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 19
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
reported back the same day a bill for the incorporation of the town. It passed the senate on February 3, 1848, and was duly approved by the governor. The bill named as councilmen Jacob Fallis, Albert Cole, James M. DeFrees, George W. Goodrich and Edward H. Bruce, who were to hold until the first election, which was required to be held within one month after the taking effect of the act. On March 1, 1848, the council named by the legislature met and elected Albert Cole mayor; Ira Mendenhall, recorder; and C. R. Tracy, treasurer.
The first town election was held on March 13, 1848, when William A. McGregor was elected mayor. On April 7, 1848, the council levied a tax of fifteen cents on each $100 worth of property for town pur- poses. The net amount of revenue derived from this source during the first year was $258.96, to which was added $36.00 received from shows and exhibitions, and $45.75 as license fees of taverns and gro- ceries, making the total receipts for the first year of the new town gov- ernment $341.79. The balance in the treasury at the close of the year in March, 1849, was $221.17. Think of that! In these days, when so much is being said about an "economical administration of govern- ment," it may be refreshing to note that the disbursements in Peru during the first year after its incorporation by the legislature were only a little over one-third of the receipts. The second year the expenditures were somewhat heavier, as the grade of Broadway was established by Solomon Holman in 1848 and the next year the grade was made, involv- ing a fill of two feet or more at points below Main street, at a cost of $387.59. In 1851 a portion of Broadway was graveled, the first im- proved street in the town.
The question as to whether hogs should be allowed to run at large seems to have been a "paramount issue" in the early history of Peru. Says Graham: "For nearly two years the legal learning, the broad statesmanship and the burning eloquence of our city fathers boiled and seethed around the question of hogs, to impound them or let them run. Ordinance after ordinance was framed, but there always seemed a crack through which a pig could crawl."
In the records of the town under date of April 26, 1850, is found the following entry: "Comes now Oliver Dyer, marshal, and reports the sale of 52 hogs impounded by him, to wit :
"42 sold at one cent per head. $0.42
6 sold at three cents per head. 0.18
3 sold at two cents per head. 0.06
1 sold for 1.14
Total $1.80
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"Comes now the said Oliver Dyer and presents a claim to the mayor and council for impounding, advertising and feeding fifty-two hogs, amounting to $29.25, with a credit thereon of $1.80, being the amount realized from the sale of said hogs."
The marshal's claim was referred to a committee consisting of Hig- gins, Shutz and Hackley, which committee latter reported adversely, on legal grounds, and added: "Certainly not, when from the best infor- mation they are enabled to obtain, the proceedings were conducted with a special view to running up an account over and above the proceeds of the sale had under them."
At the same meeting at which the marshal's bill was presented Coleman Henton came forward with a petition, "numerously signed by citizens of the corporation," praying for the repeal of the "hog law." Four remonstrances were also presented and both petitions and remon- strances were referred to a committee of three-Higgins, Adkinson and Brown-which reported the following ordinance :
"Be it ordained by the mayor and common council of the town of Peru, that the ordinance entitled 'An ordinance to restrain swine from running at large within the corporation of the town of Peru' and all ordinances amendatory thereto, as also all ordinances or parts of ordi- nances tending in any manner to restrain swine from the enjoyment of the largest liberty, be and the same are hereby repealed."
This ordinance seems to have ended the whole matter and taken the "hog out of politics," as no further reference to the subject can be found in any early history of the town. Some years later-the exact date is uncertain-the liberty of the hog was again curtailed, but the festive cow was allowed to run at large upon the streets until about 1891 or 1892, when the council, after much discussion, which at times grew acrimonious, passed an ordinance prohibiting live stock of any kind from running at large within the corporate limits of the city.
The town government established under the act of 1848 lasted for nearly nineteen years. An election was ordered for February 18, 1867, at which the voters should express themselves for or against thé incor-' poration of Peru as a city. The result of that election was 350 votes in favor of the proposition and only thirty-seven against it. After the election certain provisions were complied with, and on February 25, 1867, the city was duly incorporated, with four wards, and a city election ordered for March 11, 1867. At that election Orris Blake was elected mayor; Ira B. Myers, clerk; William F. Hauk, treasurer ; John C. Owens, marshal and street commissioner; Martin Swauger, assessor ; James M. Brown, city civil engineer ; Gotlieb Conradt and Jacob Weist, councilmen for the First ward; R. P. Effinger and Alpha Buckley, for
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
the Second ward; William Deniston and Samuel W. Ream, for the Third ward; Henry Deibert and Eli J. Jameson, for the Fourth ward; James B. Fulwiler, Henry Dutton and James T. Henton, school trustees.
Mayor Blake took the oath of office on March 15, 1867, and served until the first regular election the following May, when he was succeeded by Josiah Farrar. At the May election Lincoln P. Pond and Henry Stanley were elected assessors; W. B. Loughridge, city attorney, and the other officers elected in March were all reelected, with the exception of Henry Deibert, councilman from the Fourth ward, who was suc- ceeded by Josiah Felix. John C. Owens resigned the office of marshal and street commissioner on July 2, 1867, and Isaac Burnett was ap-
BROADWAY IN THE SIXTIES
pointed to the vacancy. After a week's service he also resigned and the office was filled by the appointment of Thomas J. McDowell. The city government of Peru was now permanently established.
ADDITIONS TO PERU
Soon after the town was laid out in 1834 some additions were made by the proprietors, but these additions became a part of the original plat. Just east of the town was the reservation of Francis Godfroy, granted to him by the treaty of 1826. By the provisions of his will, a full account of which is given in another chapter, a portion of this reservation was to be laid off into town lots, within three months after
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his decease, as an addition to the town of Peru. Pursuant to the pro- visions of the old chief's will, Allen Hamilton, executor of the estate, filed a plat of "Godfroy's addition to Peru" in June, 1840. This was the first and is the largest addition ever made to the city.
In 1842 Ewing's addition east of Broadway and immediately north of the original plat was laid out. It contains thirty-nine lots on each side of Ewing street- which runs east from Broadway to Clay street -or seventy-eight lots in all. Hood's addition of six squares, bounded by Main, Canal, Hood and LaFayette streets, was laid out in 1849. E. H. Shirk platted a portion of the old Hood farm in 1863 and added it to the city. This addition is bounded by Main, Eighth, Hood and Grant streets. The following year Ewing's partition addition of sixty- four lots, situated north of Fifth street and extending from Broadway to Hood streets, was laid out and became part of Peru. Brownell's addition of 147 lots, bounded by Main, Union and Forest streets and the railroad was platted in 1866. Shirk's second addition was made in 1868, and in 1869 Smith's addition, bounded by LaFayette, Eighth, Hood and the railroad was made to the city. Two additions were platted in 1870, viz .: Dukes' addition from Grant street to the old Logansport road and from Seventh street to the railroad, and Smith's second addition north of the railroad and east of Grant street. In 1871 Sterne's addition, running two squares west from Grant street between Main and Seventh streets, and Shirk's third addition, bounded by Seventh, Fremont, Eighth and Hood streets, were platted and an- nexed to the city. Dukes' second addition, west of Grant street and north of Boulevard, and Smith's third addition, east of Godfroy's and extending from Canal street north to the railroad, were laid out in 1872. Brownell's addition between Union and Walnut streets was also made to the city in this year.
During the next ten years several subdivisions of former plats were made and recorded and a few new additions were made to the city. Among the latter are Runyan's and Darrow's additions in 1873; Bous- log's addition on East Eighth street in 1880; and Farrar's addition between Third and Main streets, east of Grant, in 1881. From that time to the beginning of the present century the principal additions recorded and annexed to the city are as follows: Shirk & Edwards' addition known as East Peru in 1887; Beck, Reilly & Faust's addition in 1887; A. N. Dukes' North Peru addition of 214 lots, east of the Chili pike and north of the railroad, in 1890; Bouslog's Elmwood addition, east of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and north of Godfroy's addi- tion, in 1890; Levi & Falk's addition, situated between Canal, Main, Smith and Lincoln streets, in 1891; Brownell's north addition, a sub-
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
division of outlot No. 11 in Godfroy's addition, in 1891; Stutesman's addition, north of Boulevard and west of the Mexico pike, in 1892; and a revised plat of Brownell's addition from Canal street to one tier of lots north of Main street and extending from Holman to Forest was recorded in 1895.
The most important addition to the city since 1900 is unquestionably that of Oakdale, consisting of 1,058 lots, the plat of which was filed on January 27, 1906, by the Oakdale Improvement Company. A full account of this addition and the manner in which its lots were placed on the market will be found in Chapter XIII of this work. On March 28, 1901, the city council passed an ordinance annexing to the city all the adjoining additions except Ridgeview and South Peru, both of which were incorporated as independent towns.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Mention has already been made of the "red ladders" ordered by the board of trustees on March 27, 1843, which was the first attempt to establish anything like a fire protection in the town of Peru. Although an ordinance was passed providing that the trustees should keep the ladders in the "most suitable place," they were usually left at the scene of the fire where they were last used, and when another fire occurred there was some difficulty in locating the fire department. Shortly after the incorporation of 1848 the marshal was instructed to ascertain the whereabouts of the hooks and ladders and provide for their safekeeping.
Early in the year 1860 a petition of citizens was presented to the council, asking that body to appoint F. S. Hackley as agent to visit several cities and investigate their fire departments with a view of establishing a department in Peru. In May, 1860, the council authorized the erection of a fire engine house, at a cost of $1,100 and purchased a hand fire engine, with the necessary hose, etc., which cost about $2,300. A volunteer force was organized to man the engine at fires and the annual cost of this department during the next twelve years was about sixty dollars.
In November, 1872, the council passed an ordinance for the reorgan- ization of the fire department and a new engine was purchased. A more thorough organization was effected under the ordinance of July, 1888, which provided for a chief, two assistants, one hose company of sixteen men and a hook and ladder company of eight men. The same year the fire department building on North Miami street was erected at a cost of some $3,200. By the ordinance of October 23, 1888, a fire limit was established, extending from the south boundary line of the
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
city along the west side of Wabash street to Eighth street, thence along the west side of Showana street to the north boundary line of the cor- poration, thence along the northern boundary to the northwest corner of Lot No. 64, Ewing's partition addition, thence southward to the east line of Miami street, and thence along the east line of Miami street to the southern boundary of the city. Within these limits it was ordained that all buildings should have walls of brick and stone, with roofs of tin, iron, slate, or some other fire-proof material.
The first paid department was established in 1889 and on March 24, 1892, the council passed an ordinance providing that the depart- ment should "consist of one chief engineer and one regularly organized hose company, consisting of three men regular and three minute men, who shall be required to sleep at the engine house; and one hook and ladder company, consisting of eight men, who shall be received into actual service by the common council of said city, and whose pay shall be fixed annually by the common council."
Late in the year 1912 two automobiles were ordered from a firm in Elmira, New York, at a cost of $15,000. These machines combine a chemical engine, a pump with a capacity of five hundred gallons of water per minute, and a supply of hose sufficient to extinguish any ordinary fire. Prior to the installment of these machines a supply of hose was kept at the Indiana Manufacturing Company and another at the hospital, but with the advantages of quick transit of fires these sub-stations have been discontinued and the entire department is quar- tered at the house on Miami street. At the close of the year 1913 the department consisted of ten men, under the chieftainship of William Murtha, but at the beginning of the year 1914 two more men were added. With twelve disciplined men and the improved fire-fighting apparatus it can be said that Peru has as efficient a fire department as is usually found in cities of its size. It should also be stated that the introduction of the two automobiles did not displace the apparatus already in service. The horses, the hook and ladder truck and the hose wagon are 'still available whenever they are needed.
WATER WORKS
The proposition to establish a municipal water works system for the city of Peru first came before the council in 1871. At that time public sentiment was against the undertaking and no action was taken. On March 7, 1873, Governor Hendricks approved an act authorizing cities to issue bonds for the purpose of building water works and the ques- tion was agitated for a time in Peru, but again no definite action was
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
taken on the matter. In 1875, Shirk, Dukes & Company came forward with a proposal to build and equip a water works system adequate to the demands of the city under a franchise, but the council declined to grant the franchise and once more the subject was dropped without any results having been obtained.
In July, 1877, a special election was held to ascertain the senti- ment of the voters with regard to the construction of water works, those in favor to vote a ballot declaring "For Water Works," and those opposed a ballot "Against Water Works." Upon canvassing .
WATER WORKS PUMPING STATION
the returns it was found that the proposition had carried by a vote of almost two to one and on April 10, 1878, the council passed an ordinance authorizing the issue and sale of water works bonds. For some reason that ordinance was repealed and on June 7, 1878, another was passed providing for an issue of bonds amounting to $110,000, due in twenty years, with interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum. The bonds were sold at a slight discount, but soon afterward went to par and later to a premium.
As soon as the proceeds of the bond sale were available the council took the necessary steps for the construction of the plant. Contracts
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
for different portions of the work were let in October, 1878, and in May, 1879, they were completed. A substantial brick pump house was erected at the corner of Wayne and Canal streets, in the eastern part of the city, where two pumping engines run by steam were installed, the daily capacity of the pumps being about 2,500,000 gallons. The reser- voir was built on the south side of the Wabash river, on an elevation of sufficient height to supply a gravity pressure capable of forcing six streams of water to a height of from fifty to seventy-five feet. The cost of the original plant was $109,549.93.
At first the water works were under the control of a committee of three members of the city council, but in 1881 the state legislature passed an act providing that water works owned by a municipality should be controlled by a board of three trustees or directors elected by the people. This system prevailed until 1895, when another state law placed such works under the control of the city council. The actual management of the works is vested in a superintendent and an engineer.
For twenty years the water supply was taken from the Wabash river. On April 13, 1900, the council entered into a contract with the Shaw-Kendall Engineering Company, of Toledo, Ohio, to drill thir- teen wells and install an air lift pumping plant, with a capacity of not less than 2,200,000 gallons for each twenty-four hours. The contract price of the new equipment was $35,300 and on July 10, 1900, the council authorized a loan of $15,000 to complete the payment for the new works, which were placed in service early in 1902. Under the new system the quality of the water was greatly improved and the result is seen in the increased consumption. The city now has over twenty miles of mains and a majority of the people living along these mains use the city water. The revenue derived from the water works more than pays the expense of operation and repairs, as may be seen from the statement of the city finances near the close of this chapter.
THE GAS WORKS
In June, 1874, H. E. and C. F. Sterne & Company began the con- struction of a gas plant to be operated in connection with the woolen mills, of which they were the proprietors. Some three and a half miles of mains were laid during the summer and on November 15, 1874, the company announced that it was ready to supply illuminating gas. A contract was made with the city to light the streets for a period of twenty-five years. This was a comparatively small plant, the gasometer having a capacity of only about 20,000 cubic feet. The annual con- sumption of gas gradually increased and in 1885 amounted to about 6,000,000 feet.
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The Peru-American Gas Company was incorporated in the spring of 1886 and on July 27th of that year bought the plant from the orig- inal proprietors and greatly enlarged it. More mains were laid and every inducement was offered to the people to use gas. About that time, or a little later, natural gas was discovered south of Peru in Grant and Howard counties and was piped to the city, where it was used both for heating and lighting, although for the latter purpose it was greatly inferior to the manufactured gas. In May, 1895, the natural gas pipe lines passed into the hands of the Dietrich syndicate, which con- tinued to supply gas until the pressure became too low to force it to the city. The natural gas mains then lay idle for a time, when the Dietrich interests secured a franchise, constructed an artificial gas plant in the western part of the city and began the manufacture of gas. About 1911 the works of the Dietrich syndicate were merged with those of the Peru-American Gas Company, under the latter name.
ELECTRIC LIGHTING PLANT
The first electric lights in Peru made their appearance in the fall of 1885, when the Thomson-Houston Electric Company installed a dynamo with a capacity of twenty-five arc lights as an experiment, tak- ing power from Miller's mill. The following July Volney Q. Irwin, of Crawfordsville, purchased the plant, with the ground and building where it was located on the old canal, near the canal mill. Mr. Irwin put in a boiler with a capacity of 212 horse-power, an 85-horse-power engine, and two dynamos each capable of supplying current to twenty- five lights. `Contracts for lighting stores and other buildings were then made and in a few years electric lights had largely taken the place of gas lights.
In November, 1894, the Peru Light and Power Company was incor- porated with V. Q. Irwin, president; P. F. Covington, vice-president ; Nathaniel Covington, secretary and treasurer. This company then took over the plant, added another arc light machine and an alternating incandescent machine, increasing the capacity to 165 arc lights, and 2,000 incandescent lights. With these additions and some other changes electrical engineers pronounced the Peru plant to be the equal of that of any other city in the country of similar size.
A few years later the subject of a municipal lighting plant began to be discussed and a large number of Peruvians expressed themselves in favor of its establishment. On March 13, 1900, the city council granted to Ulen & Perrott, of Indianapolis, a franchise to build and equip an electric lighting works, with the understanding that the city
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would purchase the same under certain conditions. Instead of building a new plant, Ulen & Perrott purchased the old one, installed some new machinery, and on November 1, 1900, it was turned over to the city. There was some criticism of the manner in which this deal was car- ried through. The franchise of the Peru Light and Power Company was about to expire and that company, after a franchise had been granted to the Indianapolis parties, realized that it would be a difficult matter to secure a renewal. It is said the old company sold out to Ulen & Perrott at a sacrifice and that the purchasers resold to the city at a figure that left them a handsome profit. The criticism of the city authorities was on account of their having granted a franchise to outsiders, when the old plant might have been purchased direct from the old company. During the year 1913 the expense of operation and upkeep was $60,428.77 and the receipts amounted to $56,389.28. Although these figures indicate that the plant was operated at a loss, the repairs made during the year have placed it in good condition and the probabilities are that for the coming years the electric lighting works will show a balance on the right side of the ledger.
THE COMMERCIAL CLUB
Within recent years it has become almost a universal custom for the business men of a city to organize some sort of an association of business men for the purpose of promoting their common interests and adding to the material prosperity of the city. At a meeting in Feb- ruary, 1901, when the question of raising a bonus for Josiah Turner as an inducement to lease and reopen the old woolen mills was under consideration, some one proposed the organization of a permanent busi- ness men's association. A committee, consisting of Frank M. Stutes- man, chairman, Hugh McCaffrey, Julius Falk, R. H. Bouslog, R. A. Edwards, A. N. Dukes, A. L. Bodurtha, C. H. Brownell and J. D. Oates, was appointed to formulate and present plans for such an organ- ization. Nothing definite was accomplished until nearly a year later, but on January 17, 1902, a meeting was held which resulted in the organization of the Peru Commercial Club. A nominating committee was appointed, which presented the following names as the first officers of the club: F. M. Stutesman, president; R. A. Edwards, vice-presi- dent; Nelson W. Miller, treasurer. The report of the committee was concurred in and the officers were elected. At a subsequent meeting a little later J. G. Brackinridge was elected secretary. The first executive board was composed of Hugh McCaffrey, Henry Meinhardt, G. C. Miller, G. A. Swartwout and A. N. Dukes. Eight standing committees
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were appointed, each of which was to take charge of some particular phase of the club's work. These committees, with their respective chairmen, were as follows: Ways and means, L. B. Fulwiler ; manufac- turing, R. H. Bouslog; railroads, C. H. Brownell and C. A. Cole; com- merce, A. L. Bodurtha; city interests, James F. Stutesman ; press and printing, E. L. Miller ; membership, C. N. Hall; arrangements and enter- tainments, Frank Carter.
Since the organization of this club it has been an active factor in its efforts to promote the interests of the city of Peru and its people. Its work in bringing new manufacturing enterprises to the Oakdale addition is described in another chapter; the arrangements for the laying of the corner-stone of the new courthouse were made through the club; it has been energetic in campaigns to secure bonuses for new factories, particularly the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad shops; has offered valuable suggestions and assisted in the matter of granting franchises to corporations, and while it has sometimes taken the initia- tive in these matters it has always worked in harmony with but sub- servient to the city administration.
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