USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 32
USA > Indiana > Parke County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 32
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When this county was first settled, no one could take less than a quarter section of land, which at government price was two dollars per acre, and this
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
often strained the purse of the would-be land buyer. Congress soon found out the hardship this worked and, desiring that all should be permitted to engage in farming pursuits, which is the policy of all progressive govern- ments, it reduced the amount that might be entered to forty acres, and placed the price at one dollar and a quarter per acre, which permitted anyone who could raise fifty dollars to secure a comfortable home for himself and family, if he was fortunate in having one to help him enjoy the independence and battle with the hardships of a true-hearted pioneer farmer. Many men took advantage of this wise congressional provision and entered from forty to one hundred and sixty acres of Vermillion county land. This was the base of the agricultural prosperity found on every hand in this county today.
While statistics are usually "dry reading," these must be presented in order to show the resources of the soil and mine. Hence the reader is re- ferred to extracts from state reports on the subject, and in this case the items will be condensed as far as practicable, and are as follows, for the year 1880 -thirty-two years ago-and also for 1910:
In 1880, Vermillion county was reported to have produced 635,000 bushels of wheat; of corn, 663,000 bushels; oats, 76,000 bushels; barley, 1,780 bushels; rye, more than 5,000 bushels; Irish potatoes, 18,000 bushels; sweet potatoes, 840 bushels; buckwheat, 160 bushels ; tobacco, 1,700 pounds; timothy seed, 800 bushels.
In 1910 the reports show : Corn raised, 45,000 acres, 1,739,000 bushels ; oats, 18,857 acres, 599,000 bushels ; wheat. 12,252 acres, 230,000 bushels ; rye, 257 acres, 3,772 bushels; clover seed 361 acres, 34,508 bushels; hay and forage. 11.000 acres, 15,000 tons ; timothy, 7,644 acres, 9,701 tons; cattle, valued at $216,000; horses, $504,000; mules, $55,000; swine, $134,000; sheep, $17,000; poultry, $45,600 ; colonies of bees, 762, value of bees, $2,943.
In 1910 there were 1.355 farms in the county, and they were divided as follows: 347 from 50 to 100 acres; 335 from 100 to 174 acres; 148. from 175 to 260 acres ; 89 from 260 to 500 acres ; 12 from 500 to 1,000 acres and two from 1,000 and over.
The per cent. of land area in farms ninety-one and eight-tenths.
Farm land improved, eighty per cent. Average number of acres per farm, 110.2. Value of farm property, $13,373,000. Average price per acre in county, $71.79: average in 1900 was $39.51.
Among the first plows used in this and other counties. in Indiana was the one called the "bull" plow. The stock, or wood-work, of these plows was generally made by the farmer himself. The handles were the butts of bushes, the crooked roots forming the hand-hold. The beam was hewed by
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
hand from small, tough oak. The mold-boards were made from blocks of wood about twenty inches square and two inches to three inches thick. The inner or straight side of the mold-board was fastened to the handle and the outer surface was hewn out in an irregular shape. The wing of the share extended high up the mold-board. A loop of iron made the point. It took a good team, a strong man and twelve hours hard work to plow from one to one and a half acres with such a plow, says Smith in his history of Indiana.
The harrow was made V shaped with wooden teeth, the whole made by the farmer himself. Wheat had to be harvested by a sickle, with which an expert could cut about three-fourths of an acre a day. In 1840, the Peacock plow was introduced, being named for its inventor. This implement enabled the farmer to plow much more than formerly and do better work.
Corn ground was "laid off" both ways (no check-rowers and planters) ; the wife, son or daughter would drop the corn at the intersections, while the farmer would follow along with his hoe and properly cover the seed. Wheat, oats and barley were all sowed broadcast, by hand, from a sack swung over the neck and shoulders. But few men could be hired, and in fact it was well, for the farmer had little with which to pay for help, could it have been ob- tained. Each family did their own farm work in those days. However, in harvest time, there were many roving bands of "grain cutters," who were ex- perts with a sickle, who started in at the southern part of the state and worked north with the advancing harvest time. The best reapers could get thirty- seven and a half cents per day and their board, or one bushel of wheat. It was not until 1840 that the grain cradle came into general use in this country. A good cradler could cut and shock about two acres a day, "between sun and sun." Previous to 1840, grain was threshed with a flail, or trod out by horses. Two men could flail out twelve bushels a day and two men and horses could tramp out and winnow and separate the grain from the chaff, about twenty bushels a day. The winnowing and separating the grain from the chaff was done by hand sieves. The mixed chaff and grain was poured from above on the bed sheet, while two men would vibrate the sheet so as to create a current of air, which would blow the chaff from the grain. The first threshing machine was introduced in 1839. With four horses and nine men, two hundred bushels of wheat could be threshed and cleaned in a day. The wheat had to go through a second cleaning process later on, before it was suited for the mill. It took three men two days to clean and tie up in sacks what would be threshed in one day.
The scythe was the only grass mower for mowing meadows. A good,
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
strong man could generally cut from one to two acres a day, between day- light and dark. The hand rake was then used to rake up the "cutting" and it was then stacked by means of wooden forks. With a modern mowing machine, one man and his team can easily cut ten acres a day and, with a steel-toothed horse rake, he can gather it for stacking purposes in about the same time. The stacking is done now, usually, by a steel fork operated by a man with a horse or team. Before the introduction of improved machin- ery, about 1840, it took one man twenty-four days to plow, seed and harvest ten acres of wheat and forty-four days to plow, plant, cultivate and harvest ten acres of corn.
The decrease in annual crops does not in the least indicate the decline in agricultural interests, but simply is made plain by stating that rotation of crops, and putting more land into pasture, at certain times, causes this fluctuation in figures in the reports given by the assessor to the department of agriculture.
The fruit crops, one year with another, in Vermillion county are good. and a paying proposition to the horticulturist. Apples, pears and peaches all do well, and many years the crop of pears has been indeed wonderful, both as to quality and quantity. Within three miles of Clinton, two years ago, there were raised a thousand bushels of choice pears, on one farm, which the following season had half that amount. All varieties of small fruits do well in this section of the state, and add much to the resources of the farm. While many vegetables are grown here, the farmer makes the major part of his money from the production of corn and the stock that he raises and feeds for the markets of the world. "The Wabash Bottoms" have been known since the first advent of white tillers of the rich soil, to be famous as a corn- growing section.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
Naturally, a good farming county has good farm associations and agri- ยท cultural societies, by which one farmer may see the manner in which his fellow-farmer produces crops. Not nearly enough attention, however, is paid to this matter, and in consequence the farmer and business man suffers loss. Whoever causes two blades of grass to grow where one grew before, or he who shows a corn raiser how to produce ten bushels of corn more per acre, is really and truly a great benefactor to the entire human race. Ver- million county was slow to realize the importance of organizing and keeping up annual fairs, and not until 1866, just after the close of the Civil war, was any attempt made to form an agricultural society. One was then formed
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
and continued to hold its annual exhibits at Newport until 1879, when, on account of the railroad running through the grounds of the society, public opinion so changed and interest was so slackened that it was practically abandoned. In 1880 a joint-stock company was organized, but that never materialized to any considerable extent. In 1887 two agricultural societies were organized, one, the Vermillion County Fair Association, having its headquarters at Eugene, and another, the Vermillion County Joint-Stock Society, with headquarters at the county seat, Newport. Both societies held fairs that year, but on account of the bad weather the one at Eugene was a dismal failure, while the one at Newport had receipts amounting to two thousand two hundred dollars and every premium was paid in full. Two hundred and fifty stalls were occupied by horses and cattle. Steam water- works and reservoirs were used. No drunkenness or gambling was allowed on the grounds and all passed off as it should. Of later years the county fairs have been allowed to run down and none are now held-and it is to be regretted, too.
CHAPTER XVI. .
THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY.
Aside from agriculture, the greatest source of annual revenue to the citizens of Vermillion county are its coal mines, which are very extensive and prolific of much output, returning a large revenue to the operators and people in general, who reap from the immense shipments of the best grade of bituminous coal found in the state. As large as the mining interest is already, it has been estimated by experts in coal lands, and by geologists, that the zenith of its development will not have been reached for another quarter of a century. The six principal coal mining companies are oper- ating nearly a score of separate mines, and are employing upwards of three thousand men. One of the largest and most thoroughly modern, up-to-date collieries in the United States is located near Clinton, the Bunsen Coal Com- pany, a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation. More than three and one-half million dollars are invested in this one plant for mining soft coal. When one contemplates the fact that the coal measure of the United States is limited to a few states, and to a small portion of these few states, and that more than ninety million people are depending largely on these coal mines for their fuel, both for domestic and manufacturing purposes, it will be better understood what a prize Vermillion county has locked up within her hills and valleys. The subjoined table will show the production of coal in Vermillion county, as contrasted with the other great coal-bearing counties of Indiana, in 1910, as per the state reports. Of the total number of tons, there were 17,429,785 tons of bituminous and 875,459 tons of block coal. Accompanying the item of production, this table also shows the wages paid.
County.
Tons Produced.
Wages Paid.
Sullivan
4.339,173
$ 3,703.122
Vigo
4,116,98I
3,612,856
Greene
3,241,690
2,532,927
Vermillion
1,676,28I
1,446,48I
Knox
1
1,045,868
720,09I
Clay
948,402
1,064,757
Parke
727,727
780,260
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Warrick
701,390
$ 559,108
Pike
599,952
485.978
Vanderburg
369.987
295.534
Gibson
285,101
255,286
Daviess
72,692
70.986
Total
18,125,244
$15.527.390
An early account of the development of the coal industry in Vermillion county reads as follows, the same having been compiled in 1887: "The Nor- ton Creek coal mines are located on the line between Clinton and Helt town- ships, on section 5 of Clinton township and section 32 of Helt township. Their development commenced in the month of December, 1884. F. A. Bowen was the proprietor and Charles P. Walker, of Clinton, the superintendent and manager. In the spring of 1885. under the general laws of Wisconsin, the 'Norton Creek Coal Mining Company' was organized, with a paid-up capital of $40,000, with its general offices at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. H. M. Benja- min, of that city, is the president of the company, and Charles P. Walker, of Clinton, Indiana, superintendent and treasurer, and general agent for Indiana. Connected with the property are two hundred and fifty-five acres of land. The mines are about two and one-half miles west of the Eastern Illinois Railroad and connected by a spur track. The company also owns the old Briar Hill mines, on section 9, Clinton township, but they are not now being worked.
"On the southeast portion of section 5 is located the company's large mercantile establishment and local offices, which, with twenty-seven tene- ment houses, constitutes quite a village, called Geneva, named in honor of a daughter of Superintendent Walker. The sales of coal in 1886 reached $160.000, and the mercantile establishment $42,000. Near the mines are several tenement houses, and at the Briar Hill mines eleven houses. All are occupied by employes of the company. The business is increasing, owing to the excellent quality of coal produced. Commencing with the winter of 1887- 88 an average working force of three hundred men are employed."
Great had been the change by 1910, when the state reports show that 1,042 miners were employed in this county, who were using the pick in min- ing bituminous coal ; received $829,000 wages, or $672 average per man dur- ing the year named. Then besides these men there were 286 miners engaged in bituminous "machine mines," receiving $228.400 per year.
The state reports of two years ago-1910-exhibit the following facts concerning the mines in operation in Vermillion county :
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Name of Mine.
Tons Produced.
Wages Paid.
Dering No. 8.
276,143
$ 227,543
Eureka
2,763
2,620
Crown Hill No. I
269,24I
239,691
Crown Hill No. 2
244,533
208,682
Maple Valley
37,784
34,826
Buckeye No. 2
236,874
203,687
Klondyke
266,628
203,721
Crown Hill No. 3-
244,284
230,310
Crown Hill No. 4
18,926
20,850
Oak Hill
7,050
74,470
Totals
1,604,026
$1,446,000
1
1
1
I
1
1
AVERAGE WAGES OF EMPLOYES.
The wages paid here are about in keeping with the average in Indiana, of which the state reports two years ago said: "The total wages reported from the bituminous field being $14,318, 196.12, shows an average of $741.87 for each bituminous mine employe, and the total wages paid to block coal miners being $1,209,194.60, shows an average earning of $646.27 for each block coal employe ; the aggregate wages for the state being $15.527,390.72 and the total number of employes in the state 21,171, shows an average earn- ing of $733.42 for each mine employe in the state."
MARKET PRICES FOR COAL.
The following were the approximate prices received for the Indiana coal product in 1910, according to the last obtainable official reports: The market prices for bituminous coal during the period from January to April I (except yearly contracts) ranged from $1.15 to $1.75 per ton for mine run, free on board cars at the mine, the highest prices prevailing during the month of March. More coal was produced in this month than either of the two months preceding : $1.40 would probably be a fair average selling price for this period. From May to October I prices ranged from $2.50 down to $1.35; but a fair average for that period would be $1.95 per ton. From October to January I prices fluctuated, ranging from $1.35 to $1.50 and as low as $1.15; $1.35 would be a fair average for this period, or a probable average of $1.60 per ton for bituminous coal (mine run) for the year. Market prices for block
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
coal ranged from $2.25 to $3.25 per ton at the mines, $2.75 being a fair aver- age for the year.
The cost of production from the bituminous fields of Indiana was figured a fraction in excess of eighty-three cents per ton for the labor cost for the total output of bituminous coal. The total wages for the block coal field was $1,209,- 194, or a fraction over $1.38 per ton for labor cost of production of block coal.
In reviewing the mining industry for Indiana for the year of 1910, a gratifying condition of affairs was disclosed in many branches of this im- portant industry. A larger increase in the production of coal, stronger and steadier market demands, a higher average selling price for all grades of coal, the highest average wage earned by mine employes, fewer strikes and a much larger tonnage per each fatal, permanent or serious accident to mine employees are shown than in any preceding year in the history of the state. In 1910 the production was 18,125,244 short tons, an increase of a fraction over thirty-two per cent. over 1909, the highest previous year in coal production in Indiana.
A certain per cent. of this increase came from every county in the state, except Fountain and Perry counties, with one mine in each, which were idle or working less than ten men. The largest increase came from Vermil- lion, Vigo and Sullivan counties, and was produced by machine mines. Sul- livan county, with 1,539,000 tons, showed the largest increase of all the coun- ties, while Knox and Vermillion were not far behind.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRODUCT.
Of the bituminous coal output in the state in 1910, 7,968,732 tons were consumed in Indiana and 9,281,048 were shipped to other states, and of the block coal, 266,918 tons were consumed in Indiana and 608,541 tons shipped to other states, or a fraction over fifty-four per cent. of the entire production shipped to other states.
VERMILLION COUNTY MINES, 1910.
The following table gives the name, owners, the geological number of the different coal seams, character, thickness of seam and depth over overlying strata, of the mines being operated in Vermillion county in 1910:
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Geographical
Name of Company. Name of Mine. No.
Thickness.
Depth.
5 Ft. 3 In. 200 Ft. Brazil Block Dering No. 8. IV
4 Ft. 6 In. IIO Ft.
Silverwood Eureka M
4 Ft. 10 In. 165 Ft.
Clinton Coal Co ..
Crown Hill No. 2. V
4 Ft. 10 In.
155 Ft.
Clinton Coal Co ._ Crown Hill No. 3 __ III
345 Ft.
Clinton Coal Co .___ Crown Hill No. 4 __ IV
249 Ft.
Clinton Coal Co .___ Crown Hill No. 5 ___ V
182 Ft.
Oak Hill Coal Co .__ Oak Hill No. 50. V
4 Ft. 10 In. 57 Ft.
Oak Hill Coal Co .__ Maple Valley V
5 Ft. 6 In. 225 Ft.
Oak Hill Coal Co .__ Buckeye No. 2 V
4 Ft. 8 In. 149 Ft.
Oak Hill Coal Co .__ Klondyke III
7 Ft. 300 Ft.
The only fatal accident reported to the state in 1910 was that of an Italian named Tomso Carlevatto, aged thirty-four years, killed by a falling boulder, at Crown Hill No. I, on March 7, 1910.
NEW MINES.
In 1910 there were two new mines opened and their first shipments of coal were made in the early days of December of that year. These mines are Crown Hill No. 4 and 5, both owned and operated by the Clinton Coal Com- pany. No. 4 is located on the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of sec- tion 29, township 14, range 9, in Clinton township: No. 5 is located on the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 24, township 14, range 10, Clinton township. No. 4 mine is a machine mine, while No. 5 is a hand producing mine, both bituminous coal, running from four feet six inches to five feet in thickness of vein.
MINERS AND APPLIANCES.
The state reports give in 1910 the following concerning the miners and appliances with which they work in getting out the vast tonnage of coal : Total Men
employed.
Mules Used.
Dering No. 8
298
23
Powder Used. II,460 pounds.
Eureka
18
3
87 pounds.
Crown Hill No. I
290
16
18,238 pounds.
Crown Hill No. 2
2.44
17
17,529 pounds.
Maple Valley
95
4
2,448 pounds.
Buckeye No. 2
225
28
'14,952 pounds.
Klondyke
217
15
13,291 pounds.
Totals
1.387
106
84,010 pounds.
1
1
1
I
1
6 Ft. 4 Ft. 6 In. 5 Ft.
Clinton Coal Co. Crown Hill No. I V
353
PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
THIE LAST AND LARGEST MINES.
The most extensive coal mines within the county, or state, are the prop- erty of the Bunsen Coal Company, which corporation opened their works in the month of October, 1911. on section 31, township 14. range 9 west. The president of the company is T. H. Lynch ; the secretary and treasurer, W. S. Wardley: the general superintendent. C. F. Lynch, and the superintendent, Charles Karral. The present machinist is George Finnigan. These mines are about six miles to the southwest of the city of Clinton. Three hundred and twenty men are now employed at the works, which are constantly de- veloping and widening ont. Twenty-six mules are used under the ground for drawing the cars to the shaft opening, from which it is hoisted by powerful. modern machinery to the surface and then dumped into the waiting coal cars of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, which line transports most of the product to South Chicago. More than three and one-half million dollars have been invested in this plant, which now consists of Universal Mine No. 4. which is one hundred and sixty-five feet beneath the surface, and has a vein of four feet and eleven inches in thickness : Universal Mine No. 5, two hun- dred and thirty-six feet deep, with a vein thickness of four feet ten inches. These mines bear the geological numbers of four and five.
The output in December, 1912, was averaging about eighteen hundred tons per day, and it is expected that soon the two mines, which are very near one another, will have a daily output of three thousand three hundred tons daily. The motto of this company is "Safety, the First Consideration." The scientific care exercised about these immense coal-producing mines is indeed wonderful. even to the casual observer. Every appliance of safety, con- venience and comfort is given the miners. The buildings consist of seventeen residences for the use of the officers and superintendents ; the offices, power house, bath house, fan houses, boiler house, blacksmith shops, granary, mule barns, supply house, two tipples and two engine rooms. The bath house, as well as all other buildings around the plant proper, is constructed of cement and is fire proof. The bath house is built on modern plans for miners. Here are afforded hot and cold water, the year round. Here the miners and other helpers go and removing their good clothes, put on their rough working suits. the suits not in use being suspended high up in the spacious bath house, fast- ened by a strong chain and lock, the key being carried by the miners, so noth- ing can be stolen, even to money in the pockets, as all are hung high up to the ceiling and no one but the owner can get them down. Upon coming from the
(23)
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PARKE AND VERMILLION COUNTIES, INDIANA.
mine the men go at once, if they choose, to this bath room, and there take a wash and shower bath before putting on their better suits, when they come forth not looking like ordinary miners, but neat and clean. One hundred and sixty-five miners, in December, 1912, were availing themselves of the free use of this bath house., The owners and managers of this plant have profited by the experience of the past methods employed in coal mining, and bettered every condition as far as safety and comfort is concerned, that is possible, under present conditions and knowledge. A high class of men are employed From officers down, the mines are run by men of intelligence and sobriety.
At the site of the mines has been located a village, in which there are already numerous business houses and a postoffice called Universal, which was established in October. 1912. The coal company has no interest in this vil- lage, its site or business interests. They do not conduct the usual "mine store," out of which so much dissatisfaction has come in other mining places. Less than two years ago there was not a house on the present site of Bunsen ; it has grown like magic and is destined to grow rapidly as the development of the mines increases. It may be added that both "hand" and "machine" mines are operated-Universal No. 4 is machine, while No. 5 is hand mined coal.
CHAPTER XVII.
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS.
Herein are to be found various items and topics not sufficient in length to form a separate chapter, but which are replete with interest and valuable facts concerning the county's history.
THE OLD INDIANA IRON FURNACE.
Every section of the country that has been settled by civilized people for a century or more has, strewn along at various points within its territory, some interesting landmarks of enterprises once of great value and importance to the community, but which have long since gone to decay and can only be traced by the traditions of men and a few material objects, such as rusted-out machinery, an old water-wheel, a spindle, a shaft or some tumble-down struc- ture in which once was heard the hum of swiftly moving machinery. All is now silent. save the memory of some old man or woman who perchance re- calls those pioneer days and delights in telling the present generation of those days when life was active and earnest to him and his companions.
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