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 2
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McConnell, Clarke H., 647 McConnell Family, 647 McConnell, William E., 648 MeDaniels, William, 807 McElheny, Franklin K., 468 McGrawsville, 128, 192
McGregor, William A., 162 McKillip, David, 757 Medical profession, 331 Melcher, Solomon A., 577 Mennonites, 359
Mercer, William S., 505 Methodists, 345
Mexico, 194 Mexico and Denver Railroad, 135 Miamis, 20 Miami, 195 Miami chiefs, 28 Miami Club, 415 Miami County Agricultural Association, 411 Miami County Agricultural Society, 409
Miami County Bank, 271
Miami County Bar Association, 328
Miami County Courthouse (view), 101
Miami County Driving Park and Agri- cultural Society, 410
Miami County Jail (view), 107
Miami County Medical Society, 341
"Miami County Sentinel,"' 299 Miami County Workingmen's Institute. 306 Miamisport, 153
Miller, Edward H., 493
Miller, Edward L., 819
Miller Family, 491
Miller, George C., 473
Miller, G. Lee, 486 Miller, J. H., 536 Miller, James T., 491 Miller, John, 274
Miller, John C., 460
Miller, John L., 703
Miller, John W., 492
Miller, Joseph E., 595
Miller, Levi, 536 Miller, Philip, 605 Miller, Robert, 460
Miller, W. P., 822
Mills, Eugene, 742 Mills, Joseph S., 648
Militia companies, 238
Military history, 204
Minute men, 224 Mitchell, Elmer E., 576
Miscellaneous enlistments, 233
Miscellaneous facts regarding Peru, 177
Miscellaneous history, 383
Miscellaneous societies, 415
Missionaries, 86
Mississinewa battle ground as a national park, 83
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INDEX
Mississinewa river, 2, 114
Model court houses, 106
Monday Night Literary Club, 413
Mound Builders, 15
Mounds of the United States, 17
Mowbray, William E., 328, 780
Mumaugh, Jesse, 645
Murden, George L., 589
Murden, Jesse L., 589
Nash, Benoma, 517
Nash, Jessie F., 518
National Tile Company, 147
Natural gas era, 7, 145, 279
Natural gas of the county, 11
Nead, 196
Nelp, Louis, 515
Nelson, Susan, killing of, 317
.Newell, Jay W., 682
New court house, 101
New jail, 106
New Light Christians, 243
New Lights, 361
Newman Family, 532
Newman, Medford Kyle, 533
Newman, Samuel Irvin, 601
Newspapers, 182
Niconza, 196
Ninth street bridge, Anderson, flood of 1913 (view), 331
Nineteenth Infantry, 291
Ninetieth Infantry, 222
Ninety-ninth Infantry, 222
North Anderson Driving Park Associa- tion, 262
North Broadway, Peru, March 25, 1913. Elks home on the right, Masonic tem- ple behind street car (view), 401
North Grove, 128, 197
Northwest Territory, 29
Northwest Territory divided, 30
Nyberg Automobile Works, 150
Oakdale, 166
Oakdale Improvement Company, 166, 283 Official roster, 433
Oil field, 285
Oil first struck, 286
Oldest banking house in Miami county, 268
Old court house (view), 104 '' Old Folks' and Orphan Children's Home, '' 372
Old Holman residence (view), 155
Old tow-path on the Wabash & Erie Canal (view), 247
Old Sentinel office, southwest corner of Main and Broadway, 1867 (view), 300 Old Settlers' Associations, 411 "' Old Squirrelly," 140
Old Strawtown road, 241
On the Eel River near Chili (view), 252
One Hundred Days' Men, 228 One Hundred and Ninth Infantry, 224 One Hundred and Twenty-seventh In- fantry, 226
One hundred and Twenty-eighth In- fantry, 227
One Hundred and Thirtieth Infantry, 228
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Infantry, 228 Hundred and Thirty-eighth In- fantry, 228
One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Infantry, 229
One Hundred and Forty-second Infantry, 229 One Hundred and Fifty-first Infantry, 230
One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Infantry, 231
Order of the World, 426
Organization of county, 96
Other newspapers, 304
Overman, Thomas C., 709
Panhandle Railroad 120, 128, 131, 142, 256
Parent-Teacher Club, 414
Parkhurst, John W., 527
Passage, Dr. Henry V., 334
Pathfinders, 426
Patten, John C., 685
Patten, Lucinda, 685
Paw Paw, 197
Pennsylvania Lines, 256
People's Oil and Gas Company, 13
Peoria, 118, 198
Perry Township, location, 135; area, 135; settler, 136; early births and deaths, 137; early industries, 138; churches, 138; first school house, 138; schools, 138; railroads, 138; cemeteries, 379
Perrysburg, 198
Peru Township, location, 138; organized, 139; area, 139; railroads, 139; first school, 139; schools, 139; cemeteries, 379
Peru, county seat, 153; early settlers, 154; founder of, 156; pioneers, 156; laid out, 157; named, 160; first build- ing on original plat, 160; incorporated as a town, 160; first town election, 162; first mayor, 162; early town records, 162; incorporated as a city, 163; addition to, 164; fire depart- ment, 166; first paid fire depart- ment, 167; water works, 167; gas works, 169; first electric lights, 170; parks, 172; municipal improvements, 173; postoffice, 174; finances, 175; police force, 177; public school build-
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INDEX
ings, 177; population, 177; mayors, 177; miscellaneous facts regarding, 177; first train to arrive in, 259; banks, 268; first foundry in, 275; manufactories, 275; railroad shops. 275; first telephone exchange, 279; natural gas companies, 280; manufac- turing statistics, 284; first oil wells, 286; schools, 295; newspapers, 299; public library, 306; clubs, 412
Peru & Detroit 'Railroad, 257
Peru & Indianapolis Railroad Company, 254
Peru Associated Charities, 372 Peru Basket Factory, 278 "' Peru Blues, " 204 Peru Canning Company, 282
Peru Chatauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, 412
Peru Choral Union, 415
Peru Collegiate Institute, 295
Peru Commercial Club, 171, 284
Peru Country Club, 414 Peru Daily Chronicle, 303
Peru Drama League, 413
Peru Driving Park and Fair Associa- tion, 410
Peru Evening Journal, 302
Peru Forester, 299
Peru Gazette, 299
Peru Gazette-Peru Democrat, 299 Peru Grays, 238 Peru Herald, 299
Peru High School (view), 293
Peru Light and Power Company, 170 Peru Literary Club, 413
Peru Lyceum, 306, 409
Peru Morning Journal, 303
Peru Mothers' Club, 414 Peru Musical Association, 415 Peru Natural Gas and Fuel Company, 12, 279
Peru Observer, 299 Peru Public Library (view), 307
Peru Reading Club, 412 Peru Republican, 302
Peru Trust Company, 269
Peru Woolen Mills, 275
Peru Y. M. C. A. (view), 428 Peters, John B., 753 Petition to the president, 386 Pettysville, 198 Phelps, Albert J., 695 Phelps, Caroline C., 701 Phelps, Frank C., 611 Phelps, George B., 764 Phelps, Hal C., 534 Phelps, Thomas W., 701 Philapy, John B., 576 Phillebaum, William L., 448 Philomathean Chautauqua Circle, 415 Physical features, 1
Physicians, 331 Pierceburg, 199
"Pillared Rocks," 4, 114 Pioneer amusements, 94 Pioneer life and customs, 89 Pioneer school house, 292
Pipe Creek Township, location, 139; area, 139; first white settlers, 140; early industries, 141; first churches, 141; first school, 141; schools, 142; railroads, 142; cemeteries, 381
Place, Willard B., 666
Plotner, Harlen E., 663
Political meetings, 393
Pontiac, 70
Pontiac's war, 71 Population, 429
Population of Peru, 177
Portraits, Gabriel Godfroy, 40
Postoffice, Peru, 174
Postoffices in Miami county, 203
Pottawatomis, 24
Presbyterians, 352
Press, the, 298 Probate court, 321
Progressive Brethren, 358
Prominent law cases, 329
Prosecuting attorneys, 323
Public buildings, 100
Public finances, 267
Public libraries, 306
Puterbaugh, Eli, 573
Puterbaugh, Moses, 573
Queer real estate, 392 Quinn, Robert H., 734
Raber, Samuel, 587
Raber, Solomon D., 587 Railroad era, 253
Ramsey, Albion S., 655 Rayburn, James W., 769
Ream, Edward B., 516
Ream, Fred S., 516
Reasoner, Ethan T., 818
Regular Army and Navy, 239
Report of the state bureau of inspection, 285 Resler, Joseph L., 768
Reyburn, William M., 823 Reynolds, George W., 466 Reynolds, Mary A., 466
Rhein, William L., 618
Rhodes, David E., 575
Rhodes, Thomas J., 594
Richardville, Jean Baptiste, 23, 29, 153 Richer, John, 628 Richer, Joseph, 629
Richland Township, location, 142; area, 142; first actual settler, 143; settlers, 143; early industries, 143; first churches, 144; first school house, 144;
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INDEX
schools, 145; railroads, 145; teries, 381 Ridenour, David, 569 Ridenour David C., 570 Ridgeview, 199
ceme-
Societies and fraternities, 409 Sollitt, Elmer A., 578 Sollitt, John B., 578
Sollitt, Ralph V., 578 Some prominent citizens, 392 Sommer, John H., 634
Rivers, 1 River navigation, 242 Roberts, Frederick M., 661 Robins, Ezekiel V., 758
Roll of honor, 234
Rose, Henry, 670
Royal Arcanum, 426
Runnells' mill, 122
Rutherford, Dr. C. F., 334
Runyan, Britton L., 478
Runyan, Richard B., 478
St. Charles Catholic school, 298
St. Clair, General Arthur, 76
Sandifur, Noah A., 699
Santa Fe, 118, 199
Stevens, Jesse T., 517
Stineman, Peter C., 679
Stitt, David, 711
Schermerhorn, Mrs. E. L., 63
Stitt, Leonard G., 768
See, Sylvanus, 744
Stockdale, 200 Stock raising industry, 274
Seitner, Ira, 684
Stormy summer, 398
Story of Frances Slocum, 52
Stowman, Walter W., 528
Stranger's grave, the, 390
Seventh Day Adventists, 367
Seventeenth Infantry, 212
Seventy-third Infantry, 220
Shanks, Stephen S., 311
Stutesman, Frank M., 481
Sharp, Charles, 706
Stutesman, James M., 481
Sharp, Samuel M., 704
She-po-con-ah, 33, 56
Sullivan, Theodore J., 501
Shinn, Edward D., 627
Sutton, Ebenezer H., 755
Shirk Family, 541
Sutton, Eddie B., 756 Sutton, William A., 623
Shirk, Joseph H., 543
Swafford, John W., 616
.
"Swamp angels," 149 Swigert, Joel, 621 Swindler, Jorden, 592
Shrock, Stella, 463
Simons, Charles E., 660
Simons, William, 660
Sims, William, 638
Sixteenth Infantry, 211 Slocum, Frances, 52 Slocum monument, 65
Teter, Jacob F., 715
The Ewings, 88
Smith, George, 618
Theobald, Jacob, 502
Smith, James H., 690
The Old Mexico Mill (view), 144
Smith, John W., 689
The Pillared Rocks (view), 5
Smith, J. J., 708
The Prophet, 80
"The White Rose of Miami, "' 63
Smith, Marshall, 821 Smith, S. S., 687
Snowberger, Levi, 756 .
Snow Hill, 199 Social and Literary Clubs, 412
Social organization of the Indian tribes, 32
Thirteenth Infantry, 208 Thirty-fourth Infantry, 215 Thirty-ninth Infantry, 216 Tile drains, 266
Tillett, Joseph N., 443
"Tomahawk Right,'' 95 Tombaugh, George W., 696
Statistical Review, 429 Steamboat navigation on the Wabash 250 Stevens, Carleton C., 517
Scene on the Mississinewa (view), 114
Schedule of treaty grants, 47
Seitner, Reuben, 684
Senger, Fred W., 554
Settlement, 86
Street Scene in Macy (view), 193
Stringtown, 201 Struble, Phillip, 466
Sullivan, Florence, 790
Shirk, Elbert W., 543
Shively, LeRoy A., 818 Shirk, Milton, 542 Shrock, Joseph, 462
Table showing number of miles of pub lic ditch in each township, 265 Tecumseh, 79 Temperance, 394
Smith, Marshall, 702
South Peru, 200 Spanish-American War, 235 Spanish claims, 68 Spaulding, Frank, 802 Speck, Julius T., 665
Spooner, Jared, 334, 535 Spooner, John P., 536 Springer, Eli J., 671 Sproal, Silas J., 698 Starkey, James E., 743
Seidner, Alvin, 754
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INDEX
Tomey, John, 456 Towns and villages, 179 Towns that are and have been, 179 Township history, 109 Trading posts, 87
Treaties, 41
Treaty of Greenville, 77 Tribe of Ben Hur, 426 Trippeer, Benjamin, 598 Trippeer, Claude, 620
Tudor, Avery P., 779 Twelfth Infantry, 210 Twentieth Infantry, 213 Twenty-ninth Infantry, 214
Unger, John F., 811 Union City, 201
Union Township, location, 145; area, 145; settlers, 146 ;. early industries, 147; first election, 147; first churches, 148; first school house, 148; schools, 148; railroads, 148; cemeteries, 382 United Brethren, 362
U. S. Postoffice, Peru (view), 175 Union Traction Company, 151 Universalists, 368
Urbana, 201
Value of taxable property, 430 Vandalia Railroad, 145 Vandalia Railroad System, 135 Views-The Pillared Rocks, 5; Miami County Court House, 101; Old Court House, 102; Miami County Jail, 107; Scene on the Mississinewa, 114; The Old Mexico Mill, 144; Old Holman Residence, 155; Broadway in the Six- ties, 164; Water Works Pumping Sta- tion, 168; U. S. Postoffice, Peru, 175; Street Scene in Macy, 193; Old Tow- Path on the Wabash & Erie Canal, 247; On the Eel River Near Chili, 252; Concrete Bridge Over Wabash River, Peru, 268; Peru High School, 293; Old Sentinel Office, Southwest Corner of Main and Broadway, 1867, 300; Peru Public Library, 307; Bread Line, Showing Work of the Asso- ciated Charities at Time of Great Flood, March, 1913, 373; North Broadway, Peru, March 25, 1913, Elks Home on the Right, Masonic Temple Behind Street Car, 401; Fifth Street Looking East from Broadway, Boats Landing on Court House Lawn, 403; Peru Y. M. C. A., 428 Vigilance committee, 384 Vincennes, 69 Volpert, John W., 630
Wabash river, 1, 250 Wabash river bridge case, 314
Wabash River Traction Company, 261 Wabash Railway Employes Hospital, 375 Wabash Railroad, 125, 109, 256 Wabash & Erie Canal, 96, 247 Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company, 256 Wabash Valley Trust Company, 270 Wagoner, 201
Wagoner, William H., 511 Waisner, Albert M., 764
Waisner, Solomon, 737
Waite, Joseph H., 789
Wallace, Benjamin E., 785
Waltz, John C., 766
War of 1812, 81 War with Mexico, 205 Ward, Albert, 546
Ward, Beverly R., 772
Ward, Charles J., 571
Ward, Frank E., 686
Ward, Dr. J. O., 343
Ward, James O., 773
Washington Township, location, 148; area, 148; settlers, 149; organized, 150; early churches, 150; schools, 150; pioneer teachers, 150; early industries, 151; railroads, 151; cemeteries, 382 Waters, Frank, 643 Water works, 167
Water works pumping station (view), 168 Waupecong, 120, 202
Way, George L., 545
Wayne, Gen. Anthony, 76
Welch, Berne, 565
West, Elijah, 510
West, Harry E., 510
Wetherow, Edd B., 793
Wheatville, 202
Wilkinson, Jacob, 311 Will of Francis Godfroy, 36
William Smith's school, 295
Willson, Edward L., 732
Wilson, George F., 464
Wilson, John B., 475
Wininger, Michael B., 722
Winona Interurban Railway, 138, 145, 263 Winona Interurban Railway Company, 139 Wolf, Levi B., 636 Wooleytown, 202
Xenia Gas and Oil Company, 12 Xenia Gas and Pipe Line Company, 280 Xenia Union Agricultural Society, 409
Yarian, Wilson, 714 Yoars, George M., 798 Younce, William W., 626 Young Men's Christian Association, 427
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INDEX
Zartman, Benjamin F., 610 Zartman, William F., 610 Zehring, Alfred E., 829 Zehring, Alonzo M., 646
Zehring, Benjamin F., 730 Zehring, Josiah, 741 Zimmerman, William H., 651 Zook, Aaron G., 824
History of Miami County
CHAPTER I
PHYSICAL FEATURES, GEOLOGY, ETC.
MIAMI COUNTY-LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES-LINES OF SURVEY-RIVERS AND CREEKS-UNDERLYING ROCKS OF THE UPPER SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN PERIODS-QUARRIES AND LIME-KILNS-ALONG THE MISSIS- SINEWA-BOG IRON ORE-THE GLACIAL EPOCH-THE WABASH RIVER -MORAINES-THE GLACIAL DRIFT-ECONOMIC GEOLOGY-CLAYS- SAND-GRAVEL-NATURAL GAS AND OIL-PRIMITIVE FORESTS AND THEIR DESTRUCTION.
Miami county is situated north and east of the center of the state. It is bounded on the north by Fulton county; on the east by Wabash and Grant counties; on the south by Howard, and on the west by Cass and Fulton counties. The forty-first parallel of latitude crosses the northern part, about two miles south of the northern boundary, and the eighty-sixth meridian of longitude lies four miles west of the eastern boundary. The main body of the county is in the form of a parallelo- gram, twelve miles from east to west and thirty miles from north to south. Measured by the lines of the official survey, the northern bound- ary is the line separating Congressional townships 29 and 30, and the southern boundary is the line separating townships 24 and 25. A strip two miles wide along the western border of the county lies in range 3, east, then comes all of range 4 and four miles of range 5, east. At the southeast corner of this parallelogram lies the civil township of Jackson, which extends four miles farther east than the main portion of the county. The total area of the county is 384 square miles.
Flowing westward through the center of the county is the Wabash river, which separates the townships of Erie and Peru on the north from Butler, Washington and Pipe Creek on the south. Farther north is the Eel river, which flows in a southwesterly direction across the county
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2
HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
through the townships of Richland and Jefferson. The Mississinewa river crosses the eastern border about the middle of Butler township and flows northwest, emptying into the Wabash a short distance above the city of Peru. The first white people to locate along this river pro- nounced the name "Massissineway," which it is said corresponded
closely to the Indian pronunciation. The Indian name is "Na-mah- chis-sin-wa," and means "much fall in the water," which indicates in a general way the character of the stream.
Big Pipe creek flows across the county in a northwesterly direction, touching every township south of the Wabash river except Deer Creek, and leaves the county in section 11, township 26, range 3, where it enters Cass county. Its principal tributaries are Nigger, Walnut, Honey and Turkey creeks. The Nigger rises in Harrison township, near North Grove, and empties into Pipe creek in the northeast corner of Clay township. Walnut creek rises in section 21, in Harrison township, and flows northward until it discharges its waters into Pipe creek near the northeast corner of the same township. Honey creek is formed in the southeastern part of Harrison township by the east and west forks, then flows northward past Amboy and empties into Pipe creek in section 11, Jackson township. Turkey creek flows northward through the eastern part of Jackson township and finally empties into Pipe creek near the eastern line of section 18, township 25, range 6, east.
Little Pipe creek has its source in Butler township, about halfway between Big Pipe creek and the Mississinewa river. Its general course is toward the northwest, through the townships of Butler and Wash- ington, until it joins the Wabash river near the lower part of the city of Peru.
Through the townships of Harrison, Clay and Deer Creek, in the southwestern part of the county, Deer Creek flows in a westerly direction, crossing the western boundary line into Cass county three miles north of the southwest corner of Miami. Farther south is South Deer creek, and near the village of Miami the Middle Fork empties into the main stream.
North of the Wabash river the principal creeks are Flowers, Weesau (also written Wesaw), and Washoni's. The Big and Little Weesau creeks drain a large part of Union township and unite near the north- west corner of the old Weesau reservation, whence the main stream flows southward until it empties into the Eel river a little below the town of Denver. Flowers and Washoni's creeks both empty into the Eel river near Chili, the former just above and the latter immediately below the town. These streams, with a number of smaller ones, provide a natural system of drainage, which has been supplemented by a number
3
HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
of ditches, so that practically all the land in Miami county has thus been brought under cultivation and the soil rendered more productive.
In geological formation, Miami county belongs to the Upper Silurian era, with traces of the Devonian in the western part. The former is represented by the Waterlime and Niagara groups and the latter by from thirty to thirty-five feet of Corniferous limestones. The surface of the county consists almost entirely of glacial deposits-clay, sand and gravel -- varying in depth from a few feet to 300 feet or more, and the few rock exposures are at points where the glacial drift has been washed away by the action of the streams. In 1872, E. T. Cox, then state geologist, made a report upon the rocks of Miami county, in which he says :
"The rocks which were seen, and probably all the rock exposures of the county, are of upper Silurian age and seem to be equivalent to the silico-magnesia limestone mentioned in the description of Cass county, and the overlying limestones; the first mentioned beds much more argillaceous than in Cass county-in some places becoming a magnesia argillite. The highest seam exposed is a limestone equivalent to the rock band at Delphi, in Carroll county. A light brown colored magnesian limestone, which, from false bedding, is often seen with strata dipping at every angle almost to a perpendicular.
This bed was formerly burned for lime at Dukes' quarry, adjoining Peru, the county town, but the kiln is not now in use. It is crowded with skeletonized fossils, yet still retaining a sufficient modicum of animal matter to prevent the lime from fully slackening in the short time usually allowed for that purpose by workmen. Hence, this lime is not suited for plasterers' use, unless the mortar is permitted to remain in damp vats for several months before being spread upon the walls of the houses. This is too slow a process for our fast age, yet the Roman architect, who built for ages, would use only mortar which had been prepared for a year or more before it would be needed by the artificer."
At Dukes' quarry a surface opening was made into the beds of the "silico-magnesia" limestone mentioned by Cox, but the stone was not suitable for building purposes. The beds of light brown colored lime- stone, referred to in the report, are generally local and of small extent. About a mile north of Dukes' quarry, on the farm of E. H. Shirk, an outcrop was formerly worked, and it is probable that the stone exists through the entire intervening area between the exposure on the Shirk farm and Dukes' quarry.
In the lower beds along the Wabash river, at Lyde's quarry, two and a half miles west of Peru, Cox found a deposit "distinctly laminated, the seams being filled with clayey matter and pyrites." Upon examina-
.
4
HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
tion he decided that this stone might be used for foundations, or where protected from the weather, but upon exposure the clay and pyrite matter would decompose and the stone become "shelly."
Similar beds of stone have been developed at Trippier's quarries, two miles east of Peru, on the south side of the Wabash river, and at Wallick's mill on Little Pipe creek, near the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. State Geologist Thompson, in his survey of 1888, classifies the rock exposures at these quarries as Niagara limestone. Concerning the lime burned at Trippier's, Cox said : "It is similar if not equal to the Delphi lime, slakes perfectly, works 'cool,' bears transportation well, makes a strong and almost hydraulic cement, and deserves a more extended market."
Near the mouth of the Mississinewa river there are extensive beds of Niagara limestone suitable for building purposes, the outcrop show- ing for over a mile. On the same stream, three miles east of Peru, are the "Pillared Rocks," interesting alike to the scientist and the lover of beautiful and romantic scenery. At this point the river is arrested in its northerly course by a solid wall of "cherty, silico-magnesia lime- stone" and makes a rather abrupt turn to the westward. The action of the rushing water against a stone wall composed of different textures. has caused an unequal disintegration of the rocks, carving them into pillars, rounded buttresses, alcoves, grottoes and overhanging shelves of beautiful and fantastic shapes. Cox says that in 1872 the summit of the bluff was covered with cedars. The "Pillared Rocks," with their celebrated picnic ground, form one of the beauty spots of Miami county. Locally, these rocks are known as the "Seven Pillars," but are often confused in name, by persons unfamiliar with them, with "The Cliffs" farther up the river.
Farther up the Mississinewa there is a precipice on the north side of the stream-part of the elevation known as "The Cliffs"-and at this point Cox took the only section in Miami county in his survey of 1872. That section was as follows :
Sandy soil, 4 feet; white glass and grit stone, 10 feet; porous lime rock, 18 feet; cherty, laminated argillaceous limestone, to river, 35 feet ; total, 67 feet.
Concerning the porous limestone here Cox says: "Blocks of large size may be obtained, and the unexplored beds, if found sufficiently compact, will prove valuable for quarry purposes, as well as for 'burn- ing.'"' At the time Cox made his survey he found that some fine, square blocks of stone had been taken from Thomas' quarry, in the pool of the mill dam at Peoria. This stone was quarried at the water's edge, below the cherty stratum of the silico-magnesia division, but owing to
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5
HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
its location was difficult to obtain, so that the quarry could never be operated at a profit, though the geologist pronounced it the best stone he had seen in the county.
The stone for the pilaster coping in the Catholic church at Peru was taken from a quarry near Brouillette's, on the Mississinewa river above Peoria, and has stood exposure to the weather well. In appearance it is of a modest, neutral tint, that contrasts harmoniously with the red brick walls, and resembles the Delphos limestone, of Ohio. This effect has since been destroyed by covering the church walls with stucco work.
THE PILLARED ROCKS
Cox's prediction that the porous limestone along the Mississinewa would "prove valuable for quarry purposes, as well as for burning," has not been realized, and the reason is explained by Thompson in his report on Miami county in 1888. He found the Niagara limestones of the Mississinewa to be dolomitic, "hard and sub-crystalline in structure, only fit for foundation work or flagging, and difficult to work." Says he: "The Niagara limestones of Miami county do not possess the properties of valuable building stone, although they may be profitably used for foundations, or other rough work. The Waterlime rocks near Peru, however, are much better even for the roughest work, consequently
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