USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Remington > History of the town of Remington and vicinity, Jasper County, Indiana > Part 12
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JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA. I 39
he in turn sold it to the Hartley Brothers, who are at pres- ent occupying it and handling grain there.
James S. Irwin finally became involved in debt here, and was compelled to sell out his interests, which he did during the year 1883, when he moved west and located in South Dakota. He was well respected by this community and had many friends here.
The firm of Church & Hartley came to Remington during the year 1871. They were experienced grain dealers, and soon after their arrival here they built the west ele- vators. They had, prior to their coming to Remington, been engaged in the grain and warehouse business for sev- eral years at Goodland, Indiana, seven miles west of Rem- ington. They had control of the grain trade for both the towns. In a few years they controlled the two principal warehouses in Remington. Church & Hartley remained here in business together until the death of Mr. Church, which occurred in 1876. At the time of his death he was the owner of the fine residence property on South Ohio street, now owned and occupied by Mr. Harvey Hartman. The west elevators finally fell into the hands of Oliver B. McIntire in 1878, who was at that time a prominent banker of Remington. He at this time succeeded to the grain business formerly controlled by Messrs. Church & Hartley, and had the business for this point generally under his own control. He had William H. Coover employed as his prin- cipal clerk ; Frank Klaus as engineer, and Henry Mullen as manager at the elevators. In the year 1885, Mr. M. J. Costello became a partner of Mr. McIntire in the grain business. They remained together as partners, however, only one year, when Mr. Costello withdrew from the firm, and Mr. McIntire then continued the business in his own individual name, and he remained in the business until about the year 1889, when, meeting with severe financial reverses, he was compelled to abandon the business. Mr. McIntire was well liked by all his patrons.
During the year 1891, Hon. Anson Wolcott, of the
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town of Wolcott, White county, Indiana, became the owner of all three of the warehouses in Remington, but in the course of a year or two he disposed of all his interests here, and Hartley Brothers now have the control of all the elevators here, and the exclusive control of the grain mar- ket of this locality at this time-1894. The west elevator when built was as large as either of the other buildings, and has the capacity to handle as much grain as either of the others. It has a large and powerful engine, and has also car scales upon which grain is weighed when loaded for shipment. Neither of the other houses have scales. After Mr. Wolcott engaged in the business here he built a large addition to this west elevator on the north side of it, which is an immense improvement. Mr. Wolcott has never been a resident of this town, his home being in Wol- cott, Indiana, six or seven miles east of Remington. He was the founder of Wolcott, the place taking its name from him. He has large grain and hay interests in his own town. In 1891 his son, Henry Wolcott, bought grain in Remington, but in the fall of that year he returned to Wol- cott. There was some litigation here owing to a portion of Mr. Wolcott's middle elevator encroaching upon New York street, and after some sparring in a legal way, Mr. Wolcott was compelled to remove the obstruction.
The names of all the men having been engaged in the grain business here are as follows:
S. W. Roberts 1860
William Bolles 1861-1867
William Hopkins 1863-1865
Dennis Wiggins 1865-1866
Cornelius Donnelley 1867-1869
Hathaway Brothers 1869-1872
J. S. Irwin 1872-1882
William Foster 1874-1876
Church & Hartley 1871-1876
O. B. McIntire 1876-1889
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Samuel Solomon 1885 William Irwin. 1 868
Anson Wolcott .
,1887
Hartley Brothers
1890-1894
THE REMINGTON CREAMERY.
HE Remington Creamery was organized in the year 1891. It was a stock company; the money neces- sary to construct the building and equip the insti- tution with the necessary machinery to success- fully run it, was raised by various persons sudscribing and paying for stock. It was estimated that the amount of money necessary to set the creamery in successful opera- tion would be $4, 500, which amount was in due time sub- scribed, and a company, composed of LaFayette, Ind., men, entered into a contract to complete the building and place therein the necessary machinery, which, in course of time, was all done, to the acceptance of the stockholders. The contractors were represented here during the construction of this work by three or four different agents, and those agents also assisted in selling the stock of the home com- pany. The first one of those agents to suggest the feasi- bility of the project was a Mr. H. Fausman, of LaFayette. He became acquainted with James W. Lock, a good cit- izen of this town, and together they went to work talking the matter up. Mr. Rufus Lockwood, of LaFayette, also assisted quite materially in working the matter of subscrip- tions for stock to a successful point. These men met with some obstacles, of course, but they were eventually suc- cessful After this money had been fully subscribed, the stockholders called a meeting of their members for the pur- pose of perfecting an organization. The following persons were elected as directors: James W. Lock, O. P. Taber, Harry H. Balthis, Frank Gray and John M. Wilson. Mr.
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O. P. Taber was chosen president and Harry H. Balthis, secretary. Mr. Moses French was employed to superin- tend the purchase of milk, and have a general control over the creamery. It now became necessary to employ a prac- tical butter-maker, and accordingly, a young man formerly from Ohio, by the name of Al. North, was employed as engineer and butter-maker, his wages being seventy-five dollars per month. At the commencement, this creamery started out with very bright prospects of success. The farmers brought in their milk in great abundance and sold it to the company. This milk was all of fine quality, and for the first three months the Remington Creamery Com- pany was very prosperous; although their expectations hav- ing been considerably exalted, were not fully realized, and they (some of them at least) became to some extent dissat- isfied. This creamery business appeared to start out slowly but surely, about the Ist of March, 1891. After the busi- ness was established the farmers were unable, so early in the season, to furnish all the milk they may have desired, but later the volume increased from week to week. The first start was only about one thousand pounds per day. Soon after this, however, the volume was increased to two thousands pounds per day, and the projectors now seemed to be encouraged, and believed that the enterprise was destined to be a financial success. The increase in volume of milk kept on until about the last of May, when it reached its highest volume, which was about twenty thousand pounds per day. The creamery had been built mainly by workmen employed by the contractors, who were residents of Remington, but, of course, the contractors had their own chief experts to superintend the work. Of our Rem- ington men employed on this work were Patrick H. Lalley, Charles Hascall, John N. Beal, Mr. Burton and J. D. Mason, as carpenters, together with several others em- ployed about the work, with no particular trade. Mr. Burton and Mr. Mason met with quite a severe accident while engaged on this work by falling from a defective scaf-
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folding, which laid them up for' a considerable length of time. One serious obstacle to this enterprise was an insufficient supply of water, a considerable amount being necessary to carry on this business. Accordingly, at one of the business meetings of the company, it was resolved to put down a well that would be large enough to supply a sufficient amount of water for the purposes intended, and accordingly, Joseph Turner and Golden Hawn, who were two experienced well diggers, contracted to get the com- pany a sufficient supply of water. They proceeded very nicely for about fifteen feet, when they encountered slate rock, which was sufficiently hard as to preclude the use of spade or pick, and they then resorted to the blasting pro- cess with dynamite. Mr. Hawn claimed to be an expert in the use of dynamite, and he got along nicely with it for a short time, but it appears that through some oversight of his he got in two charges in lieu of one, and only one of them had exploded, when he proceeded to enter the well in order to clean out the debris. When nearly the bot- tom, the second charge exploded, which gave him a terrible shock, cutting his face with small pebbles of rock, singing his hair and eye lashes and otherwise giving him a general shaking up, but he was not seriously injured. They con- tinued with the work until they got what they considered a sufficient amount of water, but in a short time afterward the water supply failed, and the company then employed Mr. Perkins, who, in due course of time, with his improved machinery, found a sufficient quantity of water for the pur- poses required. After the carpenters had completed their work, the contract for doing the outside painting was let to George Stoudt, and the inside work given to H. Paxton, both being excellent painters of large experience. Whilst the project for raising the subscriptions for this enterprise was going along, there was speculation as to the most available place on which to build the creamery, and after the advantages and disadvantages of the various locations had been fully discussed, it was finally agreed to locate it
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at the north side of town, on Carpenter's creek, on the east side of Ohio street, and in Bruell's addition to the town of Remington. Here they bought the site and located the creamery. It required several vats and two churns to properly care for the milk that came in after the institution got into practical running order. The officers at first thought that two men could take care of the business, but it pretty soon developed that a third man was necessary, and accordingly the management employed Edward Lock as an assistant. There were about nine teams employed by the management to collect and haul in the milk, beside the many farmers who brought in their own, those who had a sufficient number of cows to warrant them in spending their time profitably in so doing. But this institution was, in the course of about two years, destined to prove a fail- ure. Whilst the prospects at first appeared to be bright for the future of the enterprise, yet, at their reckoning and balancing of the books at the expiration of the first year, the affairs of the concern did not prove to be satisfactory to all the parties in interest; but they continued to go ahead for another year; but the farmers, many of them being displeased, refused to sell their milk, and accordingly the business dwindled away, uutil it was found that after all, the enterprise had proved to be an almost complete failure, and the creamery of Remington was compelled to suspend operation and close its doors until the following spring. In the meantime they had dispensed with the ser- vices of Mr. North, their butter-maker, and in his place they substituted Edward Lock, a man they employed for much less wages. He had charge of the making of the butter and also of the engine. He was fairly well qualified for his duties. The company finally were compelled to levy an assessment on the stock of the institution, which was nearly all paid, and then the creamery suspended entirely. The company still owns the ground and the machinery, which at present seems to be dead property.
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AMMON BEASLEY.
(See page 262.)
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BASE BALL.
I ORD had gone out that on the 17th day of June, 1891, there would be a test game of base ball played between the Remington nine and the Rensselaer nine, which was composed entirely of Indians who were attending the St. Joseph College at Rens- selaer.
The Rensselaer nine reported in Remington at noon of that day, and after dinner both nines with a large number of people from Rensselaer, Remington and surrounding towns and country, repaired to the ball grounds about one- fourth of a mile southeast of the village. It appeared that there was some feeling engendered between the respective friends of the two different clubs. A stranger had been selected as the umpire for the game, and as the game progressed it was charged that he was biased and that his rulings were prejudiced in favor of the Remington nine. Some also claimed that he had money wagered on the result of the game. The Rensselaer nine had the first inning at the bat, but they made no run or tally. The Remington nine had made two tallies in their first inning and a dispute arose over the third, some claiming a foul and others claiming that the run had been legitimately made. The quarrel soon became fierce and the result was a general fight between the outsiders and some of the Rem- ington nine. It was noticed that none of the Indians took any part in this disgraceful affair, but many of their Rens- selaer backers took a lively part in it. The principal weapons used were fists and umbrellas. The fight lasted for perhaps ten minutes when the disturbance was quelled. There were none who were seriously injured beyond a few scratches, the greatest damage having been done to umbrel- las, which were generally badly wrecked. There were probably thirty men engaged in this fight. 10
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The following are the names of those participating in this game of base ball:
Remington nine. (White.) Bert Stiller, Captian. Jacob Pefley, Earnest Hart, George Allman, Dan Lyons, M. C. Mitchell, Luther Patton, Bert Crowe, Robt. Lyons. Rensselaer nine. (Indian.) J. Lamoreux, Captian. M. Auge, H. Mexene, F. Montgomery, Joe Daybird, R. Manion, G. Shelefo, Joe Pecor, F. Starnalt.
INCORPORATION OF REMINGTON.
HE incorporation of the town of Remington was brought about by a number of the most prominent citizens of the place who held a meeting for this purpose at the Haver Hotel, on the 6th day of September, 1869. At this meeting a Town Board of Trustees was selected which consisted of three men, also one Town Clerk, and one Town Marshal. These men were appointed by this meeting to serve until the next reg- ular election, which would occur on the first Monday in May, 1870. At this election the following men were duly elected to fill the various offices, viz:
Charles Hathaway, Edward Timmons, Benjamin B. Jeffries, Town Trustees; William H. Shaw, Town Clerk; Samuel Haver, Town Marshal.
The above were the first officers for the town that really transacted any business of importance. At their first meeting after their election and qualification the Board of Trustees passed an ordinance requiring all persons resid- ing within the corporation limits to build side walks in front of their respective properties; and the Marshal was instruct- ed to see that the ordinance was strictly complied with. They also passed an ordinance requiring the immediate building of a Jail and cattle pound.
They bought a lot on the northeast corner of First
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South and Indiana streets, and on this lot they built the calaboose and a stock pound. This work was done during the year 1870, by the Marshal, Mr. Samuel Harver, by order of the Board of Town Trustees, the same being com- pleted on the roth day of June, 1870, the stock pound being a tight board fence, the entire cost of all being seventy dollars, which was duly receipted for. Mr. Haver now resigned his office as Marshal and the Board at once appointed Mr. T. J. Hollett to fill the vacancy in the office thus occasioned. But Mr. Hollett was not suited with this kind of an office and accordingly he resigned and George Griffin was appointed as his successor in September, 1870. There were at this time several of the real estate owners that had not yet complied with the ordinance requiring them to build sidewalks. These parties were threatened with legal proceedings if they did not at once comply and do this work. Most of these poeple only laughed at these threats and claimed that there was no law compelling them to comply, and they also claimed that the proceedings in- corporating the town were void and hence their pretended ordinances were also null. Yet they never attempted to test the validity of the corporation, and eventually they complied with the ordinances and built their sidewalks. This Board of Trustees were very fortunate in passing good and wholesome ordinances which remain upon the record books of the town to the present time. The second elec- tion was held in May, 1871, and at this election the follow- ing officers were chosen for the ensuing year, viz:
Elden E. Lockwood, Filix R. Donnelley, Charles Hathaway, Town Trustees; William H. Shaw, Town Clerk; David Kauffman, Town Marshall.
Under the State law town elections are always held on the first Monday in May of each year, and since the incorporation of the town of Remington we have had eigh- teen different Marshals, as follows:
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S. B. Haver 1870
E. J. Hollett 1870
Geo. Griffin 1870
D. H. Kauffman
1871
P. H. Lalley 1872
John A. Irvine 1873
John Luckey
1874
George F. Shaull 1875
William Clifft .
1876
Elias Hollingsworth.
1877
Alexander Anderson.
1878
Alexander Anderson.
1879
Alexander Anderson.
1880
George Sehring (appointed). 1880
William Courtright (appointed) 1880
Elias Hollingsworth
1881
Mr. Hollingsworth has been re-elected continuously each year, from 1881 to the year 1891, when, after a closely contested election, he was defeated by Isaac D. Luckey, who has been twice re-elected and is the present Marshal of Remington. The aspirants for the office of Town Marshal, being men pitted against Mr. Hollings- worth, were: Christian Harmon, William Holland, Van Buren Hinds, Collins R. Griffith, William Courtright, John Heikle, John Harmon, Henry Miller and Charles E. Peck, all of whom were defeated.
At this late day it is somewhat difficult to give the names of all those who have been members of the Board of Town Trustees, but we believe that the following will, perhaps, show all who have served in this capacity, although their names may not be in regular rotation, viz: John Hollett, John B. Shaffer, A. M. Traugh, W. M. Railsback, David H. Patton, David Nelson, George F. Bloom, John K. Stoudt, Esau Hart, Felix R. Donnelley, N. W. Rawlings and Charles Hathaway; and following these, for the last fifteen years, we have the following
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names, viz: Wm. R. Love, Esau Hart, Robert Shearer, H. C. Goldsberry, Samuel Bowman, Mark H. Phelps, E. B. Vandersmith, Charles T. Denham, Ammon Beasley, Josiah Allman, Treat Durand and Ezra Bowman.
The present Board is composed of the following mem- bers, viz: E. B. Vandersmith, Charles T. Denham, Wm. Shepherd, Lee Hawkins and G. B. Clark.
The offices of Town Clerk and Town Treasurer have always been held by one person, and those holding these positions since the first incorporation of the town, have been as follows: William H. Shaw, Benjamin B. Jeffries, Harper W. Snyder, Eldon E. Lockwood, Wright Williams, Robert Parker and Charles E. Peck.
Mr. Peck is the present Clerk and Treasurer. The finances required to pay the expenses of the town govern- ment are obtained by a levy of taxes on all the taxable property in the town, and also a tax on each poll. Some revenue is also obtained by a license tax on peddlers, shows, etc. Originally, the expenses were naturally light, as the town was small, but as it grew in population and wealth, the expenses grew greater, yet, at the same time, this, perhaps, was not felt any more than formerly, as men were more able to pay; and, also, formerly the Board of Town Trustees did not charge anything for their services. The Clerk and Treasurer's salary was quite small, and the Town Marshal was only paid for the time he spent as the Street Commissioner, he not being paid a monthly salary as both he and the Clerk and Treasurer are at the present time. The Town Board in 1886 made some improvements to the town bastile, one of which was to build a side room in which to keep the tools and oil for the use of the town. They also were in need of a fire bell, and after they had purchased it, were at a loss to know where to put it. They finally overcame this difficulty by building a tower forty feet in height, near the calaboose, and in the year 1887 they placed the bell in it. The Board of Trustees now concluded that they were in need of a fire engine (which
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they certainly were), and accordingly they purchased one for the small outlay of two hundred and seventy-five dol- lars. After these things had been done, our next pressing need was street lamps, as they concluded the people had been in the dark long enough. Therefore the Board pro- vided a good lamp for each street corner in the town. This street lighting was also consumated during the latter part of the year 1887. In the year 1890 the Board of Town Trustees sold the lot and old calaboose and pound to Mr. Joseph Osborne, and they then purchased the lot and old school house on North Ohio street, and by this move they had a small town hall upstairs. In 1891 they remodeled the lower portion of this building and placed in it two iron cages, which they use for a jail, and they also made room in it for their engine and other tools belonging to the town. They constructed a good belfry on this building also and placed the fire bell therein. This building is 20x50 feet, and makes very commodious quarters for the purposes for which it is designed. It was originally built by J. B. Shaffer and used as a carpenter shop for a time, when the School Trustees bought it and used the same for several years as a school house. It was built in 1870, and pur- chased by them in 1875, and used it until 1890. It is situated on the corner of Ohio and Michigan streets. Rem- ington, ordinarily, kept well up in advancement, compared with other towns in this locality, but, perhaps, a little lax in some things, as all towns are liable to be. In the year 1889 we had the most exciting election ever held, perhaps, in the town of Remington, the issue being whether or not cows should be permitted to run at large within the cor- porate limits of the town in the summer seasons, and accordingly two sets of candidates were nominated, one of which were to favor cows running at large and the other opposed. The tickets were known as "Cow" and "Anti- Cow." The ticket that favored cows running at large in the town was elected. This only lasted a short time, how- ever, for as the summer progressed the grass grew short and
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dried up, and the owners of cows were either obliged to put them out to pasture or hire them herded.
The town of Remington in 1862 only embraced the original town plat, which contained only twenty blocks or squares, and had a population of about 100 souls. But in 1869 it contained the requisite number of people to war- rant them in having the place incorporated, claiming at that time about 500 souls. When the census was taken in in 1880 it showed a population of 720, and when the cen- sus was again taken in 1890 the enumeration showed a population of 987. Remington has grown quite perceptibly since the census was taken in 1890, and a conservative esti- mate of the population at the present time is about 1, 300. The place is now about thirty-four years old. During war times in the early sixties the growth of Remington was necessarily very slow, but during the years 1870 to 1875, inclusive, it is quite probable that Remington made its greatest or most rapid growth, as did also the country around about this place. It was during those years that the town and surrounding country was so rapidly settled by men coming to this locality from the State of Illinois. Since that time we had no particular rush of this charac- ter until the years 1891 and 1892, when there was a great revival in the values of real estate here, principally in good farms, which was caused by a large influx of men from the State of Illinois, some of whom purchased farms with the intention to reside on and cultivate them and others for the purposes of speculation. This caused lands here to increase in value from $10 to $30 per acre. Some of those who sold their farms have moved into Remington and others located in different States. Some who came from Illinois here have also become citizens of the town. We accept these changes as a substantial betterment of the conditions of the people.
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