USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106
struments, returning by way of Detroit. from which place he carried them on horse- back to Fort Wayne. Hanna, Burr and a man named Jones were made canal com- missioners. Though good engineers were scarce, one was procured and the work be- gan on the St. Joseph river six miles above Fort Wayne where the feeder dam was afterward located. Burr acted as ax man and Hanna as rod man, both at ten dollars a month. The second day the engineer took sick and left the job for good, but Burr and Hanna completed alone the survey of the summit feeder. Then they had to rest for the next legislature to take action. Judge Hanna being again a member, secured the passage of an act for the construction of the Wabash and Erie canal, and thus origi- nated the longest continuous line of artificial water then on the globe, and this section of the country was placed far in advance of most of much older parts of the United States. Then began a long array of hopes and discouragements of securing money and laborers, contractors and managers. The. elevation of the Maumee above the level of Lake Erie at the head of the rapids is sixty-two feet, at Defiance eighty feet, at the state line one hundred thirty-five feet. at Fort Wayne one hundred sixty-three feet. The summit level of the canal was one hun- dred ninety-three feet above the lake. two feet higher than the marsh, which is the summit between the Maumee and Wabash rivers. The formal breaking of the ground was performed with great ceremony, just in time to save the land grant under the limita- tion of the act of congress.
125
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
Henry Rudisill was made chairman and David H. Colerick, secretary. A procession was formed and proceeded across St. Mary's river to the point selected, where speeches were made, after which Commissioner Vigus said with great solemnity, "I am now about to commence the Wabash and Erie canal, in the name and by the authority of the state of Indiana." He then struck a pick into the ground amid great cheers. Judge Hanna and others threw a little dirt, after which the procession moved back to town. At the time of beginning, $28,651 had been realized from the sale of the canal lands. A contract for the first fifteen miles, running westward from the formal point of com- mencing, was immediately let, and in the fall four more miles were let, extending the other way and including the feeder dam. Work was done in 1832 to the amount of $4,180 dollars. In May, 1833, the remain- ing thirteen miles of the summit division were let, and in 1835 this division was com- pleted to Huntington. On the 3d day of July, 1835, the waters of St. Joseph river commingled with those of Little River at Huntington, and on the following day, July 4th, the canal boat "Indiana" arrived at Huntington form Fort Wayne, with a large and enthusiastic crowd of people from Fort Wayne, who landed at the upper, or Burke's lock, and were greeted by the firing of an old cannon which Dr. George A. Fate had brought from Dayton, Ohio, for the occa- sion. Thus the old Wabash and Erie canal was completed through a corner of Whitley county three years before the county had a separate existence. Previous to this, the only place of marketing and securing sup- plies was Fort Wayne, but very early after the establishment of our county seat a road
was opened up to Raccoon Village, by which ran the canal at the south-east corner of the county. Much of this air line road remains to-day, being the road east of town across Eel river, diagonally past Compton church and on to Jefferson township. The canal was completed through Huntington county in 1836, but progress on the other end was not so rapid. Not until 1843 was there navigation from Toledo to Fort Wayne and Huntington and to the west. Early in 1843 a line of packets were run at regular inter- vals carrying freight, mail and passengers, and continued uninterruptedly until trains on the Wabash Railroad drove the canal out of existence, in 1854. About the middle or last of July, 1854, the last regular run of boats was made ; after that it was used as any one chose, as a personal ditch. There is dispute as to when the last boat ran between Fort Wayne and Huntington. Some well informed persons say in 1867, while others put it as late as 1873. So gradual was their obliteration that there is no way of ascer- taining the exact time of the death of the canal. In 1847 the canal passed into the hands of three trustees, under the state debt act. Two of these were appointed by the holders of the bonds and one by the legis- lature of Indiana. The part running through Fort Wayne was sold to the Nickel Plate Railway in the winter of 1880 and 18SI, and much of the old tow-path from Fort Wayne to Huntington is now used by the Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Trac- tion Company.
THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
On the 24th day of February, 1848, the Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company procured a charter from the legislatures of
I26
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
both Ohio and Pennsylvania, for the build- ing of a railroad from Mansfield. Ohio, east- wardly, by way of Wooster, Massillon and Canton, to some point which the projectors might select on the Ohio & Pennsylvania line, thence to Pittsburg. Immediately after the war of the Revolution, the region west of the Alleghanies began to populate very rapidly. First came the tide of emi- gration over the mountains to western Penn- sylvania, and then the stream did not stop until farther westward. Mansfield was a village in 1808, and by 1816 it was a place of some importance, and by 1820 it was the gateway to the west. The stream of emi- gration over the mountains continued to Mansfield, and all the Ohio settlers, north and west of the center of the state, came that way. From the first it was an enter- prising place. At the date it received the charter for the above named, a railroad was in operation from that town to the lake, known as the Mansfield & Lake Erie, after- ward the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railway, and for many years past a part of the Baltimore & Ohio system. Also a road was under construction from Cleveland to Cincinnati. Mansfield, just a little out of the route, allowed it to run a short distance to the west of her, building up a rival town at the crossing of this line and the Mans- field & Lake Erie. Wounded pride de- manded that something be done, and her foremost citizens secured the charter for the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railway, but securing a charter was far from building a railroad. Almost simultaneous, the same year, prac- tically the same people secured from the Ohio legislature a charter for the Ohio & Indiana Railroad, to run from Mansfield to
Bucyrus and Upper Sandusky, thence to any point the builders desired on the Ohio & Indiana line, thence to Fort Wayne, Ind. Less than the ordinary amount of trouble was experienced in building east from Mans- field. Work began on the 4th day of July, 1849, at Selzer's tavern, a point several miles west of Mansfield, which by some means be- came the western terminal of the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railway, and the eastern ter- minal of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad. The work was pushed rapidly and on the 11th day of April, 1853, traffic was opened be- tween Mansfield and Allegheny, a distance of one hundred and eighty-seven miles. It was not extended across the river and into Pittsburg until 1857, when it was connected with the Pennsylvania Central. The Ohio & Indiana road languished. but the other end overlapped and built on about three miles to Crestline. the crossing of the Cincinnati & Cleveland road. completed in 1851. The ambition of the Mansfield people was satisfied, or at least at rest. Judge Hanna, of Fort Wayne, the father of the Wabash and Erie canal, came forward as the savior of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad. He induced Allen county, In- diana, to vote $100,000 to the capital stock of the road. This was the turning point. Without it the line would have been long delayed and probably diverted finally over a different route. The project was strong in merit, but weak in funds. After almost despairing of some one to undertake the work with its chances, in 1852, Mr. Hanna induced Pliny Hoagland and William Mitchell to join him in taking the contract, which they did. It was taken in the name of Mitchell, from Crestline to Fort Wayne,
.
127
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
one hundred and thirty-two miles, and work began immediately. After making some progress the means of the company were exhausted and everything at a standstill. Not only was the road in danger of defeat, but the private fortunes of Hanna, Hoagland and Mitchell were in great peril. A meet- ing of the creditors was called at Bucyrus, but the prospect presented was dubious and dismal, desperate and hopeless. Dr. Mer- riman, of Bucyrus, the president, resigned in despair of rendering any further service. Hanna was immediately elected. He rode the same night on horseback from Bucyrus to Crestline, thence by the railroad to Cleve- land, and thence by boat to the east. In three days he was in New York pledging his honor and fortune, as well as that of his coadjutors, Hoagland and Mitchell. His action was daring and reassuring, and brought the needed funds. He struck far- sighted capitalists who had faith in him. With this arranged, he hastened to Montreal and Quebec to redeem iron that had been forfeited for nonpayment of transportation. The crisis was past. Work was resumed. and in November, 1854, the road was com- pleted into Fort Wayne, and before January I, 1855, there was regular train service from Fort Wayne to Crestline, and before June, 1855, the train service was continuons to Allegheny.
In 1852, the Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company was organized and chartered, and Hanna was made president, while straining every nerve to complete the road already on his hands. The means of building the road were to be derived from the sale of stock and bonds. The stock sub- scriptions in all amounted to less than three
per cent. of the cost of building the road and were mainly paid in wild, uncultivated, and then practically worthless lands, town lots and labor. This real estate, however, was mortgaged for a million dollars, which was a great part of the cost of grading. Other cash had to be derived from the sale of bonds, and as it was a recent corporation with an unfinished right of way, these were not readily sold. The Pennsylvania Rail- road Company gave the enterprise all possi- ble encouragement and gave it some credit. which was a great factor in its success. The road was completed to Columbia City, on the 22d day of January, 1856, and on the following morning, the first engine, the "Mad Anthony," came into town. There was no station, and the engine bringing several representative citizens from Fort Wayne in an open freight car with boards for seats, stopped about ten rods east of the present passenger depot. They were met by a number of our citizens and escorted up town, returning about noon. On Jan- itary 30, 1856, the following time card was issued and posted in Fort Wayne:
"On and after February Ist, a passenger train will leave this city daily at 7:30 A. M., arrive at Columbia 9 A. M. Leave Colum- bia at 5 P. M., and reach this city at 6:30 P. M.
The fare was eighty cents each way. It was before the time of round trip rates. When the road was completed here, con- siderable work and grading had been done farther west, and was progressing at many points between Columbia and Plymouth.
128
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
On August 1, 1856, at a meeting of the officers of the three minor corporations, they were all merged into one corporation, known as the Pittsburg. Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Company. This merger infused new life into the work, and early in No- vember the road was completed to Ply- mouth, and before Christmas, 1856, there was regular train service through Colum- bia from Fort Wayne to Plymouth. At Plymouth was already the southern termi- nus of a railroad running to LaPorte, and from that point there was a line in opera- tion to Chicago. Thus there could be train service from Plymouth to Chicago by this route. There was some disposition to allow the western terminus to remain at Plymouth for awhile, but the progressive element of the new corporation pushed it rapidly to completion into Chicago in the spring of 1857.
DETROIT, EEL RIVER & ILLINOIS RAIROAD.
As early as 1861, an agitation began for the building of a railroad through the rich Eel river valley, with southern terminal at Logansport, to connect with the great Wa- bash system for the southwest, and with the northern terminus at some point on the Lake Shore Railway in DeKalb or Noble county. The war between the states soon absorbed all attention and no action was taken. Just at the close of the war, the Logansport & Northern Indiana Railroad was incorpo- rated, and a survey was made over sub- stantially the route the railroad finally took. This corporation died and the Toledo, Lo- gansport & Northern Indiana Railroad was incorporated, inheriting from its predecessor
the survey, some books, etc. This corpora- tion secured the right of way over a number of tracts of land in Whitley and other coun- ties, terminal grounds at Logansport and also did do a small amount of grading. In April, 1869, the following paper was filed and recorded in the auditor's office of Whit- ley county :
"Office Detroit, Eel River & Illi- nois Railway Company, Columbia City, Indiana.
To the Auditor of Whitley county:
In pursuance to an order of the di- rectors of said company, passed at a meeting of said board, you are re- quested to appoint one disinterested freeholder of said county, under an act of the general assembly of the State of Indiana, approved March II. 1867, who, in connection with a like freeholder of said county, to be appointed by the Logansport & Northern Indiana Railroad Com- pany. shall constitute a board of ap- praisers to make a true and impartial appraisement of all the rights, privi- leges, interests, rights of way, fran- chises and properties of the Toledo, Logansport & Northern Indiana Railway Company.
JAMES S. COLLINS, President,
Detroit, Eel River & Illinois Railway Company.
MICHAEL SICKAFOOSE, Secretary,
Detroit, Eel River & Illinois Railway Company.
I29
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
And thus was established the new cor- poration, the Detroit, Eel River & Illinois Railroad, from Logansport, in Cass county, to Butler, in DeKalb county. The offices located at Columbia City, and two of our most distinguished citizens, president and secretary. Judge Collins at once entered zealously into the work, traveling on foot many times over the entire route.
One of the first acts was to show the good faith of the people at home. A peti- tion was circulated and numerously signed asking that an election be held authoriz- ing the county to pay as a public tax $100,000, taking stock in the company for the amount. It was found that $85,000 was the limit that could be paid under the law, with our amount of taxable property. Therefore, an election was held on the 16th day of June, 1869, for and against the pay- ment of $85,000 with the following result :
For Against Total
Cleveland township ...
346
IO 356
Richland township. . .
75
225 300
Troy township
28
II3
I4I
Etna township.
6
57 63
Washington township.
3I
57 88
Columbia township ....
604
608
Thorncreek township ..
I53
3 156
Jefferson township. . .
I
187
188
Union township.
75
125
200
Smith township
I39
7
I46
Totals
1,458
788 2,246
An effort was made, a year later, to have Columbia township taxed for an additional $14.322, but it being unlawful, the commis- sioners did not call an election. Our people
paid the tax and received certificates for the stock, but never realized any money in return.
The road was completed from Butler to South Whitley, early in July, 1871, and on the 25th day of July the contractors ran a free excursion from Columbia City to South Whitley, carrying over five hundred people. The train moved slowly and cautiously and was an hour and a quarter making the trip. The train was met by a very large crowd, and a procession was formed which marched to the grove, where a free dinner was served and many enthusiastic speeches made. The road was completed to Logansport and regu- lar train service installed before the winter of 1871 ; and until it passed into the hands of the Wabash Railway Company, it ran a passenger train from Logansport to Butler in the forenoon and back in the afternoon, and such freight trains as were necessary. In January, 1881, the line was leased by the Wabash Company for ninety-nine years, and they quickly built an extension to De- troit from Butler, connecting with their main line at Logansport, at once making it a trunk line, rivalling the best in the country. All the through passenger trains ran over the line to Buffalo, Boston and New York, and so continued for the nineteen years they held it. No sooner was the old Eel river road made a part of a great trans-conti- nental line than a few men at Logansport de- termined to ruin it and damage every town along its line. They brought suit on the ground that the Wabash old line was parallel and a competing line and could not hold it. terminating after nearly twenty years in ousting it. In December, 1890, it was sold to the Vandalia, and on December 31st the
9
130
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
Wabash ran the last of their magnificent trains over it. The next day began a ser- vice as antiquated and unsatisfactory as the old Eel river management could have possi- bly been, and is likely to continue indefinite- ly. They have made it from one of the best to one of the poorest, if indeed not the very worst in the whole country. Its termination at Logansport is north of Eel river. When the Wabash got it they tried to get a con- nection through the city to their line, but were spitefully defeated at every point. For a while they made the connection a few miles below the city at Clymers, but finding it was impossible that they could join their main line anywhere near the city they built from Chili, a distance of six miles into Peru. They still own the six miles of rusty, unused track. The Wabash fought the litigation for years, but finally gave it up. They began from their main line at New Haven, six miles east of Fort Wayne, and built across to Butler, striking their Detroit line, and be- gan their service over it the day they quit the Eel river. The Wabash bettered itself. Logansport did itself no good, but the towns along the old Eel river line were damaged beyond computation.
THE NICKEL PLATE RAILWAY.
The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company was organized in 1880. It parallels the Lake Shore Railway from Buffalo to near the west line of Ohio, after which it parallels the Pennsylvania to Chi- cago. It was projected by the late Senator Brice, of Ohio, and his associates, for the sole purpose of sale to the Vanderbilts, which object was finally accomplished after
Vanderbilt had declared it a "string of worthless dirt, leading from nowhere to 110 place." It so threatened the business of the Lake Shore that its sale, the object of its building, was accomplished. It was first heard of here in January, 1881, and at once agents were at work buying the right of way through this county. Where a bargain could not be readily made condemnation pro- ceedings were at once instituted. It was built through Whitley county in the sum- mer of 1881, and before the spring of 1882 there was regular service over the whole line. It runs almost east and west through the county, cutting the south third off the county from the north two-thirds. Along its lines were soon located the villages of Dunfee, Raber and Peabody. It also strikes South Whitley. For several years it was considered only a freight road, but recently excellent through passenger service has been inaugurated, and it is to-day regarded as one of the great trunk lines. It strikes no towns of size from Fort Wayne to Valparaiso.
THE FORT WAYNE & WABASHI VALLEY TRAC- TION COMPANY.
The last of the railways to enter Whitley county is the Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley Traction Line. It runs from Fort Wayne to Huntington, practically on the line of the old canal of 1835. Through the corner of this county, it runs along the tow path of the canal. It was built in 1901 by Townsend & Reed, a construction company, and they operated it for a time, when it went into the hands of the Mckinley syndicate and they built on to Wabash. November 4. 1904. it was acquired by the Fort Wayne &
I31
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA ..
Wabash Valley Traction Company, which still own and operate it. From the beginning, it has given hourly service over the whole
line. The right of way in Whitley county was purchased from Straus Brothers & Lee, at about one hundred dollars per acre.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND BUILDERS.
BY S. P. KALER.
The first public building erected in Whitley county was a jail, but it must not be presumed that the early settlers were 50 vicious that they needed a place of incar- creation more than a place for public busi- ness. The officers could not afford to oc- cupy a court house had one been ready. They kept their meager records at home and the sessions of court were easily held at res- idences or Thomson's hotel in the new seat of justice. The early criminals were mostly drunken Indians or traveling professional outlaws.
On the Ist day of June, 1840, the county agent was ordered to advertise and sell on the 20th day of the same month the build- ing of a jail described as follows: Eighteen feet long and sixteen feet wide, of hewn tim- ber squared to eight inches thick and twelve inches wide, the wall to be sunk three feet in the ground and butt up even with the surface of the ground, with a single wall, then laid with hewn timber seven inches thick, double crossed, then continue the wall double, of the same size timber ten feet high. with a partition through the center, of the same size timber. Door to be cut out and hung with a strong shutter of oak plank one inch thick doubled. The shutter made with small window in center, four inches deep and eight inches wide. The upper floor to
be laid with hewn timber eight inches thick, to be laid upon the plaits. To be covered with good joint shingle roof. One window in the outside wall two feet square to be checked with bar iron, bars an inch and a quarter thick and four inches apart, well fastened in wall. The outside door to be made of inch oak plank, double and crossed and covered with sheet iron. This building, put on the south-east corner of the public square, was built by William Blair for $490 and he was also allowed eight dollars for clearing timber and bruslı off the spot and two rods beyond each way.
The board of commissioners at a special session held June, 1841, ordered a court house built on the north-east corner of lot 7, in block 15, where the city building now stands. This building, thirty-six feet long and two stories high, was built according to specifications of the very best timber and strong enough to endure centuries. It now stands on lot 1, block 12, the original plat of Columbia City, at the south-west corner of Van Buren and Whitley streets, owned by Charles Eyansons' sons and used for a dwelling. It is in a good state of preserva- tion and looks like a comparatively new building, though built for sixty-five years. It was set on five large rocks and had a stairs go up on the outside. This first court
132
WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.
house cost $411.50 and was completed about the first of December, 1841, but was put in 11se as a court house in October. March 6, 1845, the windows were ordered filled with glass, the fire-place torn out and a stove put in. The first story was used for holding courts, shows, public meetings and all other purposes and at one time by Thomas Wash- burn as a dwelling. James Washburn, at present one of the substantial business men of Columbia. City, was born in that court house in September, 1843. The upper story was used for various purposes ; one room was plastered and sealed and used for a time by the clerk and recorder. The other was used by the treasurer, sheriff and any other person who desired, and for almost any purpose.
On the 9th day of June, 1842, Henry Swihart, county agent, was ordered to con- tract for the building of a house thirty feet long by eighteen wide, one-story high, with two rooms, two fifteen light windows in each room, one door in the center partition and one outside door to each room. The record ordering the building does not say for what use, but it was always called the "jury build- ing" by the citizens as well as by the com- missioners in their dealings with it. It was on the south-west corner of the public square or court house lot. It was built by Benja- min Grable for $197. For a short time the treasurer used one room and the clerk and recorder the other. It was also used as a jury room and Warren Mason rented it for three months and taught school in it. This jury building was rather a general purpose place for everybody and everything. It was sold to N. D. Torbet for $15 in 1853. who tore down and removed it.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.