USA > Indiana > The Indiana gazetteer, or topographical dictionary of the State of Indiana, 1849 > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
1
5
MASONIC HALL. INDIANAPOLIS.
CPUSVENCR & THOMPSON
329
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
tion over S00, and rapidly increasing. The country around it has a very rich soil, and is beginning to be well improved, and the Bellefontaine Railroad, now in pro- gress, which is to run through it, will make Muncie an important point. It is fifty-eight miles north-east of In- dianapolis, twenty-three west of Winchester, and fifty south of Huntington, on the Wabash and Erie Canal.
MUSCACKITUCK, called in Indian Mesh-caque-tuck, or Pond River, from its many stagnant places in low water, rises in Ripley and runs south-west and then west, re- ceiving many tributaries, and falls into the east fork of White river near the west lines of Washington and Jack- son counties. Its course is generally very crooked. One of its branches rises within less than two miles of the Ohio, near Hanover, six miles below Madison.
MUTTON CREEK, a tributary of the Muscackituck, in Jackson county.
A discription of the Masonic Hall .- The building is 63 feet front on Washington street by 110 feet deep on Tennessee street, and three stories high. It is built in the Grecian Doric order of architecture, with a Portico . in front 11 feet deep, extending across the entire front. The Entablature is supported by six Doric columns, four feet three inches in diameter, and 33 feet high; said columns commencing on a platform on a level with the second story floor. The sides and back end are finished with Pilasters or Antae the same height of the columns, four feet face and projecting nine inches, and the whole building crowned with a heavy Doric Entablature. The roof is covered with composition, and the whole external surface of the walls is covered with Stucco, in imitation of cut stone, giving the building the appearance of a cut stone edifice. The first or basement story, is Il feet high in the clear, and is divided into three store rooms 17 feet wide by 107 feet deep, and a passage and stair- way six feet wide. The second story is in one large room for a Public Hall, 54 feet by 96 feet, and 20 feet high, finished with a paneled ceiling, and cornice around the room in a good, neat style; the entrance to said 22
330
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
room is from the front, on Washington street, with a private entrance from the back end. The windows on the front end extend to the floor and open out on the Portico, and those on the west side, on Tennessee street, also extend to the floor and open out. to a handsome Balcony, enclosed with neat iron railing. The third story is appropriated exclusively to Masonic purposes; and consists of a Lodge room 37 by 60 feet, and a Chap- ter room 26 by 60 feet, the ceilings 19 feet high. There are also several other rooms of different sizes, which are used for various purposes in the labors of the craft, and also an Encampment room 32 by 50 feet, and 1 1 feet high.
The building was designed by J. Willis, Architect, of this city. The lot on which it is erected is 63 feet front by 350 feet deep. The entire cost of lot and building is about $20,000.
MASONS .- Having presented to the public the beautiful and correct likeness of the Grand Masonic Hall, of In- diana, as it will appear when it shall have been fully com- pleted, a building not less ornamental and useful to the city, than creditable to the numerous and respectable body to which it belongs, it may not seem inappropriate that some notice should be given of the society itself.
The first Lodges were established in Indiana by order of the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio-at what precise time is not within our reach to ascertain. It is found, however, by the early records of the Order, that prior to December, 1817, the Grand Lodge of Kentucky had established Lodges at Vincennes. Lawrenceburgh, Rising Sun, Madison, Charleston, Salem and Corydon; and the Grand Lodge of Ohio established one at Brook- ville, as No. 41. The representatives from these Lodges met December 3d, 1817, at Corydon, for the purpose of determining upon the expediency of receding from the Mother Grand Lodges and forming themselves into a separate and independent Grand Lodge. This measure was brought about, no doubt, in consequence of the State having just organized into a State Government.
331
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
The representatives were as follows: Gen. Washing- ton Johnson, James Dill, Abel C. Pepper, Henry P. Thornton, Joseph Bartholomew, John Miller, Stephen C. Stevens, Christopher Harrison, Davis Floyd, and Alexan- der Buckner.
At this convention a separate organization was agreed upon, and the Grand Lodges of Kentucky and Ohio re- spectfully addressed, and their concurrence requested.
In 1818, there were 5 lodges and 195 members.
In 1823,
25
548
In 1828,
28
654
In 1838,
15
513
In 1842,
20
589
In 1843,
30
596
In 1844,
36
608
In 1845,
66
43
907
66
In 1846,
66
51
991
In 1847,
54
1477
66
In 1848,
75
1851
In 1849,
92
2472
The order is rapidly increasing and numbers among its membership many of the best men of the day. Its avowed object is benevolence, and it is believed to have been instrumental in doing good, especially to the "household of faith."
Its Grand Masters, in the order in which they served, are as as follows:
In 1818, Alexander Buckner; in 1819, Alexander A. Meek; in 1820, John Tipton; in 1821-2, John Sheets; in 1823-4, Jonathan Jennings; in 1825, Marston G. Clark; in 1826, Isaac Howk; in 1827, Elihu Stout; in 1828, John Tipton; in 1829, Abel C. Pepper ; in 1830, Philip Mason; in 1831, William Sheets; in 1832, Wood- bridge Parker; in 1833, Philip Mason ; in 1834, Daniel Kelso; in 1835, John B. Martin; in 1836, James L. Ho- gan; in 1837, Caleb B. Smith; in 1838 to 1844, Philip Mason ; in 1845, Isaac Bartlett ; in 1846, Johnson Watts; in 1847 to 1849, Elizur Deming.
NAPOLEON, a small town in the north part of Ripley
332
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
county, ten miles north of Versailles, with a population of 200. It was first settled in IS19, by Wm. Wilson and D. E. Hendricks. It is situated at the junction of the Michigan and Lawrenceburgh and Indianapolis State road, thirty miles north-west of Lawrenceburgh, thirty- three north of Madison, and fifty-seven south-east of In- dianapolis.
NASHVILLE, the County Seat of Brown, was first set- tled in 1837, by W. S. Roberts, P. C. Parker, A. McGee, J. D. Kennedy, H. Jackson, and others. It contains thirty houses and 150 inhabitants. Nashville is forty miles south of Indianapolis, twenty west of Columbus, and the same distance east of Bloomington.
NASHVILLE, a small town in Brown township, Han- cock county, thirteen miles north-east of Greenfield.
NATCHES, a small town on the New Albany and Vin- cennes road, south-east corner of Martin county, popu- lation 40.
NEAL'S CREEK, a mill stream in Jefferson county.
NEBRASKA, a pleasantly situated town on the Ohio, in the south-west part of Crawford county, with a popula- tion of 150.
NETTLE CREEK, a good mill stream, a tributary of White Water, in the north-west part of Wayne county.
NETTLE CREEK, a south-west township in Randolph, population 1,100.
NEVINS, a north-east township in Vigo, population 700.
NEW ALBANY, either the first or second town, as to population, in the State, and the Seat of Justice of Floyd county, is beautifully situated on the Ohio, two miles be- low the Falls, in lat. 38 deg. IS min. north, and longi- tude S deg. 49 min. west. It was laid out in the summer of 1813, by Joel, Nathaniel and Abner Scribner, with wide streets, running nearly east and west, parallel with the river, and others crossing them at right angles, the most of which have been well McAdamized, and the side-walks paved. In 1834, the population of New Al- bany was estimated at 2,500, in IS40, it was 4,226, and at this time it is over 7000. The number of houses is
1
333
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
about 1,200, of which one-fourth are brick. Steamboat building and repairing is carried on to a large extent there, and in the different kinds of mechanical business connected with it, about 500 hands are constantly em- ployed. There are in the city three iron foundries and machine shops, on a large scale, for the manufacture of steam engines and other machinery, one brass foundry, one patent bagging factory for the manufacture of hempen cloths, which cost $50,000, a marine railway, which cost $40,000. There are also in New Albany two printing offices, a branch of the State Bank, about 120 stores and groceries, two Methodist, two Presbyterian, one Catholic, one Christian, one Episcopalian, one Lutheran and three Baptist Churches, and the means to facilitate the instruc- tion of the young and the communication of knowledge, are highly creditable to the public spirit and liberality of the citizens. Anderson's Collegiate Institute, chartered by the Legislature, the Old School Presbyterian Theo- logical Seminary, two large District schools, built at the public expense, at a cost of $12,000, a City school, en- dowed by the original proprietors, and a large number of private schools are in operation, and all generally well conducted. The Railroad to Salem, and intended to be carried still further, will soon add largely to the business and prosperity of New Albany. The enter- prise, industry, morality and public spirit which have heretofore contributed so much to its growth, will not fail to carry it onward hereafter.
NEW AMSTERDAM, see Amsterdam.
NEWBERN, a small town on the east bank of Clifty, in Bartholomew county, nine miles east of Columbus, pop- ulation 200.
NEW BETHEL is on the Michigan road, nine miles south- east of Indianapolis. It contains about twenty houses, a Baptist church, and 100 inhabitants.
NEW BRUNSWICK, a small town in Clay, fifteen miles south-west of Bowlinggreen.
NEWBURGHI, a flourishing and well situated town on the Ohio, in Warrick county, thirteen miles above Evans-
334
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
ville, and eleven south-west of Boonville. It was settled in the year 1817, by Michael Sprinkle, and for some years was called Sprinklesburgh. It now contains a population of 500.
NEWBURY, a small town on the east bank of White river, in Greene county, ten miles south-west of Bloom- field.
NEWBURY, a western township in Lagrange, popula- tion 250.
NEW CARLISLE, a small town in St. Joseph county, on the Michigan road, fourteen miles west of South Bend, population 100.
NEWCASTLE, the Scat of Justice of Henry county, and near the centre, was first settled by Charles Jamison. It contains a County Seminary, a good Court House, and other public offices, 100 houses, many of them well built, and a population of 500. It is forty-seven miles north- east of Indianapolis, and twenty south of Muncie.
NEW COLUMBUS, a small town on Fall creek, Madison county, six miles south of Anderson.
NEW CORYDON, a small town in Jay county, popula- tion 100, first settled in 1839, by J. B. Gillespie.
NEW DURHAM, a western township in Laporte, popu- lation 760.
NEW DURHAM, a small town in same, seven miles south- west of Laporte.
NEW GARDEN, a north-east township in Wayne, popu- lation 1,350.
NEW HARMONY, a town on the Wabash, 50 miles from its mouth, in Posey county, and 15 miles north of Mount Vernon, first settled in 1814, by Frederick Rapp and a German colony then just from western Pennsylvania. Mr. Rapp and his company continued here eleven years, having purchased about 17,000 acres of land, much of it of an excellent quality. They cleared an immense farm, planted fine orchards and vineyards, erected mills and manufactures, and built about 200 neat and comfortable houses in their town, among which were two churches. One of them was then much the largest in the State, and had
335
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
a fine organ. The compiler of this work, visited New Harmony in December, 1823, and he was strongly im- pressed with the order, neatness and comfort which everv where prevailed, and the results that industry, prudence and talent had produced within so short a time. Mr. Rapp was indeed a patriarch, who, by means of religious influence, was able to direct and efficiently sustain the combined efforts of his society. In 1825, the celebrated Robert Owen purchased the town and a considerable part of the land, for the purpose of making an experi- ment of his social system, and Mr. Rapp and his company returned to Pennsylvania. Mr. Owen's experiment was a complete failure. Some fifteen years after his first visit, the compiler of this article saw New Harmony again. It then appeared to be much changed, and exhi- bited many marks of decay. It is said to be in a good condition at this time, and to have a population of 800.
NEW LANCASTER, a small town in Huntington county, ten miles south of Huntington on the east bank of the Salamonie.
NEW LONDON, a small town in Howard county.
NEW MARION, a small town on the Michigan road, in Ripley county, eight miles south-west of Versailles, pop- ulation 250.
NEWMARKET is situated on the Ohio river, in Harrison county, thirty-five miles below the Falls. Large quan- tities of produce are shipped to the south from this point. Its population is 225.
NEW MAYSVILLE, a small town in Floyd township, Putnam county, twelve miles north-east of Greencastle.
NEWPORT, the Seat of Justice of Vermillion county, is situated on the south bank of Little Vermillion, two miles from its mouth, seventy-five miles west from In- dianapolis, sixteen miles north of Clinton, and fourteen south of Perrysville. It was laid out in 1835, by S. S. Collett, and contains a population of 250.
NEWPORT, a flourishing village in Wayne county, ele- ven miles north-east of Centreville, population 400.
336
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
NEW PROVIDENCE, in the west part of Clark county, on the New Albany and Salem Railroad, population 250.
NEWRY, a small town on the Muscackituck, Vernon township, Jackson county, fifteen miles east of Browns- town.
NEW SALEM, a small town in Rush, seven miles south- east of Rushville.
NEW SALISBURY, a small town in Morgan township, Harrison county, eight miles north of Corydon.
NEWTON, a township in Jasper county.
NEWTOWN, a pleasant village in Fountain county, fourteen miles north-east of Covington. It contains about fifty houses and 300 inhabitants. It lies in the borders of the Shawanee prairie, and has some of the best land in the State about it.
NEW TRENTON, a small town in Franklin county, eleven miles south-east of Brookville, population 150.
.. NEWVILLE, a south-east township in DeKalb county, population 260.
NEWVILLE, a small town in Wells county.
NEW WASHINGTON, a pleasant village in Clark county, 12 miles north-east of Charlestown and seven from the Ohio, population 300. It contains a flourishing Academy.
NEW WASHINGTON, an eastern township in Clark, pop- ulation 1,300.
NEW WINCHESTER, a small town in Hendricks, seven miles west of Danville.
NILES, a northern township in Delaware county.
NINEVEH CREEK, a mill stream, rising in Johnson, runs south-east into Bartholomew, and falls into Blue river eight miles above Columbus.
NINEVEH, a north-west township in Bartholomew, population 800.
NINEVEH, a southern township in Johnson, population 1,380,
NOBLE COUNTY, named in honor of Noah Noble, Go- vernor of the State from 1831 to 1837, was organized in 1836. It contains 432 square miles, and is bounded
337
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
north by Lagrange, east by DeKalb, south by Allen and Whitley, and west by Kosciusko and Elkhart. The civil townships are Washington, Sparta, Perry, Elkhart, York, Noble, Green, Jefferson, Orange, Wayne, Allen and Swan. The population in 1840 was 2,702, at this time it is about 8,000.
The face of the country is considerably diversified, portions of it being nearly level, and other parts some- what rolling or hilly. About one-half is heavy timber, the balance, with the exception of one prairie of 4,000 acres, and several small ones, is barrens or oak openings. The soil is mostly a black loam, mixed with sand, and there is very little clay. In places, small, wet prairies are inter- mixed with small lakes and rolling gravelly barrens, and the soil is poor; but generally the soil is rich, and well adapted to wheat, oats and corn, and in the timbered land, to grass. The surplus articles sold are wheat, hogs, cattle, &c., the two former taken to Fort Wayne, and the latter sold to drovers, all heretofore to the amount of about $50,000 a-year; but this amount will soon be largely increased.
There are in the county three grist mills, fourteen saw mills, fourteen stores, four groceries, three lawyers, eigh- teen physicians, twenty-one preachers, and about 150 mechanics of the trades most in demand. Iron ore is found in large quantities and of an excellent quality, and about three tons of good bar iron a day are manufac- tured at a forge at Rochester, in the north-west part of the county. Good schools are kept up in most of the common school districts into which the whole county is divided.
The taxable land amounts to 236,000 acres, and about 30,000 still belong to the United States.
NOBLE, a township in Cass county, population 750.
NOBLE, an interior township in Laporte, population 765.
NOBLE, an eastern township in Rush, population 1,900. NOBLE, a township in Shelby.
-
338
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
NOBLESVILLE, the Seat of Justice of Hamilton county, first settled in 1824, is situated on an extensive and fer- tile plain, on the east bank of White river. It contains a fine County Seminary, recently erected, one Methodist, one Christian, and one Presbyterian churc:', seven stores, two hotels, and 700 inhabitants. The work now pro- gressing on the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad, which will soon be completed to Noblesville, is giving conse- quence to the town, and it is again beginning to flourish. It is twenty-one miles north north-east of Indianapolis, and fifty south of Peru.
NOBLESVILLE, a central township in Hamilton.
NOLAND'S FORK, a fine mill stream in Randolph, runs south through the centre of Wayne, and empties into the west fork of White Water in the north part of Fayette, near Waterloo.
NORTH, a township in Marshall, population 270.
NORTH EAST, a township in Orange, population 1,200.
NORTHFIELD, a small town on the Mic igan road, in Boone county, ten miles east of Lebanon and nineteen north north-west of Indianapolis. It was first settled in 1830, by Hiram McQuitty, population 150.
NORTH FORK, of Muscackituck, rises in Decatur and joins with South Fork at Vernon.
NORTH LIBERTY, a small town in Miami county, north side of Eel river, ten miles north-east of Peru.
NORTH MADISON is situa'ed at the head of the PLAIN, two miles from Madison, and contains the principal workshops for the Railroad, sixty houses, and 400 inha- bitants.
NORTHPORT, in Orange township, Noble county, is situated on the north fork of Elkhart, where the State commenced erecting a feeder dam for the Wabash and Michigan Canal.
NORTH SALEM, a small town in Hendricks county, ten miles north-west of Danville.
NORTH WEST, a township in Orange, population 1,000.
NORTH WESTERN, the name of a prairie in Pulaski county.
339
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
NORTON'S CREEK, runs south-east into the Wabash in Vermillion county.
NOTTINGHAM, a south-east township in Wells county.
NUMA, a small village in Parke county, on the canal line, eleven miles north of Terre Haute.
OAK GROVE, a southern township in Benton, popula- tion 400.
OGEN'S CREEK, a mill stream in Wabash county.
OHIO COUNTY, named after the river on whose borders it is situated, was organized in 1844. It is bounded on the north by Dearborn, on the east by the Ohio, on the south by Switzerland, and west by Ripley. It is the smallest county in the State, and contains only ninety square miles. The civil townships are four in number, viz: Randolph, Union, Cass and Pike. The population is, at this time, about 6,000. The face of the country, with the exception of some large and fine bottoms on the Ohio and Laughery, is very hilly, yet in general not so uneven that it cannot be cultivated. The soil is uni- formly good; on the bottoms, hill sides and tops, well adapted to corn, wheat, oats, &c., and in the interior especially so, to grass. Beech, walnut, ash and sugar predominate near the streams; oak and hickory in other places. About half the county has been cleared and is in cultivation, and the most of it is well farmed. The surplus articles exported are taken to a southern market mostly, and consist of hogs, cattle, horses, sheep, mules, flour, hay, and all kinds of marketing, and their value is estimated to amount to $250,000 annually.
There are in the county six grist mills, propelled by water, two do. by steam, eleven saw mills, one cotton manufactory employing about 100 hands, one woollen do., one iron foundry and finishing shop, two large distille- ries, one printing office, twenty-five stores, twelve gro- ceries, ten ware-houses, six lawyers, ten physicians, fif- teen preachers, and about 275 mechanics, principally carpenters, coopers, shoemakers, and other trades most in demand. The products of the manufactories are esti- mated at $110,000 a year. The Methodists have good
340
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
churches in Rising Sun and Hartford, and others in the country. The New and Old School Presbyterians also have churches in Rising Sun, and the former, one in Cass township. The Universalists have one in town, and the Reformed Baptists also one, with another in Union township. The taxable land in the county amounts to 50,000 acres.
This county, after a long contest, was formed, no doubt, in violation of the constitution; but the conveni- ence of the public, from local situation, appearing to re- quire it, it has been submitted to.
Omo, a south-west township in Bartholomew, popula- tion 1,000.
OHIO, a southern township in Crawford.
OHIO, a southern township in Spencer, population 2,000.
OHIO, a south-west township in Warrick.
OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD COMPANY. On the 14th of February, 1848, the Legislature of this State granted a Charter of incorporation, by which some of the most respectable citizens of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, were authorized to construct a Railroad on the route from Cincinnati to St. Louis, so far as this State is concerned, and when the right of way in the adjoining States should be granted, the Road might then be continued through them. The Charter is a liberal one; the Company has been organized under its provi- sions, and the route proposed is to pass through the coun- ties of Dearborn, Ripley, Jennings, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin, Daviess and Knox, a distance of 153 miles in a straight line, or probably the necessary curves would re- quire at least 165 miles. It was confidently expected that the City of Cincinnati would subscribe $1,000,000 in stock, St. Louis $500,000, and the counties and peo- ple along the line $1,000,000, which it is estimated would pay half the expense of the whole work. Were this done, the balance of the stock might doubtless be raised, and a work of immense importance not only to the west but to the Union, would be completed. The President
341
TOPOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.
of the Company is Abner T. Ellis; Secretary, Benjamin M. Thomas, and Treasurer, John Ross. The line has been run by Professor Mitchell, of Cincinnati, and the route reported practicable. The Legislature of Illinois has not yet confirmed the charter, but it will without doubt do so.
OIL, a north-east township in Perry, population 500.
OIL CREEK, a mill stream in Perry county, runs south into the Ohio ten miles above Rome.
OLDENBURGH, a small town in Ray township, Franklin county, population 300.
OLIVE, a township in Elkhart, population 200.
OLIVE, a western township in St. Joseph county.
ONTARIO, a flourishing village on Pigeon river, La- grange county, with 100 frame houses, and 400 inhabi- tants.
ORANGE COUNTY, organized in 1816, was named from the county in North Carolina in which many of the prin- cipal citizens had previously resided. It is bounded north by Lawrence, east by Washington and Crawford, south by Crawford, and west by Dubois and Martin, and being twenty miles square, contains 400 square miles. It is divided into nine townships, viz: North East, Stamper's Creek, South East, Orleans, Greenfield, Paoli, French Lick, Jackson and North West. The population in 1830 was 7,909, in 1840, 9,602, and at this time about 12,000. The south part of the county is hilly, and abounds with fine springs of water, the north undulating. About one- fifth of the county is bottom land with a rich soil, and an equal amount is barrens. The balance is uplands, and was originally well timbered with oak, hickory, pop- lar, ash, walnut, cherry, sugar and beech, and the soil well adapted to corn, wheat, rye, oats, &c.
The surplus articles annually exported are corn 30,000 bushels, 20,000 do. of wheat, 20,000 do. of oats, 6,000 hogs, 1,000 cattle, 1,200 horses, and 300 mules, estimated to be worth $150,000.
There are in the county thirteen grist and saw mills propelled by water, three do. propelled by steam, three
342
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.