USA > Indiana > The Indiana gazetteer, or topographical dictionary of the State of Indiana, 1849 > Part 20
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There are in Indianapolis seventy-six dry goods stores, twenty-four groceries, fourteen ware-houses, three book stores, four drug stores, 106 shops for mechanics, four breweries, twelve school houses, twenty-two three story houses, 297 two story do., and S46 houses of one story, making 1,165 in all. Of the houses, 164 are of brick, and 1,001 of frame. In 1829, the population was 1,085, in 1834, 1,600, in 1840, 2,692, and on the Ist of August,
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HON. O. H. SMITH'S. RESIDENCE.
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
IS49, 6,504. From 250 to 300 houses will be built dur- ing the present year. If West Indianapolis be included, the whole population will be 6,750.
The opening of the Madison and Indianapolis Rail- road, which took place on the Ist of October, 1847, has given quite an impulse to the improvement and business of this city, and now, as there have been four other Railroads commenced, viz: the Terre Haute, Lafayette, Peru and Bellefontaine, all of which are progressing to- wards completion, there is every prospect that, for some years, both population and improvement will increase rapidly, and it will not be a matter of surprise if, by the year 1860, there shall be three-fold the present number of inhabitants. The introduction of coal, iron ore, and other materials and facilities for manufacturing, the cheapness with which Railroads can be made here, the productiveness of which the whole country is suscepti- ble, and its fine climate and heathful situation do not, at present, allow us to fix any limits to its capacity for im- provement. See Marion county, &c.
INDIAN KENTUCKY, a fine mill stream, about thirty miles in length, rises in Ripley, runs south into Jefferson, and empties into the Ohio river eight miles above Madi- son. About three-fourths of the time this stream fur- nishes a good supply of water for mills.
IROQUOIS, or Pickamink river, rises in the east part of Jasper county, and runs south-west, near fifty miles, into the State of Illinois, where it turns north and empties into the Kankakee.
IRWIN, a township in Howard county, population 700.
JACK'S DEFEAT, a mill stream in the west part of Mon- roe county, a tributary of Indian creek.
JACKSON COUNTY, named in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, was organized in IS15. It is bounded north by Brown and Bartholomew counties, east by Jennings and Scott, south by Washington, and west by Lawrence and Monroe, and it contains about 500 square miles. It is divided into eleven civil townships, viz: Driftwood, Grassy Fork, Brownstown, Washington, Jackson, Red-
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ding, Vernon, Hamilton, Carr, Owen and Salt Creek. The population in 1830 was 4,894, in 1840, 8,961, and at this time about 12,000. A range of hills passes through the centre of the county from the north-east to the south-west, and there is another range of hills or knobs in Salt Creek township, in the north-west part of the county; but the face of the country, for the most part is either level or gently undulating. The bottoms along the different streams are very large and rich, and they compose about one-fourth of the whole county. The soil is of every variety, sandy clay, loam, &c., and the timber is of the best quality on the various soils to which it is adapted. The constant increase of the surplus products of the county shows that its agriculture is in an improving condition. Pork, beef, corn, flour, wheat, oats, beans, fruit, cider, potatoes, plank, staves, &c., are taken to the dif- ferent points on the Ohio river in wagons, or to the southern markets in flat boats, and they, with hogs, cat- tle, horses and mules exported, yield over $200,000 an- nually. It is estimated that there are usually 50,000 acres in corn, the product of which is over 2,000,000 bushels. There are in the county eighteen stores, six groceries, eighteen grist mills, sixteen saw mills, two carding machines, six tanneries, four lawyers, fifteen physicians, seventeen preachers, about eighty mechanics of the trades most in demand, and twenty churches for the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Friends and Re- formers. The taxable land in Jackson county amounts to 234,000 acres, and about 70,000 acres still belong to the United States. The situation of this county, the soil, water privileges and other advantages it possesses, would, if properly improved, rank it among the best counties in the State.
In the north-east corner of the county, in the bed of White river, is a solitary boulder of granite, weighing several tons. No other rock of any kind is found in the vicinity. In the same neighborhood is a large mound, about 200 yards in circumference at the base. On this spot, in 1812, a marauding party of Indians held a coun-
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cil to decide whether they should retreat or fight a party of 30 men, under Capt. (afterwards Gen.) Tipton, then in close pursuit on their trail. Resistance was deter- mined on, and they stationed themselves, very advan- tageously, on an island, since known by the name of Tipton's Island, which was connected to the shore by a drift, and in one place only by a single log. Over this Tipton rushed with his men, and he being so fortunate as to kill the principal Indian, who, at that moment, was taking aim at Major Beem, the rest of the Indians fled with the loss of most of their men, and without doing any injury to the whites.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Bartholomew county.
JACKSON, a south-east township in Blackford county, population 250.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Boone county, pop- ulation 1,200.
JACKSON, a north-west township in Brown county.
JACKSON, a township in Carroll county, population 930.
JACKSON, a southern township in Cass county, popula- tion 392.
JACKSON, an eastern township in Clay county, popula- tion 600.
JACKSON, a central township in Clinton county, popu- lation 2,500.
JACKSON, a township in Dearborn county, population 1,155.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Decatur county, population 1,225.
JACKSON, a southern township in DeKalb county, pop- ulation 475.
JACKSON, a township in Elkhart county, population 700.
JACKSON, a south-east township in Fayette county, population 1,185.
JACKSON, a southern township in Fountain county, population 1,055.
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JACKSON, a township in Greene county, population 950.
JACKSON, a township in Hancock county, population 1,200.
JACKSON, a township in Howard county, population 250.
JACKSON, a north-east township in Huntington county, population 500.
JACKSON, an eastern township in Jackson county, pop- ulation 680.
JACKSON, a township in Jasper county.
JACKSON, a northern township in Jay county, popula- tion 400.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Kosciusko county.
JACKSON, a western township in Madison county.
JACKSON, a southern township in Miami county, popu- lation 390.
JACKSON, a south-east township in Morgan county, population 1,100.
JACKSON, a western township in Orange county, popu- lation 600.
JACKSON, a northern township in Owen county, popu- lation 600.
JACKSON, a township in Parke county, population 750.
JACKSON, a northern township in Porter county, popu- lation 400.
JACKSON, a north-east township in Putnam county, six miles square.
JACKSON, a north-east township in Randolph county, population 900.
JACKSON, a northern township in Ripley county, popu- lation 800.
JACKSON, an interior township in Rush county, popula- tion 900.
JACKSON, a township in Shelby county.
JACKSON, a northern township in Sullivan county, pop- ulation 900.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Tippecanoe county, population 950.
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
JACKSON, a township in Washington county.
JACKSON, a western township in Wayne county, popu- lation 4,000.
JACKSON, a south-west township in Wells county.
JACKSON, an eastern township in White county, popu- lation 450.
JACKSONSBURGH, a small town in Wayne county, seven miles north-west of Centreville.
JACKSON'S LICK, a salt spring near the line of Brown and Monroe counties, where salt in considerable quanti- ties has been made.
JACKSONVILLE, a small town in Switzerland county, seven miles north north-east of Vevay.
JAKE'S CREEK, a mill stream in Delaware county.
JAMESTOWN, a small town with about thirty houses and 150 inhabitants, in the south-west corner of Boone county, on the Indianapolis and Crawfordsville road, twenty-nine miles from the former and sixteen from the latter place. It is ten miles south-west of Lebanon, and has a fine farming country around it.
JASPER COUNTY, named in honor of the humble but patriotic Sergeant Jasper, of Carolina, who died in de- fence of his country in the war of the revolution, was organized in 1837. It is bounded on the north by the Kankakee river, which separates it from Lake and Por- ter, on the east by Stark, Pulaski and White, on the south by White and Benton counties, and on the west by the State of Illinois. Jasper is the largest county in the State, and contains about 975 square miles ; but Beaver Lake, the Kankakee marshes and the Grand Prairie oc- cupy so large a portion of it, that its settlement and im- provement have hitherto proceeded slowly. It is divided into eight townships, viz: Iroquois, Newton, Marion, Bar- ker, Jordan, Beaver and Jackson. The population in 1840 was 1,267, it is now about 3,000.
The face of the country is generally level, and it is mostly dry and wet prairies, interspersed with small groves of timber, usually called barrens or oak openings. Much of the land is very fertile and well adapted to
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wheat, oats, corn, grass, &c. It is a very fine country for grazing, and the settlers are beginning to raise cattle, horses, mules and sheep in considerable numbers. Rens- sellaer is the county seat, which see for particulars.
The population of Jasper will most probably never be large, but it will no doubt be one of the best stock coun- ties in the State.
The most of the land in the county still belongs to the United States, and only a small portion of that which has been purchased has yet become taxable.
JASPER, the Seat of Justice of Dubois county, was first settled in 1830, by Dr. McCrillas, Col. Morgan, B. B. Edmonson, Z. Dillon and J. McDonald. It has five stores, three groceries, two ware-houses, one brewery, one distillery, and a population of 532. Jasper is situ- ated on the Patoka 120 miles south-west of Indianapolis, fifty north-east of Evansville, and forty-four south-east of Vincennes.
JAY COUNTY, named in honor of the celebrated patriot and statesman, John Jay, was organized in 1836. It is bounded north by Wells and Adams, east by the State of Ohio, south by Randolph, and west by Delaware and Blackford counties. It is twenty-one miles from east to west, and eighteen from north to south, containing 378 square miles. There are twelve civil townships in the county, Penn, Jackson, Bear Creek on the north, Knox, Greene, Wayne and Noble in the centre tier, and Rich- land, Jefferson, Pike and Madison in the south. The population in 1840 was 3,S63, at this time it is about 5,000.
The face of the country is perhaps as level as any part of the State, though in places it is gently and beautifully undulating. No part of the county has a poor soil, yet in many places the land should be cleared and drained before it can be called rich and productive. The princi- pal forest trees are oak, ash, walnut, hickory and beech, the two latter greatly preponderating. When properly farmed, good crops of wheat, corn, grass, and the usual products of the climate may be raised without difficulty,
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
and it is favorable especially for cattle, horses and hogs. The surplus products and articles exported in 1848 were estimated at $52,000. There are in the county six grist mills, nine saw mills, three manufactories for cordage, one do. for tobacco, and three for palm leaf hats, seven stores, three lawyers, nine physicians, twenty preachers and seventy-six mechanics, of the trades most in demand. The Episcopal Methodists have five churches, the Wes- leyans one, the New School Presbyterians two, the Bap- tists one and the Christians one. At Portland is the Jay Seminary, and at Camden the Penn Seminary, and com- mon schools have been established in almost all the dis- tricts.
There is one Indian Reserve of four sections, not in market, and about 600 acres still belonging to the United States; all the other lands in the county are tax- able.
Among the anecdotes of the early settlers of the county it is stated that an Indian, on visiting it, said he had found one very rich man on the Salamonie. Whether he had much land, or money, or many horses, did not ap- pear; but he must be rich, as he had five children and eleven dogs.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, named in honor of Thomas Jef- ferson, was organized in 1809. It is bounded on the north by Ripley, east by Switzerland, south by the Ohio river, and south-west and west by Clark, Scott and Jen- nings counties, and it contains about 375 square miles. It is divided into ten civil townships, viz: Madison, Han- over, Saluda, Republican in the south, Milton, Smyrna and Graham in the centre, and Shelby, Monroe and Lan- caster in the north part of the county. The population in 1830 was 11,465, in 1S40, 16,614, and at this time about 20,000.
Jefferson county presents a great variety of soil and surface. The bottoms on the Ohio and along the prin- cipal creeks are a rich loam mixed with sand, and the lofty and steep hills near them have also a rich soil. On the table land, back of the hills, there is more clay, and
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still farther in the interior, a considerable portion of the land is nearly level, covered mostly with beech timber, unfit for corn or grain, and suitable only for grass. Prob- ably near one-half of the county is of this character.
ยท A more particular account of the business, manufac- tures, &c., will be given under the head, Madison, which, with the township of the same name, contains about half of the population of the county; and the reader is re- ferred to HANOVER and to the subject of EDUCATION, in the first part of this Book, for an account of that Lite- rary Institution.
There are in the county about 120 stores and groce- ries, thirty lawyers, forty physicians, forty preachers, twenty Methodist, fourteen Baptist, ten Presbyterian churches, besides several for the Reformers, Universal- ists, &c.
Hart's Falls, near Hanover, and the Falls of Clifty, two and a-half miles north-west of Madison, are well worth a visit from the admirers of grand and beautiful scenery. The taxable land in the county amounts to 184,994 acres.
JEFFERSON, a south-east township in .Adams county, with a population of 220.
JEFFERSON, an interior township in Allen county, with a population of 250.
JEFFERSON, a western township in Boone county, pop- ulation 930.
JEFFERSON, a township in Carroll county, with a popu- lation of 550.
JEFFERSON, a township in Cass county, with a popula- tion of 750.
JEFFERSON, a small town in Clinton county, beautifully situated, four miles west of Frankfort and twenty-one south-east of Lafayette, on the borders of Kirk's, or the Nine Mile Prairie. It was first settled in IS28, by Wm. Clark, John Ross, Samuel Olinger, Abner Baker, Beal Dorsey, C. I. Hand, and others. It contains about 200 inhabitants.
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
JEFFERSON, a township in Elkhart county, population 600.
JEFFERSON, a south-east township in Grant county, population 700.
JEFFERSON, a northern township in Henry county.
JEFFERSON, a southern township in Huntington county, population 500.
JEFFERSON, a southern township in Jay county, popula- tion 450.
JEFFERSON, a northern township in Kosciusko county.
JEFFERSON, a township in Miami county, on Eel river, population 1,150.
JEFFERSON, a central township in Morgan county, population 950.
JEFFERSON, an eastern township in Noble county, pop- ulation 650.
JEFFERSON, a township in Owen county, population 950.
JEFFERSON, an eastern township in Pike county, pop- ulation 990.
JEFFERSON, a south-east township in Putnam county, six miles by five.
JEFFERSON, the most populous township in Switzerland county.
JEFFERSON, a township in Tipton county.
JEFFERSON, a township in Wayne county, population 2,050.
JEFFERSON, a north-east township in Wells county.
JEFFERSON, a south-east township in Whitley county, population 250.
JEFFERSONVILLE, the site of old Fort Steuben, is beau- tifully situated at the head of the Falls, on the Ohio river, in Clark county, on elevated ground, and extends up the river where deep water approaches the shore, so that boats of all sizes can land near it, at all times, on a fine, natural beach. The view, from the town, of the river, here about a mile wide, its islands, the Falls, Louisville, nearly opposite, and the range of hills or knobs on the west, five or six miles distant, presents a variety of beautiful
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INDIANA GAZETTEER.
scenery that is not, probably, surpassed in the western coun- try. Jeffersonville was laid out, originally, on a plan fur- nished by Mr. Jefferson, which resem bled a chess board, and only the alternate squares were to be built on, the others were to be reserved for public grounds. This plan was afterwards altered by the authority of the Legislature. Jeffersonville is the site of the State Prison; it is far more favorably situated than the opposite side of the river for the construction of a canal around the Falls, and that subject is again engaging public attention. The Railroad into the interior is at this time being success- fully prosecuted, and there is now a good prospect that the commercial and other advantages of the town will be ultimately appreciated. Steamboat building has at times been carried on extensively at this place, and the completion of the Railroad will vastly increase this and much other business. The population is now about 1,200, and is rapidly increasing.
JENNINGS COUNTY, named in honor of Jonathan Jen- nings, the first Governor of the State, was organized in 1817, and it contains 375 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Bartholomew and Decatur, on the east by Ripley, on the south by Scott and Jefferson, and on the west by Jackson. It is divided into nine civil town- ships, viz: Bigger, Campbell, Columbia, Geneva, Marion, Montgomery, Sand Creek, Spencer and Vernon. The population in 1830 was 3,950, in 1840, S,829, and at this time about 10,000. Near the streams, the face of the country is hilly and broken, and moderately fertile, except in the beech flats, at the head of the streams, where it is only fit for grass. There is an abundance of excellent timber in the county, of which large quantities are sawn and taken on the Railroad to the river; and the quarries of limestone are very fine and convenient, from which the interior of the State is extensively sup- plied with building materials of rock and lime. A mill- stone quarry, near Scipio, has also at times been worked extensively.
The agriculture of the county is not such as to afford
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
much surplus produce for market, yet considerable quan- tities of various articles are constantly sent off on the Railroad. There are in the county thirteen grist mills, twenty-nine saw mills, seven of them propelled by steam, one woollen factory, eighteen dry goods stores, two drug stores, four groceries, three ware-houses, five lawyers, twelve physicians, three Presbyterian, two Catholic, twenty Baptist, seven Reformers, five Methodist and two United Brethren preachers, forty churches, a flourishing County Seminary and sixty-five school districts, in which schools are taught from three to six months a-year.
The taxable land amounts to 200,220 acres, about 25,000 acres belong to the United States, and 15,000 acres have been sold that are not yet taxable.
JENNINGS, a south-east township in Crawford county.
JENNINGS, an eastern township in Fayette county, pop- ulation 786.
JENNINGS, a northern township in Owen county, popu- lation 500.
JENNINGS, a northern township in Scott county, popu- lation 1,200.
JEROME, a small town in Greene township, Howard county.
JOHNSON COUNTY, named in honor of the Hon. John Johnson, one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of the State, was organized in IS23. It is bounded on the north by Marion, east by Shelby, south by Bartholomew and Brown, and west by Morgan, being twenty miles from north to south, and sixteen from east to west. It is divided into eight townships, viz : Franklin, Blue River, Nineveh, Hensley, Union, White River, Pleasant and Clark. The population in 1830 was 4,130, in 1840, 9,352, and at this time about 11,000. The south-west corner of the county is quite hilly, the south and south- east pleasantly undulating, the other parts of it mostly level; but there is no barren land, and with drainage, every acre, not covered by the streams, may be cultivat- ed to advantage. The soil is generally a rich, black loam, mixed with sand, the timber of a good quality.
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The agricultural improvements within the last five years, are very creditable to the people of the county. The following articles were exported in 1848, viz: 142,000 bushels of corn, 310,000 bushels of wheat, 20,000 do. oats, 9,691 hogs, 600 cattle, 149 mules, 161,000 pounds bacon, and barley, corn meal, flax seed, tow linen, &c., to the value of $3,300, making the whole exports about $320,000.
There are in the county thirty-one stores, six groceries, ten ware-houses, seven grist mills, eleven saw mills, six of them propelled by water, five carding machines, 155 mechanics, five lawyers, twenty-one physicians, twenty- nine preachers, twenty-two churches, mostly belonging to the Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians. There are 680 acres of land belonging to the United States, the balance is subject to taxation.
JOHNSON, a south-west township in Brown county.
JOHNSON, an eastern township in Clinton county, with a population of 500.
JOHNSON, a southern township in Gibson county, pop- ulation 2,500.
JOHNSON, a southern township in Knox county.
JOHNSON, a southern township in Lagrange county, population 600.
JOHNSON, a central township in Ripley county, popula- tion 2,000.
JOHNSON'S FORK, a mill stream in Franklin and Dear- born, running into White Water from the north-east, two miles above Harrison.
JONES, a township in Hancock county, with a popula- tion of 550.
JONESBOROUGHI, a small town on the south side of the Mississinewa, in Grant county, five miles south of Ma- rion, population 100.
JONESBOROUGH, a small town in Centre township, Greene county.
JORDAN CREEK, a mill stream rising in Owen, runs west into Clay and empties into Eel river at Bowling- green.
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TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
JORDAN, a township in Jasper county.
JORDAN CREEK, Vermillion county, runs east into the Wabash.
KANKAKEE is thought to be a corruption of the Indian name, THEAKIKI, which means low land, and this name was formerly applied to the river and marshes now called Kankakee. It rises near South Bend, in St. Joseph county, and runs south-west about eighty miles, into the State of Illinois, where it becomes one of the principal tributaries of the Illinois river. It runs sluggishly nearly the whole distance, and its surface is generally very little below its banks, which, in some places, are merely marshes, and at others open into extensive wet prairies, affording very fine ranges for cattle. See the article "Rivers," in the first part.
KANKAKEE, an interior township in Laporte county, population 965.
KELSO, a township in Dearborn county, with a popu- lation of 1,350.
KENT, a small town in Republican township, Jefferson county.
KICKAPOO, a fine mill stream in Warren county.
KILLBUCK, a mill stream rising in Delaware county, runs south-west into Madison, and empties into White river near Anderson. It was named in honor of a much respected chief of the Delaware Indians.
KILMORE'S FORK, a branch of Wild Cat, in Clinton county, running south-west into that stream.
KIMBERLIN'S FORK, rises in Scott county, and joining with Stucker's Fork, runs west into the Muscackituck.
KINGSBURY, a small town in Union township, Laporte county, six miles south of Laporte.
KINGSTON, a small town in Wells county.
KINTNER'S CREEK, a mill stream in Wabash county, running into the Wabash from the north, five miles be- low Wabash, the county seat.
KIRKLAND, a western township in Adams county, pop- ulation 175.
KIRKLIN, a small town on the Michigan road, in the
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INDIANA GAZETTEER.
south-east of Clinton, eleven miles from Frankfort, thir- ty-one from Indianapolis, and thirty-four from Lafayette. It was named after the proprietor, Nathan Kirk.
KNIGHT, a southern township in Vanderburgh county, population 700.
KNIGHTSTOWN, a flourishing village in the south-west corner of Henry, on the west bank of Blue river, thirty- two miles east of Indianapolis. It contains a population of 700, has a fertile country around it, valuable water power in the vicinity, and the Shelbyville and Knights- town Railroad, which will be completed in a year, is to terminate at this place.
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