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 29
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
main ditch was constructed and large sums have been assessed against the lands for widening, deepening and otherwise improving some of the ditches after they were built and found insufficient. The public ditches afford an outlet for the numerous tile drains that farmers have put in at their own expense. Peter Kelly, while serving as drainage commis- sioner some years ago, estimated that the cost of these private tile drains would average close to ten dollars per acre, or more than $2,000,000 for the entire county. In some instances the cost of private drains upon a farm has run as high as $30 an acre, and in a few instances it has reached $50.
But even at that figure the money spent in tile drains has been a good investment for the farmer. It is related of an old German farmer in the southern part of Washington township, some forty years ago, that after successive crop failures on account of the low lands upon his farm, announced his intention of mortgaging the place to buy tile. His wife, with visions of deeper debt and an old age in the poor house, tried to dis- suade him from his purpose. He finally succeeded in overcoming her objections, the mortgage was executed, the tile purchased and judiciously distributed over the farm, and the next season he had good crops, while his neighbors were "drowned out." Three years was sufficient to lift the mortgage, his debts were all paid and he was on the high road to pros- perity. His example was followed by his neighbors with the result that what was once a breeding place for malaria and mosquitoes is now one of the most fertile sections of the county.
CHAPTER XIII
FINANCE AND INDUSTRY
PUBLIC FINANCES-BONDED DEBT OF THE COUNTY-BANKS-TRUST COMPANIES-AGRICULTURE-STATISTICS RELATING TO CROPS AND LIVE STOCK-MANUFACTURING-CHARACTER OF THE FIRST FACTORIES- PERU AS A MANUFACTURING CENTER-NATURAL GAS ERA-ITS INFLU- ENCE ON INDUSTRY-OAKDALE-REPORT OF BUREAU OF INSPECTION- THE OIL FIELD-OUTSIDE INDUSTRIES-FACTORIES IN OTHER TOWNS.
The people of Miami county are to be congratulated upon the fact that the public revenues have always been managed in such a manner that at no time has the indebtedness been burdensome to the taxpayers. Bonds have been issued from time to time for specific purposes, but with each issue provisions were made for the redemption of the bonds as they fell due. At the close of the year 1913 the bonded debt of the county was $667,852, which was distributed as follows :
Gravel road bonds
$457,852
Courthouse bonds
168,000
Concrete bridge bonds. 4,000
Broadway bridge bonds
38,000
Total
$667,852
The gravel road bonds are proportioned among the several townships of the county, according to the amount of improved highway in each, and might be considered a township obligation rather than a county debt, though the bonds are issued by the board of county commissioners upon petition of the taxpayers for the construction of a gravel road. The original issue of the courthouse bonds was $280,000, but after bids were received it was found that the amount was more than neces- sary and a few of the bonds were canceled. For the construction of the concrete bridge bonds to the amount of $20,000 were issued, only $4,000 of which remained unpaid at the close of the year 1913. The issue of bonds for the construction of the bridge across the Wabash
267
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
river at the foot of Broadway, in the city of Peru, was made necessary by the great flood of March, 1913, which carried the old bridge away. According to the tax duplicate for the year 1913, the assessed value of the taxable property of the county was nearly $17,500,000, hence the bonded indebtedness is less than four per cent of the property value.
Although the' figures in the principal item-the gravel road bonds- may seem large, when the reader stops to reflect that Miami county has many miles of improved roads, and that the mileage is being con- stantly increased, it will be seen that every dollar of these bonds repre- sents a permanent investment, the profits of which can hardly be
CONCRETE BRIDGE OVER WABASH RIVER, PERU
estimated. So, too, the county has something to show for the bonds issued in the other cases. Miami county has one of the best appointed courthouses in the state, the cost of which was not excessive when com- pared with public buildings of like character elsewhere; the concrete bridge over the Wabash river is one of the largest of its kind in the country and so well built that it withstood the pressure of the great flood of March, 1913, that carried other bridges away as if they were built of cork; and the Broadway bridge, when completed, will soon pay for itself in the advantages afforded to the farmers south of the Wabash and the business interests of the city of Peru.
BANKING INSTITUTIONS
The oldest banking house in Miami county is the First National Bank of Peru. It was organized in April, 1864, under the act of
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
congress, approved February 25, 1863, authorizing the establishment of national banks. E. H. Shirk, who started the institution as a private bank, was the principal promoter and the first president after the organ- ization as a national bank. The first board of directors was composed of E. H. Shirk, Robert Miller, James Hollenshade, Jacob Kreutzer, George L. Dart, W. W. Constant and Abraham Leedy. Mark Haynes was the first cashier and M. S. Robinson the second. The bank opened for business in a small frame building at No. 6 South Broadway, but in a short time was removed to a new building on the corner lot at the northwest corner of Main and Broadway. In 1889 a new building was erected upon this same lot, but on the corner, by the bank, where it now has a permanent location. The original capital stock of $75,000 has been increased to $100,000 and the surplus amounts to about as much more. At the close of the year 1913 the deposits were about $1,500,000. In 1913 the interior of the bank was completely remodeled and an armor plate safety vault installed. This is one of the three armor plate safety deposits in the state of Indiana, the other two being located in the city of Indianapolis. The officers of the bank at the begin- ning of the year 1914 were: R. A. Edwards, president; J. O. Cole and G. R. Chamberlain, vice-presidents; M. A. Edwards, cashier ; Lloyd V. Smith, assistant cashier.
In February, 1867, the firm of Bonds, Hoagland & Company opened a private bank at No. 6 South Broadway. It continued as a private bank until in July, 1871, when it was reorganized as the Citizens' National Bank of Peru, with D. C. Darrow as president and M. S. Robinson as cashier. The first board of directors consisted of the president, cashier, A. C. Brownell, C. D. Bond, N. O. Ross, William Smith and R. F. Donaldson. President Darrow resigned in July, 1883, when Charles II. Brownell was elected to the office, which he still holds. Not long after this change in the executive head of the bank the board of directors authorized the purchase of the prop- erty at No. 16 North Broadway, opposite the courthouse, where a building has been erected and occupied by the bank since September, 1886. The capital stock of the Citizens' National is $100,000, the surplus $25,000 and the deposits over $400,000. At the close of the year 1913 the officers were: C. II. Brownell, president; Charles R. Hughes, vice-president; C. M. Charters, cashier; G. E. Potter, assist- ant cashier.
The Peru Trust Company is the outgrowth of the 'Miami County Loan and Savings Association, which was incorporated on January 13, 1891, with a capital stock of $500,000. It began business on February 2, 1891, in a room over Ilale's store and during the first
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
five years of its career accumulated over $175,000 in assets and paid out over $26,000 in dividends to its depositors. In 1897 the asso- ciation leased the building on North Broadway, where its successor- the Peru Trust Company-is now located. On Saturday, July 13, 1901, some of the depositors became uneasy and started a run upon the association. Over $40,000 passed over the counter that day in balancing accounts. Before the doors were opened the following Monday morning there was a large crowd in front of the building and it looked as though the run was to be continued. In the mean- time the association had called in its reserves from Chicago and when the doors were opened there was a literal "barrel of money" in the window, in plain view of those on the street. This had a salutary effect and the knowledge that the association had among its assets about $400,000 of mortgage securities checked the run and restored confidence. On the evening of January 14, 1904, the Miami County Loan and Savings Association closed its doors and the next morning the Peru Trust Company began business in the same room with the same officers, the change having been made without friction or inconvenience. At the close of the year 1913 the capital stock of the company was $100,000, the surplus $25,000, and the deposits over $1,000,000. The officers at that time were as follows: Joseph H. Shirk, president; Elbert W. Shirk, vice-president; E. L. Miller, sec- retary; C. W. Beecher assistant secretary. Mr. Miller has been sec- retary of the institution ever since it started as the Miami County Loan and Savings Association in February, 1891.
The Wabash Valley Trust Company received a charter early in the year 1904 and opened its doors for business on the 21st of March, with the following officers: B. E. Wallace, president; F. R. Fow- ler and C. H. Brownell, vice-presidents; W. W. Sullivan, secretary ; Charles R. Hughes, treasurer. The death of Mr. Fowler left a va- cancy that has not been filled and the offices of secretary and treas- urer have been consolidated, the position being filled by Mr. Sulli- van, with A. E. Cathcart as assistant secretary and treasurer. The company owns the building at the southwest corner of Main and Broadway, the main floor of which is used for the general banking and trust company business, and the basement for the abstract, real estate and insurance departments. At the beginning the capital stock was $100,000, which was increased to $150,000-all paid up-on Jan- uary 1, 1914. Its deposits at that time were over $700,000.
About the beginning of the present century banks were opened in a number of Indiana towns by Chicago capitalists and others from outside of the state. Some of these banks have survived, but a large
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
number of them were short-lived. In 1900 a bank was started at Denver by W. G. Green, formerly of Toledo, Ohio, and a Mr. Hoban opened a bank at Bunker Hill. The Bunker Hill bank closed its doors in May, 1901. A meeting of the depositors was held on May 18, 1901, at which it was decided to reorganize and open the bank. This was done, but after a short time its affairs were liquidated and the bank was closed permanently. Green's bank at Denver closed on June 11, 1901, the proprietor leaving a note stating that he was called away from town but would soon return. The depositors be- came suspicious and upon Mr. Green's return started a run on the bank that forced it to suspend. Green was arrested by a deputy United States marshal and taken before the United States commis- sioner at Logansport, where he was found innocent of any criminal intent and was released. The Hoosier Basket Company at Denver was so seriously affected by the failure of the bank that it was forced to suspend operations for a time.
The Farmers' State Bank of Bunker Hill was established in 1906 by local capitalists. Its capital stock was fixed at $25,000, all paid up, and the bank has had a fairly prosperous career. In 1913 A. E. Zehring was president and J. W. Duckwall was cashier. The de- posits at the close of that year amounted to about $100,000.
In 1907 the Farmers' Bank of Converse was incorporated with a capital stock of $25,000, all of which is owned by local people. The deposits at the close of the year were in excess of $160,000. At that time Fred Green was president and J. Rich, cashier. This bank is located in a good building, commands the confidence of the com- munity and is well patronized by the citizens of Converse and the adjacent farmers.
The town of Amboy has two banks. The Miami County Bank was organized in 1902 and reorganized in 1907 with a capital stock of $13,500 and at the close of the year 1913 carried about $125,000 in deposits. C. W. Cole was at that time president of the bank and O. C. Atkinson was cashier. The Amboy Bank began business in the early part of the year 1913. Its capital stock is $10,000 and accord- ing to the Bankers' Directory for July, 1913, its deposits then amounted to $15,000. M. F. Pearson is president and H. East is cashier.
The Citizens' Bank of Macy was organized on November 10, 1908, with a capital stock of $10,000. This stock was all subscribed and paid up by citizens of Macy and the immediate vicinity. Jacob G. Smith is the president and S. H. Musselman, cashier. This bank has comfortable quarters on Commerce street and carries deposits amount- ing to $125,000 ..
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
On June 3, 1909, the Farmers' Bank of Denver began business with a paid up capital stock of $10,000. The officers of the bank at the opening were Henry Lewis, president; I. C. Brower, vice-president ; Noble B. Hunt, cashier. These gentlemen still retain their respective positions. A statement issued by this bank at the close of business on March 10, 1913, shows that at that time the surplus amounted to $1,500 and the deposits to nearly $80,000. The bank owns its build- ing and enjoys the confidence of its patrons.
Banks were established at Mexico and Miami in the summer of 1913. C. H. Black, a prominent business man and manufacturer of Mexico, is at the head of the bank in that town and James Stedman is president of the Miami Bank.
With the banks and trust companies in the city of Peru and those above enumerated in the other towns, Miami county is well provided with banking facilities. These financial institutions are all owned and controlled by citizen of the county, whose personal in- terests are identical with those of other citzens, hence each bank official and director in the county is interested in the maintenance of a policy that by promoting the general financial welfare of the community will enhance the profits of his own institution. Satisfied with reasonable returns from a banking business conducted along legitimate lines, the general policy of Miami county banks is to be conservative, but without being at the same time non-progressive. Most of the men at the head of these banks are men of experience in financial matters, whose judgment in business affairs can be safely trusted, so that the institutions with which they are connected com- mand local confidence and credit abroad.
AGRICULTURE
For many years after the first white settlers came into Miami county, farming was practically the only occupation of the people, and it is still the principal industry and source of wealth. Concern- ing the agricultural conditions, the last biennial report of the state 1
bureau of statistics, published in 1912, says :
"Miami county, situated as it is in the center of the northern half of Indiana, includes within its borders nearly every industry known to that section of the state. The county is a rich agricultural one, and the variety of her soils enables her to produce every crop which can be grown in Indiana. Across the southern end of the county extends a broad belt of black loam. Through the center run the fertile valleys of the Wabash, the Mississinewa and Eel rivers.
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
The soil in the north end of the county is for the most part a sub- stantial clay, interspersed with small areas of sand and muck.
"All of the ordinary farm crops are grown in abundance, and in the past few years products for the canning factory have been raised quite extensively. The possibilities of fruit raising on a commercial scale are just beginning to be realized and a number of first-class apple and pear orchards have been set out. Stock raising is carried on quite generally by the farmers and there are several fine breeding farms in the county. The county is now quite thoroughly drained and threaded by a network of gravel roads."
The following table shows the acreage and quantity of some of the leading crops for the year 1911, the last year included in the sta- tistical report :
Acres
Wheat
38,409
Bushels 761,742
Corn
54,376
2,244,504
Oats
15,070
522,160
Rye
294
4,588
Potatoes
395
33,661
Tomatoes
402
2,209
Timothy hay
11,510
12,774 tons
Alfalfa
230
404 tons
Prairie hay
88
110 tons
Clover
16,008
13,879 tons
The potato crop given in the table is only a little more than half that of the preceding year, when the acreage was 577 and the number of bushels raised 50,209. The production of prairie hay was less than half that of the year before, due principally to the fact that the low lands adapted to the production of prairie or marsh hay have practically all disappeared under the thorough system of drainage and have been planted to more profitable crops. In 1910 there were 1,007 bushels of berries and 2,374 bushels of apples, peaches, pears and plums raised in the county. In 1911 the berry crop had increased to 1,583 bushels and that of the other fruits to 24,515 bushels. These figures bear out the statement of the statistician that "the possibilities of fruit raising on a commercial scale are just beginning to be realized." Since that report was issued by the bureau, hundreds of fruit trees have been set out in all parts of the county and it is only a question of a short time when Miami will rank among the fruit growing counties of the state.
It would not be fair to compare the total crop of the county with that of other counties larger in area, but taking the average yield per Vol. I-18
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
acre of the leading products Miami makes a favorable showing. On this basis, of the ninety-two counties in the state, she stood fifth in the production of wheat, ninth in oats and sixteenth in corn.
Below is given a table showing the number of animals of various kinds sold during the year 1911, with the selling value of each class :
Horses and colts
1,039
$134,322
Mules
243
26,405
Cattle
5,392
166,649
Hogs
39,256
465,404
Sheep
5,660
20,504
Poultry (all kinds)
7,066 dozen
57,423
Considerable attention is given to dairying .. During the year there were sold 2,329,835 gallons of milk, which brought $257,972, and 268,254 pounds of butter, for $55,733. The number of dozen eggs marketed was 805,366, for which the farmers received $155,870.
The number and value of farm animals on hand at the beginning of the year 1912 was as follows :
Horses and colts
8,093
$805,865
Mules
650
73,370
Cattle
14,094
354,711
Hogs
33,990
222,496
Sheep
6,816
27,281
In connection with the agricultural and stock raising industry, it is worthy of note that John Miller, of Jefferson township, has taken more prizes at world's and state fairs and other live stock exhibits than any cattle man in Indiana. Mrs. Miller has two or more bed quilts made of ribbons awarded her husband in these stock shows-most of them representing first prizes-and the supply of ribbons was not then exhausted. Mr. Miller has sold cattle all over the country and even to breeders in South America. Another prominent cattle raiser in the county is Clem Graves, of Pipe Creek township, who a few years ago sold a single Hereford bull for the handsome sum of $10,000. Since then he has sold his herd and engaged in other lines of business.
The statistics above given indicate that the farmers of Miami county are prosperous, as a rule, and the traveler through the county sees evidence of this prosperity on every hand. Good dwelling houses and barns, bountiful crops and an abundance of live stock, much of which is of thoroughbred varieties, bear out the statement that the farmer is still the industrial king in the county. Another evidence of the
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
farmers' prosperity is found in the statistics, which show that during the year 1911 the indebtedness secured by farm mortgages was reduced from $585,384 to $318,665.
MANUFACTURING
The earliest manufactories in Miami county were of the most simple character, intended to produce only such articles as were in demand in a new country. These first factories included saw and grist mills, the country tan-yard, wagon shops, an occasional hat factory, carding machines, etc. In the chapters on Township History will be found men- tion of a number of the early mills, hence it is not necessary to repeat their history in this chapter.
Peru is naturally the manufacturing center of the county, being the county seat and greatest railroad center. The first foundry in the city was established in 1843 by F. S. & George Hackley. A new building was erected about 1860 and the business of the concern was greatly enlarged, the junior partner retiring about that time. After the death of F. S. Hackley the business was continued by his son for a time, when the plant was sold to Thomas Lovett. Later the firm of Lovett & Rettig was formed and began the manufacture of agricultural implements. About 1884 A. J. Ross succeeded to the business and con- ducted it for a while. Then after some further changes in ownership and management the buildings were acquired by the Standard Cabinet Manufacturing Company.
In 1853 the railroad shops of the Peru & Indianapolis (now the Lake Erie & Western) Railroad were built in the southwestern part of the city. Twenty years later they were removed to their present location in the northwestern part of the city and the old buildings were occupied by some Peru capitalists as a packing house. A considerable number of hogs were killed annually for export, but the competition from the packing companies of Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati became so great that the business was found to be unprofitable and was discon- tinued. When the Lake Erie shops were first opened in 1853 they employed about forty men on an average, the year round. According to the last report of the State Bureau of Inspection, the number employed in the shops in 1912 was 149.
The Peru Woolen Mills were established in 1865 by H. E. & C. F. Sterne on West Canal street, just west of Broadway. The Commercial hotel now occupies part of the building. The first mill was what is known as a "five set" mill, i. e., consisting of five sets of cards, and had in addition some 1,500 spindles. This mill was destroyed by fire in January, 1868, and a new building 66 by 300 feet was erected in the
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
western part of the city. At the same time M. Oppenheimer was taken in as a partner. Subsequently two other buildings, each 44 by 300 feet, were erected and in 1874 L. Mergentheim became associated with the enterprise. In February, 1877, Harry W. Strouse succeeded Henry Sterne in the firm and in 1886 the business was conducted by the firm of Mergentheim, Sterne & Strouse, which afforded employment to about 150 people. During the palmy days of this industry the mills turned out large quantities of jeans, flannels, cassimeres, blankets and other cloths and the firm won a number of premiums for the quality of their goods in competitive exhibits. Upon the death of Louis Mergentheim the mills were closed and stood idle for a number of years. Then Josiah Turner received a small bonus from the people of Peru and reopened the mills. His undertaking was not a success and the plant was sold to the Racine Woolen Mills Company, of Racine, Wisconsin, which carried on the business until the panic in the fall of 1907, when the mills were again closed. The best of the machinery was afterward sold to the Mexico Woolen Mills Company when it was incorporated in 1912 and the buildings are now used as a sectional box factory by Cramer Brothers & Unger.
There was at one time, probably as early as the '50s, a woolen mill in the eastern part of the city, near the canal and east of the Howe factory. It was established by Asa Thomas and was run by water power. Later it was owned by Isaac Armfield, and still later by John and Ab. Wilson. The principal products were rolls and woolen yarns.
East of this woolen mill Jesse Smith established a distillery at an early date. It did a flourishing business until the passage of the internal revenue law levying a tax upon spirits, when it was discontinued. A. C. Brownell was interested in this institution during the latter part of its career.
Andrew Baldner once operated a brewery on Canal street, about a square east of Broadway, and at one time it was one of the prosperous business enterprises of Peru. Like the old water power woolen mill and the distillery, it has disappeared and scarcely a trace of these early industries remains to show where they stood.
Wilkinson & Pomeroy's planing mill was established in 1860 by Daniel Wilkinson, who came to Peru in that year with a sawmill, which was located in the southwestern part of the town. The sawmill burned in 1865, but was immediately rebuilt. Two years later Mr. Wilkinson sold out and built a frame structure where the present mill is located. This building was practically destroyed by fire in 1872, when the brick mill was erected. Some years later Mr. Pomeroy purchased an interest in the business and the mill now manufactures fine interior woodwork,
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