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 40
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Another flour mill in Elwood, operated by Newton House, was de- stroyed by a boiler explosion about 7 o'clock a. m., January 4, 1887. This explosion was caused in a peculiar manner. The evening before, when the mill was stopped for the day, the engineer, Dell Lyst, drew off some of the water from the boiler, intending to clean it out the next morning. That morning he was delayed in getting to his work and when he arrived at the mill he found that Joseph Redd, the miller, had already fired up. An examination disclosed the fact that the pumps were frozen and the two men set to work to thaw them out. A portion of the flues in the boiler were above the surface of the water and as soon as the pumps were started the cold water injected into the boiler struek the heated fines and was instantly converted into steam and the boiler exploded with terrific foree, instantly killing both Lyst and Redd. George Redd was severely injured, but finally recovered. The mill, which cost about $17,000, was a complete wreck, but it was rebuilt on a smaller scale by Mr. House. Several houses in the immediate vicinity were more or less damaged by the flying debris. One piece of the boiler weighting about two hundred pounds was thrown nearly two squares and crashed through the roof of a blacksmith shop.
Abraham and Simon Sklute, two Hungarians, were arrested as in- cendiaries at Elwood early in February, 1890, charged with burning a store in order to get the insurance. The building in which the store was located belonged to Simon Sklute, who was also the proprietor of the store, Abraham being merely an employee. The fire occurred abont 4 o'clock a. m., February 1, 1890, and as the town had no fire depart- ment it was a work of some magnitude to prevent a wholesale destruc- tion of property. After the fire was extinguished the excited populace repaired to the boarding-house where the Skintes were stopping threat- ened to lynch them. The charge was openly made that the two men had fired the building, but finally wise counsel was heeded by the ex- cited mob and the law was permitted to take its course. The two men were arrested on the charge of arson, given a preliminary hearing before Ward L. Roach, justice of the peace, and were bound over to the cir- cuit court, where they were acquitted. In the trial the only evidence against them was that of a man who saw two men, whom he took to be the defendants, going toward the store about three hours before the fire
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was discovered. Although the men were acquitted by a "jury of their peers," many people about Elwood still believe them to be guilty.
The large plate glass works at Elwood were damaged to the extent of $60,000 by a fire on the night of June 25, 1891, an account of which is given in Chapter IX. About 8 o'clock a. m., February 12, 1895, the building known as the Heck block in Elwood was wrecked by an ex- plosion of natural gas that had accumulated under the floor of the room occupied by the Elwood Trust Company. The explosion was of such force that it shattered windows in the buildings near by, blew doors off the hinges and did considerable damage to other property. The Heck block was a new building, two stories in height, the first floor being used for business purposes and the second for the city offices. Three men- Messrs. Graham, Telbs and Miller-were in the trust company's room when the explosion occurred. Miller's right leg was broken in three places, but the other two were only slightly injured. The building was damaged to the extent of abont $2,000 and a stock of goods in one of the rooms was damaged much more, but was covered by insurance. Mr. Heck rebuilt the block immediately, making it larger and better than the original.
About midnight on December 6, 1891, the people of Alexandria were aroused from their slumbers by an alarm of fire, which started in the jewelry store of Scott Pauly, and before the "bucket brigade" could check the progress of the flames the buildings between Church and Washington streets on Harrison were entirely consumed. The business houses destroyed by this fire were John Wiggins' restaurant, Layne's shoe store, the store of the Alexandria Fruit Company, John A. Gra- ham's saloon, Fred Cartwright's grocery, Manlove & Buckley's hard- ware store, A. Bertsche's harness shop, Patterson's restaurant and the saloons of John Dwyer, II. P. Williams, George Kelley and Edward Eccles.
Another disastrous fire in Alexandria occurred on the night of Jan- mary 21, 1893. It started in a frame building on the west side of Har- rison street, in which were the postoffice and J. C. Clayton's grocery. The fire was soon communicated to the adjoining buildings, but was checked by tearing away a frame building at the corner of the alley between Church and Wood streets, occupied by Rupert & Stockton's restaurant. A water supply was obtained in a novel manner. The in- tense heat from the burning building melted the snow in the streets and by building dams across the gutters a supply of water was secured with which to fight the fire. These two fires led to the establishment of the Alexandria fire department, an account of which will be found in Chapter VIII. .
About 11 o'clock p. m., March 31, 1894, the barber shop of Harrell & Pyle and the express office on the corner of Canal street were wrecked by an explosion of natural gas. The ruins immediately caught fire and for a time it looked as though a large part of the city must inevitably be destroyed. At the time of the explosion seven men were in the bar- ber shop, waiting for their Sunday shave, and four of them were burned to death before they could be rescued. They were Oren Ball. Jesse D. Harrell, Charles Hoover and Ilarry Boyer. Hiram Hurd was also
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caught in the fallen timbers, but was rescued after several unsuccessful efforts had been made.
The Alexandria Plate Glass Works were partially destroyed by fire on September 17, 1895, the loss in property being considerable. At that time Major C. T. Doxey was president of the company and with his characteristic energy he immediately began the work of rebuilding the plant in a more substantial and elaborate manner than before the fire. After it was rebuilt it was one of the largest and best equipped plate glass factories in Indiana.
Among the minor fires that have occurred in Alexandria may be mentioned the destruction of the Fred Miller Company's cold storage building and barns, the burning of the Indianapolis Brewing Com- pany's cold storage house, and also the office and cold storage plant of the Terre Haute Brewing Company, all within a few weeks of each other in the spring of 1894. The first of these fires was on April 6th, the second on May 28th and the third on June 4th. As the buildings were all depositories for beer and other malt liquors, many people at- tributed the fires to incendiarism.
The little town of Frankton has been especially unfortunate in the matter of fires. The town was laid out in March, 1853, and one night in November, 1854, a new store building just erected by Quick & Murphy was discovered to be on fire. In the building was a large stock of gen- eral merchandise, the postoffice and the railroad ticket office, and every- thing was a total loss. It seems that Isaac Sigler and John Ravy had a short time before that opened a saloon in the little village. Some time before the fire they had been arrested for tearing up a railroad switch at Frankton. Sigler gave bail but Ravy, unable to furnish the required bond, was committed to jail. In the course of the transaction they both became incensed at Quick & Murphy and it was believed that they had fired the store to get even. They were arrested and tried for arson, but the evidence was not sufficient to secure a conviction. Subsequently both men were convicted of robbing Atherton's store at Frankton. Ravy made his escape, but afterward fell from a railroad bridge and was killed, and Sigler died in the penitentiary.
A fire that destroyed a number of buildings in the business section of Frankton started in William Waples' stable about 5:30 a. m., Octo- ber 3, 1877, and was thought to have originated through the careless- ness of some men playing cards in the haymow. Next to Waples' stable on the south was that of J. W. Phillips, which was soon on fire. From this stable the flames reached the drug store of John A. Howard and from there the fire spread to the Dwiggins block, in which were the post- office and James McLean's grocery. North of the Dwiggins block was the Suman building, in which were Kimmerling's drug store and the dry goods store of J. & W. Townsend. Next to this was Hurst Brothers' hardware store. All these buildings were burned to the ground and several horses were lost in the burning stables. In one of the buildings was the Masonic lodge, which lost all its furniture and records. The Odd Fellows were more fortunate, as they managed to save their effects. Some plundering was done during the fire, but the people were so intent on trying to save the town that the looters were allowed to go unmo-
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lested. Very little breeze was stirring and this probably enabled the citizens to hold the fire within bounds. Had a high wind sprung up Frankton would doubtless have been "wiped off the map."
A man named MeDonald began the erection of a building in Frank- ton in August, 1890, and announced his intention of opening a saloon in the town. Before the building was completed it was destroyed by fire. As there was no fire about the place, it was the general opinion that the destruction of the building was due to the work of an ineendiary, but no clue to the identity of the offender was ever obtained.
Summitville's first great fire oeeurred on March 27, 1885, when the office of Dr. Judd Swallow and the stores of R. A. Menefee & Company and Aquilla Moore were totally destroyed, together with all their contents. The fire was first discovered in the east end of Moore's store about 3 o'clock a. m. and in a short time it was communicated to the other buildings. . The people turned out and rendered all the assistance possible, but within an hour the three buildings were in ashes. By good management the flames were confined to them and the adjoining buildings were saved. The total loss was about $7,000, part of which was covered by insurance.
A little more than four years later-August 23, 1889-a fire started in the hardware store of E. B. Vinson, at Summitville, about 11 o'clock p. m. and within a short time the building was a mass of flames. Adjoin- ing Vinson's establishment was the millinery store of Mary E. Wertz, which was also destroyed, and considerable damage was done to the Vinson residence. The loss in this fire was about $4,000, but was par- tially covered by insurance.
Several destruetive storms have visited Madison county at various periods of its history. The first of which there is any account was in 1828, when a tornado struck the county about three and a half miles south of Anderson. As it passed through the woods it left a path about half a mile in width, in which but few trees remained standing. This path was long known among the settlers as the "Fallen Timber." As the country was not then thickly settled, no damage of consequence was done to property or person.
In 1843 a great storm began its destructive work about four miles northwest of Pendleton, passed eastward through the dense timber tract known as the "Dismal," then followed the ridge south of Anderson and spent its force near the present crossing of the Big Four and Pan Handle railroads. All along the ridge large trees were uprooted and in many places the little mounds thus formed can still be seen.
Ten years later, June 2, 1853, a violent storm erossed the western boundary of the county a little south of Perkinsville and followed a course east and northeast almost entirely across the county. The sec- ond story of Daniel Wise's briek residenee was torn away, his barn and other outbuildings were seriously damaged. and about two miles further north a house, in which Clarkson Snyder, James Cusaek and a boy had taken shelter, was blown down and the inmates were all badly hurt. Just south of the present village of Florida some men were at work upon the grade for the Pan Ilandle railroad when they saw the storm coming and took shelter in a log house. They had been inside but a few
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minutes, when the house was demolished by the wind, but none of the men was injured. One man who caught hold of a sapling, to prevent his being blown away, was somewhat bruised, but his injuries were not serious.
The town of Cicero, Hamilton county, was almost completely destroyed by a storm on June 14, 1880. After wrecking that town the tornado passed on eastward, entering Madison county near Perkins- ville, and following the general direction of the storm of 1853. Again the Daniel Wise residence was unroofed and otherwise damaged and again it was rebuilt by Mr. Wise's widow. Trees were blown down, fences scattered to the four winds and growing crops were seriously damaged. It is said that bolts of dry goods and other things from the stores at Cicero were afterward found in the path of the storm some distance from the town whence they were taken.
A storm closely resembling'a western cyclone swept over the north- ern portion of the county on May 12, 1886, passing about midway between Frankton and Elwood. James Legg's residence was completely wrecked and his son, John Legg, was killed. This is the first recorded instance of any one being killed by a storm in Madison county. Mrs. Legg suffered a broken arm and a broken leg, and other members of the family were less seriously injured. On the old Caleb Canaday farm, near Legg's, the house and barn were destroyed and everywhere in the track of the storm the ground was covered with uprooted trees, seat- tered ·fences and other debris.
On August 17, 1888, a severe wind and hail storm passed over parts of Monroe and Richland townships, leaving devastation upon a strip of country about five miles in width and extending as far eastward as the Delaware county line. Trees were torn up by the roots, fences and out- buildings were scattered by the hurricane, and the hailstones, which were both abundant and unusually large, beat the crops into the ground. Several instances of small animals being killed by the hail were reported. A small log house occupied by a Mrs. Hupp and her family was literally blow to the four winds, some of the logs being carried to a consider- able distance. One of the boys was hurt on the head by a piece of falling timber, but recovered in a short time. The other members of the family escaped without serious injury.
Probably the most destructive storm ever experienced by the people of Madison county was the cyclone that passed over the southern por- tion on June 25, 1902. This storm covered a large part of central Indiana, damages being reported from Montgomery, Boone, Hamilton, Marion, Hancock, Madison, Henry, Fayette and Wayne counties. Telegraph wires were torn down and traffic on the interurban lines west of Anderson was suspended. In Madison county the ravages of the storm were greatest in the vicinity of Pendleton, Ingalls and Markle- ville. At Pendleton the Taylor glass factory was unroofed, the build- ings of the Star Manufacturing Company and the American Window Glass Company were considerably damaged, the loss on these three con- cerns amounting to over $10,000. The Guy schoolhouse near the town was partially destroyed. On the Henry Coburn farm, near Pendleton, James Van Hoy sought shelter in the barn when the storm came up.
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A few minutes later the barn was blown down and he was killed. Barns were also blown down on the farms of Lon Pritchard, John Kip- hart, Oliver Burdette, Arthur Jacobs, Robert Kirkbaum and Ezra Watts. George Phipps' saw-mill was wrecked and the residences of Abraham Umble, George Williamson and Edward Haines were badly damaged.
At Ingalls the Wagner Window Glass Company's buildings were partially destroyed, a portion of the roof of Kinley's hotel was carried away, windows were blown in, out-buildings were swept away by the wind and other damage was done to shade trees and growing erops. The road from Pendleton to Ingalls was so filled with debris that in plaees it was almost impassable.
In the neighborhood of Markleville the storm was especially severe. Barns belonging to Frank, Isaac and Cornelius Mauzy were torn down, the fenees and erops on their farms were almost entirely destroyed and trees were uprooted, sometimes being carried for some distance by the
NINTH STREET BRIDGE, ANDERSON, FLOOD OF 1913
wind. The Morris McDaniel residence was badly damaged and the barns on the farms of Amos Williams, John McCullough and John Foster were completely wrecked. On the 26th hundreds of sight-seers visited the strieken distriets to look upon the ruins wrought by the cyclone. There have been other storms besides those above enumerated, but none has ever compared in violenee with the great cyclone of 1902.
Old settlers still tell of the great flood of 1847, which washed away the first bridge over the White river at Anderson, near where Norton's brewery now stands. This bridge was built by John and Hugh Rogers, who received final payment of $300 for the work in September, 1846. The flood that carried it away was in January, 1847. Before the erec- tion of that bridge a ferry was maintained at that point, and after the flood the old ferry-boat was again ealled into requisition and was kept in service until in 1863, when a new bridge was built. The destruction
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of the bridge was not the only damage done by the flood of 1847, but it was the most notable and best remembered case of destruction.
The summer of 1875 was a "wet season." As expressed in the old negro ballad :
"It rained forty days and it rained forty nights, And it rained on the other side of Jordan."
During the month of July the ground was too wet for the greater part of the time to cultivate and the fields were overrun with weeds. About the first of August the White river broke over its banks and flooded all the lowlands lying along its course. Much of the land in Madison county had not then been drained and great damage was done by the smaller streams. The low grounds along the river and Green's branch in what is now the northwestern part of Anderson were com- pletely inundated and for several days the road leading north from Anderson was impassable on account of the high water. At all hours of the day sheaves, or whole shocks, of wheat could be seen floating down the river from the fields whence they had been carried by the flood. Fences were washed away and much loss to the farmers was caused by the drowning of live stock. In Anderson special prayer meetings were held to pray for the rains to cease.
Another great flood occurred in the year 1884. The bridge that was erected in 1863 was carried away by the raging waters. At that time the contractors, McCormack & Sweeney, were engaged in the erection of the Madison county courthouse and soon after the flood they were awarded a contract for the erection of stone abutments for a new bridge, the iron work being done by the Morrison Bridge Com- pany. Again the farmers along the river suffered heavy loss by the destruction of their crops, and even the lowlands along the smaller streams were under water.
Rain began falling on the evening of March 24, 1904, and for twenty- four hours there was a steady downpour. On the 25th the White river rose rapidly and Green's branch broke all previous records for high water. About nine o'clock that evening the first appeals for help came from some of the inhabitants of Hazelwood, a suburb of Anderson, where a number of dwellings had been flooded by the latter stream. Park Place, on the opposite side of the river from the main portion of Anderson, was also inundated. On Saturday morning, the 26th Mayor Forkner issued a proclamation calling on the citizens for aid, and the township trustee furnished a number of teams and boats for the removal of the people and their effects from the flooded districts. Along Green's branch, in the western part of the city, many people were rendered temporarily homeless by the flood. The electric light plant was dam- aged, the northern part of Maplewood cemetery was under water and the works of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company were completely surrounded by water.
On Sunday, the 27th, a meeting was held to devise some means of taking care of the flood sufferers. A finance committee, consisting of Mayor Forkner, J. W. Carr, Alexander P. McKee, H. J. Stein, George
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Nichol, Joseph Hennings, George Wheelock, Jerome Brown and Rufus Williams, was appointed to solicit and receive contributions. At that meeting $553 were collected and this amount was materially increased the next day. The Associated Charities, through their finance com- mittee and the general secretary, Miss Doan, rendered valuable assist- ance in caring for the homeless people. By Monday the danger was past and the river began falling, but the work of assistance was kept up for several days, until the unfortunate flood victims were made as comfortable as circumstances would permit.
Pipe creek and Duck creek both broke their bounds and considerable damage was done by these streams, especially in the vieinity of Alex- andria and Elwood, though the people of Anderson and the immediate environments were the greatest sufferers. Rural mail service was aban- doned until after the waters had subsided, and was renewed with diffi- culty, owing to the destruction of a number of bridges and washouts in
FLOOD SCENE, 1913
the gravel roads. A special session of the county commissioners was called to take action with regard to repair of highways and bridges. Altogether the damage done by the flood ran into thousands of dollars.
The great flood of 1913 will long be remembered on account of the great damage done over all the central portion of the country, Ohio and Indiana being the states to undergo the greatest disaster. On March 23, 1913, about three inches of water fell in eentral Indiana. Such a rainfall was unprecedented and the natural channels of the streams were not equal to the emergency ; henee, on the morning of the 24th a large part of Madison county was under water. North Anderson was eut off from the eity by the cemetery road, Green's branch had again inundated the iowlands lying along its course, the Twelfth street bridge and the big Four railroad bridge were swept away, about one-half of Hazelwood was flooded and the people living there had to seek safety in flight; trains on all the railroads were delayed, some
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of them being several hours behind time; Duck creek at Elwood was the highest ever known and many residents of that city had to be taken from their homes in boats; Pipe creek at Alexandria and Fall ereck at Pendleton set new high-water marks and did a great deal of damage along their courses, and again the rural mail service was suspended.
At Anderson the electric light plant was damaged slightly, but managed to keep part of the machinery in working order, so that the city was not thrown into utter darkness. The sewers backed up into the basement of the Sefton Manufacturing Company and inflicted con- siderable damage on the stock stored there. Views taken from the Schalk mills, looking north, and from the foot of Main street, looking toward the cemetery, show the lowlands between Anderson and North Anderson as one vast sheet of water. Gravel roads all over the county were washed out in places and the total property loss in the county was over $100,000. Traffic on the interurban lines was suspended on account of the danger from wash-outs. In such cases there are always some persons who act the part of harpies and prey on the unfortunate. Petty thieves and plunderers made their appearance in Anderson and the mayor and police board asked Governor Ralston to send militia to protect the property of those who had been driven from their homes by the flood. The governor responded by ordering Captain Wells' company to act as a patrol guard at Anderson.
About midnight of the 24th the water burst over the fair ground levee and Park Place was soon flooded. In the haste to escape from the rapid rising waters families became separated and the anxiety of moth- ers over the absence of some child, who had possibly been swept away by the deluge, was heart-rending. Fortunately, however, no lives were lost and the separated families were in time reunited. The water- works were temporarily injured and as a precaution against fire the moving picture shows were closed.
Then came the work of relief. On the 27th a meeting was held at the court-room for the purpose of determining upon some plan of sys- tematic aid to the homeless. A finance committee, consisting of J. J. Netterville, John L. Forkner and T. J. Nichol, was appointed and $3,500 were subscribed. The city council met and appropriated $1,000 . to the relief fund, and by the last day of the month the popular sub- scriptions had reached nearly $6,000. The finance committee of the Associated Charities also rendered valuable assistance. Trades unions contributed to their members, especially the Park Place victims, the Gospel Trumpet Company cared for over 600 homeless and sent out several tons of coal to those in need of fuel, the Central Christian church was provided with cots and bedding by the good women belonging to the congregation and the court-room was also thrown open as a shelter for the unfortunates.
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