USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana : from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, notes, etc. : together with an extended history of the Northwest, the Indiana territory, and the state of Indiana > Part 29
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NEW TOWNSHIPS.
July 18, 1816, the following orders were made by the court doing county business: "Ordered that all that part of Posey County lying east of the following line be known and designated by the name and style of Wagnon Township, to wit: Beginning at the mouth of the big bayou, up said bayou to the mouth of Elledges Creek; thence up said creek to the main fork; thence up the main branch of the left hand fork to Black River Road; thence with said road to the Gibson line."
"Ordered that all the remaining part of Casselberry Township be known by the name and style of Blackford. That the follow- ing places be, and they are hereby known to be the places of holding elections: For the township of Wagnon, at the house of William Wagnon; for the township of Blackford, at the court house; for the township of Lynn, in the town of Harmony; for the township of Big Creek, at the house of James Black."
In March, 1817, under the new State law, the county business was done by three county commissioners. These were Samuel R. Marrs, Thomas Robb and Abner Coates. Their first act was to
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fix upon a county seal, which had these words: "Commissioners' seal of Posey County." Their next transaction of any conse- quence was to establish and found the several townships of the county. This was done as follows:
Wagnon Township, beginning on the Ohio River at the range line, between 9 and 10, and running with said line to the center of Township 5; thence west with the line dividing Sections 13 and 24 to the line dividing Ranges 11 and 12; thence south with said line to the Ohio River; thence up the river to the place of beginning.
Marrs Township, beginning on the Ohio River, where the line divides Ranges 11 and 12; thence running with said line north to the center of Township 5; thence west to the line divid- ing Ranges 12 and 13; thence sonth with said line to the Ohio River; thence up said river to the place of beginning.
Black Township, beginning on the Ohio River, at the range line between 12 and 13; thence north to the main branch of Big Creek; thence down said creek, with the meanders thereof, to the Wabash River; thence with said Wabash River to the Ohio River; thence up said Ohio River to the place of beginning.
Lynn Township, beginning at the mouth of Big Creek, and running up the main fork of said creek to the line dividing Ranges 12 and 13; thence north with said line to the line divid- ing Townships 4 and 5; thence west line to the line dividing Ranges 13 and 14; thence north with said line to the Wabash River; thence down said river to the place of beginning.
Robb Township, beginning on the Wabash River where the line divides Ranges 13 and 14; thence south with said line to the line between Townships 4 and 5; thence with said township line east to the range line between Ranges 12 and 13; thence north to the county line; thence west with the county line to the Wabash River; thence down said river to the place of beginning.
Smith Township, commencing on the line between Gibson and Posey Counties, at the point where the range line between Ranges 12 and 13 crosses it, and running thence east with the county line to the line dividing Warrick and Posey Counties; thence south to the center of Township 5; thence west to the line between Ranges 12 and 13; thence north to the place of begin- ning.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
At the same time the places for holding elections, and the in- spectors were appointed as follows: For Marrs Township, at the house of William Hutchison, with Elsberry Armstrong inspector ; for Black Township, at the house of Thomas Givens, in Mount Vernon, with Samuel Jones inspector; for Lynn Township, at Harmonie, with Elias Alltizer inspector; for Robb Township, at the house of Langston Drew, with Thomas Robb inspector; for Smith Township, at the house of George Smith, with Miles Arm- strong inspector; for Wagnon Township, at the house of Mr. Johnson, formerly the house of Mr. Long, at the fork of the Cony branch of the stream, in said township, with Daniel Miller inspec- tor. In May, of this year, Samuel Jones was appointed county treasurer, and he gave bond for $4,000. He continued to serve in this capacity until 1822.
RELOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
Blackford was not long to enjoy the honor of being Posey's capital. Its location was not near enough to the center to suit the people of those days, when a few miles travel consumed a whole day. In order to change the location an act of the Legis- lature was passed, appointing a committee for that purpose. At a session of the board of commissioners held on the 12th of May, 1817, the following report of the commissioners appointed to change the county seat was received:
We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being appointed by the Legisla- ture of the State of Indiana to fix the permanent seat of justice for Posey County in the said State, did meet at the house of Elias Alltizer on the day appointed by law, and after being first sworn have proceeded to examine and explore the said county in different directions; have received proposals of donation in land from different persons; have maturely considered their several advantages and situations, together with the extent of the county, the advantages of the soil, the weight of the present as well as the prospect of the future population and future divisions; have selected 100 acres of land, a donation given by Frederick Rapp, on which to fix the permanent seat of justice for said county, it being the south- east quarter of Section 33, in Township 5 south, in Range 13 west, and to lie on the south side of said quarter section from corner to corner of the same, it being near the center (of the county) and an eligible situation for a town, do make this our report of the same to the county commissioners of Posey. Given under our hands and seals 22d day of February, 1817.
ISAAC MONTGOMERY. HUGH MCGARY. ADAMIHOPE. JOHN BRAZELTON.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
At the same time Frederick Rapp gave bond to faithfully per- form the duties of agent of the county. May 16, following, the board ordered that the new seat of justice in the county of Posey be known and designated by the name and style of Springfield. Agent was ordered to lay out the town and advertise a sale of the lots to take place on the 15th of July, and also at the same time to receive bids for building a court house and jail. The board met on the 24th of May to approve the plan of the new town. The lots adjoining the Public Square were to be sold at $100, and the back lots for $12. This was the beginning of Springfield, and the prestige of being the county capital gave it a boom that for a time threatened the welfare of some other rising places of the county. The second sale of the town lots occurred in October following. A large number of the lots were sold and the buyers were some of the best citizens of the county; among them several attorneys and a doctor or two. The agent was ordered to keep up the clearing of the land until November.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
At the appointed time, for some unknown reason, the con- tracts for the public buildings was not let. The plans, however, were adopted in August following. The sale of lots, however, with John B. Stinson as auctioneer, went of as advertised with the addition of $7 worth of whisky furnished by Thomas E. Casselberry. In November the county board met for the first time at Springfield. It is probable that there was a tem- porary building already on the land that was used by the officers as a court house, for an order for $16.50 appears in the record in favor of Alexander Hindman for laying floor in the court house at Springfield. Samuel Jones the county treasurer took out a license to keep tavern in the new town, and everything seemed prosperous. Abner Coates was awarded the contract for building the county jail at $458. It was to be built much in the manner of the old one at Blackford. Nearly all the jails of that day were constructed with double hewed log walls on the first story, and a single wall above. The first story was called the dungeon, and the second story the "debtors' prison." Imprisonment for debt was then allowed in Indiana. Frederick Rapp did not long remain county agent, and when he resigned Thomas E. Cassel-
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berry was appointed in his place, who served something more than a year. In November, 1818, he reported the proceeds of the sale of town lots as $2,866.25, a sum that shows considerable activity in the demand for the property. James P. Drake was at that time made county agent. At the site of the town good clay could be procured for making brick, and the agent was ordered to let out contract for making brick for new court house and putting on the public square ready for use. The board had determined to built a good and substantial court house, and the treasurer was ordered not to pay out money for anything except public build- ings. Joseph Spalding secured the contract for making the brick and doing the mason work on the court house. The build- ing was to be forty feet square and two stories high. In May, 1819, Elias Roberts, one of the leading attorneys of the county, was appointed county agent, but he only held the office for a short time. His successor was Alexander Mills. James Carter was given the contract for the woodwork of the court house, and Peter Saltzman was appointed to superintend the building on behalf of the county. Frederick Rapp took Carter's place in the court house contract and finished the building. This house is now standing in Springfield, and its total cost was about $4,500, and for the time in which it was built was a remarkably good one.
It was not all paid for until about two years later. James P. Drake had collected, during his term as county agent, $1,087.50 for lots in Springfield; Elias Roberts, $1,175. These sums, in ad- dition to what was already on hand, made a total of $3,222.34 that Roberts turned over to his successor. In November, 1820, the agent, Alexander Mills, reported the proceeds from sales made by him as amounting to $750.50. The county had already spent about $6,000 for its public buildings. The taxes of these times were light when compared with those of the present day, yet even then they were thought to be heavy and oppressive. But, alas! it is ever thus with human governments. In May, 1822, Alexander Mills was removed and Peter Saltzman appointed county agent in his stead. In the same year Samuel Jones was succeeded by John Schnee as county treasurer. Things now ran smoothly enough until the next change of the county seat.
In the meantime the county had been considerably altered in regard to the township boundaries. The law had changed the
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method of transacting the county business and instead of a board of three commissioners all the justices of the peace formed a board for doing county business. The first of these met in Posey County in September, 1824, and was composed of these men: Peter Jones, William Moffatt, Robert Denny, Josiah Downen, James Conlin, Jonathan Robinson, James Dunn, Joseph Spald- ing, William J. Lowry and Peter Saltzman.
FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
In May, 1817, the following order was passed, changing the boundary of Smith and Robb Townships: "All that part of Smith Township lying in the following boundary, be added to Robb Township, to wit: Beginning on the range line dividing Ranges 12 and 13, where the line between Townships 3 and 4 intersects the same; thence running east two miles, to the line between Sec- tions 4 and 5, in Township 4; thence south to the township line dividing 4 and 5; thence with said township line west to the range line dividing 12 and 13." In August of the same year, "All that part of Smith Township lying north of the main Big Creek, and south of Rector's Base, on the old county line, shall be known by the name and taken to be a part of Lynn Township, and is hereby attached to the same."
At the May term, 1818, of the county commissioners, "Har- monie" Township was created, with the following boundaries: "Beginning on the Wabash River at the line dividing fractional Sections 14 and 23, in Township 5 south, Range 14 west, and running thence east with said line, to the far corner of Sections 14 and 23, in Township 5, Range 13; thence north to the far cor- ner of Sections 25 and 26, Township 4 south, Range 13; thence west with the sectional line, to the Wabash River; thence down said river to the beginning." On the 15th day of May, 1821, the following order was passed creating Robinson Township: "That the Fifth Congressional Township in Range 12 west of the second principal meridian form a new township, to be called Rob- inson." This name was given in honor of Jonathan Robinson, an early and prominent resident of the county. Bethel Town- ship was created on the 14th day of August, 1821, with the fol- lowing boundary: "Beginning at a point at or near Creek's Mill on Black River; thence down said river, so as to include all that
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of Posey County lying west of said river." At the same time the following was created as Daniel Township: "Beginning at the mouth of the "Steep Cut," thence on a straight line to the mouth of the Maple Swamp, on the Wabash River; thence down said river to its mouth; thence up the Ohio to the beginning." John Daniel was the man for whom this township was named. In May, 1822, the name was changed to Point, or "Pint," as the record has it.
On the 11th of May, 1824, the boundary of Harmony Township was fixed as follows; "Beginning on the Wabash River with the line dividing fractional Sections 14 and 23, Township 5, Range 14; thence east with the sectional line to the line dividing Ranges 12 and 13; thence north to Rector's Base Line; thence west to the line dividing Sections 35 and 36, in Township 4, Range 13; thence north two miles; thence west to the Wabash River; thence down said river to the beginning."
At the September term, 1825, the south boundary of Robin- son Township was fixed as follows: "Beginning at the southeast cor- ner of said township line and running thence south two miles; thence west to the west fork of Big Creek: thence up said creek to the old township line of Robinson Township."
SECOND CHANGE OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
In the meantime the necessity for a change in the location of the county seat had arisen. While the town of Springfield was centrally located in the county, yet it had not the elements to make a flourishing town. That was before the day of railroads, and the rivers were the commercial thoroughfares of the country. Mount Vernon was fortunately located upon the Ohio River, and it rapidly assumed the first importance as a trading point in the county over every other town in it. Springfield had developed slowly; nothing but the fact of it being the county seat rendered it of the least importance. In February, 1825, the State Legislature passed a law authorizing a change in the seat of justice for Posey County, and appointed a committee for that purpose. According to the law in force at that time, the members of this committee were to be neither residents nor land owners in the county. The report of these commissioners reads as follows:
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
TO THE WORSHIPFUL BOARD OF JUSTICES OF THE COUNTY OF POSEY:
In pursuance of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana en- titled "An act appointing commissioners to relocate the seat of justice of Posey County, and for other purposes," approved February 12, 1825, we, the under- signed, James Smith and James Stewart, of Gibson County, and Richard Daniel, of Knox County (being a majority of commissioners appointed in said act), beg leave to report that on having met at Springfield on the first Monday in this instant, agreeable to law, and being duly sworn to discharge the duties assigned us as commissioners in said act, proceeded to examine into the situation of the said county of Posey, and on finding donations could be procured, which in our opinion would be sufficient to defray the expense of erecting good and suf- ficient public buildings suitable for said county, and in a more advantageous situation for the interests of the people of said county, have procured said dona- tions to be made, and thereupon have and do relocate the seat of justice of said county of Posey, in the town of Mount Vernon, on the elegant situation known and designated on the plat of said town by the name of the public square. JAMES SMITH. JAMES STEWART. R. DANIEL.
This report was made to the board of justices in special ses- sion May 10, 1825. At the same session the clerk and recorder were directed to move their offices to Mount Vernon, where suit- able buildings had been procured for the public use. The furni- ture and other property belonging to the clerk's office was ordered to be sold at public auction. Jesse Y. Welborn was authorized to receive all subscriptions for the building of public buildings at Mount Vernon. The commissioners for locating the county seat reported the value of town lots in Springfield to be $1,679, and that the value would be decreased one-half by a removal of the seat of justice from that place. This was the death blow to Springfield, and it can scarcely be said to have advanced any since that time. The present assessed valuation of the town lots is only about $1,000, thus showing a complete stagnation of business and enterprise. The first session of the county board held in Mount Vernon, began Monday, the 4th of July, 1825. For the purpose of no unfavorable comparison with that other famous body of men that sat in Philadelphia just forty-nine years before this, we give the names of Mount Vernon's first county board as follows: James Conlin, William Moffett, Jonathan Rob- inson, Robert Denny, John Graddy, James Dunn, William J. Lowry, James W. Swift, Peter Jones and John Williams. Of this board John Graddy was president. The first act of the board was to order the sale of the court house and jail in Springfield.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
This was done by the sheriff at public auction, Darius North giv- ing $380 for the court house, and William Hutchison $10 for the jail. A few persons were allowed the amount of damage on their lots in Springfield, and beyond this no business of impor- tance was done at this session. In order to secure the location of the seat of justice at Mount Vernon, Jesse Y. Welborn, John Bur- lison and Darius North had made liberal donations of land in and around the town to the county. The county agent was ordered to lay this out in lots in order that it might be the more readily disposed of. The first public sale of these lots took place on the 4th of July, 1826. Jesse Y. Welborn had undertaken to build a court house for the county, and it was soon completed. It is probable that the public buildings were all built free of cost to the county. A number of the leading citizens of the place gave liberally.
The county seat had now been located in three different places within ten years, but it had at last been located properly. Many persons had been losers in property at both Blackford and Springfield. Early in May, 1827, the Legislature passed an act for the relief of owners of lots in Springfield.
Philanthropic Lodge of Freemasons finished off the garret of the court house for a lodge room. Almost from the first the building was used for school purposes, but in May, 1829, the fol- lowing was entered upon the record: "It is the opinion of the . court that it is improper that a school should be taught in the court house: It is therefore ordered that the school shall no longer be taught here, and that the clerk of this court be author- ized to institute an action at law against the teachers in behalf of this court to eject them, or either of them, provided they do not desist immediately from keeping a school here." It is more than likely that this caused the teachers to keep out.
The sale of the town lots went on more slowly than it had in Springfield. Jesse Y. Welborn was county agent, but a disagree- ment between him and the board caused his removal, and William J. Lowry was appointed in his stead. A lawsuit was the result in which judgment was obtained in favor of the county.
Early in 1831 the law was again changed, and three commis- sioners transacted the county business. Their first session was in September of that year, and the board was composed of John
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
Hamilton, Jacob Schnee and Jesse R. Craig. Four years later the board of justices again became the authority for the county. In March, 1835, the following order was passed: "That the follow- ing letters, viz., W. H. H. with a scroll around them be adopted as the seal of this board until a more regular seal can be pro- cured. The letters are to represent William Henry Harrison." These letters are yet in the seal, but the words "Commissioners Court of Posey County" have since been placed around them.
In March, 1836, a fire-proof clerk's office was ordered to be built 20x36 feet. The contract was let to William J. Lowry for $2,580. By June of the following year it was completed and accepted by the board. It was built near the southwest corner of the present court house, where it stood until the present building was erected.
In January, 1837, Felix Mills was appointed to contract for the building of a new jail to be placed upon the Public Square. The plan was the same as the Gibson County jail, which served as a model for all the counties in this portion of the State for several years. It was to be finished by the 1st of January, 1838. The contract was let to Eben D. Edson and Charles Hovey for $3,800, but Arza Lee soon after assumed all the responsibilities of the contract in their stead. The jail was completed on time, and during the year 1838 the court house was repaired at an expense of $675.
LATER ACTS.
Again, in 1839, the board of three commissioners came into. power, and soon afterward Turner Nelson was appointed to expend $200 on the Public Square. In that year a strip of land eighty- seven feet wide was laid off the north side of the Public Square into four lots and offered for sale. The two lots on the northwest corner were sold to Moses Winings for $757, and the two on the northeast corner to George S. Green for $540. The jail then stood near the north door of the present court house, the clerk's. office at the southwest corner, and the old court house at the south- east corner. A few years later the purchasers of these lots peti- tioned the county board to declare these sales void, which was accordingly done.
At the organization of the State under the new constitution, the counties were to be governed, and ever since have been, by,
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY.
three county commissioners. The first board elected under the new order of things John Moore, James Wilson and A. E. Fre- tageot. In December following A. E. Fretageot was appointed to. examine the Evansville prison and others and procure plans for a. new jail. In March he reported to the board, and the plans he. recommended were adopted. The county auditor was ordered to advertise for bids to construct a new jail. John R. Hugo secured this contract in March, 1855, for $7,603. It was to contain four cells and be of brick and iron, and be attached to the old jail. The work was completed and the board received the building of, the contractor in November, 1855. This lasted until the present one was built in 1878.
THE NEW JAIL.
A special session was held in November, 1877, when the plans of Urydale & Clarke were adopted for a new jail and jail- er's residence attached thereto. Advertisement was made in the- Mount Vernon Democrat that bids would be received until Thurs- day, December 20, following. The bids were as follows:
McCorkle & Sansom, Evansville, Ind. $23,400
Franz R. Carden, Evansville, Ind. 20,900
Whitworth & Nelson, Mount Vernon, Ind. 20,000
John G. Eigenman & Co., Rockport, Ind 17,700
Hinkley & Norris, Indianapolis, Ind 19,600
William Dreiski, Terre Haute, Ind 21,962
Farman & Pearce, Indianapolis, Ind.
22,387
. W. T. Washer, Troy, Ind 23,730
John G. Eigenman & Co. received the contract for the amount. of. this bid, and the work was to be finished by the first day of September, 1878. In June, 1879, the contractors presented their bill for extras furnished, which amounted to $10,378; but it was, rejected by the board. A lawsuit was the result, which was: finally determined in the Supreme Court against the contractors. The total cost of the jail when completed was $21,782.05. The: court house had been built before that. The funds for that pur- pose were derived from the unearned tax of the Mount Vernon &, Graysville Railroad. On a petition from the Mount Vernon &. Graysville Railroad Company an election was ordered for the 27th, of July, 1869. The question was whether the county should give $100,000 to aid in the construction of said railroad. The
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