USA > Indiana > Porter County > History of Porter County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests > Part 20
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Shortly after the commencement of the Civil war, Congress pas. i an act authorizing the establishment of national banks. Under the pro visions of this law articles of association were signed on May 20, 75. for the formation of the First National Bank of Valparaiso The Gift stock was fixed at $50,000, which was held by twenty-one stockholt.
219
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
Later in the year the bank was fully organized with bey' A. Cass as presi- dent and M. J. MeClelland cashier. The first board of directors consisted of the president, Thomas S. Stanfield, Joseph Pierce, W. C. Taleoft. S. W. Smith, B. F. Schenck and A. V. Bartholomew. The first deposit in this bank was made on November 30, 1863, by Mrs. Mary F. Brown. In 1882-the original charter for twenty years being about to expire- the bank was reorganized as the First National Bank of Porter County, which ocenpied the same building and was composed of the same stockholders though the capital stock was increased to $100,000. The charter of the reorganized bank was dated May 4, 1882, to run for twenty years. in March, 1902, William Johnston. Charles W. Benton and others filed an application with the United States government for authority to organize the Valparaiso National Bank, to take the place of the old First Nation. ! Bank of Porter County. In response to the petition a charter was granted and again the bank was reorganized. The Valparaiso National Bank i .. located on the west side of Washington street, opposite the court-hous ... A statement of the bank issued at the close of business on June 14. 1912. shows the capital stock to be $100,000, a surplus of $20,000, and deposits of $693,793. At that time the officers of the bank were Charles W. Ben ton, president; Leslie R. Skinner, vice-president; A. J. Louderback eashier; T. L. Applegate, assistant cashier.
On November 23, 1874. a savings bank was started by the late Joseph Gardner. In the fall of 1878 the institution was incorporated as the Farmers' National Bank, with a capital stock of $50,000, and opened its doors for business as a national bank on February 1,1879. The original stockholders were Joseph Gardner, A. V. Bartholomew, II. B. Brown, 3. M. Felton, W. P. Wilcox, J. C. Flint, John Wark, Joseph R. Ilift, .r. N. Bozarth and George A. Dodge. Joseph Gardner was elected president and served in that capacity until his death in October, 1907, when his son, W. H.Gardner, was elected to the office, which he still holds. The other officers of the bank at the beginning of 1912 were: W. C. Windle, first. vice-president ; P. W. Clifford, second vice-president; E. J. Gardner cashier; A. N. Worstell, assistant cashier. A statement issued by il ...
220
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
bank on February 20, 1912 shows a capital stock of $50,000, a surpl. s of 323 110, and depos is o : 602,052.
The State Bank of Valparaiso was organized in 1889 under the laws of the State of Indian. It occupies a handsome and well appointed building on the oath . of Indiaus avenue opposite the court-bou and is recogniz. .. . the subst. fal financial institutions of l'or- ter county. A statement issued by this bank on April 18, 1912, report- the capital stock as ,50,000, the surplus fund as $12,500, and deposits of $409,817. At that time the officers of the bank were as follows: H. II. Loring, president; John W. Sich and Peter J. Horn, vice-presi dents; Paul Nuppn .u, cashier; Mark L. Diekover secretary, and Clin- ton Jones, assistam walker. These sites with the exception of the assistant cashier. nie E. Purny S. P. Con boy, J. Lowenstine. Robert T. Warka terras E. Foster mitarai the board of directors.
In addition to the three banks above mentioned, the city of Valpa- raiso has two trust cono mies that do a banking business. The Thrift. Trust Company was organized in 1903, and has its home in the same building as the Sta. Polk. At the close of business on April 18, 1912, the company issued a mtement showing the capital stock to be $25,000 and deposits of $524,069. The officers at that time were: H. II. Loring, president ; John W. Sieb and P. J. Horn, vice-presidents; Emma R. Pinney, secretary ; Pant Nupphan, cashier
The First Trust Company, which is operated in connection with the Valparaiso National Bank, was organized in 1906. In 1912 Charles W. Benton was pre ide: 1; Leslie R. Skinmer, vice-president, and A. W. Cowdrey, cashier. "The capital stock of this company is $25.000 and the deposits amount to $183 772.
On April 3, 1800, Joseph Gardner and George (. Morgan opened a bank at Chesterton. Mr. Morgan died in 1891 and Mr. Gardner continued in the Homes until January 7, 1902, when he sold his interest to Charles L. Jeffrey, who had hoca cashier of the bank since its organization. A onoch reorganization of this bank took place on July 25, 1910, when the capital stock was increased from $10,000
221
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
to $25,000 and the following board of dir ters chosen: Charles L. Jeffrey, E. L. Morgan, Joseph II Ameli . Chiarhs, A. Peterson and Dr. C. O. Wiltfong. Mr. Jeffrey was cheted president ; J. H. Ameling, vice-president; E. L. Morgan, cashier, and . J. Warren, assistant cashier. The Banker's Directory for danos. 1912. reports the capital stock of the Chesterton Bank as $25.000. De surplus as $2,100, and deposits of $206.000.
On May 17, 1893, J. M. Foster filed an application for a receiver for the bank at Hebron, which had been open al by R. S. Dwiggins and others some time before. Judge Gillett granted the application and appointed M. J. Stinchfield receiver. An Trestigation showed liabilf- ties of about $25,000 and assets of $4,000 ; cash and $5,000 in notes. The Lowell Bank, in Lake county, also ablished and operated by Dwiggins and his associates, was placed i . M.e hands of a receiver at the same time. A few days later Elmes and Josiah Dwiggins met committees from each of the two banks take some kind of a settle- ment. With them they brought a haw . raining some $50,000 in contraets from purchasers of lots iu th : . town of Griffith. The committees representing the depositors refused to accept these contracts and they were attached by the sheriff of Le county. Mr. Dwiggins then turned oyer everything to a board of the trastees and went to New York. A year or so later the receiver clos: tap the affairs of the bank, having paid the depositors ninety-five per cent of their losses, and in March, 1897, Mr. Dwiggins mailed cach depositor a cheek for the re- maining five per cent, the total amounting to route $2,000. In the mean- time the Citizens' Bank of Ilebron had La , organized in 1894, with a capital stock of 25,000. The Banker's Duerfory for January, 1912, gives the officers of this bank at that time . Follows: William Fisher, president ; II. W. Bryant, vice-president: 1. E Fisher, cashier; J. J. Nichols, assistant cashier. The bank has a surplus fund of $3,000 and deposits of nearly $200,000.
On January 8, 1909, the Bank of Rer of which Robert Parker, of Remington, Jasper county, was perfect. closed its doors and a
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HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
representative of the state auditor look charge of the institution. D'un ker was subsequently sent to the penitentiary on the charge of bank wrecking. Some of the citizens of Kouts purchased the old building and organized the Porter County Bank, which opened its doors for business on JJuly 31, 1909. In January. 1912, the Banker's Directory reported the capital stock of this bank as $15,000, surplus, $1,500, ana deposits of $105,000. Most of the stock in the Porter County Bank is held by local men and its management is in the hands of well known citizens, HI. A. Wright being president ; J. J. Overmyer, vice-president, and P. O. Norris, cashier.
A postal savings bank was opened on July 31, 1911, in commection with the Valparaiso postoffice, the first deposit being made on that date by A. L. Brown. On Angust 1, 1912, the deposits amounted to about $3,300. The postal savings bank at Chesterton was started about the beginning of the year 1912, and on August 1st had deposits of about $4,000. The small deposits in the Valparaiso Postal Savings Bank are accounted for by the fact that the people have confidence in the local banks and trust companies which pay better interest on deposits.
One of the well established and substantial financial concerns of Porter county is the Valparaiso Building Loan-fund and Savings Asso- ciation. It was chartered in December, 1887, with an authorized capi- tal of $500,000, which has since been increased to $1,000,000. The first series of stock, issued at the time the association was organized, was matured on January 1, 1898. The forty-eighth semi-annual state- ment, dated June 29, 1912, shows stock in force amounting to $917,575, with loans outstanding amounting to $237,820. At the time of this statement was issued the officers of the association were: J. E. Roes- sler, president ; C. W. Dickover, vice-president : (. W. Benton, treasurer; E. L. Loomis, secretary ; M. L. Diekover, auditor. A. D. Bartholomew, attorney. Through the operations of this association many people of Valparaiso have been aided in securing homes of their own-people who otherwise might have continned in the rent-paying class through
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
out their entire lives. And this has been done without the foreclosure of a single mortgage.
Of the industries and ocenpations in Porter county, agriculture has always stod at the head of the list, a position it will probably occupy for years to come. Located as it is within convenient distance of the great Chicago markets and traversed by a network of railroads, the county offers splendid inducements to the farmer and the dairyman. Some idea of the magnitude of the agricultural interests may be gained from the following figures, taken from the report of the State Bureau of Statistics for the year 1910:
Aeres 41,492
Bushels 1,276,331
Value ¥638,166
Corn
Wheat
10,495
212,697
212,697
Oats
24,253
909,914
363,966
Rye
3,40]
48,325
31,411
Potatoes
1,516
159,076
73,630
Buckwheat
247
2,909
2,036
Berries
87
2,949
4,718
Total
1.326,624
But it is in the production of hay that Porter county excels. Ac- cording to the report above quoted the production of hay of various kinds in 1910 was as follows:
Value
Timothy
Aeres 31,362
Tons 35.092
359,920
Alfalfa
331
500
5.000
Prairie (marsh ).
4,797
1.019
25,245
Clover
1,495
1,821
18,210
$ 108.105
Only three counties in the state-Allen, Adams and Lale produced
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HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
more timothy hay than Porter, and the county stood fifth in the po duction of prairie or marsh hay, which has for years been one of ti leading erops of the Kankakee valles. As a means of protection to il 1. industry a Hay Dealers' Association was started in the summer .. 1889, embracing all the territory tributary to the Kankakee river. The objects of the association were declared to be to prevent the overstock ing of the market at the opening of the season; to procure cars for shipment ; to expose dishonest commission men, and in various other ways protect the producers of hay. A meting was held at Kouts ou August 7, 1889, and a mumber of Porter county farmers signified their willingness to join in the movement. It was impossible, however, to secure the complete cooperation of all the bay producers over so large a territory and the association came to naught.
During the year 196 the faroers of the county sold 707 hors and mules, which broust: $88,515, and at the close of the year they had on hand 12,091 horses and m.des valued at $754,244. Beef cattle to the number of 2,579 were sold for $76,160, and at the elose of the year there were reported on hand 5.446 head, valued at $138,367. The wool clip for the year equaled 24,162 pounds, which sold for $4,763. Sheep sold numbered 2,349, which brought $11,072, and there were remaining on hand 3,962 head, valued at $19,632. The mumber of gallons of milk sold during the year was 4,034,407, which brought $520, 281, and there were marketed 213,088 pounds of butter for $48,185. The sale of hogs was 16,724 head, for which the receipts were $198,925. Considerable attention has been given to poultry and in 1909 there were sold over $25,000 worth of fowls; 620,843 dozen eggs, which brought $125,764. It is worthy of note that in the national egg-laying contest condneted by the Missouri State experiment station in November, 1911, five hens belonging to E. A. Berg, of Dune Park, Porter county, took first prize. Over forty different varieties of hens were ent red from all parts of the United States and Canada. Mr. Berg's five hens Jaid 101 eggs during the month, which was nineteen more than their nearest competitors, bringing the silver eup to Porter county.
225
ILINMY RY OF THE. A. COUNTY
As a rule the farmers of Porter county lave been ready and willing to unite in l'es part of any movement for the advancement of agri- cultural int este During the '70s Granges of the Patrons of Ilus- bandry were organi . ! in different parts of the country and the co- operative tre thed of pur ging & foie des practiced until the grange movement cif into ( In year 1990 there were ten lodges of the Farmer s' Alliance in the county, with a total member- ship of about 600. On Saturday, December 20, 1890, fifty-one dele- gates from these ten subordinate alliances met at the Opera House in Valparaiso and formed a county alliance, with E. S. Merrifield as president; David Koller, vice-president, Suite Jone. secretary; John M. Foster, treasurer. Dami | Bryant, che po 'a. William Callahan, stew- ard; Gux Schult., doork of , Vand An coll. a. i want doorkeeper; W. D. Howell, Leur 2. Leund I Jour men & # S. P. Barker,
organizer or the comos, was in chose Unfortunately the usefulness of the Varne s' Nin Krived by its "gettng
into politics," and the member wer. . prived from realizing th benefits which might otherwi. has ha med from the organization.
As an educational factor the farmers motitute has played an im- portant part in the improvement of agricultural conditions through- out the country. It may be said that il. Mirmers' institute is due in a great measure to the Morrill land grant hill of 1862, but agricultural societies organized prior to the passage of that bill furnished the medium for the successful establishment of the institute. Little was accomplished until : tor the clo of the who] war, and in recent years the institutes are sorally Feld ( fonction with, or under the auspices of the state agricultural colleges or some experiment station. Just when the first insulin was mall in I taly a not be definitely ascertained, but the county was one of the first in the state to adopt the id a, and the i neces has usually & m well attended. In 1889 the loissture passed or act authorizing the boards of county commis- songs of the & waylad min. of how to ph. financial aid and encouragement, to farmers' institutes. This act was supplemented by
226
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
the law of 1907, which provided that the expense of one farmers i tute in each county should be defrayed from the public func: amount so appropriated to be equal to the sum contributed by the bers in attendance, but in no case was the appropriation to : $100. Prizes offered to stimulate experimental work were cla "expenses."
Under the operation of this law the most successful insti ab m Porter county up to that time was held in the Memorial Opera Hcm at Valparaiso, on January 8-9, 1909. Prof. James Troop, of Purd. University, was present and delivered an address, and the folli im officers were elected for the ensuing year: John W. Kuehl, chair. o B. L. Keene, secretary; Samuel Dille, treasurer. Over 100 imre were present at the county institute held at Valparaiso in April, when B. L. Keene was elected chairman; Virgil fohnson, secretar; Isaac Dillingham, treasurer. This institute was also held und auspices of an instructor from Purdue University. Institutes since that time have been as follows: Kouts, December 28, 1911 : Body Grove, December 29, 1911; Valparaiso, Jannary 16-17, 1912, wheels corn and poultry show were the principal features; Hebron, James 19, 1912; Chesterton, January 30, 1912.
Early in 1900 an effort was made to interest the farmers of Porn- county to engage in the cultivation of sugar beets. A representative of the beet sugar factory at Kalamazoo, Michigan, visited Valparaiso and announced that his company were anxious to locate a factory there, provided a sufficient number of acres could be planted to b. to keep the factory running after it was established. At a meeting : March 3, 1900, this representative, William Strong. presented state- ments from a number of Michigan farmers showing that their bert crops had brought them from $14 to $88 an acre. He offered to furnish, all the seed necessary at fifteen cents per pound-fifteen pounds to th. acre -- the price of the seed to be deducted from the first payment for beets after the crop had been matured. A number of farmers enter ..
227
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
into contrats of this character, but a sufficient number could not be obtained, on l the whole project was abandoned.
Another instance of how the farmers of the county are willing to cooperate for mutual protection may be seen in the case of the Farmers' Jusuraber Company. About the beginning of 1902 insurance rates were advanced by the old insurance companies. On March 15th a meeting was held to discuss the advisability of organizing a mutual insurance company. A large majority of those present expressed them- selves in favor of the movement and a resolution was adopted that, as soon as the required number of names could be secured, such a company be incorporated under the laws of Indiana. The organization was fully completed on May 10, 1902, with John W. Brummitt, president; Joseph A. Stephenson, vice-president; P. A. Marquart, secretary; Jasper N. Finney, treasurer. These officers, with Amos B. Lantz, B. F. Jones, Charles A. Anderson and A. W. Furness, constituted the first board of directors. At the time of incorporation the company had risks amount- ing to $150,000, and within a year this had been increased to over $500,000. During the first five years of its existence the company wrote over $2,000,000 in insurance chiefly upon the farm houses and barns in the county. On August 1, 1912, the company had abont $2,855,000 insurance in force. Andrew Bickel was then president ; Amos B. Lautz, vice-president ; Peter A. Marquart, secretary ; Jasper N. Finney, treas- urer ; Charles A. Anderson, Martin L. Galbreath, A. W. Furness, and Charles Link, directors. Since the organization of the company it has paid 261 losses.
Several attempts have been made to discover natural gas or oil within the county. Soon after gas was found in central Indiana a company was formed at Valparaiso to bore for gas near that eity. At a meeting held on February 19, 1887, at the council chamber, Charles Dickover, chairman of the committee on contract, announced that the bid of HI. W. Carter, of Bradford, Pennsylvania, had been accepted. Mr. Carter's proposition was to bore to the depth of 1,200 feet. for $1,800, or to go to a depth of 2,000 feet at the same rate-$1.50 per foot. A
228
HI-TORY OF PORTER COUNTY
lot was secured from Mayor Bartholomew near the carriage facto (now the Miea Works) and the work of drilling was commenced. May 9, 1887, the company was incorporated with a capital stock .' $50,000, divided into shares of $50 each. The well was then 700 feel deep, the last ninety feet of which had been through the Niagara Im stone. At the depth of 800 feet the well was cased and the water pumped ont. TheMessenger of May 19th, in commenting upon the progress of the gas well, said :"This forenoon a depth of nearly 850 feet had been reached. The water bueket brought up a milky liquid smelling like dead Chinamen. It seemed like the perfume of sulphuretted hydrogen." The editor also predicted that gas would be struck within a week, but the prediction failed of realization. After going to a depth of 1,3 !! feet without finding any strong indications of gas, the project was abat. doned.
In August, 1893, some workmen angaged in drilling a well on the John Brummitt farm near Furnessville struck a pocket of gas which showed a strong pressure, but the supply was limited and was soon exhausted. The men were not boring for gas, the object in sinking the well being for the purpose of obtaining water.
In the summer of 1901 a rumor gained currency that some persons interested in oil and gas were endeavoring to secure leases upon Kank- akee marsh lands for the purpose of sinking wells in that district. The Chicago Ilunting and Fishing Club sank a well upon its preserves at Davis Station in Starke county, but found nothing to repay the trouble and expenditure. It is said that Joseph Leiter, of Chicago, was one of the principal promoters of this undertaking.
Henry & Company drilled six wells upon the Reeves estate in the southern part of the county in the fall of 1901 and the early part of 1902. The sixth well, which was completed in March, 1902, showed both oil and gas in small quantities. A pump was installed, but the field proved to be of short duration and no further efforts were made to find gas or oil in that region.
On November 21, 1902, oil was found on the Collins farm between
229
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
Woodville and Sumanville near the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, by a company of Valparaiso men -- Hewitt, Coulas and Lightcap. Here the oil was struck at a depth of 260 feet. It was a heavy oil, well adapted to lubricating uses and was pronounced by experts to be of superior quality, but the supply was too limited to justify extended operations.
An oil company was organized at Valparaiso on April 25, 1903, with John P. Salzer, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, as president; Frank Schaettle, of Mondovi, Wisconsin, vice-president ; James W. Coultas, of Valparaiso, secretary; Albert Plantz, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, treasurer; and Wil- liam J. Henry, of Valparaiso, managing director. Some 3,000 acres of land were leased and about half a dozen wells were sunk. Oil was found in small quantities. It was of good quality and commanded a. high price, but the expense of pumping was so great that it consumed the profits-and the company was finally dissolved.
Several oil wells were bored near Sumanville on the Baltimore & Ohio railway in the spring of 1905. Oil was found here at a depth of 275 feet. It was of fine quality for a Inbricator. but in such small quantities that it had to be forced to the surface by pumps. This field was also abandoned after a short trial.
In the fall of 1906 the officials of the Knickerbocker Ice Company came to the conclusion that oil existed in the sandy distriets in the northern part of the county. They secured oil leases on lands from Dune Park eastward along the Calumet river and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad and began boring for oil, but soon decided that they were engaged in a futile endeavor and ceased work.
On Friday, March 13, 1908, gas was struck near Jackson Center by W. J. Henry, of Valparaiso, who was engaged in drilling for water for the New York & Chicago Air Line. Concerning this well, the Valparaiso Messenger of the14th says: "A four ineh pipe, driven 332 feet into the ground, gives vent to the gas. When the flow began there was 200 feet of water in the pipe and it was thrown out with great force, rising in a column twenty feet high. With the water, stones, clay, etc., were forced ont. The gas shot up to a height of abont forty feet above
.
230
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
the ground, and its volume continued undiminished throughout last night and today. The jet was lit last right and the pil ar of fire could be seen for miles around." Some excitement attended this discovery and many thought that the gas field of Porter county had at last been struck. But the gas proved to be merely a pocket and in a short time the flow ceased. Since that time no further efforts have been made to find either gas or oil.
John I. Foster was probably the first man in Porter county to manu- facture any article for export, or for sale at home. He learned the trade of auger maker with his brother-in-law, a man named Marvin, in New York City. In the carly '304 he came to Indiana, and about 1834 settled in what is now Westchester township, Porter county. Here he fitted up a small forge and engaged in making one-bh, inch and ?' half and two-inch augers, which found ready sale amou, the pioneers. His son, John Foster, relates that in the winter of 1835-26 he made up a large number of augers and the following spring took them to Chicago. Upon his return home, when asked what he thought of Chicago, he replied : "It's a right smart little place." Mr. Foster was also something of a surveyor, and in the spring of 1835 laid out the town of Waverly.
Among the carly manufacturers of Valparaiso were the three bro- thers-George C., Henry M. and Andrew J. Buel-who began the manu- facture of wagons in 1839. George retired from the firm after a few years, Henry retired soon afterward, but Andrew J. continued in the business until his death in 1868. Brewer Bros. also began making wagons about the same time as the Bulls and carried on a successful business for some years. Michael Barry, a native of County Kerry, Ireland, came to Valparaiso about 1863 and formed a partnership with his brother Thomas soon after his arrival for the purpose of making carriages and wagons. In January, 1888, they removed their factory into the old woolen mill building and began operation on a larger seale. In May, 1887, William F. Spooner acquired an interest in the factory, which then occupied about two acres of grop et and three
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