USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 18
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One of the first mechanics in the township was Abraham Bilheimer, a cabinet-maker by trade, who made some of the furniture used by the early settlers, a few pieces of which are still in existence. John Allen was probably the first wagon-maker. In early days there were a few sawmills located along the streams, but they have long since ceased to exist.
Eighty years have passed since the county of Miami was organ- ized and the first two civil townships were established. In this chap- ter and the one preceding, the aim has been to present the names of many of the men who aided in redeeming this region from -the wilder- ness and the savage; to chronicle some of the principal events that have occurred in different parts of the county during that period, and to show the progress of settlement and development that has led to the formation of the fourteen political subdivisions called townships. In these chapters the reader will doubtless have noticed and recognized the names of a number of pioneers whose descendants are still resi- dents of Miami county. But the men who organized the county have passed from the stage of action, and few are left who assisted in shap- ing the destiny of the county during the early years of its history. Many interesting incidents have been forgotten, because they were al- lowed to pass unrecorded. If this chapter and its predecessor shall contribute in rescuing from fast fading tradition some of the simple annals of the pioneers, their object will have been accomplished. It has been said, and it is probably true as a rule, that the lives of the early settlers were aimless and void of ambition, their chief purpose having been to provide sustenance for the families dependent upon them. Yet they builded wiser than they knew when they braved the dangers and hardships of the frontier, worked out their self-appointed tasks with patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice, and paved the way for the manifold blessings and comforts of the civilization the present generation enjoys .. History is always ready to record the glori- ous deeds of the general who leads an army to victory, the scientist who gives to the world a great discovery, or the statesman who thrills a legislative body with his oratory. But the pioneer, who, with his ax
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and his rifle, pushed boldly into the unexplored and unconquered re- gions of the country and established his humble log cabin as the out- post of civilization, is no less entitled to honorable mention in the records of the nation's progress. True, they achieved no great vic- tories over enemies, they made no great discoveries or inventions, but by their patient toil they made possible the introduction of the railroad, the great manufacturing concern and the cities with which the land is dotted over at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is to be hoped that some day their labors, customs and the importance that attaches to their simple mode of living will be better understood and appreciated .. If these chapters shall assist, in the slightest degree, in bringing about that understanding and appreciation, they will not have been written in vain.
CHAPTER IX
THE CITY OF PERU
THE HOLMAN PURCHASE-MIAMISPORT-EARLY SETTLERS-SKETCHES OF A FEW PIONEERS-PERU LAID OUT-SECURES THE COUNTY SEAT- EARLY PROMINENT CITIZENS-FIRST. INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN- FIRST OFFICERS AND ORDINANCES-THE "RED LADDERS"-INCORPO- RATED BY SPECIAL ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE IN 1848-HOG OR NO HOG -ADDITIONS TO PERU-FIRE DEPARTMENT-WATER WORKS-GAS WORKS-ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT-COMMERCIAL CLUB-CITY PARK- PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS-POSTOFFICE-MUNICIPAL FINANCES-LIST OF MAYORS-MISCELLANEOUS.
Peru, the county seat and only incorporated city of Miami county, is situated on the north bank of the Wabash river, a little southwest of the geographical center of the county. Its history begins with the treaty negotiated with the Miami Indians at the mouth of the Mississinewa river on October 23; 1826, at which time John B. Richardville, the principal chief of the Miamis, was granted, among other tracts of land, a reservation of one section where the city now stands. The following February John McGregor built a small cabin on the western part of this reservation and he has the credit of being the first white man to establish a permanent domicile within the present limits of Miami county. On August 18, 1827, Richardville and his wife, Pem-e-se-quah, conveyed this sec- tion to Joseph Holman for a consideration of $500, and it is said that part of the purchase price was "paid in trade," instead of all cash.
On March 3, 1828, the transfer of this land was approved by Presi- dent John Quincy Adams and on January 7, 1829, Holman sold 210 acres of the east end of the section to William N. Hood for $500- just what he had paid for the entire section less than four months before. It was Holman's ambition to found a town on the remaining portion of his land and on March 12, 1829, David Burr, a surveyor employed for the purpose by Mr. Holman, laid out the town of Miamis- port on the southwest quarter of the section. The original plat of Miamisport shows four streets running east and west-Water, Jackson, Market and Canal-and six streets running north and south-Clay,
15:
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Cherry, Produce, Main, Walnut and Richardville. Provisions were also made for a public square and a market place.
At that time the territory now comprising Miami county was a part of Cass county, which included all the present counties of Cass, Miami, Wabash, Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart and St. Joseph, and parts of Starke, Pulaski and Laporte. Settlers were beginning to come into the Wabash valley and it was evident that the county of Cass would soon be divided and a number of new counties formed. Then, too, there was already some talk of a canal to connect the waters of the Great Lakes with the Ohio river, following the course of the Wabash, and Mr. Holman hoped to establish a town that would at once become the county seat of a new county and a commercial center on the line of the canal, in case it was built. Part of his dream was realized, as Miamisport was for a brief spell the seat of justice of Miami county in 1834.
Graham gives the names of Louis Drouillard, Benjamin H. Scott, Andrew and Isaac Marquiss, Abner Overman, Zephaniah Wade, Z. W. Pendleton, Walter D. Nesbit, William N. Hood and Joseph Holman as the residents at Miamisport about the time the town was laid out. Con- cerning the early business enterprises, the same authority says: "G. W. Holman, mindful of the soles of the early settlers, tanned their hides and furnished leather at this point, while John McGregor, equally thoughtful about their bodies, opened a tavern. He also looked after their letters as postmaster and regulated their morals by holding the scales of the blind goddess in exact equipoise, as justice of the peace. Captain Louis Drouillard was one of the 'merchant princes.' He lived at the east end of Water street, where he had a store for trade with the Indians and supplied the modest wants of the people at low prices, and never dreamed of being offered 'A silver pound to row us o'er the ferry,' which he kept at that point, for the price fixed by law was, for a man, six and a fourth cents, and a man and horse, twenty-five cents."
It is to be regretted that not more is known of the early settlers of Miamisport. Joseph Holman, the proprietor of the town, was born in Kentucky in 1788 and in 1820 removed to Wayne county, Indiana. During the administration of President John Q. Adams he was land commissioner at Fort Wayne and just before Miami county was erected represented the district composed of Allen and Cass counties in the legislature. In 1839 he returned to Wayne county, where he died in 1872. He was an active politician during the greater part of his mature life and was a delegate to the convention that framed the present con- stitution of Indiana. His first residence in Miami county was a small cabin on the bank of the Wabash river, a short distance below the
OLD HOLMAN RESIDENCE
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town of Miamisport, where he lived for several years, when he built a stone house on Holman street between Main and Third streets, within the present limits of Peru. Subsequently he built a frame house on his farm and lived there until he went back to Wayne county.
William N. Hood, one of the most influential men in the early history of the county and founder of the city of Peru, was born in Ohio in 1791. When only about eighteen years of age he came to Indiana, first locating at Fort Wayne, where he was engaged in mercantile pur- suits for several years and amassed considerable wealth for that period. In 1831 he came to Miami county and in 1836 was elected to represent the counties of Cass and Miami in the state legislature. He was again elected representative in 1838, and died in July of that year, soon after the expiration of the legislative session.
Walter D. Nesbit, another pioneer, was born in Ohio in 1811 and came to Miamisport with his mother and sister in the fall of 1830. A rude log hut was hastily erected, in which they lived during the winter. Before locating at Miamisport the family had lived for about two months at Logansport. Mr. Nesbit continued to be a resident of the county until his death in April, 1895. He was the first supervisor of the county. In 1832 he married Miss Lonana Riley, who survived him after a married life of more than sixty years.
Z. W. Pendleton kept a tavern and is said to have been "one of the best fiddlers in the Wabash valley." This qualification made him a popular figure at the country dances, but after a short residence in the county he moved away and all subsequent history of him has been lost.
Abner Overman, who was the first treasurer of Miami county, left for fields unknown a few years after the expiration of his term of office ; Louis Drouillard died in 1847 ; Andrew and Isaac Marquiss both died at an early day, though some of their descendants still reside in the county.
William M. Reyburn, a native of Virginia, where he was born on October 21, 1792, grew to manhood in. Ohio, where about 1829 he was licensed to preach by the Methodist conference. In October, 1831, he came to what is now Miami county and settled on a tract of land imme- diately west of that bought from Richardville by Joseph Holman. Be- fore coming to Indiana he had served as a soldier in the war of 1812 and had held the rank of major in the Ohio militia. He represented Miami county in both branches of the state legislature and served three years as county commissioner. He was one of the first Methodist min- isters in Miami county and was always a willing helper of every move- ment for the betterment of the community. He died on June 1, 1854.
The boundaries of the old town of Miamisport are now marked by Main street on the north; LaFayette street on the east; Holman street on the west, and the Wabash river on the south. During the first five
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years of its existence its growth was "slow but sure" and its founder had hopes that some day it would become a town of importance on the great Wabash & Erie canal. Then a rival sprang up that blighted the prospects of Miamisport and in time blotted it from the map. It will be remembered that William N. Hood had bought 210 acres of the east end of Holman's section in January, 1829. Whether it was his intention at the time of the purchase to found a town upon that tract is not known, but about the time Miami county was organized, early in 1834, he determined to found a town there and make an effort to secure the county seat. There is a sort of tradition that William M. Reyburn, whose land adjoined that of Holman on the west, had united with that gentleman to extend the town of Miamisport westward. This hastened Mr. Hood's action and he engaged Stearns Fisher, an engineer employed on the canal, to plat a town immediately east of Holman's.
Prior to that time the two men had been good friends. Now they became bitter enemies. Violent words passed between them on several occasions and the quarrel became a matter of comment for the entire population. Hood went ahead with his project, however, and although Miamisport had the start of his town by five years he was not dis- mayed. In the survey of the town site Dr. James T. Liston and Walter D. Nesbit carried the chain and drove the stakes. An old document descriptive of the work of the surveyor and his assistants says: "When Peru was laid out the site was entirely covered with heavy timber and a thick, impenetrable growth of underbrush. Not a rod square was cleared, I have frequently heard Mr. Fisher say that the men had to pre- cede him and clear away the underbrush so he could get a sight through his instrument."
Truly not a very encouraging outlook for a town. But Mr. Hood was something of a diplomat. When the commissioners appointed by the legislature to locate the county seat of Miami county met at the house of John McGregor in June, 1834, he executed a bond, provided the county seat should be located at Peru, to donate the public square and erect upon it a brick court-house and log jail, with some other promises, all of which were fulfilled. He also enlisted the friendship and influence of the Miamisport merchants by offering to present them lots in Peru, or at least to sell such lots to them at a merely nominal figure. It is said that some of the best lots on Broadway sold as low as fifty dollars. The old saying that "Money talks" was certainly true in this instance. Peru secured the county seat.
Although the sessions of the county commissioners' court continued to be held at Miamisport until May, 1835, it was evident that the town's hopes of future greatness were forever blasted. On June 9, 1841, the
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plat was vacated by the county commissioners upon the request of the residents, though in time the limits of Peru grew out to and beyond the old plat, which now forms part of the city with the boundaries above noted. No doubt the failure of his cherished project had great influence in causing Mr. Holman to leave the county a few years after he lost his fight for the county seat.
In the meantime, soon after Peru was platted, Mr. Hood sold one- third of his land to Richard L. Britton and another one-third to Jesse L. Williams, the consideration in each case being $3,000. Britton was a man of considerable wealth and Williams was one of the leading civil engineers of the west. The deeds of conveyance were dated July 26, 1834. About that time contracts were let for the construction of por- tions of the canal, extending it still farther to the westward, and for the building of the dam and locks at Peru. The three proprietors took advantage of the situation to advertise their first sale of lots. Buyers came from great distances, the lots sold readily, those fronting on the canal commanding the highest prices. Among those who came in about this time were Daniel R. Bearss, Albert Cole, James B. Ful- wiler, Alexander Wilson and C. R. Tracy, all of whom became more or less prominently identified with the business interests of the new town.
Daniel R. Bearss was born in Livingston county, New York, August 23, 1809, and was therefore twenty-five years of age when he settled in Peru in August, 1834. His grandfather served under Washington in the Revolutionary war and his father in the War of 1812. He was reared on a farm and educated in the log school house. In 1828 he went to Fort Wayne, where he entered the employ of W. G. & G. W. Ewing, who at that time were extensively engaged in the Indian trade. Soon after Mr. Bearss joined them they opened a branch store or trading house in Logansport, where he was employed until 1832. He then severed his connection with the Ewings and embarked in the mercantile business on his own account at Goshen, Indiana, where he continued for about two years. In January, 1834, he married Miss Emma A., daugh- ter of Judge Albert Cole, and the following August came to Peru as already stated. He paid $150 for the lot at the northeast corner of Third street and Broadway, where the Bearss hotel now stands, and formed a partnership with his father-in-law for the purpose of carrying on a general merchandising business. This association lasted but about one year, but Mr. Bearss continued the business until 1844, when he formed a partnership with Charles Spencer, under the firm name of Bearss & Spencer. Five years later he retired from mercantile life and devoted his time and attention to looking after his large property interests. Besides the hotel he owned several business blocks and a
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number of good farms in Miami county. Mr. Bearss was always inter- ested in political matters. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Henry Clay for the presidency 'and was one of the founders of the Repub- lican party in Miami county. He served three terms in the state sen- ate and two in the house, and held other local offices. He took a keen interest in the movement to bring railroads to Peru and was a director of both the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago and Wabash roads. Early in the year 1884 he went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, hoping to improve his health, and died there on April 18th of that year.
Albert Cole, for more than forty years intimately connected with the business interests and political fortunes of Peru, was born at Berlin, Connecticut, May 13, 1790. After the death of his father in 1801, he lived with his older brother, a farmer, attending the district schools during the winter seasons, and later learned the trades of tanner and shoemaker. In 1813 he started west and arrived at Cincinnati in the fall of that year, but soon afterward returned to his native state. In September, 1814, he married Miss Mary Galpin and again started for the west. He located at Zanesville, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming, tanning and shoemaking until 1833, when he removed to Goshen, Indiana. In July, 1834, he located in Peru and for about a year was in partnership with his son-in-law, Daniel R. Bearss, in the mercantile line. When the firm dissolved, Mr. Cole took his share of the goods to Lewisburg, where he continued in merchandising for another year, at the end of which time he returned to Peru. In 1840 he was elected one of the associate judges of Miami county and from 1848 to 1851 was postmaster at Peru. He also served as United States com- missioner under President William H. Harrison for the distribution of the surplus revenue. He died in November, 1878.
James B. Fulwiler, another prominent Peru pioneer, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1812. He received an aca- demic education in his native state and in 1834 came to Peru with a stock of merchandise for Samuel Pike. On March 7, 1837, he married Miss Pauline, daughter of Francis Avaline, of Fort Wayne, and the next year, at the solicitation of his friends, he was a candidate for representa- tive in the state legislature from the district composed of Fulton and Miami counties, but owing to his views with regard to the state system of internal improvements he was defeated. From 1848 to 1855 he was clerk of Miami county and in 1860 was a delegate to the Baltimore con- vention which nominated Stephen A. Douglas for the presidency. When he came to Peru in 1834 he established his store on the northwest corner of Broadway and Third streets and he continued to be identified with business enterprises in Peru until some years before his death, when
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he retired, though he afterward served several terms as, justice of the peace. Three of his sons became prominent in railroad circles and another son, Louis B., was at one time editor of the Miami County Sentinel.
Stephens' History of Miami County (p. 179), says: "Some one of the surveying party asked Hood what he was going to call his town. and he replied that he didn't care, so it was a short name. A number of names were suggested and they finally agreed to call the new town Peru." This is the only story the writer has been able to find explain- ing how the town received its name, and it is probably correct.
Shortly after the plat was completed Dr. James T. Liston built a large, double, hewed-log house on the corner of Cass and Second streets, which was the first building erected on the original plat. Before the close of the year 1834 several other residences and a few business houses had been built and the future city of Peru was started upon its career. During the year 1835 a number of dwellings and a few more business rooms were built, but the year 1837 marked the greatest pros- perity experienced by Peru in the first decade of its existence. In that year the canal was finished and opened for traffic between Peru and Fort Wayne, the dam in the Wabash river and feeder to the canal were completed, the first newspaper was established, large mills were con- structed, and began operations in the fall, the town boasted three taverns, seven dry-goods and one grocery store, three physicians, a collegiate institute, a number of tradesmen, saddlers, carpenters, shoemakers. blacksmiths, etc., and a population estimated at five hundred inhab- itants. .
On March 26, 1842, a mass meeting of voters was held to consider the question of incorporating the town. Joseph L. Reyburn was chosen to preside and James M. DeFrees was elected clerk. After a thorough discussion of the subject, a town government was formed in accordance with the provisions of "An act providing for the incorporation of towns," approved February 17, 1838. Peru was then divided into five districts, in each of which was elected a trustee. The first board of trustees was composed of John Low, Samuel Glass, Joseph L. Rey- burn, John Coulter and Isaac Robertson. On April 2, 1842, these trustees met and organized by the election of Joseph L. Reyburn president, and James M. DeFrees town, clerk. At a subsequent meeting William R. Mowbray was elected treasurer; Samuel Hurst, lister; and John H. Griggs, marshal. Twelve ordinances were passed by the board at the meetings of April 5 and 11, 1842, viz .: 1. Providing for the assessment of property ; 2. Levying a tax of twelve cents on the $100; 3. For licensing groceries and coffee houses; 4. Establishing the width
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of sidewalks; 5. Providing for the punishment of misdemeanors-par- ticularly specifying refusal to assist an officer in the discharge of his duty, driving upon or obstructing the sidewalk, and running or racing horses upon the streets; 6. Regulating shows and exhibitions; 7. For the removal of nuisances; 8. For preventing shooting within the cor- porate limits of the town; 9. Allowing taxpayers to work out the amount of their taxes; 10. Regulating the marshal's duties and fees; 11. Amending the ordinance licensing groceries and coffee houses ; 12. Requiring the treasurer to give bond.
No record can be found of any other meeting of this board until March 25, 1843, when a meeting of the board and citizens generally was assembled "to provide measures for the purpose of arresting rav- ages by fire." The citizens voted to require the board to levy and col- lect a tax to provide hooks and ladders, and resolved: "That we will use our influence to sustain the board in enforcing all the laws hereto- fore enacted for the regulation and government of the town."
Two days later (March 27, 1843), the board levied a tax of twenty cents on the $100 and passed an ordinance providing for the purchase of five ladders twenty-four feet long; five, fourteen feet long; five roof ladders, fifteen feet long; three fire hooks, with poles not less than twenty-two feet long, "all to be painted with Venetian red." Bids for these ladders were opened at a meeting on April 18, 1843, and the contract to furnish them was awarded to Alexander Porter for $52.00.
At an election held on May 1, 1843, the following trustees were elected : First district, John Lowe; Second district, G. S. Fenimore; Third district, J. L. Reyburn; Fourth district, Jacob Fallis; Fifth dis- trict, Samuel Hunt. A week later the new board met and organized by the election of John Lowe as president. On June 5, 1843, the board had another meeting and accepted the ladders from Mr. Porter, and. passed the following ordinance relating to their distribution, with a penalty for violation of any of its provisions :
"Be it, and it is hereby, ordained by the president and trustees of the town of Peru, that each Trustee be, and he is hereby, required to take three of the corporation ladders and place them in the most suit- able place in his district, and that one hook be placed in the second district, one in the third and one in the fifth."
This appears to have been the last meeting of the board of trustees under the first town government. On January 11, 1848, a petition, signed by a number of citizens of Peru, praying for the incorporation of the town, was presented to the house of representatives of the In- diana legislature, then in session. Alphonso A. Cole was at that time the member for Miami county. The petition was referred to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Cole, Hamilton and Trimbly, which Vol. [-11
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