USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 34
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HISTORY OF WABASII COUNTY
at said lock, fifty-eight feet, thence west forty-one feet, thenee south to the canal, and thenee east along the canal to the tumble or place of be- ginning;" also, "that said purchaser, or lessee, may for the purpose specified in the first section of this act, use and occupy any portion of the south part of Canal Street in said town not exceeding eighteen feet from north to south, not forty-one feet from east to west, commeneing within and not varying more than ten feet in any direction from the northeast and northwest corners of the premises in the first section of this act particularly described; as also so much of the space of public ground in said town west of fractional Lot No. 1 as may be east of a line running from the northwest corner of the premises so used and oc- cupied, to the Wabash and Erie Canal."
SUMMERTON & SONS
Pursuant to those instructions, Mr. Cissna seeured a thirty years' lease of the premises described, dating from November 1, 1844, with the right to use so much of the surplus water not required at the loek, for the purposes of navigation at Wabash, "as would be sufficient, applied to an overshot wheel of eight feet diameter with proper gearing, to propel two four and one-half feet mills." Under this authority, Mr. Cissna erected the original building of what is now the Wabash Milling Company. D. Thompson & Son became the owner of this mill and operated it for several years. For many years past the mills have been operated by George W. Summerton, assisted during the later period by his sons, Clayton C. and George P.
UNION MILLS
There is also another mill in operation within the city limits, estab- lished many years ago-the Union Mills, on the south side, long operated by Small & Company and owned by Charles N. Jones & Son.
THOMAS F. PAYNE, FIRST CABINET-MAKER
Among the pioneer industries of Wabash was cabinet-making, which was founded and first fostered by Thomas F. Payne. He was of an old Virginia family and when a young boy moved with his parents to Ken- tueky and thence into the Wabash Valley. The family settled near Fayetteville, Rush County, where, as well as at Indianapolis, Thomas F. learned his trade of cabinet-making. On his twenty-third birthday, August 23, 1849, he located at Wabash and opened a small shop in the
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HISTORY OF WABASII COUNTY
western part of the city as the commencement of an independent busi- ness. It is needless to impress the fact upon the reader that the young man, at first, made everything by hand. ITis sales for the first year of business aggregated about one thousand dollars, and 50 per cent more the second year, when he moved his shop to a better location on Miami Street. Gradually he took on a few hands and in 1864 bought out the factory of Whiteside & Wilson. A few years afterward his brother, Samuel J. Payne, who had been serving in the Civil war, added capital and service to the business, which was conducted for years thereafter under the name T. F. Payne & Company. Although the plant was de- stroyed by fire in 1873, it was at once rebuilt in an enlarged and im- proved form, and the business developed into the largest industry of its kind within a hundred miles of Wabash. In 1884 the firm was dis- solved and the business divided among various members of the family- T. F. Payne and his sons, Edward and De Witt taking the factory and the wholesale trade, while the retail branch was assumed by S. J. Payne, the brother.
WABASH SCHOOL FURNITURE COMPANY
In 1872 William M. Henley, D. W. Lumaree and John Rose associated themselves in the manufacture of school furniture, under the name of the Wabash School Furniture Company. A stock company was formed and incorporated with J. S. Daugherty as president, and William M. Henley, secretary and treasurer; these, with Solomon Wilson, Philip Alber, H. Caldwell and John H. Bruner, constituted the board of di- rectors. After renting quarters for a time, in 1874 several two-story stone buildings were erected at the corner of Carroll and Water streets, and the business was placed on a solid footing. It flourished for many years, chiefly under the presidency of Mr. Daugherty, and the manu- facture eame to embrace not only sehool furniture, but eabinet work and material connected with churches, offiees and business houses.
THE WABASH CABINET COMPANY
At the present time, the manufacture of furniture in its various lines is represented by the Wabash Cabinet Company and the Cardinal Cab- inet Company. The former is the outcome of the business established by H. C. Underwood in 1883. In that year Mr. Underwood built a plant for the manufacture of wood specialties. For many years, the late A. M. Atkinson was president of the company, which in 1900 was incorporated as the Wabash Cabinet Company. John A. Bruner sue-
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ceeded Mr. Atkinson on the death of the latter, and from 1904 to 1907 the business was operated by creditors. It was then in the hands of a receiver until March, 1909, when the business was sold and reorganized under the old name. Under the new management all debts have been paid and the industry brought to the front. Thomas F. Vaughn is president of the company and W. II. Urschel, secretary and treasurer.
CARDINAL CABINET COMPANY
The Cardinal Cabinet Company has its main factory at Marion, In- diana. Frank Reno is superintendent of the Wabash branch.
GREAT PAPER AND COATING MILLS
When the consideration is volume of business and impressiveness of plant, the great paper and coating mills at Wabash overshadow all its other industries. The grounds in the western part of the city cover fifty acres of land, and the massive two-story brick structures, which rep- resent nearly a quarter of a century of industrial expansion and build- ing operations, stretch along a frontage of fully 1,000 feet. Since the 17th of March, 1890, the company has operated its constantly ex- panding plant, so firmly bound together by local tracks and to the out- side world through the Big Four system of railroads. The original building is a portion of the western mill, or that in which is conducted the manufacture of paper. The business was then controlled by the Diamond Match Company. The eastern portion of the plant, the so- called Coating Mills were erected in 1898-99. Since then the plant has been operated under the name of the Wabash Paper Company, as a branch of the United Paper Board Company of New York, which owns and conduets twelve branches in various parts of the country, four of which are in Indiana-at Muneie, Yorktown, Rockport and Wabash.
The paper mill has a daily capacity of sixty tons, and the coating works of twenty, their products comprising the finest coated lithographie and chromo plated and glazed papers, card board of every description, coated manilas, translucents and strawboard-plain, lined and double lined.
An idea of the magnitude of the operations condueted at these mills may be obtained by a simple statement as to the amount of water con- sumed. This reaches a daily volume of 4,000,000 gallons, or fully three tinies as much as is consumed by the remainder of the entire City of Wabash. The supply of the Wabash Paper Company consists of river water, which is used in the manufacture of cardboard and the cruder
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products, and twenty-four connected artesian wells which furnish water devoid of sediment and utilized in the manufacture of fine papers. In short, the Wabash paper and coating mills are known throughout the country as among the best equipped and the most ably managed of the plants controlled by the corporation mentioned.
BIG FOUR RAILROAD SHOPS
The railroad shops of the Big Four in the eastern part of Wabash also constitute an important industry. The old shops were erected in 1872 by what was then known as the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad Company. The City of Wabash paid a bonus of $25,000 as an inducement for the location. The old shops were burned October 23, 1894, and the new ones of the present completed in January, 1896. The roundhouse has a capacity of fifteen stalls and, with the shops, employs a large and constant force of men.
WABASH BAKING POWDER COMPANY
The Wabash Baking Powder Company operates a flourishing in- dustry. The business was established in 1895 under the auspices of the Liberty Baking Powder Company. The products now put out inelude not only baking powder, but a large variety of flavoring extraets, pow- dered skim milk and cocoa, and the present management comprises the following: Roy O. Rowan, president ; Thomas F. Kelly, superintendent; and H. M. Gamble, secretary and treasurer.
WABASH CANNING COMPANY
The large plant of the Wabash Canning Company is located south of the river, and embraces a factory 300 by 50 feet and a warehouse, 200 by 60 feet, and an extensive silo. The business originated in 1897 with the Great Western Canning Company of Delphi, Indiana. Un- der its management the original buildings were erected. In 1907 the company sold its Wabash plant to- Charles Lathem and L. L. Hyman, who formed the present operating company, as president and seeretary and treasurer, respectively. The factory manufactures and handles the season's produet from 800 acres of corn and 300 aeres of tomatoes, and a large quantity of sauer kraut, kidney beans and pumpkin.
The foregoing by no means end the list of Wabash industries. The Service Motor Truck Company has a flourishing business. In the eity are a number of machine shops, a glove factory, saddle and carriage works, a large wholesale and retail bakery and two flourishing laundries. Which is doing pretty well for a city of her size.
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CHAPTER XX
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-HOUSES OF WORSHIP-DR. LITTLE'S LONG SERVICE-EARLY METHODISM-FORMATION OF WABASH CLASS-PER- MANENT PASTORS-WABASH CIRCUIT ORGANIZED-CHURCH BUILDINGS -CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)-PERIOD OF UNCER- TAINTY-PERMANENT HOME AND PASTORS-ST. BERNARD'S CATHOLIC CHURCH-RESIDENT AND VISITING PASTORS-ST. MATTHEW'S EVAN- GELICAL CHURCH-FRIENDS' CHURCH (SOUTH WABASH )-EARLY BAPTIST SOCIETY DISBANDS-WABASH STREET M. E. CHURCH-MID- DLE STREET M. E. CHURCH-THIE AFRICAN M. E. CHURCHI-THE FIRST EVANGELICAL CHURCHI-FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST -UNITED BRETHREN CHURCHES-OTHIER RELIGIOUS BODIES IN THE CITY-CHURCHES OUTSIDE OF WABASH-FIRST MASONIC LODGE (ILANNA NO. 61)-FIRST INSTRUCTOR IN CRAFT MYSTERIES-CHARTER GRANTED TO HIANNA LODGE NO. 61-GROWTH AND PRESENT STATUS- EXCELSIOR CHAPTER, R. A. M .- WABASH CHAPTER NO. 26 CHARTERED -THE PASSING OF IIUGH HANNA-LEADING CHAPTER MASONS-PETI- TION FOR A COUNCIL-JOHN B. ROSE AND H. C. SKINNER-WABASH COUNCIL NO. 13 CHARTERED-THE COMMANDERY-THE O. E. S .- THE MASONIC HALL-ANASTASIA MESNIL LODGE NO. 46, I. O. O. F .- LEAD- ING ODD FELLOWS-EBRONAH ENCAMPMENT-DAUGHTERS OF RE- BEKAH-ROCK CITY LODGE OF ODD FELLOWS-THE ELKS AND THEIR . FINE HOME-KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF THE MACCABEES-THE FORESTERS IN WABASH-THE EAGLES (AERIE NO. 549)-BEN HUR ( WABASH COURT NO. 23)-OKOBOJI TRIBE AND COUNCIL (I. O. R. M.)-OTHER SOCIETIES AND UNIONS.
There is no leading religious sect of the day which is not worthily and solidly represented in Wabash; which fact materially adds to its desirability as a city of residences and homes. Its oldest church is also one of its strongest; which speaks well for the wearing qualities of its church goers and church supporters, as well as for the substantial qual- ities of its pastors.
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HISTORY OF WABASII COUNTY
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
The Presbyterian Church of Wabash had its origin in the First Pres- byterian Church (New School), which was organized May 7, 1836, by the Rev. Samuel Newbury, then of Peru, Indiana, who, prior to that time, had occasionally preached in the Town of Wabash. At first, the membership was not large, but it was zealous-which was the best guar- antee of permanency. Mr. Newbury held it together until 1837, when Rev. AAsa Johnson assumed charge of the congregation, and labored with good results for five years. From 1842 to 1847 Rev. James Thompson was pastor of the New School Presbyterian Church, when he was suc- ceeded by Rev. Samuel D. Smith, who sustained pastoral relations dur- ing the succeeding three years. In 1850 Mr. Thompson accepted a sec- ond call, and remained with the church for two more years. He was followed in the pastorate by Rev. John Fairchild, who served from 1856 until the end of 1861. Then came Rev. W. J. Essick, from 1862 to 1870, under whose pastorate the membership increased so rapidly and the work of the church so expanded that during the year 1869-70 he was assisted by Rev. Everett B. Thomson, D. D.
On March 3d, of the latter year, the New School and the Old School Presbyterian churches were united under the name of The Presbyterian Church of Wabash. The Old School Presbyterian Church had been or- ganized January 24, 1846, a committee from the Fort Wayne Presbytery having been appointed for that purpose. Rev. Matthew R. Miller, D. D., its first pastor, was followed by the following: Rev. A. C. McClelland, 1847-51 ; Rev. James W. McClusky, 1852-53; Rev. Samuel T. Thompson, 1856-57; Rev. Jasper W. McGregor, 1858-59; Rev. Richard Curran, D. D., 1859-60; Rev. David Kingery, 1861-63; Rev. William B. Browne, 1863-69.
HOUSES OF WORSHIP
At the time of the reunion, the New School Church owned and had occupied for several years a large frame building opposite the court- house square on the east; the building of the Old School Church was on the southwest corner of IFill and Miami streets. For a period of more than ten years, the united congregation, under the present name of the Presbyterian Church of Wabash, occupied the former building of the Old School Church. At that time the society numbered about two hun- dred and sixty members. In the meantime, the New School Presbyterian property had been sold, and a portion of the proceeds were afterward ap- plied to the purchase of the present parsonage property, adjoining the church on the west.
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HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
DR. LITTLE'S LONG SERVICE
Rev. Archibald S. Reed served the Presbyterian Church from the time of its formation March 3, 1870, until the coming of Rev. Charles Little, D. D., the present pastor, on the 1st of November, 1872. In length of service, Doctor Little is therefore the father of Wabash pastors, and in the mellowness and strength of his character he is instinctively ac- corded the same relationship by the church goers of the city, irrespective of sect or religious predilections. Doctor Little has long held high rank both in the state synod and the general assembly of his church, having been clerk of the former for more than twenty years and moderator of the national body. He also occupies the position of senior pastor of the State of Indiana from the standpoint of continuous service with one. congregation.
During Doctor Little's pastorate of forty-two years with the Pres- byterian Church of Wabash, the fine church property on the corner of Hill and Miami has been developed, the membership built up to 500, and an earnest, progressive, reverent and loyal society founded and maintained.
On the 16th of May, 1880, the work of razing the old church edifice. was commenced. For a few Sundays thereafter, services were held in the old opera house, and afterward, until the lecture room was com- pleted in the new church (September, 1881,) in the corridors of the new courthouse. It was not until Sunday, January 13, 1884, that the au- ditorium of the new church was completed and the building formally dedicated. Reverend Doctor Johnson preached the dedicatory sermon and it may be of interest to old members of the church to be reminded of his text : "Because their waters issue out of the sanctuary."-Ezekiel XLVII, 12.
At the conclusion of the sermon, preparatory to the dedicatory serv- ice, Doctor Little stated that the cost of the church had been $22,000; that during the year preceding, improvements to the amount of $1,300. had been made on the parsonage, thus making the total cost of the build- ings and improvements $23,300. In 1894 the present handsome par- sonage was completed at a cost of $6,000, and in 1904 the church itself was rebuilt along modern lines. It was rededicated January 1, 1905, and was further remodeled, chiefly as to heating and lighting con- veniences, in 1907. These last-named improvements cost about $12,000, so that the church is now convenient and beautiful from every stand- point of comfort and taste.
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HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
EARLY METHODISM
Methodism was the second religious denomination to obtain a foot- hold in Wabash. The evidence is that its tenets were preached locally before those of Presbyterianism, but its members did not organize into a society until some time afterward. It is known that as early as 1835, Rev. Alexander MeLean, a Methodist preacher, had a circuit extending along the Upper Wabash Valley, and occasionally preached at Wabash and La Gro. It is also in evidence that in March, 1837, Jared B. Mar- shaums, a traveling minister of Methodism, preached in a vacant house owned by Patrick Duffey, on the northwest corner of Huntington and Market streets. Afterward he came to Wabash regularly every six weeks, preaching thus until the fall of 1838. But there were few Meth- odists in the place and neither class nor society was organized.
FORMATION OF WABASH CLASS
The movement which finally resulted in a local church originated outside of Wabash. On his way westward to fill various appointments in his circuit, Mr. Marshaums preached a sermon at the house of Ezekiel Cox about four miles down the canal, March 18, 1837. Such was the encouragement given at that meeting that at the time of the next monthly services, April 29th, a elass was organized consisting of Mr. Cox, wife and daughter, and two others. This expanded soon into a society of forty-five members, under the pastorate of Rev. Burroughs Westlake, of Logansport, and David Squires ; later, under E. Holstoek and Reverend Reed.
About 1841, during the pastorate of John F. Truslow, this elass was moved to Wabash and reorganized. David Squires and wife and William Tyner and wife were among the early members of the Wabash society. Another class, which had been organized in the Levi S. Thomas neigh- borhood, two miles west of the Cox settlement, was also merged into the Wabash society.
PERMANENT PASTORS
Revs. W. F. Wheeler and II. B. Beers served prior to 1844, when John Davis, a Methodist preacher and unele of Allen W. Smith, settled permanently in Wabash as pastor of the church. At this time the Wabash society was embraced in the Peru district, of which Burroughs West- lake was the presiding elder, and the local preacher was Reverend Boy- den, appointed at the conference of 1844-45, held at Fort Wayne.
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HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
WABASH CIRCUIT ORGANIZED
In 1847 Wabash Circuit was organized, with O. V. Lemon presiding elder, and M. S. Morrison, pastor of the local church. From that time until 1858, when Wabash Station was organized, there appears to be a break in the records continuing the list of local pastors. Since that year the list is as follows: Rev. W. R. Kistler, appointed in 1858; Rev. R. D. Spellman, 1860; Rev. L. W. Monson, 1861; Rev. HI. J. Meeks, 1862; Rev. C. N. Sims, 1864; Rev. J. Colelaser, 1865; Rev. S. N. Camp- bell, 1866; Rev. J. Comstock, 1868; Rev. William J. Vigus, 1870; Rev. M. Il. Mendenhall, 1873; Rev. C. W. Lynch, 1880; Rev. C. HI. Brown, 1883; Rev. A. E. Mahin, 1886; Rev. C. E. Bacon, 1888; Rev. A. W. Lamport, 1891; Rev. Somerville Light, 1896; Rev. C. U. Wade; Rev. H. M. Herrick, 1898; Rev. M. S. Marble; Rev. William Harkness, 1904; Rev. A. S. Preston, 1906; Rev. D. H. Guild, 1908; Rev. J. K. Cecil, 1912; Rev. Earle Naftger, 1913.
CHURCH BUILDINGS
The first house of worship was erected in 1849 across the street north from the postoffice; the second building, on the northeast corner of Sin- elair and Cass streets, on the present site of St. Bernard's Catholie Church. The church was remodeled in 1880, being dedicated on Sun- day, January 23, 1881, by Bishop Bowman. Adjacent to the church on the east was the brick parsonage, both being considered handsome build- ings in their day. The condition of the society in the early '80s is de- scribed by Rev. C. W. Lynch, in his farewell to the people of his charge, on Sunday morning, April 8, 1883: "During the last three years we have received into this church, on probation, about 175 persons. We have received into full membership about 130. We have today on our rec- ords in full membership, after the records have been carefully revised, and the deaths, the withdrawals and dismissals by letter are carefully noted, 519 members in church and twenty-two probationers."
The church property on the northeast corner of Sinclair and Cass streets was sold to the Catholics in 1898, the First Methodist Church having erected the magnificent structure since occupied on the opposite corner. The membership has since reached 725 and the Sunday School 260, making it the strongest religious body in Wabash.
CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
The Christian Church of Wabash is alert, vigorous and growing; and it has but lately entered its seventy-third year. Its historian has this to
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IHISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
say of its founding : "On Sunday, September 4, 1842, at the old village schoolhouse a few rods northeast of the depot of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway, a small congregation of Disciples had assembled to hear a discourse by Elder Daniel Jackson, an early pioneer of Wabash County and at that time one of the associate judges of the Wabash Circuit Court. Ilere the nucleus of the Christian Church of Wabash was formed, and after the sermon an organization was effected, the result of which is visible today. The members of this first congregation were Daniel Jackson, Lydia Jackson, Sr., Lydia Jackson, Jr., James Ford, America Ford, Elizabeth Caldwell and Simeon B. Loyd. After the organization, Daniel Jackson and James Ford were appointed elders. At a subse- quent meeting Samuel Boden and Robert D. Helm were appointed deacons.
"Elder Jackson made this congregation his home, and during the remaining twelve years of his life he labored diligently for its success. On the 26th day of June, 1854, he was gathered to his fathers. So far as can be ascertained, Mr. Jackson preached the first sermon within the limits of Wabash County at the house of William Grant near the present town of La Fontaine, in the spring of 1835. And some time between 1835 and 1840, Brother Jacob Nelson, a veteran in the Reformation, who had settled among the wilds of Eel River, was laboring among the sparse settlements along that river, and during 1840 or 1841 visited Wabash a few times."
PERIOD OF UNCERTAINTY
During the first twenty-five years of its existence the Disciples' Church was without a permanent house of worship, its services being conducted by the elders, who were not considered regular or permanent pastors. Prof. Ryland T. Brown and Elder B. K. Smith served the con- gregation during 1843, and Elder Ebenezer Thompson in 1844-47. John B. New, James Mathes, Peter T. Russell, Milton B. Hopkins, William P. Shockey and Benjamin Wharton labored continuously to build up the church for the succeeding five years. At that time the church had a membership of about one hundred and thirty. Then came a period of decline, despite meetings held irregularly by such as Henry L. Pritchard, Jesse D. Scott, Henry W. McPherson and John L. Stone, and by the commencement of the Civil war the membership had decreased to thirty. Services were being held every two weeks at the courthouse and alto- gether the outlook was not encouraging, notwithstanding those who held firmly to their faith in final success began to move in the matter of providing a permanent house of worship. From the 1st day of March,
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1863, the Baptist Church Building was ocenpied by the Disciples when- ever possible, and a number of revivals were held which increased the membership of the society and made a separate house of worship a necessity.
PERMANENT HOME AND PASTORS
In 1865 a large brick church was commenced at the corner of IIill and Miami streets, the first meeting therein being held the first Lord's Day in January, 1867. The services were conducted by Elder W. S. Winfield, assisted by J. B. Marshall, of Warsaw, and B. M. Blount, of Tipton. The church was not formally dedicated until January 8, 1871. After Elder Winfield, the next regular pastor of the Christian Church was Llewellyn L. Carpenter, who made his first visit to Wabash on the 24th of October, 1868. ITis five years' service was very successful. Elder Carpenter continued in pastoral charge until October, 1873, and was succeeded by Elder A. A. Knight, of Hamilton, Ohio, who entered upon his pastorate November 28, 1873, and remained until June, 1875. A. M. Atkinson and Elder Carpenter assumed charge for short periods afterward; Robert S. Blount, of Indianapolis, served from October 22, 1876, to the fall of 1879; Ira J. Chase, of Peoria, Illinois, for three years from May, 1880, and since that time the following have served the church -some of them "without money and without price": A. M. Atkinson, Llewellyn Carpenter, Samuel J. Tomlinson, Cary E. Morgan, George B. Vanarsdall, Earle Wilfley, William Groom, J. E. Powell, Edgar F. Daugherty, S. J. Colyer and Frank E. Jaynes.
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