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 22
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
igan Railroad makes a station within one-fourth of a mile of Lot No. 1, in the town or village of Summitville, in said Van Buren township." Again the proposition was defeated in that township, which reconsidered at a later date, however, and work was commenced upon the road be- tween Wabash and Anderson. It was completed to the latter city in the spring of 1876, giving Anderson three railroad lines.
It was the orginal intention of the railroad company to complete the road to Louisville, Kentucky, but after Anderson was reached nearly fifteen years elapsed before anything was done toward the building of the southern extension. Work on that portion of the road was begun in 1890 and was pushed with such despatch that in May, 1891, the com- pany published the announcement that the road was open for business from Benton Harbor, Michigan, to Louisville, Kentucky. From North Vernon, Indiana, this road uses the tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern to Louisville. Soon after the line was finished it passed to the control of the Big Four Railroad System and is now known as the Michigan division of the Big Four. Over thirty miles of the main track are in Madison county and the stations in the county are Summitville, Alexandria, Linwood, Anderson, Alliance, Emporia and Markleville. The first station in Anderson erected by this company stood on the east side of the track between Fifth and Sixth streets. It was destroyed by fire and was never rebuilt, the road having in the meantime been taken over by the Big Four.
The history of the Lafayette, Muncie & Bloomington Railroad is not materially different from that of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan. After several futile efforts, aid was finally extended to the company and the road was completed through Madison county in 1875-76. Soon after it went into operation it became a part of the Lake Erie & Western Rail- road System, of which Calvin S. Brice, of Ohio, was then president. Mr. Brice was a good financier, understood railroad building, was ambi- tious and anxious to build up a great system of transportation. A good story is told of a bout between him and the late Commodore Vanderbilt, and while it is not directly connected with Madison county history it shows the character of the man who at one time dominated one of the county's leading lines of railway. Brice and his coterie built a line of railroad through northern Indiana to parallel the Lake Shore & Michi- gan Southern, which was controlled by the Vanderbilt interests. After the road was finished it was offered to Vanderbilt, in order that he might prevent competition. When the price was named it seemed to the great railroad king to be prohibitive and he replied : "Why, Brice, I wouldn't pay that for your old road if it was nickel plated." Notwithstanding this positive refusal, Brice soon made competition so keen that the old commodore was glad to purchase the road at the figure named. It was in this way that the "Nickel Plate" got its name. After Mr. Brice's death the Lake Erie & Western became a part of the New York Central System.
A little over fifteen miles of the main track of this road is in Madison county. The line crosses the eastern boundary about ten miles south of the northeast corner and runs west through Alexandria, Orestes, Dundee and Elwood into Tipton county.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
The last railroad to be constructed through Madison county, even though it be considered of less importance than the others, has a more tumultuous history than any of them. In the spring of 1871 seven men met in Lebanon, Indiana, and started a movement for the construction of the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Railroad. At the September term of the commissioners' court of Madison county, Colonel Thomas N. Stil- well, the president of the company, came forward with a petition signed by many prominent citizens and taxpayers of the county, asking the board to order an election in Anderson township for October 21, 1871, for the purpose of allowing the voters an opportunity to express their views upon the question of appropriating money to aid in the construc- tion of the road. At the same session a petition was also presented to the board by the people of Stony Creek township, asking that an elec- tion be held in that township to vote on the proposition of levying a tax of 20 per cent on the property of the township for the benefit of the enterprise. Both elections were held on the same day and in each town- ship a majority of the voters expressed themselves as being in favor of extending the assistance asked for, though many of the citizens after- ward refused to pay the tax.
This refusal embarrassed the railroad company and meetings were held at various points along the line of the proposed road to arouse in- terest and secure individual subscriptions. Stock was also sold at $50 a share and some money was realized by this method. On April 17, 1873, the first shovelful of earth was cast at Anderson by President Stilwell and the construction of the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Railroad was begun. Work proceeded slowly and it was not until December 11, 1875, that the first spike was driven at Anderson at 2:30 p. m. President Zion, who had succeeded Colonel Stilwell, made a speech congratulating the people upon the prospects of a speedy com- pletion of the road. Mayor Brown made a brief response to Mr. Zion's address, after which the first rail was laid in place and Mr. Zion drove the first spike, remarking at the time that it gave him intense pleasure.
At the time the road was commenced the country was in the throes of the hard times resulting from the panic of 1873, and nearly two years passed between the time the first rail was laid at Anderson and the com- pletion of the road to Noblesville, about twenty miles west. Then the company advertised the "First Grand Sunday School Picnic and excur- sion from Noblesville to Anderson, over the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Railroad, Thursday, June 14, 1877." In the meantime the road had been thrown into the hands of a receiver and was sold by the I'mited States marshal at Indianapolis on April 10, 1877. when it was purchased by Thomas Platt, president of the American Express ('om- pany, for $40,000. At that time the bonded indebtedness of the company was nearly $300,000, and preferred claims, receiver's certificates, etc., aggregated about $40,000 more.
Mr. Platt, soon after his purchase, turned the road over to Harry Crawford, of Chicago, who reorganized the company, changed the name of the road to the Cleveland, Indiana & St. Louis Railroad. and began the work of extending the line westward from Noblesville, the objective point being Paris, Illinois, where connections could be made to St. Louis
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and other western cities. When Lebanon was reached there was another delay for want of ready money, but in course of time the track was com- pleted to Waveland, in the southwest corner of Montgomery county. From Waveland the trains of the new company used the tracks of the Vandalia to Sand Creek (twenty-two miles) and from Sand Creek the road was completed to Brazil, a distance of twelve miles. About the same time the road was extended eastward from Anderson to Muncie, the present eastern terminal.
For many years the old Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Railroad was a standing joke among the newspaper humorists of the state. It is now known as the Central Indiana, and since the failure of natural gas in the cities near its eastern terminus is earning dividends in the transporta- tion of coal to supply fuel to many of the factories established in that region during the period when natural gas was abundant.
Just before the receiver's sale of the road in April, 1877, the com- pany owned two locomotives, both of which were attached by the sheriff of Madison county and chained to the track to satisfy a judgment. The present company owns eleven locomotives and sufficient other rolling stock to handle the traffic. The only stations on this road in Madison county are Anderson and Lapel, though at one time Johnson's Crossing and Graber's Station were stopping points.
In 1892 the Anderson belt railroad was built by a number of local capitalists and manufacturers for the purpose of providing better ship- ping facilities for the various manufacturing concerns of the city. This road connects with each of the main lines and makes Anderson one of the best shipping points in the state.
An improvement of purely local interest, but one that might be classed as internal improvements, is the ditches that have been con- structed in the county for the purpose of reclaiming the swamp lands and bringing them under cultivation. The first drains in the county were constructed by voluntary associations formed by those whose inter- ests in the draining of a certain district were mutual. This method was found to be unsatisfactory, for the reason that it often happened some land owner, whose farm would be benefited by the ditch, would refuse to pay anything toward its construction, and there was no way by which he could be forced to pay a just share, in proportion to benefits received.
On March 10, 1873, Governor Hendricks approved an act providing for the organization of ditch associations, defining their duties and powers, etc. This law, while an improvement over the old voluntary association method, was unsatisfactory, as it provided no way to prevent any one opposed to the construction of a ditch from carrying out his opposition. effectively and interposing an obstacle that could not be over- come by those in favor of it. A supplementary act gave the county com- missioners power to order the construction of a ditch, upon petition of a given number of those whose lands would be benefited thereby, and to levy assessments in proportion to the benefits derived. This system was better than any that had preceded it and many of the ditches in Madison county were constructed under its provisions. As mile after mile of drain was built, the objectors began to see the advantages arising from such a course and the opposition gradually became weaker, until today
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
it would be almost impossible to find a land owner in the county who is not in favor of a thorough going drainage system.
By the act of April 8, 1881, the appointment of a drainage commis- sioner for each county was authorized, and provisions made for the hearing of petitions by the circuit court. This shortened the process somewhat, as in the former method, when the commissioners ordered a ditch, an appeal could be taken to the cirenit court, thus delaying the construction of a needed improvement. By presenting the petition directly to the court the appeal and delay are forestalled. "Recent legis- latures have passed numerous acts regarding the drainage and reclama- tion of swamp lands, and since the beginning of the present century many of the old ditches of Madison county have been reopened and new ones built, until at the present time it is estimated that there are eight hundred miles of main diteh in the county. The expense has been enor-
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UNION BUILDING, ANDERSON
mous but has been more than offset by the increase in the output of the farms and the value of agricultural lands.
One internal improvement that has been an important factor in add- ing to the prestige of Madison county as a commercial and industrial center is the system of electric railways now operated by the Union Traction Company. The first dream of an interurban railroad in this section of the country originated in the mind of Samuel T. Bronnenberg, of Anderson, about 1890. At that time the industrial activity due to natural gas was at its height and Anderson and Alexandria were both spreading out over new territory. When the Anderson street car lines were extended across the river to North Anderson, Mr. Bronnenberg conceived the idea of connecting the two cities with a line of electric railway. His idea was to secure a strip of land four hundred feet in width, extending from Anderson to Alexandria, through the center of
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
which was to be a boulevard one hundred feet in width, over which the railway would run. On either side the lands were to be beautified and divided into residence lots, making an ideal suburban locality. He obtained the greater portion of the right of way and had interested some outside capital in the project, when the hard times of 1893 set in, which put an end to the undertaking.
About this time Noalı Clodfelter, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, began the construction of an electric line from Marion to Indianapolis. A con- siderable portion of the road bed was graded and power houses built along the line, when the enterprise was overtaken by financial disaster and abandoned.
Charles L. Henry, one of the large stockholders in the Anderson Street Railway Company, then undertook the construction of a line from Anderson to Alexandria. This was the beginning of the Union Traction Company, which was incorporated on Septembr 3, 1897, by Charles L. Henry, Philip Matter, John L. Forkner, Ellis C. Carpenter and James A. Van Osdol. The line running from Anderson to Alex- andria was continued north to Summitville; a line was built from Alexandria to Elwood; the street railway properties in Anderson and Elwood were purchased by the company, and a little later the Marion street railway property was purchased, including an interurban line from Marion to Summitville. On June 27, 1899, the company, with all its holdings, was consolidated with the Muncie, Anderson & Indianap- olis Street Railroad Company, which owned the local street railway lines in Muncie and the right of way for an electric line from Muncie to Indianapolis.
The corporation formed by that consolidation took the name of the Union Traction Company of Indiana. The line from Muncie to Indi- anapolis, via Anderson, was constructed, and since then the company has acquired, by construction, consolidation and leases, enough lines to bring the total up to 370 miles of interurban railway, connecting the leading cities of what was formerly the gas belt with the city of Indianapolis, and fifty miles of city railway in the various cities where the company operates. Lines radiating from Indianapolis run to Ander- son, Muncie, Winchester, Union City, Hartford City, Bluffton, Elwood, Alexandria, Marion, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Kokomo, Tipton, Noblesville and Newcastle, and the intervening towns and villages.
The principal offices of the company, as well as the main power gen- erating plant and car shops, are located in Anderson, where, according to the last report of the state bureau of inspection, 210 people are em- ployed in various capacities connected with the company. The principal officers of the company are as follows: Arthur W. Brady, president; William H. Forse, secretary and treasurer; H. A. Nicholl, general manager : Walter Shroyer, auditor; J. A. Van Osdol, general attorney ; C. A. Baldwin, superintendent of transportation ; F. D. Norviel, general passenger and freight agent. The company has recently purchased ground at the corner of Twelfth and Meridian streets, in the city of Anderson, where it is intended to erect a new passenger and freight station in the near future.
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CHAPTER XI
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COUNTY SEMINARY-PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF ANDERSON-SCHOOLS OF OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS-VALLE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY-STATISTICS- COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS-FIRST GRADED SCHOOL-FRANKLIN'S PRIVATE SCHOOL-ANDERSON NORMAL UNIVERSITY-BUSINESS COL- LEGE-PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS THE PRESS-STRUGGLES OF THE EARLY NEWSPAPER-THE FIRST DAILY-HARDESTY'S WINDOW SHUTTER CAMPAIGN-PRESENT DAY NEWSPAPERS-PUBLIC LIBRARIES-SCHOOL LIBRARIES
In the chapters on Township History will be found accounts of the early schools in the rural districts, with statistics showing the condition of the publie schools in each township at the present time. The legisla- ture of 1828 passed an act providing for the establishment of county seminaries in the several counties of the state at public expense, but nearly twenty years elapsed before such an institution was founded in Madison county. In 1849 a two-story brick building was erected on the northeast corner of Main and Twelfth streets, in the town of Anderson. for a county seminary. This building was forty feet square, with a hall running east and west through the center. The lot upon which it stood was donated "for school purposes" by Andrew Jackson and Robert N. Williams, two citizens who believed in education. School was taught in this building until it was destroyed by fire in 1856.
Soon after the burning of the old seminary, a public school building was erected upon the site. It was used for more than thirty years, but was torn down in les> to make room for the present Main Street school. The second public school building in Anderson (known as the Second Ward school) was erected in 1868 at the corner of Seventh and Milton streets, but was torn down in 1895 to make way for the present commodi- ous building that occupies the site. In the meantime Anderson had been incorporated as a city in 1565 and a high school had been organized in 1873. After the erection of the Main street building in 1655 it was used for the high school until the Lincoln building was erected in 1890, at a cost of $39,000. when the high school was removed to the new building.
Two buildings were erected in 1891-the Park place building. which cost $9.000. and the Central Avenue school. located on Central avenue between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets. which cost $20,000. In 1892 the llazelwood building was erected at a cost of $20,000. and the next year the Columbia school, at the corner of Ninth and Madison, was erected at a cost of $22.500. In 1894 the building at the corner of Fol 1-12
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Seventh and Delaware streets was erected at a cost of $24,000. The Washington school, situated on Columbus avenue, between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets, was established in 1896 by the erection of a building that cost $37,000, and in 1897 the Shadeland school, a frame building of five rooms, was built at a cost of $3,000. The first high school building was erected in 1898. It is situated immediately south of the Lincoln building and is now called the grammar school.
Just after noon on December 18, 1901, fire was discovered in the basement of the Lincoln building. Through the ventilating ducts the flames soon found their way to all parts of the structure. The fire de- partment responded promptly, but the fire was not under control until eleven o'clock that night, when the building was reduced to ashes. It was immediately rebuilt.
The present high school building was erected in 1910 at a cost of
ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
$150,000. It is centrally located, on Lincoln street, between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets, and is considered by educators to be one of the best high school edifices in the state. In the building is a large audi- torium for public meetings, commencement exercises, etc. The school is also equipped with a gymnasium and swimming pool. The course of study includes the usual high school branches, manual training in wood and iron work for the boys, cooking and sewing for the girls, and kindred subjects. The display of this school at the "Made in Anderson" exhibit in June, 1913, attracted a great deal of attention, especially the speci- mens of pattern making and needlework from the manual training de. partments. The school is open to students from all parts of the county. Those who have completed the course of study in the township schools have their tuition paid from the township funds and all others pay a small tuition fee. In connection with the high school is a free night
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
school, in which is taught the ordinary school branches, shorthand, machine drawing, commercial chemistry, shop practice, pattern making, sewing, cookery, etc. The first high school class, consisting of four young ladies, was graduated in 1876. In 1912-13 there were 626 students enrolled in the Anderson high school. The school board that ordered the erection of the present magnificent high school was com- posed of Willis S. Ellis, F. A. Walker and W. B. Campbell.
The present members of the school board of Anderson are H. E. Jones, Austin Retherford and G. E. Nichol. Among those who have been prominently identified with the public school system of Anderson in the past may be mentioned Charles Hewett, T. C. Davis, W. R. Myers, Joseph Franklin, Dr. C. S. Burr, S. M. Keltner, C. W. Prather, George Quick, W. T. Durbin, N. C. Mccullough, A. J. Dipboye and J. S. Carr, all of whom served either on the board of education or as superintendent of the schools. The present superintendent is James B. Pearcy.
High School Building. Alexandria. Ind.
HIGH SCHOOL AT ALEXANDRIA
In 1913 the city of Anderson had eleven public school houses, ten of which were of modern brick construction, the value of buildings and grounds being estimated at $544,000. Of the 109 teachers employed in the city schools, twenty-three are in the high school.
In 1876 the town of Elwood had but one school building and employed four teachers. With the discovery of natural gas and the consequent increase in population the educational facilities were made to keep pace, until in 1913 the city had eight public school buildings, viz: High School, Linwoood, Central, Osborne, Washington, Edge- wood, North C street, and a small frame building in one of the out- skirts. Five of these buildings are of brick and three are frame. The total value of grounds and buildings was $210,000. Fifty-seven teach- ers were employed during the school year of 1912-13, nine of whom were in the commissioned high school. It is no exaggeration to say that no city of its size in the state offers better educational advantages to its young people than Elwood.
Alexandria has four public school buildings, known as the Old Cen- tral, the Clark, the Tomlinson and the High School. The three last
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
named are of modern construction and compare favorably with public schoolhouses anywhere, costing over $20,000 each. The corps of teach- ers in the Alexandria public schools in 1912-13 numbered twenty-seven, six of whom were employed in the high school grades. The value of all school property in the city was $49,300.
The first schoolhouse in Pendleton stood on the east side of the Big Four Railroad, on what is now known as Tariff street. In 1864 the brick building long known as the Pendleton Academy was erected on the site of the second schoolhouse and was for many years the only public school in the town. Pendleton now has two modern brick build- ings-the High School, at. the corner of East and High streets, and the West building, at the corner of Taylor and West. In 1913 a large addition was made to the high school building, so that the value of all school property is approximately $45,000. Thirteen teachers were
PUBLIC SCHOOL, LAPEL
employed in the Pendleton schools during the school year of 1912-13, and of these four were engaged in high school work.
Summitville has but one school building, which was recently erected at a cost of $22,500. Nine teachers are employed, three of whom are in the commissioned high school. The public school building at Lapel cost $18,000 and the one at Frankton cost $5,000. Eight teachers are employed at Lapel and seven at Frankton, and in both towns there are commissioned high schools.
Thus it will be seen that in the seven principal cities and incor- porated towns there are twenty-eight public school buildings, valued at $893,800. The incorporated towns of Chesterfield and Markleville have no separate boards of education and their schools are treated in con- nection with Union and Adams townships, , respectively. In each of the seven large cities and towns is a commissioned high school. The total number of teachers employed in the county during the school year of 1912-13 was 375, of whom 230 were employed in the cities and towns and 145 in the country schools. The value of all real estate and build- ings owned by the county for school purposes was $1,118,300 and the
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
value of maps and other apparatus was estimated at $23,100. The total amount paid in teachers' salaries during the last school year was $228,184.38.
The office of county superintendent was created by the legislature of 1873. Since that time the county superintendents of the Madison county schools, with the year in which each took office, have been as follows: Joseph Franklin, 1873; R. I. Hamilton, 1875; William M. Croan, 1881; Dale J. Crittenberger, 1884; Willis S. Ellis, 1887; Isaac V. Busby, 1893; Manson U. Johnson, 1894; Lawrence McTurnan, 1897; James W. Frazier, 1902. Mr. Frazier was first appointed upon the resignation of Mr. MeTurnan and has since been twice reelected. His present term expires in 1917.
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