History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 21

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918

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 21

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In 1867 the Anderson & Lafayette pike was built from Anderson to Frankton, in Lafayette township, a distance of six miles, for $1,800 per mile. A portion of this road follows the old Newcastle and Logansport state road. The same year the company was organized to build the road known as the Killbuck pike, which runs northward from Anderson and intersects the Anderson and Alexandria pike near the Big Killbuck creek. From this point it extends in a northeasterly direction into Richland

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY

township, its total length being about seven miles. The cost of construc- tion was about $1,200 per mile.

A second pike, called east line road, was built from Anderson to New Columbus in 1868 by a company of which George Nichol, Michael Stohler, Ephraim Clem, Henry Keller and George F. Chittenden were the moving spirits. It followed the road to Chesterfield for about a mile from Anderson, when it turned abruptly to the south and followed the section line to New Columbus. The cost of this road was $1,100 per mile.

A gravel road known as the Madison and Hancock pike was built in 1870, beginning at the Pendleton and Newcastle pike about two miles east of Pendleton and running due south to the county line, thence to War- rington, Hancock county. Three miles of the road are in Madison county, and this portion of the road was constructed at a cost of $3,600.

The last toll road to be built in the county was the Anderson and Ham- ilton pike, which was constructed in 1872. During the era of turnpikes the roads of this character in Madison county were kept in good condi- tion and most of them paid good dividends upon the capital invested. Travelers through the county made many favorable comments upon the condition of the turnpikes, and while some other counties in the state might have had more miles of improved road, it is certain that none showed a better class of such highways than Madison. In 1885 the legis- lature passed an act providing for the purchase of toll roads by the county commissioners in the several counties of the state, whenever a majority of the voters at a general election expressed themselves in favor of such a proposition. Within five years after the taking effect of this law the people of Madison county had voted in favor of buying all the turnpikes and converting them into free gravel roads. If this meas- ure has its advantages it also has its disadvantages. Money expended by a private corporation in the repair of a turnpike generally pro- duced better results than the same amount of the public funds expended in the repair and maintenance of free gravel roads. In the one case the work was always done under the supervision of a competent man in the employ of the company, while in the other it is too frequently done under a careless or incompetent official. Madison county now has ap- proximately five hundred miles of free gravel road, most of which is in good condition, though it is possible that none of these highways comes up to the standard of the old turnpike.

During the first twenty years of Indiana's statehood-from 1816 to 1836-scarcely a session of the legislature was convened in which there were not introduced one or more bills looking toward the establishment of some system of internal improvements. Most of the governors during this period were interested in the development of the resources of Indiana and their messages to the general assembly were replete with recommendations, some of which possessed merit, but many of them would now be regarded as visionary in the extreme. Governor Ray was especially energetic in his efforts to secure the enactment of laws that would enable the state to prosecute "a grand system of internal improve- ment to a successful termination, and for the ultimate production of a revenue that shall relieve our fellow-citizens from taxation."

The prevalent idea seemed to be that water navigation was the one

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thing needed to stimulate commerce and develop the natural resources of the state. As early as 1822 the states of Indiana and Illinois began to work together for the improvement of the Wabash river, and in 1823 the subject of connecting the Maumee and Wabash rivers by a canal came before the legislatures of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. Nothing definite was done at that time, but in 1827 the federal government gave to the State of Indiana a large grant of land to aid in the construction of a canal to connect Lake Erie with the Wabash river. Work on the eanal was commenced in 1832, under the supervision of a board of canal commissioners.

Four years later the financial condition of the state was thought to be such as to justify the inauguration of an extensive system of public works. An aet was accordingly passed by the legislature of 1836, authorizing the appointment of a board of internal improvements, to consist of six persons appointed by the governor "by and with the ad- vice of the senate and the canal commissioners then in office." Eight great water and land thoroughfares were specified in the bill, only one of which directly affected Madison county, but the subject is deemed of sufficient interest to justify the insertion here of the entire list, that the reader may learn what ideas were entertained three-quarters of a cen- tury ago with regard to the development of the state. The routes were as follows :

1. The Whitewater Canal, which was to begin on the west branch of the Whitewater river at the crossing of the national road and thence down the Whitewater valley to the Ohio river at Lawrenceburg.

2. The Central Canal, "to commence at the most suitable point on the Wabash & Erie Canal, between Fort Wayne and Logansport, run- ning thence to Muncietown; thence to Indianapolis; thenee down the valley of the west fork of the White river to its junetion with the east fork of said river, and thence by the most practicable route to Evans- ville, on the Ohio river."

3. The extension of the Wabash & Erie Canal from the month of the Tippecanoe river to Terre Haute.

4. The construction of a railroad from Madison to Indianapolis via Columbus and certain other points named in the bill.

5. A macadamized road from New Albany to Vincennes over a route including Fredericksburg, Salem and Paoli.

6. The construction of a railroad, or, if a railroad was found to be inexpedient, a turnpike from Jeffersonville to Crawfordsville.

7. The improvement of the Wabash river from Vincennes to the mouth of the stream.

8. A canal from the Wabash & Erie Canal near Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan.

The second of these projects was the one in which Madison county was directly interested. Of the $10,000,000 appropriated to carry out the intent of the bill, $3,500,000 were to be devoted to the construction of the Central Canal. In the construction of this eanal the board of internal improvement commissioners was given the option of building it upon the "lower, or Pipe ereek route, if found most practicable and conducive to the interests of the state," in which case a branch or

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"feeder" was to be built to Muncietowu, this branch to be of the same size as the main canal. The commissioners selected the Pipe creek route and as soon as the survey was made rival towns sprang up like magic along the line of the proposed canal. The excitement was almost equal to that which followed the discovery of gold in California, or when oil was first struck in western Pennsylvania.

In 1838 work was commenced upon that portion of the canal running through Madison county. According to old maps of the county, the canal ran southward past Alexandria and through the western part of Richland township, striking the little Killbuck creek not far from the village of Prosperity, following that stream to the White river, and thence down the river valley as provided in the act of 1836. The Muncie branch was surveyed to unite with the main canal at Anderson.

Says Dillon, in his history of Indiana: "In fixing the mode of or- ganizing a state board internal improvement, and in defining the duties and powers of this board, the general assembly of 1836 committed several material errors. On account of these errors, and for other reasons, the internal improvement law of 1836 encountered a strong op- position ; and this opposition was most marked among the people of those counties through which the lines of the proposed public works did not pass."

This opposition, like Banquo's ghost, would not down, and by 1839 it became so insistent that work upon the internal improvements was suspended. In his message to the legislature in December, 1839, Gov- ernor Wallace summed up the situation as follows: "The failure to procure funds, as we had a right to expect from the extensive sale of bonds effected in the early part of the season, has led to great and un- usual embarrassments, not only among the contractors and laborers, but also among the people. The state has, in consequence, fallen largely in debt to the former, and is without means of discharging it. * *

* * What shall be done with the public works? Shall they be abandoned altogether? I hope not. In my opinion, the policy of the state, in the present emergency, should be, first, to provide against the dilapidation of those portions of the works left in an unfinished state, and, secondly, as means can be procured, to finish some entirely, and complete others, at least, to points where they may be rendered available or useful to the country."

The legislature of 1839 authorized the issue of $1,500,000 of state treasury notes for the payment of the contractors and other public creditors. These notes circulated as currency for a time at their face value, but within two years they had depreciated from 40 to 50 per cent. At the close of the year 1841 over $8,000,000 had been ex- pended on the internal improvements contemplated by the act of 1836, and it was estimated that $20,000,000 more would be necessary to com- plete the system according to the original designs. Public sentiment was against any further issue of state bonds, or any increase in the public debt to carry on the work, and the whole scheme collapsed. Madison county, in common with others along the lines of the canals and highways, suffered a severe blow. Most of the towns that had com- menced their career with such a flourish of triumpets were abandoned

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and it was several years before the business of the county resumed its normal condition.

Several years after the abandonment of the Central Canal by the state, certain persons beeame interested in a proposition to complete that portion of it situated between Anderson and Daleville and convert- ing it into a hydraulic canal. After some talk the subject was dropped, but shortly after the close of the Civil war it again eame up for consid- eration, with the result that on December 19, 1868, the Anderson Hydraulie Company was organized with a capital stock of $64,000 sub- seribed. Later the eity of Anderson subscribed for $20,000 of the stock and issued bonds for the amount. N. C. Mccullough was elected presi- dent of the company; C. D. Thompson, secretary; William Crim, treas- nrer; N. C. McCullough, William Crim, Peter Suman, H. J. Blacklidge, George Nichol, Samuel Hughel and James Hazlett, directors. Con- tracts were let for reconstructing the canal on the original survey from Anderson to Daleville, a distance of eight miles, but nearly seven years passed before it was finished. On July 4, 1874, the water was turned into the eanal from the White river opposite Daleville, but the banks were unable to stand the pressure and gave way at so many places that the water was shut off. After the breaks were repaired the water was again turned on, but again the banks gave way. By this time the stoek- holders had reached the conclusion that the undertaking was doomed to ultimate failure and refused to furnish any more money for experi- menting, $80,000 having already been expended with no show of prac- tical results. The canal was afterward sold by the sheriff of Madison county to Edward H. Rogers to satisfy certain judgments held by him against the company. This was the last echo of the old Indiana Central Canal that once buoyed up the hopes of the people of Madison county, and they turned their attention to other plans of development.

While the states were turning their attention to the building of canals as a means of developing their natural resources, a few miles of railroad were built in the east, and thoughtful men foresaw that this was the coming method of transportation. Many were skeptical, how- ever, and many were actually opposed to the introduction of this method of traffic. About 1830 some young men of Lancaster, Ohio, asked the school board to permit them to use the schoolhouse for the discussion of the railroad question. To this request the board replied as follows :

"You are welcome to the use of the school house to debate all proper questions in, but such things as railroads and telegraphs are impossi- bilities and rank infidelity. 'There is nothing in the Word of God about them. If God had designed that His intelligent ereatures should travel at the frightful speed of fifteen miles an hour, by steam, He would clearly have foretold it through His holy prophets. It is a device of Satan to lead immortal souls down to hell."

A few years after the abandonment of the Indiana Central Canal, a company was organized to build a railroad from Indianapolis to Belle- fontaine, Ohio. As this line was to pass through Madison county public interest was aroused, and, while the opposition was not so pronounced as that of the Lancaster school board, there were a few pessimistic indi- viduals who expressed their doubts as to the advisability of spending

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time and money in the construction of railroad, the disadvantages of which might be greater than the advantages. One prominent citizen of Anderson objected to the road running through the town, because the cars would "run over and kill the children." Another insisted that the road would have to be operated at loss, for the reason that "one train could haul all the produce of the county for twenty years at one load."

Notwithstanding such objections, a large majority of the people were in favor of the road and did everything in their power to encourage its construction. In the light of modern progress, the objections of 1840 seem puerile in the extreme. And although the holy prophets failed to foretell a "frightful speed of fifteen miles an hour," it is no uncommon occurrence for the railway train of the present day to travel at a rate four times that great.

At the June session of the Madison county commissioners in 1849 it was "Ordered that the County Commissioners, for and on behalf of the county of Madison, take and subscribe the sum of $15,500, which, includ- ing the sum of $500 heretofore subscribed, makes $16,000, as stock in the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad Company, to be paid in four equal annual installments, and to be expended within the county of Madison."

The records do not show what became of the stock subscribed for by the county, nor can any of the old settlers remember what disposition was made of it. That the stock was issued to the commissioners is shown by the following letter from `O. H. Smith, author of "Early Reminis- cences of Indiana," and at one time United States senator, but in 1849 president of the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad Company :

OFFICE I. & B. R. R. Co. Indianapolis, Sept. 4, 1849.

To the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Madison : Gentlemen :- The board of directors of the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad Company, in session this day, have adopted the following resolution :

"On motion by Mr. Williams: Resolved, That the board do hereby accept the subscription of stock to the company of $15,500 by the board of county commissioners of the county of Madison, upon the terms of said subscription, and that the president be directed to cause the sub- scription to be entered on the books of the company, and notify said board thereof, and issue to the county of Madison a certificate of stock for the proper number of shares."

You are therefore hereby notified that the subscription aforesaid has been entered on the books of the company, and a certificate for 620 shares of stock has been accordingly issued and is herein enclosed.

Witness the signature of the president and secretary and seal of the company, the day and year above written.

O. H. SMITH, Prest. Attest : JAS. G. JORDAN, Secy.

In addition to this subscription by the county, many of the citizens showed their faith in the enterprise by taking stock in the company and

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work on the road was prosecuted with vigor. On July 4, 1851, the first railroad train that ever ran into Anderson-an excursion train from Indianapolis-came in over this road. The locomotive was one of the old-fashioned "wood burners," with a smoke stack shaped like a funnel, and the train consisted of three unvarnished coaches, with plain wooden seats, quite uulike the upholstered seats of the present day coaches. News of the excursion had spread over the surrounding country and for two days before the scheduled time for its arrival curious sight-seers were seen coming into Anderson, some of them from points several miles distant, to see the curiosity of coaches drawn over rails by a steam engine. Hotels and boarding houses were taxed to their utmost capacity and near the wagon bridge over the White river, north of town, a camp was established by those who were unable to find better accommodations. Buildings in the town were decorated with flags and bunting and every thing possible was done to make July 4th a red letter day in the city's calendar. As the hour for the arrival of the train approached a number of people, unable to restrain their impatience, walked some two miles down the track toward Indianapolis in order to catch an early view of the excursion. When the train came in sight the engineer sounded a few shrill blasts from the whistle as welcome. Consternation reigned among the curious sight-seers and they set out with more speed than grace for the "tall timber" in search of a place of safety. It is said that one man never stopped running until he reached Anderson. After the train had been inspected, citizens and excursionists joined in an appropriate celebration of the anniversary of national independence.

In 1852 the road was completed through the county and a station was established at Anderson, the first building erected by the company standing near the present depot and passenger station. Philip Siddall was the first ticket and freight agent, and also the first telegraph operator in Anderson. He was a man of pleasing personality, who quickly made friends and incidentally increased the business of both the railroad and telegraph companies. In due time the road was completed to Bellefontaine and subsequently to Cleveland, Ohio, when it became known as the "Bee Line." It is now operated by the New York Central Railroad Company and is known as the Cleveland division of the Big Four Railway System. Through Madison county the line is double- tracked, with stations at Ingalls, Pendleton, Anderson and Chesterfield. It is one of the leading railway lines of the Middle West and in connec- tion with the old Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad forms a popular route from the region of the great lakes to the southwest.

The second railroad to enter Madison county was the Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line-now a branch of the Pennsylvania System and usually called the Pan Handle. It enters the county about eight miles north of the southeast corner and follows a northwesterly direction through Anderson, Florida, Frankton and Elwood, leaving the county on the west at the northwest corner of Pipe Creek township. This road was projected about the same time as the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine, but was not completed through Madison county until about three years later. Soon after the Columbus, Piqua & Indianapolis railroad was finished the company, seeing that Chicago was rapidly becoming a city

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of importance to the commercial world, decided upon a line from Rich- mond to Chicago. During the years 1850-51 the road was built from Richmond to Hagerstown, a distance of sixteen miles, and the next year it was finished as far as Newcastle. Little progress was made during the next three years, but early in the summer of 1855 the line was completed as far as Anderson. On July 4, 1855-just four years after the first train came into that town over the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine-an excursion train of four coaches came up from Richmond.

Again the town of Anderson was in gala attire, the people coming from all directions to join in the celebration. Perhaps the curiosity was not so great as on the former occasion, but there were still citizens of Madison county who had not yet seen a railroad train and they were

PENNSYLVANIA R. R. STATION

very much in evidenee. Speech-making, wrestling matehes and other athletic contests constituted the principal features of the celebration that followed the arrival of the excursion, musie being furnished by a "sheepskin band," composed of a bass drum, snare drum and a fife. The engine that drew the excursion train was not much larger than one of the sixteen horse-power traction engines of the present day used for running threshing machines. In the early days of railroading in Indi- ana the locomotives were named instead of being numbered, and nearly every town or city through which the Cincinnati & Chieago Air Line passed was anxious to have an engine named after it. The officials of the road, glad to please the people, named several of their locomotives after the county seats along the line. Old residents still reeall the "Logansport," the "Anderson, " the "Neweastle," the "Chicago" and other engines that in their day were considered magnificent pieces of machinery. Then there were the "Swinett," a rather diminutive affair, the first engine on the road, with John Smock as the first engineer, her

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twin. the "Julia Dean" the "S. Fosdick," which was named after one of the officials of the railroad company, and last but not least the "Hoosier," whose whistle could be heard for miles. It used to be said that when Mark Smith. the engineer of the Hoosier, would make that whistle do its best he could shake the beech nuts off the trees in the woods along the road.

The first depot and passenger station of the Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line in Anderson stood at the north end of Main street, near the river. It was near this old station that the locomotive "Anderson" came to grief in the year 1860. While the engineer was eating a lunch in Dehority's restaurant opposite the depot, the boiler exploded with ter- rific force, throwing fragments in every direction. Fortunately no one was hurt. but the explosion ended the career of one of the favorite engines on the road.

Shortly after the close of the Civil war the Grand Rapids, Wabash & Cincinnati Railroad Company was organized and in 1569 made a prop- osition to the citizens of Anderson. Monroe and Van Buren township, of Madison county. that if certain aid was extended a road would be built from White Pigeon. Michigan. to Anderson. About the same time the Lafayette. Muncie & Bloomington Railroad Company made a similar proposition and at a special session on October 12. 1869. the county commissioners accepted a petition relating to the matter and ordered "that an election be held on Monday. November 15, 1869, for the pur- pose of taking a vote upon the question of appropriating $147,000, hy Madison county. to aid in the construction of the roads above named."

At the election the proposition was carried by a substantial majority. the commissioners levied a tax in accordance with the vote. and prepara- tions were made to begin work on the roads. Before anything was done, however. a number of citizens of the county joined in bringing a suit to enjoin the collection of the tax and after several years of litigation the supreme court decided against the appropriation. The money already collected under the levy was returned to the taxpayers by the county treasurer.

Five years later, in 1874, the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Rail- road Company-the successor of the Grand Rapids, Wabash & Cincin- nati-came forward with a proposition to complete the road to Ander- son. provided sufficient encouragement was offered. At the March term in 1874, the commissioners ordered an election in Anderson township for May 2nd (the first Saturday) for the purpose of taking a vote upon the question of donating $28.000 to aid in the construction of the road. At the same time elections were held in the townships of Monroe, Boone and Van Buren, the donations asked for in these townships being $24.000 in Monroe. $7,500 in Boone. and $5.000 in Van Buren. Monroe township voted in favor of the proposition, but in Van Buren it was defeated by a vote of 120 to 90. In Boone township the first returns indicated that the proposition had carried. but. upon complaint that a number of illegal votes had been cast. a recount was ordered and the donation was defeated. Another election was ordered to be held in Van Buren township on December 15. 1874. and as a special inducement to the voters it was " Provided that the said Cincinnati, Wabash & Mich-

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History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 21

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926 Publication date: 1970 Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc. Number of Pages: 918

Author: Forkner, John La Rue, 1844-1926
Publication date: 1970
Publisher: Evansville Ind. : Unigraphic, Inc.
Number of Pages: 918