turning out on an alarm of fire to man the engine, and at one time this little machine saved the east side of the public square from destruction when a fire broke out in the Grunewald building.
In 1886, while the water works were under construction, a petition was presented to the city council asking for the organization of a volunteer fire department. On August 13, 1886, a meeting was held in the mayor's office and fifty-seven men enrolled themselves as members of the volunteer department. By-laws, rules and regulations were adopted for the government of the department ; Amos Coburn was elected chief; C. K. Mccullough, assistant chief; S. A. Towell, secretary; Bart Proud, captain of Hose Company No. 1; Jesse Talmage, captain of Hose Company No. 2; John Ewing, captain of the Hook and Ladder Company. Headquarters were secured in the basement of the court-house and the first Friday in each month was selected as the time for holding regular meetings. Soon after the organization was perfected the city council furnished the members with rubber coats, boots, fire hats, etc. The citizens gave the volunteers a banquet, which encouraged them to do their best, and the movement was pronounced a success. At last Anderson had a fire department.
At the time this department was organized the fire fighting apparatus consisted of two hand reels, 1,000 feet of hose, the old hand engine and a hook and ladder truck. Better hose was soon afterward provided by
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
the city council and members of the department were allowed two dollars each for attendance at a fire. In the spring of 1887 Amos Coburn resigned as chief and was succeeded by Samuel A. Towell. A year later two horses were purchased and Edward Wilcox was employed as a regular driver-the first paid man in the department. Three additional men were placed on the pay roll at forty dollars a month in 1889; the chief's salary was fixed at $100 per annum; the two old hand reels were replaced by a one-horse reel, and further improvements were added. The Gane- well alarm system was installed in 1890, a hose wagon was purchased and the building at the corner of Central avenue and Eighth street was erected for the use of the department. As soon as the building was com- pleted two new members were added to the department and the salary of firemen was fixed at forty-five dollars a month. The chief's salary was also increased. Three years later the department was converted into a full paid force of thirteen men. This was done on motion of John L. Forkner, who at that time represented the Second ward in the city council. The same year a building was erected at the corner of Seventeenth street and Madison avenue and Hose Company No. 2 was there stationed.
In 1913 the department consisted of Charles G. Alford, chief; Philip Hollingsworth, assistant chief; four captains; two lieutenants; three laddermen, and twelve pipemen. The city now owns four buildings, viz .: The Central Station at the corner of Eighth street and Central avenue, where a chemical engine and the hook and ladder truck are stationed, and where the chief maintains his headquarters; Hose Company No. 2, at the corner of Madison avenue and Seventeenth street; Hose Company No. 3, at the corner of Columbus avenue and Twenty-first street; and Hose Company No. 4, at the corner of Third and Hendricks streets.
In his report for the year ending on December 31, 1912, Chief Alford said : "I wish to call your attention to the automobile fire apparatus. A great many cities are installing it with a view of increasing the efficiency as well as decreasing the cost of maintenance." Acting upon his sug- gestion, the city purchased an automobile chemical engine in the summer of 1913 at a cost of about $2,200. This engine is an Anderson product, having been built by the Nyberg Automobile Works expressly for the city fire department.
When Anderson was first incorporated as a city in 1865, the only police officer was the city marshal. In 1889 the marshal's office was abolished by an act of the state legislature and the metropolitan police system was introduced. Under the operations of this system the duty of keeping order and enforcing the ordinances and laws is vested in & board of three commissioners. At the close of the year 1912 the board of police commissioners was composed of Carl K. Stephens, Ralph B. Clark and Fred Mustard. Carl K. Stephens is president and John B. Pritchard, who is also superintendent of the police force, is secretary. The police force proper is made up of the superintendent, one captain, one sergeant, a clerk, a humane officer, a bailiff, a motorcycle man, a detective, and seven patrolmen. In addition to this regular force there are four special patrolmen with full police powers at the American Steel and Wire Works, two at Mounds Park and two at the Remy Electric
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Works. During the year 1912 the pay roll of the department amounted to $15,384.
No effort was ever made to dispose of Anderson's sewage until after the discovery of natural gas. This is no reflection upon the city nor upon the character of its inhabitants, as it has long been a custom in country towns and smaller cities to let the sewage "take care of itself." At the time natural gas was discovered the population of the city was estimated at about 6,000. The United States census for 1890-three years later showed it to be 10,741. With this phenomenal increase in population it became evident that some sanitary precautious were neces- sary if the health of the people was to be preserved and their comfort taken into consideration.
In January, 1891, the city engineer, Henry Rawie, was instructed to investigate the subject and report upon the plan of a sewerage system and the cost of its construction. Mr. Rawie at once opened a correspond- ence with George E. Warring, of Newport, Rhode Island, a sanitary engineer of national reputation, and after a consultation with Mr. Warring the council instructed the city engineer to make a map of the city, showing its topography and the location of the proposed sewers. When this map was completed it was submitted to the city council for consideration. That body approved the plans of the city engineer and advertised for sealed proposals for the construction of the sewers as shown on the map. On July 15, 1891, a contract was entered into between the city and the firm of Kinser and Tuhey, of Terre Haute, Indiana, for the installation of a sewerage system, the contract price being $71,900.
The contractors began immediately and prosecuted the work so well that before the close of the year 1892 the entire system was pronounced complete, accepted by the city and paid for according to the contract. The cost of the sewerage system was assessed against the lots benefited thereby and was paid for by the property holders under what was known as the Barrett law, which gave them the privilege of making their pay- ments in ten annual installments.
Mr. Rawie's plan was at first severely criticised as being too elaborate and expensive, but he was a man of progressive ideas who believed in building for the future as well as the present. The system of sewers built under his supervision as city engineer has been in use for more than twenty years, and even those who were most free with their criticisms now acknowledge that he was right. The members of the city council who favored the scheme also came in for a share of the condemnation, but after almost another generation has come upon the scene of action they feel that their course has been fully sustained by the city's sanitary condition during that period. No trouble has ever been experienced with any of Anderson's sewers, for the reason that they were constructed according to the most approved methods known, and it is quite probable that few cities of the same class have as good a system.
Along with other municipal improvements that followed the discovery of natural gas was a street railway system. As soon as Anderson began her great strides forward in 1887, several persons of a speculative turn of mind visited the city to look over the field with a view to the establish-
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
ment of street car traffic on the principal streets and to the outlying suburbs. On August 19, 1887, the city council granted a twelve-years' franchise to Seldon R. and D. C. Williams, of Lebanon, Tennessee, authorizing them to construct and maintain a street railway in Anderson. Work was commenced soon afterward upon the line on Meridian street, running from the Big Four to the Pan Handle passenger stations. In order to accommodate travelers by enabling them to reach the principal hotels, changes were made in the route as originally intended, the line running from the Big Four station north on Meridian street to Tenth, cast on Tenth to Main, north on Main to Ninth, west on Ninth to Meridian,
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DILY GOUDS NOTIONS
OLD HORSE CAR
north on Meridian to Fifth and east on that street to the Pan Handle station.
On the morning of September 6, 1888, the citizens of Anderson were treated to the unusual spectacle of a street car, drawn by mules, passing over the route above described. That evening the road was formally opened, the railway company engaging the Riverside Park band and inviting a number of prominent citizens to enjoy a free ride. The com- pany had but two cars, each with a capacity of abont twenty people. In the front car was the band, closely followed by the second car in which were the guests. Along the route the sidewalks were erowded with people to congratulate themselves and the city that the "walking days were over."
Branch lines were later built from the main line to the railroad junction in the southwestern part, and a third line to the northwestern
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
portion. The service, however, was not what the people had been led to expect and it is doubtful if dividends were ever realized upon the investment while the "mule motor" was in use. Under these conditions the founders of the system were glad when an opportunity presented itself for them to dispose of their interests to the Anderson Electric Street Railway Company, which was organized early in 1892 by Charles L. Henry, of Anderson, and Philip Matter, of Marion, Indiana. As soon as the new company came into possession of the street railway electric power was installed, and the first electric car made its appearance on the streets of Anderson at 2 o'clock p. m. on March 12, 1892.
It has been said that capital is timid and not likely to seek investment unless it is fully protected. But in this case the reverse is true. At the time the mules were discarded and electric power introduced by
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FIRST TROLLEY CAR
the new company it had no franchise for the use of the streets. Messrs. Henry, Matter and their associates felt confident that the people would appreciate the improvement in the service and that the city council would be willing to grant them a franchise upon liberal terms. They were not mistaken, for on May 30, 1892, the council granted the new company a franchise for thirty years. As soon as this was done the company began the work of rebuilding the lines. The old iron rails were taken up and heavy steel rails were put in their place. Old lines were extended and new ones constructed. A large power house was built and a better class of cars was put into service. Anderson was the first city in the gas belt to boast of an electric street railway, and it is a matter for congratulation that the company was composed of local capitalists whose interests were identical with those of the people. In
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IIISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
1896 Mr. Henry constructed the electric line from Anderson to Alex- andria, which was the beginning of central Indiana's great interurban system of electric railways now operated by the Union Traction Company.
Long before the discovery of natural gas or the introduction of electric lights, Anderson was lighted by artificial, or manufactured gas. Soon after the city was incorporated in 1865 Milton N. Harriman, then city marshal, and John P. Barnes, a member of the city council, secured the erection of iron posts through the business section, upon each of which was placed a kerosene lamp. These were Anderson's first street lights. In 1875 the city made a contract with G. F. Good, of Astabula, Ohio, and H. C. Bardwell, of New York, to light the streets with gas and gave them the use of the streets for a period of twenty years. The gas plant-a comparatively small affair-was completed on July 2, 1875, and on the evening of the 3d gas was used for lighting purposes for the first time in Anderson. The gas was of good quality and was so far supe- rior to any light that had preceded it that in a short time the company was taxed to its full capacity to supply the demand.
About a year later N. C. Mccullough, one of the most energetic and progressive of Anderson's citizens, saw that the enterprise was a paying proposition and purchased the plant of the original builders. He con- tinued the manufacture of illuminating gas successfully until the discovery of natural gas in 1887. In the summer of that year Mr. Mccullough merged his interests in the Anderson Gas and Oil Company. The first gas plant stood at the corner of Twelfth and Main streets and remained there until Mr. Mccullough sank a gas well in what was then known as Mccullough Park, at the east end of Eighth street. This gas well, known as "Vesuvius," was the largest ever opened in the Madison county gas field, having a capacity of 10,000,000 cubic feet per day. Mr. Mccullough then removed the gas plant to East Eighth street, enlarged the capacity to meet the demands of the community, and for a year thereafter mixed natural gas with the manufactured product, furnishing the citizens with gas for lighting purposes at a cheap rate until the consolidation of the artificial and natural gas interests. Charles T. Doxey then became a stockholder and the Anderson Gas and Oil Company absorbed the artificial plant, which was consolidated with the Citizens' Gas Company and the artificial plant passed out of existence. The old plant, that stood idle for many years, with its franchise, was purchased by the late C. W. Hooven and is now a part of the system operated by the Central Indiana Gas Company, though the old retorts and buildings have been dismantled and a new plant erected.
A postoffice was established at Anderson in 1831 and Robert N. Williams was appointed postmaster. He was also auditor and clerk of the county and kept the postoffice in the clerk's office. At that time Anderson was a station on the mail route running from Indianapolis to Centerville, via Noblesville, Perkinsville, Anderson and Newcastle. The mails were carried on horseback, the post-rider making two trips a week. In 1839 Mr. Williams was succeeded by Nineveh Berry. It is said that when a mail would arrive Colonel Berry would place the letters in his hat and start out to deliver them to the persons to whom they were addressed. From this fact he is credited with being the first postmaster
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to introduce the free delivery system in Indiana, but the actual free delivery system in Anderson was introduced by Postmaster H. J. Daniels on June 3, 1890, when four carriers appointed by him and confirmed by the government went into service. Shortly after that the number was increased by the addition of two carriers and in 1893 four more were added.
For many years the postoffice was kept in such buildings as could be secured at a reasonable rental. In May, 1841, the county commissioners rented a room in the court-house to Postmaster Berry, for which he was to pay three dollars a month "so long as he remains in the same." The present postoffice building at the northeast corner of Eleventh and Jackson streets was erected by the Federal government at a cost of $85,000, and was opened for business in August, 1906. In 1913 the
ANDERSON POSTOFFICE
persons employed in the office were the postmaster, assistant postmaster, fifteen clerks, two substitute clerks, fifteen city carriers, two substitute carriers for the city and thirteen rural carriers. The receipts of the office for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1913, were $91,100.03. During the year the office issued domestic money orders amounting to $146,692.95 and international orders amounting to $18,484.82. The orders paid during the same period amounted to $215,340.90 for the domestic and $2,817.20 for the international-quite a change from the good old days when Colonel Berry carried around the receipts of an entire mail in his hat. The present postmaster is Henry P. Hardie.
The first hotel-or tavern, as houses of entertainment were called in those days-in Anderson was kept by John Berry, the founder of the town, in a hewed log house on the west side of the public square. It
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
was the boast of the proprietor that his house had the best beds in the United States, though he admitted that there might be more imposing hotels in New York and a few other large eities. Berry's house was a favorite stopping place for the lawyers who followed the sessions of the court from one county seat to another on the circuit.
"Unele Billy" Myers was the second hotel keeper in the town. His tavern was a two-story log house on the south side of the square. The building was burned in 1851 and the same day Mr. Myers purchased the property at the southwest corner of Main and Tenth streets and imme- diately resumed business. Some years later he bought a two-story build- ing on the east side of the square and here he conducted the "Myers House" until old age compelled. him to retire.
Another famous hostelry of the pioneer days was the "One Mile ITouse," which was built in 1839 by the widow of David Harris. It
ONE MILE HOUSE
stood on the bank of Green's branch, on the Strawtown road, or about where Eighth street now crosses Green's branch. David Harris and his wife came to Madison county about 1826. His death occurred about a year later and his body was interred in the old Indian burying ground on East Ninth street. It is thought that his bones were taken away by the Pan Handle Railroad Company when it opened a gravel pit on the site of the old graveyard. The One Mile House was a two-story log structure, with a one-story wing extending to the rear and for many years it was the principal stopping place in the vicinity of Anderson for immigrants going westward over the Strawtown road. Another hotel of note in early times was the Antrim House, which stood on the site now occupied by the Williams block on Meridian street, opposite the Union building.
In 1852 Alfred Makepeace ereeted a three-story brick building at the southwest corner of Main and Ninth streets, which was really the first pretentious hotel in the town. It was long known as the "United States Hotel" and was one of the best known houses of entertainment
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in central Indiana. After the death of Mr. Makepeace in 1875 the building was torn down and a business block was erected upon the site.
The Doxey House, which is still doing business at the northeast corner of Ninth and Main streets, was erected by Col. Thomas N. Stilwell and was opened to the public as the "Stilwell House" in 1871 by John Elliott, of Richmond, Indiana. The property was purchased by N. C. Mccullough in April, 1875, from the administrator of the Stilwell estate and a year later Mr. Mccullough sold it to Maj. Charles T. Doxey, whose name it still bears.
In 1878 the Windsor Hotel was built by Cal. Lee at the northwest corner of Seventh and Meridian, and in 1880 the Griffith House was erected by George R. Griffith at the southeast corner of Tenth and Meridian. Both these hotels have gone out of business. A business block occupies the site of the Windsor and the Anderson Trust Company has its place on the corner where the Griffith once dispensed good cheer.
After the discovery of natural gas J. W. Lovett and Dr. H. E. Jones built the Hotel Anderson on North Meridian street between Sixth and Seventh. It is now owned and occupied by the Loyal Order of Moose for the supreme offices and as a club house.
The first newspaper published in the city was the Federal Union, which was likewise the first paper publisher in Madison county. It was started by T. J. Langdon in 1834, but was discontinued after a few months. A more complete account of the newspapers and periodicals of the present day will be found in the chapter on Educational Develop- ment.
The first drug store was started by Dr. J. W. Westerfield in 1843, on the south side of the public square, where he continued in business until 1846, when he sold out to Atticus Siddall. The store was destroyed by the big fire of 1851, which consumed the entire south side of the square. About the beginning of the Civil war Dr. Westerfield again became the proprietor of the store, and during the war the firm was Westerfield & Menefee. Subsequently the place of business-on the east side of the square-became widely known as the Henderson drug store. This concern has been mentioned because it was one of the famous places of rendezvous of the Madison county politicians. Many times have the "pins been set up" at Henderson's drug store for the nomination of some individual for an office, or for the defeat of another who was not looked upon with favor. The old building is still standing and were the walls endowed with the power of speech they could doubt- less tell of many a political intrigue of bygone days.
Shortly after Anderson started on its natural gas boom some of the business men began to advocate some sort of an organization for the purpose of advertising the advantages of Anderson as a location for new factories and in other ways advancing the material interests of the city. The result of this agitation was that on the evening of May 24, 1887, a meeting was held at the court house for the purpose of organizing a board of trade. George Nichol presided and E. E. Hendee was chosen secretary. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution, by-laws and articles of association, which it seems had been prepared in advance,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
as they were adopted the same evening. At a second meeting, held at Chipman & Chipman's law office on the evening of May 31, 1887, George Nichol was elected president and M. A. Chipman, secretary.
At this meeting a communication in the nature of a proposal from a prominent glass manufacturer was read and discussed, but no definite action was taken to secure the location of the plant. Later in the year the board became more active and a number of new industries were established in Anderson under its influence.
An interesting relic of Anderson's early days is now owned by John L. Forkner. For want of a better name it might be called the first city directory. It was compiled by Eli P. Brown in 1876 and is written out with a pen in an old account book, the names being arranged in alphabetical order by wards. On the front page is the inscription : "Centennial Census, July, 1876, by Eli P. Brown." Opposite the name of each person of foreign birth is written in the margin his nationality, and the recapitulation shows 652 Irish, 266 Germans, 21 English, 12 French, 3,116 native born, and 51 colored-a total of 4,118. Of this population 1,195 were children between the ages of six and twenty-one years, and 527 were children under the age of six years.
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