USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > Carmel > Reminiscences of the long ago : being a historical sketch of the early settlement of Bethlehem, now Carmel and vicinity with an account of the Indians and of the doings and makeshifts of the early pioneers who have passed away etc > Part 3
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A barrel of mackerel would sometimes sit near the door, being about the first thing one would see. Their wrapping paper was called brown paper, made of straw and woolen rags, no paper sacks then. As I remarked in the flax and tow narrative, they would buy tow twine for wrapping.
The first store did not remain very long, perhaps a year or two, then we had no store again; but some- times goods were brought and auctioned, then another store would come and remain for awhile and then leave, until Levi Haines, Sr., came with a store in the same building, and after that we always had a store. Mr. Haines took in Caleb Harvey as partner but they soon dissolved partnership and the business was car- ried on by the former as before.
After Mr. Haines retired, Little, Drum and An- derson, of Indianapolis, put in a general store in the same old building in 1846 or 7, with Elijah King as manager.
Mr. King later bought them out and carried on the business himself, and built a new frame building on the corner where the bank now stands, and after a. time he took in Sylvanus Carey, and his son Josiah
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E. King as partners, and the firm was known as King, Carey & King. Mr. Carey going out, the firm was E. King & Son. The son, Josiah E., left the firm in March 1864, leaving his father, Elijah King, alone again, he ran his stock down and closed out, auction- ing off the old traps etc., then repaired and painted some, and started anew, not keeping groceries and finally selling out to his son, Frank H. King, who added groceries again. After a time the latter was appointed a missionary to Mexico by the society of Friends, and disposed of his stock to Puckett & Stanley, and after returning from Mexico took back the stock of goods, and finally closed out, but after- ward went into the shoe business on west Main cross street, succeeded by Mr. T. H. Burkhart who of late associated in partnership with Mr.T. A. Painter. Mr. Burkhart retiring, leaves Mr. Painter sole proprietor.
The frame store building of Elijah King was moved down on the "big ditch" by Joseph Hornbaker for a blacksmith shop and it went up in smoke at the time the Jefferies livery barn burned.
About 1850 Elam and Alfred W. Brown from Richmond, Ind., opened a general store on the south- west corner of East Main cross street and College Avenue, in the residence building now owned by Mr. Thomas White. Later, John Kinzer, who built the L. J. Small drug store building died, and the Brown brothers moved their store into it. After a time they sold to Kenyon & Randall, the latter soon leaving
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the firm, and Mr. Kenyon later sold to Jonathan Griffin and brother, whose stock was bought by some one at Westfield and removed there.
After this Alfred W. Brown returned and put in a stock of general merchandise, and closed out in April 1864. Then the building stood vacant for some time till Stanley & Symons started up with drugs and groceries. Mr. Stanley dying the business was conducted by the surviving partner, Mr. Alpheus Symons, or Symons & Baker. After this Thomas E. Carey came in and the firm was Carey & Symons, and after their time William S. Warren bought the real estate and he and David W. Kinzer conducted a drug and grocery store. Mr. Kinzer left the firm and War- ren sold the real estate and drug and grocery stock to Eli Small, Sr., after whose death the real estate and stock was taken by his son, L. J. Small, the present occupant.
A few years, ago Oden Hamar went into the drug business here in the building, since destroyed by fire, on the south side of the bank, but closed after a short time.
In March, 1864, Josiah E.' King having purchased the real estate at the southwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets opened up a general store and stock of clothing, doing much business for a time. On the sixth of April following, the postoffice went into this store in charge of Z. Warren as assistant post- master, who was appointed postmaster and received
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his commission in July following from Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General, during Abraham Lincoln's administration.
Mr. King closed out in January, 1869, Asel Dun- ning buying the stock, but later went into the grocery business in the building just south of the bank, since destroyed by fire, and upon his death his widow, Mrs. Frances King continued the business for awhile. Mr. Dunning, after merchandising awhile, sold a half in- terest to Alfred T. Jessup, the firm being Jessup & Dunning. Then Sylvanus Comer bought Mr. Dunning's interest, changing the firm to Jessup and Comer, and the latter retiring left Mr. Jessup alone until Thomas Harvey went in as partner, changing the firm to Jessup & Harvey. Mr. Harvey leaving, the firm after- ward was Jessup & Warren, the latter buying Mr. Jessup's interest in September, 1885, and closing out in 1898. Then L. J. Patty removing his stock from the opposite side of Main Street into the room, and later selling a half interest to Thomas A. Painter, the firm was Patty & Painter and afterwards Painter & Barker. Mr. Barker leaving the firm, Mr. Painter went to the Masonic Hall building in 1906, and finally selling out to Irvin L. Kinzer, who was succeeded by Spivey & Co., the present occupants.
In February, 1907, Carl E. Thomas commenced the grocery business on the southwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets, and of late was succeeded by Thomas H. Burkhart, the present occupant.
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Before the Masonic Hall store room was occupied by Mr. Painter, it had been used by Thomas W. Nutt, hardware; Jason Leippard, shoes and furniture; after which by the Citizens Bank; then by Alpheus Farlow, and later by the Thomas Bros, the latter two firms grocers.
About 1871 or 1872, David W. Kinzer commenced the general store in the building occupied at present by his son, W. A. Kinzer, taking in Isaac W. Harold as partner, the firm being Harold & Kinzer, but later Sylvanus Carey going in as partner changed the firm to Harold, Kinzer & Co. Carey and Harold going out, Mr. Kinzer was alone till being afflicted with rheuma- tism, retired in favor of his son, W. A. Kinzer.
In the early fifties, Joseph Randall, Jr., leaving the firm of Kenyon & Randall, and taking with him some of the old stock of shoes, etc., which he had traded for and took in with him, set up a little grocery in a small building which Caleb Harvey had built for a store room on the east side of South Main Street, at the intersection of Vine Alley, in front of where the Crag's residence now stands. It was attended by his son-in-law, Amos P. Harvey, who also worked on clocks and watches.
Along about this time Terry Templin had a small grocery on the east side of South Main Street, on the next lot south of Isaac J. Bales' residence. He took out the ashes in a pine box, which he set in the back room, and about one o'clock that night the building went up in smoke and flame.
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At present there are very many other business enterprises, such as: The Carmel Lumber Yard, Newspaper Office, grocer of W. A. Puckett, Bank, Telephone System, Library, "Racket" Store, cement block business, Hardware, Harness, Meat Market, Natural Gas Company, Bakery, Creamery, Restaur- ants, etc.
The Tan-Yard
Soon after the town was established, Caleb Har- vey started a tan-yard on the south side of what is now West Main Cross Street, and extending east from the "big ditch", with its pool, tanning vats, etc., shed for storing and grinding tan bark, another building for currying and finishing room.
The vats were oblong, sunken in the ground and made water tight of sawed oak about two inches thick, their tops being flush with the top of the ground.
They tanned cowhides, calf, sheep, dog, or any kind of skins, and made good sole and upper leather, coloring the latter black. The tan bark was of oak, peeled off about four feet long while the sap was up. In some cases nice white oaks were cut and peeled for the bark, the bodies being left to decay or be burned.
The yard was later owned or operated by Isaac W. Stanton and Bohan Harvey awhile, Mr. Stanton making up some of the leather into harness. This yard was owned by other parties, Franklin Hall and
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others. Esquire Isaac Wright was running it in 1855, but not long after that it went into Cleveland's "inoc- uous desuitude."
Packing House
About 1842 another business enterprise was en- tered into by Caleb Harvey, the same man who established the tan-yard, but it proved disastrous. It was a pork packing house; a log building was filled with pork up to the top. He bought the dressed hogs ยท at one dollar per hundred net; made no use of the feet-any one could have all they wanted of them. The heads were not used, they only trimming off parts for the lard, and I forget whether they charged any- thing for the back bones and ribs or not, perhaps a little something.
Salt was then very high, had to be wagoned from the Ohio River. It was at some times from eight to ten dollars per barrel and it took a lot of it to salt down so much pork. This bacon had to be wagoned to Madison to find a market, and as the market price there in the spring was but three cents per pound, it would not pay transportation, and was consequently almost a total loss, as little could be sold at home, and the whole mass laid as packed, unsmoked, and rotted. Any one wanting any for soap or lamp grease could get it free. I will conclude this venture by relating an incident connected therewith.
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A man brought in a single dressed hog after night and it was weighed and paid for without noticing its condition, which was all right except that it had not been fattened any, and observing the fact next morn- ing the packer placed a rail extending out from the rail fence in front of the lot on which is John Rayl's residence, that being the packing lot, and hung the poor hog up there for a show. After hanging several days the seller's father carried it away.
The Big Ditch
The big ditch was dug by Daniel Warren about the year 1837 or 38, but no further north than the road, which is now Main Cross Street, and lower down were logs and drifts so the water would back up very much.
The First Burial
The first interment in our cemetery was a woman by the name of Huff, and a natural stone not far from the walnut tree marks her long resting place. But the first one from our town, or where the town was to be, to break the solemn and ever since oft and sorrow- ful traveled road, was Mrs. Miriam Phelps, a very estimable old lady, and the mother of Martin Phelps. She was a favorite of the writer, then a little boy, who stood out in the yard at our home, glued to the ground, with eyes fixed upon the solemn, white
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covered wagon, the finest vehicle that could be ob- tained, until it started with the corpse, and was out of sight.
Since then three hundred and four more from this town have traveled over that road, "And there's more to follow."
The First House in Town
The Phelp's log farm house, previously spoken of, was the first one built where the town was later laid out. An addition was later built to it on the east, which when vacated was used by Mahlon Haines for a wagon woodwork shop. The writer remembers seeing the green chips lying in the yard, and of being left there by his parents while they went to stay till bed time with some other neighbors. They had a big log fire, and when the men folks and work hands came in and were circled around before it, he became abashed and commenced crying. The girls asked him what was the matter and he meant to tell them that he was bashful and wanted to go home, but did not know how to express his trouble, and answered that he was "ashamed of them." One of these girls a few years ago was wondering if he was ashamed of them yet.
First Frame House
Having described the first house in town, I will now tell of the first frame building, which was a two story built by Thomas Mills, standing with end to the
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street, and having a veranda the whole length of the south side, on lot number three, on North Main Street. An accompanying out house was built but was smashed by a large oak tree falling on it.
The main house got so far along as to have a roof on the veranda, under which George Davis made fur- niture, etc. Times were so hard that this building, not even weatherboarded, stood and rotted till not safe, was pulled down.
About this time the Mills brothers put up a frame on the "Mills' lot" about east of where the William J. Hawkin's estate barn now stands and it stood, a frame only, till decaying was pulled down.
The next frame built and finished was on lot thirteen, North Main Street, by Thomas Mills, since torn down. Next in 1838 or 1839, Caleb Harvey built the two story frame, since removed to the northeast corner of South Main Street and Vine Alley, and John West built the two story part of the one now on the northwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets.
Little Incidents
About 1837 was the only hail storm in which the hail stones were as large as goose eggs, horses pelted by them ran galloping around in a frenzy.
The first tomatoes ever grown in this vicinity were in a bed about the year 1840 or 1841, on lot ten, just about where Mr. Strattan's lunch counter stands.
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They were merely curios to all except the family who planted them. Neighbors put them on their mantels or shelves, thinking they were like a pig's tail, more for ornament than use.
The first threshing machine reaching this vicinity was the old style "ground hog" machine with a tumbling shaft, and was run by horse power. It was owned by Jacob Burnside. The sheaf band was cut with a pocket knife, and a toothed cylinder pulled the wheat in and threshed it all right but did not separate the grain and chaff, which was afterward run through a fan mill, propelled by hand, to blow the chaff out.
About the year 1842, a man afterwards a citizen of this town, planned to extract one of his molar teeth. Going up stairs and tying a cord to the tooth and an iron wedge to the other end of the cord, threw the wedge out of a window; he landed the tooth and it was well for him that he had a large strong neck, for he said it came so near breaking his neck, he would never do that way again.
When many of the dead oak trees were standing, and the ground frozen hard a farmer cut some of them down after night, and thinking his neighbor made an unnecessary complaint about disturbing his sleep, cut several nearly ready to fall, in a field adjoining him, and at the proper time that night cut one to awaken him, then piling broken limbs till he supposed him asleep again, then down would come another tree, till they were all felled, and his neighbor never com- plained again.
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I will tell a cat tale. In the long ago some parents went from home, leaving the children alone, and they having a grudge against the old cat, thought that the opportunity to get rid of it had come. Not knowing how hard a cat is to kill, one held it up by the hind legs while another struck it with a club, and it jumped with a big meow, and ran under the house. They were watched by their little sister, who so soon as their parents returned, ran and met them and said: "We killed the old cat and she didn't die!" That "let the cat out of the wallet."
In those days a boy, who is yet living, was sent into the corn field to plant beans in the corn hills, and after planting awhile dumped and covered up the whole lot in one hill, and told his mother they were all planted!
There were a couple of old people here, Jirah Smith and wife, Avis, generally spoken of as uncle and aunt, and a little boy, Bennet Haines, whose . sister or half sister, Sarah Ann, was staying with them, was asked by another boy why he did so. This question was a poser, and after studying a little, said: "Well, 'Sare Ann' has been staying there so long we are getting to be a little kin."
Jirah Smith, mentioned above, was a Yankee and one day a jocular farmer meeting him at the store asked him to play a "Yankee trick." "No," he re- plied, but said he would swap horses with him. So they repaired to the Smith residence to see his horse,
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and going around to the back yard, he said: "There he is." It was a wooden "shave horse" used to sit astride, and to hold shingles, etc., to be shaved with a draw-knife! And that was the Yankee trick.
First Street Improvement
Once upon a time in the long ago, and in the nice springtime, enough civic pride developed to cause a spasmodic effort to improve Main Street, and Martin Phelps came with his team and plowed gutters on each side, from North Street south to Water or further. The other volunteers were John West, Bohan Harvey, Isaac W. Stanton, William S. Warren, the writer, and perhaps some others, each armed with a shovel or spade and earth was cast to the center, making a little thrown up way. This was long before the pike road came through, which was in 1865, J. Frank Davis having the contract through here, and the ground was in its natural condition, except what mud holes had developed, and were filled by the supervisor with beech brush which was near at hand, and on which dirt was shoveled. In a few years all traces of this grade disappeared.
Going to Quarterly Meeting
The Friends' Quarterly Meeting was held at White Lick before it was here, and was quite an event with the young folks. There being no buggies they went horse back, the girls mounted on side "
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saddles. A young man would ride side by side with his girl, and others would count it quite a diversion to ride in between and "cut him out."
Fires in Carmel
The first in town was the Terry Templin little grocery previously mentioned. The second was John W. Crew's Shoe Shop on the northeast corner of South Main and Water Streets. The others, though perhaps not quite in the rotation in which they occurred, were the saw mill of John E. Buck, the saw mill and drying house of the Laycock Manufacturing Company, where the Brunson mill now stands.
In 1898 the residence of Mrs. Kesiah Roberts on the west side of North Main Street, about where her present one now stands, burned. Next the millinery shop and nearby law office of L. J. Patty burned, supposedly from the gas having been left burning, and coming on too strong.
The John Jeffries livery barn, on the morning of July 26, 1905, burned, taking with it Joseph Hornbak- er's blacksmith shop, M. L. Long's shoe shop, and Z. Warren's lumber house and privy, and charring and scorching Isaac N. Beeson's meat market and John C. Stanton's barn. Heroic efforts of the bucket brigade kept it from spreading further east. The fire started in the hay mow. The Westfield Chemical Engine Company being telephoned for, came down flying and did efficient service.
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The residence of Martin L. Long on the west side of North Main Street, where W. A Puckett's residence now stands, was the next to burn, and caught by a kerosene lamp being overturned. Another fire was an out house near the old residence of Jonathan Johnson.
Other minor fires which were extinguished were: Emmanuel Harold's residence, southeast corner of South Main Street and Vine Alley; the Moffitt resi- dence on the east side of North Main Street; Jona- than Johnson's old residence; L. J. Patty's residence building on north side of East Main Cross Street; the Hawkins store building on the southwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets, occupied by Carl E. Thomas at that time; a residence in the northwest part of town, and September 13, 1910, Leander Brun- son's saw mill roof. Sometime back of these last was that of the middle room of the Bond Block, at night. The floor caught near the stove and a hole was burned through it.
In 1884, the second story floor of the store build- ing on the southwest corner of Main and Main Cross Streets, then occupied by Jessup & Warren, caught fire at some unknown time from the stove pipe, but after burning awhile without a blaze, went out of its own accord. -
On the first day of March, 1911, the residence of Miles O. Cox took fire, burning quite a hole through the roof, but it was extinguished by the bucket brigade.
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The First House Painted
The Crago residence building on the northeast corner of South Main Street and Vine Alley, originally standing further north on that lot, with the side to the street, and which has since been reweather- boarded, was the first painted house, occupied at the time by the builder's widow, who kept a boarding house. It was much weather beaten and cost her forty dollars to paint it nice and white, and with the chimney tops painted red, it made quite an appear- ance. The widow owner's name was Bathsheba Harvey. The painter's name was William S. Warren.
John D. Hopkins and Joshua Coshat
These were two eccentric characters here in former times, though not residents, yet making fre- quent visits. The first, the roving "good gathering" preacher, who appeared to have been bright at some time, but his mind was out of balance. He traveled afoot, and barefooted in warm weather, and was known nearly everywhere. He was a large man of pleasing, smiling nature. In cold weather he wore a long overcoat, made by himself of scraps of various colors sewed together. He called it Joseph's coat.
Mr. Hopkins preached on the street and left appointments to preach at long intervals, and would come up to time. In one case he set his time five years, and it was all forgotten, but he came promptly
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to time. He sang his songs, some of which he com- posed himself, and would be given little contributions. He was entertained through sympathy. During the war he enlisted in the Seventeenth Indiana Regiment, and made for himself a breast plate of a plow shear. One day he notified them that he was going to a certain post, and they let him go. The poor man dropped out after a time and was supposed to be dead.
Joshua Coshat
The other character was of sound mind, but odd and of a sponging disposition, and having immigrated from North Carolina was acquainted with many here who came from there and made periodical visits, staying at each place till they tired of him. Some- times he would bring as many as five young horses to be kept, and was particular about his fare and complained about so many not having their wheat threshed, he was tired of eating corn bread. Coming to our house once, he said: "Haven't you got your wheat threshed yet?" At another time when he came mother and father were away from home, and he told sister what he wanted for dinner. He said: "I want 'flour' bread, ham meat and eggs fried, and coffee," all of which was fixed for him.
The people tired of Mr. Coshat, and we got rid of him this way: There was one of our neighbors he never visited, Coshat owing him an old debt made in
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North Carolina. We knew this neighbor wished to see him, and when Mr. Coshat came around again with his retinue of colts, mother sent the writer over to Barnaby Newby's to tell him Joshua Coshat had come. Mr. Newby immediately came over to dun him, and Coshat knew we had sent for him; and that was the last time we ever saw old Joshua Coshat.
A Squirrel and Woodpecker Tale
Many years ago a man of this vicinity, since be- coming a citizen of Carmel, and now not living, went hunting and took his gun along. Spying a squirrel on the side of a tree, he fired, killing it, and the bullet glancing from the tree, struck and killed a red headed woodpecker on another tree! Should a man have made a business of hunting from the time of the build- ing of the great Pyramid down to the digging of our "big ditch", he probably would never have made such a "hit."
Another hunting incident was that of a young man with a fine rifle, steel barrel, curly maple stock, ornamented with thirty pieces of sterling silver. He was not much of a marksman, and meeting with his first squirrel on the limbs of a tree, placed the already cocked rifle on the limb of a bush and was in the act of getting his eyes down to take sight when he accident- ally pulled the trigger before taking sight, and lo! and behold! the squirrel fell to the ground, kicking
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till dead, and the young man stood awhile amazed. He hunted no more that day and went home with his game while his credit was good as a marksman.
The First Suicide
Perhaps not far from 1840, the people were shocked by hearing of the suicide of Mrs. Anna Bond, wife of Ornon Bond, by hanging, being the first one to go in this manner.
The Simeon Hawkins incident occurred about 1876. He was shot in the head at his home, in a shed at the barn, and did not die for some weeks. He had been at Indianapolis that day, and he said that a man by the name of Jones followed him home and shot him. Some thought it a case of suicide, but perhaps no one will ever know this side of the resurrection. Mr. Hawkins was genial and clever, an enterprising citizen, and a kinder and more obliging man perhaps could not be found.
Some time during the seventies, or eighties, the suicides of Isom Wickersham, Noah Stafford, by hanging, and that of Jesse Lancaster, by cutting his throat with a pocket knife, occurred. Ill health was supposed to be the cause in the latter case.
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