USA > Indiana > Knox County > Vincennes > History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 43
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there are circumstances which sometimes render it necessary. A man who insinuates himself into your esteem, professes the most unbounded friend- ship for your family, paying his address to your daughter, gaining her af- fections, promises in the most solemn manner to marry her, asks permis- sion of her parents, fixes a date for their marriage, and you afterwards as- certain that all this was done for the express purpose of ruining her reputa- tion and destroying the happiness of her family, is it possible that any man can tamely submit to an insult of this kind? Such is my situation with Dr. Scull, and for such conduct I am about to punish him, or lose my life in the attempt. Although I have no daughter of my own, yet it is as much my duty to protect and vindicate the character of those under my charge as if they were my own. If unfortunately I should be killed in this affair, I have left a will in which you and William Prince are left my executors, feeling confident you will not think hard of attending to my affairs, and Prince will be an able assistant to you. My affairs are somewhat unsettled, but do the best you can for me. Pay attention to my wife, for to me she has been a good one. My own fate hereafter I trust in the honor of that God who gave it to me, fully believing his power to save and disposition so to do. Adieu, my dear brother! Should you next behold me cold as clay, see me decently interred, is my last request." Not long after the certain had been rung down on the last scene in the Beckes-Scull tragedy, the men who acted as seconds for the participants, fought a duel over the same cause, on the same ground, and with the same weapons (pistols), in which Irwin Wallace, Beckes' second, killed Isaac Richardson, a Fort Knox lieutenant.
The committee appointed to negotiate bonds for the purpose of building a new court house, reported their inability to do so, and it was thereupon decided to repair the old one at a cost not exceeding $500. In May. 1830, a committee consisting of Thomas McClure, Benj. V. Beckes, Samuel Tomel- son. William Draper and Jacob Anthies was appointed to select a site for a new court house and reported that they "had selected one square of ground, consisting of four lots, being numbered 310, 311, 328 and 329, agreeably to the survey of John Emson, of the town of Vincennes, these lots being the property of I. Kuykendall, which will be conveyed to the county for the sum of $200." The lots were purchased and proposals for the erection of the building solicited. The contract was subsequently let to John Moore, he being the lowest bidder, for $3,971.46, the specifications calling for a "brick building, 45x65 feet, 23 feet. 4 inches high ; to contain a recorder and clerk's office and jury room, each 17 feet 6 inches high by 19 feet 9 inches." In 1837 a jail was erected on the same lot as the court house, of which neither the dimensions nor cost are given. John Moore, the court house contractor, was no ordinary personage. He was born in Staunton, Va., in the year 1788, and was a citizen of Vincennes before Indiana as a state was admitted to the union. He was with Harrison at Tippecanoe in 1811, and later did military service in the Black Hawk war. He was the builder of the first town hall, the Episcopal church and many other public
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and private buildings, and had filled the offices of president, treasurer, and marshal of the borough, and judge of the county probate court. He was the first mayor of Vincennes upon the adoption of her city charter, and served as postmaster of the town under President Buchanan. He died on December 23, 1864, leaving a widow and three children. His wife, Mrs. Mary E. Moore, is still living and resides at the old homestead, 305 Church street, far advanced in years, beloved and respected. The son Frank died about twelve years ago. The eldest daughter Ellen, deceased, was the wife of Edward H. Smith; the youngest, Marguerite, married Win. B. Chadwick, and resides in Chester, Pa.
The agitation for building a new court house, which began several years before, resulted in the contract being let March 13, 1872, to James K. Frick,* Evansville, for the erection of the present magnificent "temple of justice." The cornerstone was laid June 24, 1873, with masonic ceremonies. The late Dr. Austin, D. D., for many years rector of St. James Episcopal church, delivered an eloquent address appropriate to the occasion. The building, fire proof and built of stone and iron, occupies an elevated position in the center of an entire block, bounded by four streets, to which the beau- tiful lawns, studded with giant maple trees, recedes.
THE KNOX COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
It fronts seventy-eight feet on Seventh and Eighth streets; its depth on Busseron and Broadway is one hundred and twenty feet, and its extreme height is one hundred and forty-seven feet. The central and main portion of the building is of a composite order of architecture, and at each of the four corners stands a tall tower, which gives to the whole structure its Nor- man type. The main, or highest tower, stands at the northwest angle, and contains the great clock and bell, the latter now used to sound the number of fire-alarm boxes. On the Seventh street side of this tower, resting upon a large block of marble, containing a bas-relief of the coat-of-arms of the federal government, arises a marble tablet twenty-one feet high, capped with a molding bearing the monogram of the United States. This slab was designed to receive the names of citizen soldiers who have fallen in battle, but inasmuch as the county recently appropriated $50,000 for a soldiers' monument, it is more than likely that provision will be made for inscribing thereon the names contained in the long roll of our fallen heroes. Over this tablet in a niche stands the gigantic statue of an American soldier in the position of parade rest. The northeast tower, facing toward Seventh street, has a similar block and tablet, designed as a memorial to the pioneer settlers. The base contains a fine bas-relief representation of the setting sun behind the mountains, and the frightened buffalo tearing away at the
* Charles Pearce, who subsequently built the city hall, Bayard, Graeter, La Plante and Bierhaus blocks, was foreman on the job, and before the building was completed did work as a sub-contractor.
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KNOX COUNTY COURTHOUSE
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sound of the pioneer's axe. In the center is a rude block house withiin the protecting pickets, perpetuating the alarms and dangers amid which our civilization was planted, while in the foreground an ivy-twined cross, elo- quently preserves the memory of those Jesuit fathers, who braved the dangers of howling wildernesses to bring knowledge, hope and comfort to a savage race. And above this marble-carved picture of primeval conditions. stands out in bold relief the first settlement of Old Vincennes, 1702. And how appropriate to assign in this tower the figure of George Rogers Clark. It is truly a fine piece of work-this colossal statue, and was sculptured by Andrew Barrot of the city of Carrana in Italy. It is carved from one solid block of stone and has a weight of nearly four tons. The figure is draped in the costume of the western pioneers-fringed hunting shirt, buck- skin leggings and moccasins. The broad and bald brow, acquiline nose, firm and square under jaw traditionally characteristic of the man, are wonder- fully brought out. His chapeau, or cocked hat, rests upon the pedestal. carved into a stump. The statue occupies a niche in the tower about fifty feet above the ground. Midway between the two towers, in the center of the building, on the Busseron street side, above a grand doorway of heavy iron, is a statue of Justice, holding the scales loosely by her side in her right hand, while her sword is held across her left shoulder. It is said that this piece of work has been modeled from Donati de Bardi's famous piece in the vatican collection at Rome. The statues are all more than nine feet in height.
The cost of the building was something like $360,000, and at the time of its construction quite a good deal of unfavorable comment was had, in the newspapers, and otherwise, regarding the largeness of the sum. Messrs. Thomas Dayson, John M. Berry and Asa Thorne composed the board of commissioners at the time, and probably came in for more unjust criticism than they were entitled to. It was the original intention to have the house built of brick, instead of light-colored Bedford limestone, and bids were ad- vertised for accordingly-the proposals submitted ranging in price from $8,998 to $167,000. After the contract had been agreed upon, there was no little dissatisfaction manifested as to the style of the building and the ma- terial entering into its construction, and Edwin May, the architect, was au- thorized to change the plans and, of course, the price. The house, however. is one of the most attractive in the state.
For several years prior and subsequent to the erection of the court house the jail (a small affair) was on the same lot, near the corner of Seventh and Broadway streets. In 1903 a stone bastile, three stories high. costing $45,000, was built across the street, corner Eighth and Broadway, and the old jail torn down. The sheriff's residence is in connection with the jail, and the whole make quite an imposing structure.
In the matter of her public buildings Knox County takes front rank with the proudest counties in the state. The orphans' home, which is located on Fairground avenue and occupies a half block, is one of the most
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attractive looking places in Vincennes. It was erected in 1898, when the cost of material was down, and the contract let for $6,000; and afterwards, the commissioners issued bonds to the amount of $10,000 to apply on cost of construction. The home is at present in charge of Miss Minnie Hanna, ma- tron, and controlled by a board of managers composed of the following well-known ladies: Mrs. Charles Bierhaus, Mrs. S. B. Judah, Mrs. Guy McJimsey, Mrs. Kate Morse, Mrs. W. C. Bierhaus, Mrs. W. H. Vollmer, Mrs. M. G. Moore, Mrs. W. H. Glover, Mrs. John Hamm, Mrs. Sam Lyons, Mrs. Mary Baker. The board of trustees are Wm. J. Nicholson, president and treasurer ; C. B. Kessinger, Wm. H. Vollmer, Geo. W. Donaldson, Dr. Geo. Knapp. During the year 1910 the running expenses of the institution were $4,413.30. While ample provision is made for the maintenance of the home by the county, it is given much substantial aid from the private purses of citizens. It is one of the best-managed orphanages in the state; and those who are so unfortunate to become its wards are fortunate in having come in contact with the motherly care and attention which is bestowed on all who pass within its portals as inmates.
THE COUNTY ASYLUM FOR THE POOR.
The asylum for the poor, located about three miles east of Vincennes, is another well-conducted institution, and at present is in charge of Andy Buley as superintendent. It was built by John H. Piel, contractor, in 1881, and cost $15.544.15. As early as 1800 provision was made by Knox County for keeping and burying the poor, but it was not until 1820 that initial steps were taken toward the erection of an asylum or home for paupers. At that time the commons lands were in the hands of a board of trustees of the borough of Vincennes, and that the borough might share in its benefits, General W. Johnson was appointed by the board to confer with the com- missioners* (appointed by the general assembly) in the purchase of a farm for the asylum, and it was jointly agreed that if the commissioners would purchase one-half of lot No. 88, containing ten acres, the borough would donate the other half, which agreement was fulfilled. This joint arrange- ment of taking care of the poor was adhered to until 1843, when it was de- cided that it were better from a humane as well as an economical stand- point to have the paupers brought together at one place, and put in charge of a keeper, instead of having their wants looked after in the various town- ships by three commissioners appointed in each for that purpose. And from 1845 to 1882 the contract for keeping the poor was awarded through com- petitive bids. In 1852 an asylum costing $5,636.44 was erected ; and the com- missioners issued an order requiring all paupers to be sent to the asylum for care, and when they were not sent the cost for their care was not to be greater than if they were at the asylum. The poor farm on which the
* David McClure, Thomas Emison, Samuel Chambers, Thomas Jordon, William Gamble, Abraham Kuykendall, James Watson and Henry Ruble.
KNOX COUNTY ORPHANS' HOME
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present asylum is located consists of about two hundred acres, and the aggre- gate cost for the maintenance of both farm and asylum for the year 1910 was $3,629.06. The amount realized from the sale of products of the farm for the same period, which was applied towards reducing the expense in- curred, was $774.30. The aggregate amount paid by the county for the relief of the poor in all the townships during the year 1910 was $11,245.62.
General W. Johnson, who opened and closed negotiations on behalf of the borough of Vincennes with the county commissioners for joint owner- ship in the first county poor farm, was prominent in the civic affairs of county and town and had been honored with public positions of dignity and responsibility. He was a native of Virginia, and took up his residence at Vincennes in 1783. He was the first attorney admitted to practice before the territorial bar, and was the first postmaster of the Northwest Territory ; was auditor and later treasurer of Indiana territory ; and, with the assistance of John Rice Jones, compiled the first revision of the laws of Indiana, which were bound and published by Elihu Stout, who was at the time proprietor of the Western Sun. He was several times elected to the legislature, and was chosen chairman of a committee to give answer to a petition of the pro- slavery element of the population of the territory who memorialized congress to legalize slavery in the territory. This committee advised against said grant and the whole subject was then and there buried forever .* Mr. John- son's old-fashioned home, builded flat on the ground, with a long porch in front, was for many years considered an important land-mark because of the celebrity of its former occupant. and was allowed to remain standing at the corner of First and Hart streets until the year 1900, when it was razed to the ground.
THE HIGHLAND ORPHAN'S HOME.
St. Vincent's orphan asylum for boys, popularly called the Highlands, while not maintained by public funds, is among the worthy institutions of the county. It is located across the highway (Hart street road) from the asylum for the poor, its buildings forming an imposing pile of stone and brick, costing probably $55,000. It stands on the former site of the struc- ture that about twenty years ago was destroyed by fire-being the third con- flagration of which the institution has been a victim. +St. Vincent's was
* H. M. Smith, Historical Notes Old Vincennes, 207.
t St. Ann's Asylum was projected by Bishop Bazin, but his death put a stop to its progress for a time. This was again started by Bishop de St. Palais. It was opened in a building near the cathedral, August 28, 1849. Maggie Dill's name first appears on the roll of inmates. The Orphans' Home remained in this building until 1863, when it was removed to the college building, now St. Rose Academy. It then took the name of St. Ann's Asylum, which was before called the Girls' Orphan Asylum. In 1878 this asylum was removed to Terre Haute. St. Vincent's Asylum for boys was soon after located at Highland. This had been attempted in July, 1850, but the enterprise failed. In April this institution was opened in the college building in Vincennes, but in 1860 it was permanently located at Highland, about three miles from Vincennes .- [Good- speed, History of Knox ond Daviess Counties, p. 303.]
Vol. 1-23
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established temporarily in 1850, but attained no permanency until ten years later, although as early as 1847 there were large frame buildings at the Highlands, which was the seat of the diocesan seminary, and which had been erected by Rt. Rev. Celestine de la Hilandiere, the second Bishop to pre- side over the Vincennes diocese, and for whom the Highlands were named. The asylum is under the supervision of the Sisters of Providence. It is built on rolling land in a charming locality, and its grounds and buildings are very pleasing and attractive to the eye. A tract of three hundred, or more, acres, with woodlawns, flower and fern-grown, gardens of choicest blooms, orchards of delicious fruits, and fields of golden grain, are among its price- less possessions. It is prepared to domicile and care for more than a hun- dred waifs, its costly and commodious buildings having been constructed with that idea in view. The institution is financially aided through voluntary contributions of generous hearted people, among whom are many Protes- tants, who delight to call and inspect the place and cheer its inmates, who seem always happy with their surroundings and the cleanliness and mild discipline to which they are subjected. As long as the "Highlands" endure the name of Bishop Hilandiere, who made its establishment possible, will be reverenced, and the people, regardless of creed, will do honor to his memory for paving the way for his worthy successors to found such an institution. * "Bishop Hilandiere was born in the town of Comborg, France, May 2, 1798, at a period when the French revolution was still devastating France and the Reign of Terror was exterminating the priesthood. Being of noble birth and assured of an honorable career in civil life. he determined to join the ministry and fill up its thinned ranks; and he was ordained priest at Paris on May 28, 1825. When Bishop Brute was in France seeking priests for this diocese Father Hilandiere met him and determined to accompany him and aid in the work of building up his diocese. He arrived at Vincennes in the fall of 1836. He was assigned to work as a parish priest and continued to labor in that position until the death of Bishop Bruté. At that time he was in France soliciting funds for the diocese. He was appointed the second bishop while in France and was consecrated at the chapel of the Sacred Heart in Paris by Bishop Janson, assisted by the bishops of Versailles and Beauvais. Soon after his consecration he started for Vincennes and arrived here November 14, 1839. He had succeeded in collecting a large sum of money in France which he used in finishing the cathedral. He was a man of liberal ideas, good judgment and foresight, and prudently purchased real estate in all parts of the diocese, which was of great value to the church. He continued to preside over the diocese until 1848, when he resigned the see and returned to his ancestral home in France. Here he lived in retirement on his estate at Triandin, until he died on May
* H. S. Cauthorn, History of the City of l'incennes, p. 196.
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GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
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1, 1882. He never forgot the diocese of Vincennes and every year sent from his private means considerable sums of money to aid the diocese. He always expressed a wish to be buried in Vincennes. In accordance with this de- sire his nephew, Ernest Andran, went to France and procured his remains and brought them to Vincennes, and on the 22d day of November, 1882, they were entombed with appropriate religious services in the basement chapel of the cathedral."
The Good Samaritan hospital, which admirably typifies its name, is built on ground purchased by the city and subsequently donated to the county ; hence the institution may be said to be a joint affair. The building site was bought of the heirs of the late Cyr. Poullet for $7,000, conveyed to the Clarke-Gibault Hospital Association, which in turn deeded it to the county conditional that the latter erect a building thereon to cost $25,000, the same to be furnished and equipped by the said association. Plans were accordingly drawn by J. W. Gaddis, architect, and on September 6, 1906, the commis- sioners entered into contract with Van Hoy & Sons, of Loogootee, to erect the building for $24.300. The structure is nicely built and beautifully located in the center of an entire block, where abundance of fresh air and light are obtainable. . The grounds are provided with inviting shade trees and the lawns adorned with shrubbery and flower gardens. Many of the apartments have been furnished by private individuals as well as by fraternal and religi- ous organizations. The operating rooms are constructed along modern and scientific lines, the best surgeons and physicians give patients, whether able to pay or not, the most prayerful attention and treatment, and the inmates are carefully looked after by a corps of professional nurses who are grad- uates of the prominent hospitals of the country.
A FEW FINANCIAL FACTS.
The population of the county as reported by the federal census of 1910 is 39,183. In 1900 it was 32.746. The total amount of the assessed valuation of property listed for taxation on the duplicate of 1910 is $25,824,655. Of this amount $9.792,410 are against property in the incorporated towns. The remaining $16,032,245 is exclusive of corporations, and is distributed among the various townships in the following ratio: Vigo, $2,031,610; Wid- ner, $1,485,560; Busseron, $1.504,770; Washington, $1.711,210; Palmyra, $1.311,410; Vincennes, $2,611,570; Harrison, $1,677.730; Johnson, $1,757,- 040; Decker, $816,490; Steen, $1,125,855; City of Vincennes, $8,299,160; Monroe City, $183,480; Bicknell, Vigo township, $722,150; Bicknell, Wash- ington township, $28,650; Sandborn, $202,780; Oaktown, $356,190. The total amount of taxes collected for the year 1910 was $89,020.70.
The net indebtedness of the county, included in jail bonds, hospital bonds, and bridges, on January 1, 1910, was only $22.330.43. During the year bridges cost $11,098; free gravel roads repairs, $15.714.81. The total
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receipts from all sources were $174.696.21, and the expenditures were $118,- 340.78, leaving a balance on hand of $56.355.43.
GRAVEL ROADS AND STEEL HIGHWAYS.
Since the system of building gravel roads was introduced into Knox County a few years ago, more than four hundred and forty miles of these highways have been constructed. They not only enable the farmer to trans- port his products to market with comparative ease at any season of the year, but provide splendid avenues over which automobilists may drive in any direction and regale themselves with glimpses of the rich and fertile country and the great beauty of its landscape. The corduroy, even in the bottoms, is becoming a thing of the past, and in a few years will have gone the way of the old plank road, which has not been known in this locality for more than a half century. Fairground avenue supplanted the first, if not the only, plank road ever built in the county ; and, according to the older inhabitants, it must have been a very bad thoroughfare at best. In 1850 a petition was presented to the commissioners by Samuel Judah, Alfred Smith and Thomas Bishop, asking for the privilege to use any county or state road from Vin- cennes to Bruceville, "by Kelso's and the tan-yard, and from Bruceville to Emison," for the purpose of building a plank road. The petition was granted and the road subsequently built to Bruceville. The enterprise, however, did not prove a good investment, and was soon after abandoned by the oper- ators. About the same time the Lawrenceville and Wabash Plank Road Company was formed, with J. G. Bowman, president and Joseph Somes, sec- retary and treasurer, and for many years maintained the main thoroughfare leading from Vincennes to Lawrenceville .*
The railroads, realizing the inducements offered by Knox County and Vincennes, were seeking admission and an appropriation several years before the plank road question was agitated. The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway, which was then the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, organized as a company in 1848. In 1849 the commissioners voted $200,000 to aid in the construction of the main line of the road, to run from Cincinnati to St. Louis, a distance of 340 miles. The work of construction, however, was not
* An occurrence having connection with the Lawrenceville and Wabash Plank Road Company, interesting only to those who have been made acquainted with the peculiari- ties of the two men involved, is related: Wright B. Pritchett, father of Hon. James S. Pritchett, who was considered somewhat of a wag, borrowed a pet bear from Charley Graeter, Vincennes merchant, for the purpose of enlivening the scenes at a barbecue to be held in lilinois. On the way to the grove where the event was to take place, the bear became unruly and had to be shot. On learning of the fate of poor bruin, Mr. Graeter became very much agitated and demanded a large sum of money in payment for the loss of his pet. Mr. Pritchett, who expressed regret at having been compelled for his own safety to take the animal's life, soothed the wounded feelings of Mr. Graeter by presenting him with $2,000 of plank road stock, which only served two months later to intensify the anguish of Mr. Graeter, when he was obliged to pay an assessment of $800 on said stock to defray the current expenses of the company.
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