USA > Indiana > Harrison County > Corydon > The Corydon state house : a Hoosier shrine > Part 3
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*Some confusion has arisen from statements regarding Thomas Posey, the inference usually being that Governor Posey is meant. There was also a Thomas L. Posey, a resident of Corydon for many years, who was the county treasurer as far back as 1818. The booklet, Historic Corydon, compiled by the Hoosier Elm Chapter of the D. A. R., makes the interesting statement that he was the son of Governor Posey.
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Apropos to this interest in books and libraries, we find it existing at the beginning of the state regime, or, indeed, ante- dating that, for in the journal of the convention is a para- graph in which it is "Resolved, that it be recommended to the general assembly of the State of Indiana to appropriate the money voluntarily given by the citizens of Harrison County to the state, to the purchase of books for a library for the use of the legislature and other officers of government; and that the said general assembly will from time to time make such other appropriations for the increase of said library as they may deem necessary." This may be regarded as the initial step toward our present State Library, though that institution was not established by law until 1825, and if Harrison County sees fit modestly to boast that its early citizens laid the foun- dation for said valued library by their free contributions of money the documents will bear them out. It may be added that cultural tastes other than literary have left their traces in the retrospect. Not a few relics in the shape of furniture and other household articles, saved from the capital period, may be found in Corydon homes, one of these being a rare product of the cabinet maker's art once owned by Governor Jennings. Some of the old houses of the better class still standing give evidence of architectural taste, and when the state house came to be restored to its original condition-a work just completed-preliminary investigation revealed that the same good taste prevailed in its finishing (p. 31).
Coming back to Mr. Moores' article, the newspapers show that the serviceable old stone court house and state house was also a community house or social center, where singing schools, debating societies, religious meetings and other functions were made welcome. The character of some of the momentous questions discussed in the debating performances is worth noting, as, for example: "Which is most admired, virtue or beauty ?" and, "In which does virtue shine most brilliant, the Male or Female?" Unfortunately the arguments on these points are lost forever. An editorial comment on a religious revival thus speaks of its effects: "It will be peculiarly grate- ful to the lovers of Christianity to hear of the revival of reli- gion which has taken place in this town. A few weeks ago our streets exhibited little else than intemperance and profanity ; but now so far has the scene changed that morality seems to
EXTERIOR RECONSTRUCTION OF CAPITOL
(29)
净杯
亲接野路!
INTERIOR RECONSTRUCTION, SHOWING MASSIVE ORIGINAL TIMBERS
(30)
RESTORED HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (LOWER FLOOR)
(31)
RESTORED SENATE CHAMBER (UPPER FLOOR)
(32) .
RESTORED SUPREME COURT ROOM (UPPER FLOOR)
e
(33)
RESTORED DOORWAY WITH ORIGINAL TRANSOM
(34)
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-
- --
RESTORED FIREPLACE WITH ORIGINAL MANTEL
324203
(35)
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predominate in every quarter through the day, and at night the sound of prayer and praise, and the shouts of new-born souls cheer the evening shades." Elsewhere these local col- umns afford glimpses of that ever-popular national diversion, the Fourth of July celebration with its exuberant patriotism, barbecue feasts and interminable toasts, and most memorable of all, of the flying visit, in 1819, of President Monroe and suite, accompanied by General Andrew Jackson, who drove over from Louisville, being met and escorted into town by a liberal contingent of citizens. These distinguished visitors were entertained over night, but a big public banquet that was planned in their honor had to be declined on account of other pressing demands.
ACQUISITION AND RESTORATION OF THE CAPITOL
The foregoing matter is far from satisfactory considered as exact and complete history because of the framentary character of the data, but enough has been said, perhaps, to show why the old Corydon capitol should appeal to the senti- mental interest of good and loyal Hoosiers. At any rate such interest does exist, and by reason of it, after the lapse of more than a century, the honored edifice has become what we have here termed a "Hoosier Shrine." So far as the writer can learn the first definite movement to so honor it was in 1913, when Senator E. B. Stotsenburg, of New Albany, asked for the historical investigation that was made by Miss Cleland, and which is printed in this brochure (p. 13), his object being pur- chase of the building by the state. Whether or not this was a cause to after effects no immediate result is traceable, but in 1817 the question re-emerges in the form of an actual law, passed by the legislature of that year, which reads :
"An act authorizing the purchase of the old state capitol building and the public square in the town of Corydon, Harri- son County, Indiana, from Harrison County, Indiana, appro- priating funds for said purposes, providing the terms and con- ditions upon which said old state capitol building and public square may be purchased, and providing for such conditions of said purchase as shall be inserted in the deed from the Board of Commissioners of Harrison County, Indiana, con- veying said property to the State of Indiana, and creating a commission to buy said building, and a commission to have charge of the same, providing that said building shall be main-
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tained as a memorial to the pioneers who established the com- monwealth of Indiana, and declaring an emergency."
This action is referred to as "a final step in the celebration of Indiana's Centennial."* The purchasing commission stipu- lated in the act was composed of the Governor, the Secretary of State and the Auditor of State, and the amount appropri- ated for the transaction was $50,000. One condition was that the county should purchase the block north of the public square and erect thereon a court house, the two holdings to make "one continuous public grounds, thus adding to the beauty and value of said public square and old state capitol building as a public memorial." The county was to be per- mitted the continued use of the building for four years, free of rent. The commission to have charge of the property after purchase was to be of three members appointed by the Governor, two of them to be residents of Harrison County. At the expiration of the four years allowed the county (1921) the time was extended until 1924, on account of the war pre- venting the erection of a new court house. The next legisla- tion was an act of 1925, by which the capitol, the Tippecanoe battle ground and the Nancy Hanks Lincoln burial ground are all transferred to the management of the Department of Con- servation. The final act leading to the present status is one of 1929, making an additional appropriation of $3,000 "for completing restoration and maintenance of the old state capitol building and grounds to original condition and plans."
The reference in the last quoted law to "restoration" means that the building of 1816 had been subjected to altera- tions at a later day and the aim now is to preserve it as nearly identical as possible with its features of the capital period. How to determine just what those features were was one of the problems the conservation department had to work out. The principal changes had taken place in 1873, when there was considerable reconstruction. Fortunately specifications for these alterations and other lesser ones at other times are to be
* An earlier step in that celebration was The Pageant of Corydon, written and staged by William Chauncey Langdon as one of three promoted and financed by the state. It was presented in June, 1916, in connection with one of the most stirring patriotic celebrations in the history of Corydon. Governor Ralston and many other dignitaries of the state, including the Centennial Commission, besides crowds of other visitors from far and near, filled the town. There were drills, dances, music and speeches, occupying, in all, two days, and winding up with the pageant, the setting of which was the old Capitol and its immediate surroundings. This performance, appropriately costumed, was historic in its character and represented the conditions, events and personages of a century before. For fuller account see the volume "Indiana Centennial" in the Indiana Historical Collections, published by the Historical Commission.
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found in the county records, and these, on a close study, carry with them more or less information concerning things as they were. These gleanings, reinforced by the recollections of Judge Wm. Ridley, which antedated 1873, and borne out by the dis- covery of some of the original interior finishing afforded the foundation for the restoration. The perplexities sometimes consequent upon the scrupulous attempt at historical accuracy is exemplified by the restoration of the cupola. It is known that the first cupola was changed, but there is no clue as to its dimensions and proportions, and the best that could be done was to copy the one on the old court house at Chillicothe, Ohio.
Two lucky finds furnished a clue to the interior detail work and showed that excellent taste was displayed in the finishing work. These were, one of the old mantels and a fan- shaped transom from the original doorway, that were, re- spectively, in the possession of Miss Georgia Wheat, or Cory- don, and Mrs. Elmer O. Shepard, of Brownstown. Both were secured, Mrs. Shepherd generously presenting the transom, and in harmony with them the rest of the finishing was worked out, the whole being in the colonial style. Old doors and hardware were used when available. The hand-made lock on the front door came from the mansion of Governor Jen- nings, and was presented to the state by Mr. William Mitchell, of Corydon. Carvings and mouldings taken from an old house in Clark County were used in the speaker's rostrum. The rostrum in the senate chamber involves a carved spread eagle and 19 stars. The eagle and 17 stars were taken from a man- tel that was built when there were 17 states in the Union, this being an emblem much used at the time. Considerable time was spent in obtaining old glass for the windows. A newel post, stair rail, spindles and trim from an old colonial , house in Madison were used in the stairway and railings. The chair rail is a replica of the one in Faneuil Hall, Boston, and of course is colonial. The roof has been given a weathered ap- pearance by using old-style shakes stained with creosote.
The restoration work on the exterior of the building itself has changed it from one of squatty proportions with brick chimneys, large modern windows, wide cornice and mid-Vic- torian doorway to a stately old structure of excellent propor- tions and good colonial detail. The difference in proportion has been effected by removing from around the building dirt
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to the amount of eighteen to twenty-four inches, which had once been filled in. On the inside the work consisted of tear- ing out all partitions and the door and window frames, along with rostrums of several periods ; and of supplying wood parti- tions, paneling, rostrums, stairway, mantels, fireplaces and other detail to correspond with the outside of the building. Other changes have been the restoration of the judges' seats to their original positions and the making of two floor levels in the lower room, dividing the legislative part from the space for the public, the latter part floored only with stone flagging.
The replacement of furniture and other equipment that would exactly duplicate the first legislative and court outfit was also a difficult task, but after considerable research in that direction and a careful estimate of the governing per- sonnel a selection was made of a sufficient number of old- fashioned chairs of appropriate types, along with such tables, benches and other articles as are fitting. These have been made to order, and to fit the general scheme.
GOVERNOR HARRISON AND THE COUNTY
The direct assertion that Governor William Henry Har- rison was a deciding influence in the selection of Corydon for the capital when Vincennes could no longer keep it would hardly be susceptible of proof, and yet there are reasons why one may believe that.
By virtue of his standing as governor and military com- mander, and his prestige in general he was, undoubtedly, the most influential person in the territory. That he was strong- ly attracted to this beautiful hill country with its abundant water supply is shown by the fact that as early as 1807, while it was yet an unsettled wilderness, he acquired large tracts of land here, one of which, consisting of 207.26 acres, was the site now occupied by the main part of Corydon. This afterwards, and before the patent was received, seems to have been transferred to Harvey Heth, who is usually referred to as the orinigal proprietor of the town. Elsewhere (p. 16) refer- ence is made to Harrison and Heth in this connection.
Another tract was at the great spring near Blue River, which is still known as the Harrison, or sometimes the Wilson, spring. The entry records in the state auditor's office show
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that William H. Harrison made here two entries aggregating 360.60 acres, and that Waller Taylor (a Vincennes friend of Harrison's) entered 160 acres; all being in section 19 of town- ship 3 south, range 3 east. Subsequently Harrison must have acquired Taylor's holding, as well as the rest of section 19, for a deed of transfer in the county auditor's office, dated July 26, 1817, conveys from Harrison to Wilson and Bayless, for a consideration of $10,000, two tracts of land, one of 640 acres, more or less (all of section 19), and one of 180.20 acres, "known as the northwest quarter of section 30," of the same township and range. Further proof of his active interest in this part of the country is given in the record book of the Common Pleas Court, where, in reference to an Ohio River ferry "at the mouth of Eight-Mile Creek" the statement is made that said ferry was established "by William Henry Har- rison, governor of the Indiana territory, on the 28th day of April, 1807." When the county came to be organized, in 1808, it was named for the governor, and he is credited with having bestowed upon Corydon its odd name, in honor of a favorite song of his, thus perpetuating, as Mr. Moores facetiously sug- gests, the general's bad taste in music.
The tradition exists that Harrison's preferred route as he journeyed back and forth between Vincennes and the towns at the falls of the Ohio was through this region, which is not improbable, for though the most used line of travel between these two points was an ancient buffalo trace farther to the north, yet a good way was, westward, along the valley of little Indian Creek to its confluence with Big Indian (where Cory- don stands), thence northwestward till the path met the above-mentioned "trace." As a matter of fact the county records show that at quite an early date roads were opened along this route, touching Corydon and "Harrison's mill," of which latter there are several mentions.
Harrison's activities in his namesake county went farther than the mere acquiring of lands. The section 19 above men- tioned, lying on both sides of the Great Blue River, was a choice spot scenically, and had on it a remarkable natural feature in the form of a great up-welling body of water, now commonly referred to as "Wilson's Spring" (from a subse- quent owner), which furnished excellent water power for a mill (see p. 36). At this picturesque spot Harrison built both
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a water mill and a residence. Just when he built, or just when he lived there is not clear. Professor Collett, the geologist, says explicitly that the mill dated from 1805-6, but the error of this is obvious when we remember that the land was not entered until 1807. That it did date back to 1809, however, is shown by the record book, which specifically mentions it at that date and several times thereafter. As has already been said, the property was sold to Wilson and Bayless in 1817, after which Harrison ceased to be a resident of Indiana.
Traditions of the Harrison occupancy linger about this spot. Collett, writing more than fifty years ago, says: "Every locality and plot of land calls up some historic reminiscence of its original owner. One plot is known as the 'governor's field,' another as the 'general's meadow.' * Persons now liv- ing in the vicinity remember, when boys, being sent to mill on horseback with a sack of corn or wheat which General Har- rison would receive with his own hands and carry to the hop- per." And he adds: "The old residence is gone; some shrub- bery remains, and the orchard planted by the American Cin- cinnatus survives in vigorous growth and fruitage, the trees, now from two to two and a half feet in diameter."
J. Edward Murr, writing in the Corydon Democrat for March 14, 1923, reports an interview he had once gleaned from an elderly resident, "Aunt Barbara Foster," which con- firms Collett, and the present writer, when visiting the locality in question some thirty-five years ago, picked up similar stories. The orchard trees (apples) referred to by Collett were still standing to the number of five or six, three of them green and bearing fruit. The spot where the old house had stood, which could still be identified, was beautiful for loca- tion, being situated on a rise of ground in the heart of a fine meadow. Almost surrounding it, and at a distance, a mag- nificent amphitheatre of wooded hills sweeps upward and away to the purple distance, and here in the seclusion, the deep quiet and the beauty of wild nature Indiana's first governor doubtless found occasional and welcome surcease from the activities of a strenuous life.
COUNTY FEATURES
THE "KNOBS."-In the Indiana geological report for 1878 there is a survey of Harrison County by Prof. John Collett,
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then assistant state geologist, which is, perhaps, the best exist- ing account of the natural features of that locality. As Prof. Collett's descriptions are from first-hand studies we can not do better than to draw freely upon them for this topic.
The geology of the region is a key to the peculiarities that are obvious to the casual observer. In the 478 square miles that comprise the county not less than five groups of rock formations come cropping up, two of which may be considered specifically as productive of distinctive features. These are the knobstone shales and the limestone of the cave country. The former has already been mentioned in our introduction to the knobstone belt of hills and upland which occupies the eastern edge of the county. The name is derived from the conical or knob-like character of its hills which, together with their causes, are thus described by Collett: "The pyritous nature of the shale causes rapid decomposition on exposure. The result is a fine plastic clay which at once yields to the action of water, almost of moisture; hence, whenever exposed, the surface of the country underlaid by rocks of this age presents a wonderful succession of sharp, conical knobs, from ten to four hundred feet in height, of singular beauty and symmetry. As seen from a commanding eminence, when covered with grass, they look like the tents of an army of silent giants." Where these hills meet the Ohio River valley their lofty tops command a magnificence of view which Bayard Taylor, the famous traveler, pronounced one of the most in- teresting he had ever seen, what with the broad sweep of the river's great trough, the three cities clustered together at the rapids miles away, and the far Kentucky hills to the east and south etched against the horizon. One of these knob sum- mits, "Locust Point," 610 feet above the waters of the river, represents in its sheer rise the greatest immediate relief to be found in the topography of Indiana, though it is not the highest point above sea level.
The survey just described is rivaled by other fine views from hilltops west of the knob group. One of these is at the extreme southern point of the county where, from an altitude of four hundred feet or more, the eye commands the river as it describes a vast semicircle, forming the boundaries of the whole southern half of the county, while in the distant hill ranges the sugar-loaf knobs stand out sharp and distinct.
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Again, from Pilot Knob and other heights in the vicinity of Corydon may be had a bird's-eye view of much of the county from its center. Here, looking to north and south, can be seen evidences of a great valley washed out by pre-glacial floods, miles wide, and eaten into by the minor valleys of Big and Little Indian creeks. From here, too, the Knobs are part of the scenery, the system extending from the southeast diagonally into Washington County, on the north.
THE CAVE COUNTRY .- Underlying the "extinct" valley spoken of, and extending westward lies the cavernous lime- stone, out of which nature has created a world of strange phenomena. The technical explanations of this by succeeding geologists are more or less confusing to the layman, partly by reason of changing terminology, so for the sake of clarity we may adhere to Collett. The phenomena referred to are those of subterranean drainage and its allied caves with their various peculiarities. The general cause leading to these effects is in the character of this particular limestone, which decomposes under the action of rainwater, thus adding a chemical agency to the ordinary mechanical agency of erosion. Thus the bedrock becomes honeycombed by the waters that find their way through joints and laminæ, chemistry opening the way and aiding erosion. In this destructive process, which is carried on at the surface as well as below it, there is a residuum of various rocky forms which are more resistant, and where these are sufficiently accumulated they make a surface of fragments through which the water percolates to hidden depths, so that it is no unusual thing to see a stream suddenly and mysteriously disappear from its visible bed to reappear at some other point. Sometimes it may enter a tunnel of its own making, in which case it simply duplicates the performance of the famous Lost River in Orange County. Big Indian Creek itself, according to report, in dry weather loses itself a short distance below Pilot Knob and continues its way under cover for several miles.
The sometimes curious and interesting emergence of these streams in the form of so-called springs calls for specific mention. The big Harrison or Wilson Spring already men- tioned is fed from two or three depressed areas in the north- west part of the county that would be lake basins but for the filtering away of the rainfalls through a porous surface and
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by way of an underground passage that terminates at the Harrison place. Here the waters suddenly reappear, boiling up into a great circular basin whence it flows away to Blue River near by in a stream large enough for mill power, for which purpose it was for many years by Harrison and his suc- cessors. A still more spectacular uprising from the nether regions is the spring known as the "Blue Spouter," near Blue River, some three miles below the Harrison Spring. Accord- ing to Collett's description this, when the water supply is abundant, gushes out "with a roaring violence, sometimes spouting up four or five feet above the basin in a column four or five feet in diameter, silvered with foam, and carrying out the fish peculiar to the open streams of that region, indicating a connection with some of them at no great distance." Other smaller and less impressive emissions of the character de- scribed are common in the county, two being within the limits of Corydon-one at the fair grounds and one near the site of the big elm tree of constitution fame.
The conical, pit-like sinkholes constitute another feature of the cave-stone country, and these are numerous in Harrison County. Sometimes they hold water and make convenient little drinking ponds for live stock,* but in general they serve as funnel-like feeders to subterranean passages, and may be called a surface attack in that age-long process which works incessantly to break down and bodily remove what seems to be the foundations of the earth.
But the most impressive phenomena of the cave country are the caves themselves, those mysterious crypts of Pluto, curiously fashioned, weirdly ornamented, and the abodes of strange creatures that dwell in utter darkness. Few natural wonders stir the imagination as does a cavern of the larger sort with its galleries and chambers and devious passages ; with its stalactites and stalagmites, now grotesque, now of fairy-like beauty; with its crystallizations and formations of snowy gypsum. Just how many caves there might be in any region of underground streams it would be impossible to say, since not all of them have openings that lead to discovery. Har-
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