USA > Indiana > Posey County > History of Posey County, Indiana > Part 8
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Early land entries prior to 1820: William Broadhead, 1800; Samuel Kimmel, 1809; Seth Hargrave, 1813; James Black, 1813; Samuel Al- dridge, 1814; George Rowe, 1814; Hugh Todd, 1814; Robert Hargrave, 1814; Nathaniel Ewing, 1814; Samuel W. Parr, 1814; Joseph Kennedy, 1814; Francis Black, 1815; Aaron Bacon, 1815; Thomas Jones, 1817; Elisha Boudinott, 1817; Christopher Ashworth, 1817; Martin Shlater, 1818; George Hershman, 1818; John Hamilton, 1818; David Greathouse, 1818; William F. Daniel, 1819.
The first election in the township was held at the house of Daniel Owen for the purpose of electing a justice of the peace and the regular township officers.
The first white man to settle in Posey county is supposed to have settled in what is now Point township, near the mouth of the Wabash river, some time in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He was an Irishman by the name of Thomas Jones. He remained there until his death in 1826. A man named Roach settled at the mouth of the Wabash and established a landing and trading point for the flatboat business at that place, and did a good business with the river men. Mr. Roach died in this township in 1848.
Bone Bank, a famous Indian burying place in this township, now 1913, about wiped out by the cutting of the Wabash river, was situated on the Indiana bank of that stream, about three miles from its mouth, where it empties into the Ohio. It was on a high spot about sixty feet above the river. It was evidently the burying place for centuries of the Indian tribes of this section of America. Pottery, implements of warfare, metal articles of personal adornment and vast quantities of human bones were found there by the early settlers. Within the memory of many of the citizens of Point township, the Wabash flowed from 1,500 to 1,800 feet to the westward of its present course, a forty-acre corn field lying between the river and Bone Bank. As the river cut into the old burial ground bones were exposed in such quantities that they glistened in the sun's rays and were easily seen by those navigating the river. At the present writing, 1913, the river has cut away all but about 100 feet of this mound and is rapidly approaching a previous channel to the east of the mound from which it changed its course so long ago that giant trees, some of them six to eight feet in diameter, have grown in the center of the former watercourse.
HARMONY TOWNSHIP
Was organized August 14, 1821, and was named after the Harmonie Society, who were its first settlers. The history of the township is so
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
interwoven with the Rapp and Owen communities as to be difficult to separate. The Rappites owned and settled the greater part of the township.
The following were the early land entries: The Rapps entered most of their lands in 1825. William Rogers entered lands in 1815; Ignatius Leavitt in 1814, and John Phillips in 1811. Robert Allen entered the lands owned by him in 1814; William Stallings in 1816, and Mr. Allen in 1809. . All these were entered at the land office at Vincennes.
It is claimed by some that George Rapp and his associates built the first grist mill in the county, but this is denied, and it has been stated on good authority that John Warrick built a mill on the cut-off at New Harmony in the year 1812, which was in operation for some time, but was sold to the Rappites who remodeled it. The first home-made flour was manufactured at this mill, the honor falling to the peculiar society which located at Harmonie in 1814 and 1815. The mill was run by water power.
The Cut-off, as the name indicates, is a body of land cut off from the mainland by an arm of the river. It consists of about 2,000 acres of very rich soil. It was occupied by the Rappites in the early days and yielded them immense harvests. The cut-off chute afforded an excellent site for water power, of which they took advantage.
ROBB TOWNSHIP
Was organized March 24, 1817, by the board of county commissioners, but embraced, in addition to its present area, all of Bethel and the greater part of Harmony townships.
The first election in the township was held at the house of Langston Drew, April 12, 1817, for the purpose of electing one justice of the peace. Peter Jones was elected.
The first township officers were: Gillison Price, Nathan Britton, Joshua Wade, John Gale, constables; Thomas Robb, Peter Jones, Lang- ston Drew, James Robb, William Casey, election inspectors; Robert Allen, Jonathan Jaquess, William Casey, John Waller, James Murphy, Job Calvin, Peter Jones and James Calvin, overseers of the poor ; Joshua Overton, Thomas Owens, Leander DeFer, Ezekiel Kight, James Calvin and John Allman, supervisors.
The following persons entered land up to 1818: William Nelson and Robert Allmon, 1809; James Allen, Samuel Murphy, Joseph Johnson, 1810; Jonathan Jaquess, Maxwell Jolley, Thomas Shouse, Thomas All- mon, Daniel Drake, James Rankin, John Cox, 1811; James Murphy, 1812; John Wilkins, Thomas Robb, 1813; Right Stallings, Peter Jones, William Harrigan, Warner Clark, Simeon Reecles, John Stroud, John Waller, Thomas and William Harrison, Harrison Sartin, John Gwalt-
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
ney, William Stallings, Langston Drew, Leander DeFer, Thomas Owens, John Crabtree, William Price, Thomas Rogers, John Robards, 1814; John Drew, William Gray, Nathan Britton, John Calvin, Richard Harrison, William McPherson, Ezekiel Kight, 1815; Clement Estes, Jo- seph Endicott, Joshua Overton, Thomas McLure, Legro Bennett, John Calvin, Jesse Britton, Frederick Rapp, James Anderson, Jesse Cox, 1816; Lawrence Stull, John Walker, 1817; James Robb, 1818.
The first settlers were: Joshua Overton and Joseph Montgomery, who came with their families in 1808. Though there were no records of the fact, it is quite probable that there were settlers in the township as trappers and hunters at the beginning of the last century.
In 1817 James Rankin built the first saw mill in the township. It was built on Black river, and was swept away by the high water shortly after it was finished. Another saw mill known as Grammis' saw mill was located on Cox creek.
James Murphy and Joshua Overton owned mills near Poseyville and Stewartsville. The Murphy mill had a still house in connection that was famous for distilling liquors of excellent quality. The price was twenty-five cents per gallon. These mills were known as horse mills, as the motive power was that of horses hitched at each end of a long sweep.
James Robb was the proprietor of a still house on Cox's creek. Tur- ner Nelson established a still house near Stewartsville. Later Mr. Nel- son became very prominent in county politics.
In 1820 Robert Downey established a cotton gin about a mile south of Poseyville. In those days a cotton gin was about as important as a distillery. Every farmer raised enough cotton for his own use. The cotton cloth was woven by the women on hand looms. Tanyards were also important. Allen Westfall owned a tanyard near Stewartsville in the '40s, and tanned hides on the shares. In most cases some mem- ber of a family made shoes for the whole family, but there were cobblers who made shoes to sell while others cobbled on the shares.
Farming was carried on in a very primitive manner. As late as 1850 plows with wooden mould-boards were in use. Oxen were used for plowing and about all other farm work. Wheat was sown by hand and brushed in by a pile of brush drawn over the field by oxen. Later harrows with wooden teeth were used.
The price of land, known as Congress land, was two dollars per acre, but it was afterward reduced to one dollar and twenty-five cents, and swamp lands sold for twelve and one-half cents.
An immense lot of timber was destroyed in those days in order to get the land ready for cultivation. Timber in those days was not con- sidered as having any value except for making rails and such other purposes as the farmer could make of it in its raw state. Anything
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
that would split was good rail timber and no tree was considered too valuable for rails. Many a fine walnut tree was made into rails to fence the "clearing."
As a protection against the Indians the settlers built forts or block houses, a common place of refuge when the Indians went on the war path. A block house was located about a mile south of Stewarts- ville, on the farm then owned by John Cox. It was a two-story building and was built of heavy, round logs. The lower story was 30x30 feet and the upper story a foot larger each way, projecting over the first story a foot all around and had V-shaped loop-holes sawed into the logs, some with points downward and others outward to afford a view of an enemy approaching. The blocks sawed out were kept to plug up the holes after firing at the enemy.
There were two doors to the building and no windows, one door for an entrance to the first story, and one at the head of the stairway lead- ing to the second story. However, no account of any engagement at the fort seems to be available, although it was frequently made use of as a refuge when the behavior of their Indian neighbors became suspicious.
MARRS TOWNSHIP.
At a meeting of the board of county commissioners held at Black- ford, March 24, 1817, Marrs township was organized with its present boundaries. It was named after Samuel R. Marrs, who was one of the pioneers of the township, having come here from Warrick county. He was the first sheriff of Warrick county.
The first election held in Marrs township was at the house of Wil- liam Hutchinson, one of the first settlers in the township.
The following are the names of some of the early settlers of the township: Alexander Barton, Moses Calvin, George Daws, John Ca- born, William Hutcheson, James Benbrook, Gabriel David, Hamilton Corson, James B. Campbell, Bedford Lynn, Judge Marrs, Lewis Benner, Michael Schreiber, John Vanwey, Wilson Jones, the Forris family, John Usery, the Weinmillers, and some others.
The following land entries were made prior to 1820: Thomas E. Casselberry, 1807; John and Alexander Barton, 18II; William Downen, 18II; William Sample, 1812; Paul Casselberry, 1813; Elsberry Arm- strong, 1813; Samuel R. Marrs, 1813; Adam Young, 1814; William Bor- ton, 1814; Jacob and James Weinmiller, 1814; Robert Dery, 1814; John Moon, 1814; Elkanah Williams, 1814; William Hutcheson, 1815; Ben- jamin Worthington, 1815; Needham Blount, 1815; Lawrence Stull, 1816; Jeffrey Sanders, 1817; John William, 1817; Charles Smith, 1817; Elias McNamee, 1818.
The first mill in the township was built in 1839, on Big creek, by a
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
man named Vauble, who came to the township in the same year. About that time, also, James Benbrook built a small distillery and "swopped" whiskey for corn, giving a gallon of whiskey for a bushel of corn. He became widely known as the "whiskey swopper."
Cornelius Foster was known as Rifle Foster. He was a gunsmith and pioneer preacher, and, being a first class mechanic, he manufactured nearly all the early rifles used by the pioneers of this township and the surrounding country. He died in this township many years ago, but now and then a Foster rifle can be found to tell the story.
The principal mill in the township was known as Black Hawk's Mill. It finally came into the possession of and was operated by Joseph Deig, and was known from that time on as Deig's mill.
The first post office in the township was at West Franklin, there being a great many settlers in that vicinity as early as 1815. In 1858 the office was removed to Black Hawk's Mill, where it remained until the first railway through the county was completed, passing through Caborn, it was removed to that place and the office at West Franklin was re-established.
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP.
The exact time when this township was organized is not known, but it is undoubtedly one of the oldest townships in the county, as it was formed in the first days of the territory's history. There is no record in possession of the county telling of its organization. It was named after Jonathan Robinson, who was prominently identified with the public affairs of that section in the early days.
Very few land entries were made within the present township pre- vious to 1820, owing to the fact that there was plenty of desirable land subject to entry nearer the market, but finally a great influx of Ger- mans began to pour into this county and, large areas of land being still unoccupied in this township, they soon began to settle in that local- ity. The greater portion of the population of the township now con- sists of Germans. The land entries prior to 1820 were: William Dodge, in 1817; William Rodgers, 1818; Ajax Campbell, 1818; Charles Kim- ball, 1818; Ezekiel Dukes, 1818; Rezin Halsell, 1816; Isaac Slover, 1819; David Murphy, 1819; John Crunk, 1818; Josiah Denney, 1814; Joel Pruitt, 1818; Thomas Halsell, 1817; William Holson, 1819; Alexander S. Morrow, 1818, and Samuel Barton, 1816.
William Dodge entered land in 1817 and built a horse mill on his farm near Blairsville. Charles Kimball obtained permission from the county commissioners to build a mill at the bridge where the Evans- ville and New Harmony road crosses Big creek and that is supposed to be about the date of the building of his mill.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
As these mills had a capacity of from fifteen to twenty-five bushels a day, the miller was compelled to carry on some other kind of business in connection with his mill to support his family. In a great many cases small distilleries were run in connection with them.
The region around Blairsville has been called the Mecca of Geologists, being rich in fossils, yielding argillaceous shales containing fossil ferns, and other coal plants, and a thin layer of coal and Sigillaria Oweni of large size. The region has been visited by many eminent scientists, in- cluding Dr. Owen, William McClure, Sir Charles Lyell, Thomas Say, Pratten, Worthen, L. Lesquereux, Norwood Shumard, Dr. Troost, E. T. Cox and others.
SMITH TOWNSHIP.
Smith township at the time of its organization, March 24, 1817, by the board of county commissioners, included, in addition to its present area, additional territory which has since become parts of Gibson and Warrick counties and Lynn township.
It was named in honor of George Smith, one of the earliest and most prominent settlers. The first election was held at his house.
Early settlers and land entries: Elsberry Armstrong, Miles Arm- strong and Joseph Garris entered land in 1810; James Rankin, 1811; W. M. Stell, David Benson, 1813; Joseph Rasborough, Simon Williams, George and Bennet Williams, William Downey, George Smith, Regina Gale, 1814; Thomas McLure, John Smith, Thomas Duncan, William Smith, Isaac Kimball, Robert Davis, Thomas Ashley, Simpson Richey, 1815; William Davis, Henry Casey, Stephen Eaton, John Neal, Sallie Sanders, Willis Armstrong, Zachariah Harris, 1816; John McConnell, Louis Williams, Jonathan Jaquess, George Eaton, John Eaton, Stubel Garrett, Samuel McReynolds, Joshua Elkins,' IS17; Elisha Kimball, Herndon Meadows, George Lowe, Harrison Meadows, 1818.
The county board made the following appointments of township offi- cers in 1817 :
William, Davis, assessor and inspector of merchandise; John Arm- strong and James Martin, overseers of the poor; John McCrary, con- stable; Josiah Elkins, supervisor of all the roads in Smith township; Miles Armstrong, inspector of an election, held on the twelfth day of April of that year for the purpose of electing two justices of the peace.
George Smith, one of the first to settle in the township, built a horse mill for grinding corn and wheat about two miles south of Cynthiana. He also ran a still in connection with it, exchanging a gallon of whiskey' for a bushel of meal.
Kimball's grist mill, Knight's grist mill, Alcorn's grist and saw mill, and Elperman's grist and saw mills were all located on Big creek, where excellent water power was afforded.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
Lumber in those days was sawed with a whip saw. Jonathan and William Moutry did a great deal of sawing for the neighbors with their hand saw mill.
Ford Robinson built a cotton gin about 1825, but cotton soon became cheap and people stopped raising cotton. But during the Rebellion cotton reached such a high price that people began raising it again, and Elisha Jones built and operated a cotton gin.
WAGNON TOWNSHIP
Was organized in March, 1817, and when Vanderburgh county was formed, January 7, 1818, it became a part of that county and is known as Perry township. It was named after William Wagnon, a very early settler and one of the first panel of jurors that ever sat in Posey county.
BETHEL TOWNSHIP
Was formed August 14, 1821, and was named after P. C. Bethel, the first white man to settle within its confines. Eli Robb was one of the first justices of the peace.
The following officers were appointed in 1822: Joseph Johnston, con- stable ; Joseph Green and Joseph Johnston, overseers of the poor ; Joseph Johnston, supervisor of all the roads in the township; Gillison Price, election inspector ; John Colvin, assessor.
The records show that John Waller entered land in 1807; James Ferris, 1808; John McQuidy and Mathias Mounts, 1811; Thomas Shouse, 1812; George Rapp and the "Harmonie Association," Isaac and Alexander Boyer, Samuel B. Williams and Joseph Green, 1815; John Neal, 1816; George Barnett, John S. Campbell, Carmelia Carpenter, Thomas Jordan, John E. Wilson, 1817; Robert Allen, Jess Spann, John B. Rachels, Gilli- son Price, Nicholas Harding, 1818; Stephen Eaton, William Griffin, Jacob Whittaker, Jesse Williams and William Browder, 1819.
A water-power saw and grist mill was established and operated by John J. Morehead on the bayou for several years. John Vanway finally became his successor as proprietor of the mill and he moved it to the mouth of the bayou and changed into a steam mill. Before mills were invented the settlers made meal in a mortar after the manner of their Indian neighbors. The best mortars were hollowed out of rock, but occasionally a large stump was used as a mortar. A large, deep, funnel- shaped hole was burned in the top of the stump, and a heavy wooden pestle, with the lower end pointed to fit the shape of the mortar, was used to crush the corn into meal. After the meal was thought to be fine enough it was run through a buckskin sieve.
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
CENTER TOWNSHIP,
So named on account of its location in the center of the county, was formed from parts of Robinson, Lynn and Harmony townships in March, 1859, by order of the county commissioners.
The following land entries were made at the dates annexed: William Dodge, 1815; John McReynolds, 1817; Sharp Garriss, 1816; Andrew Cavitt, 1815; Wright Stallings, 1817; Joseph McReynolds, 1817; John Ashley, 1819; Jesse Stallings, 1817; Ajax Campbell, 1818; David Ball, 1818; E. Cross, 1815; Jonathan Robinson, 1818; Enoch Fillingim, 1819; Archibald South, 1819; Michael Smith, 1818; Thomas Smith, 1818; George Rapp and Association, 1815; James Owens, 1818; John Crunk, 1816; John Hay, 1817; Frederick Rapp, 1817; William Nelson, 1816; Samuel Scott, 1817; Thomas Wilson, 1816; Al Wilson, 1817; John D. Hay, 1817; D. Lynn, 1816; David A. Willis, 1817; John Stallings, 1816; Jacob Kern, 1816; William Alexander, 1816; Thomas Leavett, 1817; Wil- liam Wier, 1815; James Robb, 1818; John Gray, 1809; Thomas Rogers, 1809.
The early settlers were Andrew Cavitt and sister, Joseph Robinson, Joshua and Caleb Wade, John Ashley, Sharp Garris, John Parish, Ben- jamin Gwaltney, David Ball, Moses Cross, Abner and Ajax Campbell, Reuben and Wright Stallings. Other families were the Wallaces, the Smiths and the Wilkinses.
Mills, cotton-gins, distilleries and tanneries were a necessity in every neighborhood. Joseph Robinson supplied his neighbors with meal and whiskey and ginned their cotton for a long time. Cotton was high and money scarce, so every farmer had his cotton patch. Corn or wheat was carried to the mill on horseback and the settlers had to wait their turn, in some instances having to wait a day or two, as the capacity of the mills in those days was all the way from ten to twenty-five bushels per day. If it was a "horse mill" each man furnished the horse-power to do his own grinding. Distilleries were often connected with the mills and many indulged in drinking while waiting their "turn." They were small copper stills with a capacity of only a few gallons per day. The price of liquors, meals and lodging was regulated by the commissioners. Whiskey was 121/2 cents per half-pint, wines 50 cents, food and lodging 25 cents, a horse with hay and stall all night 50 cents.
"HOOP-POLE TOWNSHIP."
Let a resident of Posey county go among strangers almost anywhere in the United States and tell anybody he came from Posey county, In- diana, he will be required to answer the question: "Are you from Hoop-pole township?" And many who ask that question really believe that such a township actually exists in Posey county.
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It is hoped that the following may disabuse the minds of those who entertain the idea that there is a township by that name in Posey county :
Soon after the county seat was removed to Mt. Vernon, which was in the year 1825, barrel making became an important business in Mt. Vernon. William Hatfield and John Cooper were engaged in that busi- ness on a rather extensive scale for that time. In those days there was a class of robust, fearless men who followed the river for a livelihood, known as flatboatmen. It was not uncommon to see a dozen or more of this kind of craft afloat or lying at the landing. One day, about the year 1833, some ten or fifteen flatboats were at the wharf while their own- ers were up in town at the taverns and groceries drinking, making merry, and having a good time, and some of them became involved in a quarrel with residents of the town, in which the latter were worsted and routed. The news of the defeat spread over the town and several of the rougher element determined to avenge the wrong perpetrated upon their fellow citizens, so they equipped themselves with hoop-poles from the cooper shop, and another fight ensued, in which the river men were badly beaten, and made a hasty retreat to their boats, and pushed into the stream as quickly as possible. They passed, and were passed in turn, by boatmen, and their unsightly appearance called for explanation, and the questioner soon heard the story about the hoop-poles.
After that when a flatboatmen was seen with a broken nose or a black eye, or otherwise damaged appearance, he was accused of having been to Vernon, and the place soon came to be known up and down the river as Hoop-pole township.
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SHERBURNE PARK Mt. Vernon
CHAPTER VI.
FOUNDING OF CITIES AND TOWNS.
MT. VERNON.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS-PIONEER MERCHANTS-MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION- EARLY OFFICERS-LIBRARIES-PARKS-OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND IM- PROVEMENTS.
Mt. Vernon was first known as McFaddin's Bluff. The McFaddins had been residents of North Carolina, later moving to Bowling Green, Ky. Andrew McFadden, on a hunting expedition, crossed over into Posey county at Diamond Island and, coming down the river, discov- ered the location of the present town of Mt. Vernon, a spot conspicuous for its highness and dryness, with settlers above and below on the river. Soon after returning to his home in Kentucky Mr. McFaddin moved his family here. This was about the year 1805. Soon after, his cousins, William and Andrew, came and settled near him, and the place soon came to be known as McFaddin's Bluff, and kept that name for some time after the town of Mt. Vernon was founded in 1816.
For a year after coming to this country the McFaddins lived on what is now known as the Hageman farm, which at that time was owned by Jesse Oatman. Trading boats landed at the rocks in front of this farm till about the year 1810, when they began to stop at the present wharf.
The McFaddins moved to the present town site in 1806 and built the first dwelling in Mt. Vernon, which was a log cabin, at the foot of Store street, intending to enter land as soon as convenient, unaware of the fact that Gen. William Henry Harrison had bought all of fractional section 8, township 7 south, range 13 west, comprising 371.82 acres. This caused them considerable inconvenience and expense before the lands were released from the claims of General Harrison. Others soon located here and engaged in various pursuits, although at that time the town site and all the surrounding country was an absolute wilderness, full of game and wild animals. William McFaddin was a noted and skillful hunter and trapper, and had at the time the town was founded two pet beavers, which he had captured when young. As late as 1824 deer were
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HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
killed where Second street crosses Main, and the portion of the town which is now bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Main and Store streets was a pond. Nimrods of that day came hither in quest of wild geese and ducks.
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