USA > Indiana > The Indiana gazetteer : or, topographical dictionary of the state of Indiana, 1850 > Part 17
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The Elkhart and St. Joseph rivers, both which run through the county a long distance, are unsurpassed as mill streams, and besides these there are a large number of creeks that empty into them, which abundantly sup- ply every part of the county with water power. A number of small lakes are found in the north part of the county, from half a mile to three miles in circumference. They are generally beautiful sheets of water, and abound with fish. Yellow river, a branch of the Kankakee, rises in one of them in the south-west corner of the county, and runs west to the Mississippi, while the other streams eventually take the opposite direction. Wheat and corn are the staple products, and from the former some 30,000 barrels of flour are manufactured annually and sent to New York by the way of the St. Joseph and the Lakes. Most other grains and grasses are produced in abundance. The annual crop of wheat is estimated at
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300,000 bushels. In the winter of 1846, an accurate ex- amination was made as to the products of twenty-three farms on Elkhart prairie the previous year, which exhi- bited the following result: wheat 18,704 bushels, corn 24,225, and oats 9,635, or an average of 2,285 bushels to a farm, the farms all lying in the same vicinity. Were the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad to be made through the county, as is contemplated, the amount of grain, as well as hogs, cattle, &c., raised for exportation, would be imm nsely increased.
There are about forty saw mills scattered over the county, and seven flouring mills with twenty-five run of stones, six carding machines, one oil mill and one woollen manufactory. The flour manufactured will com- pare favorably with any other in the market. Large beds of iron ore are found in the county, some of which has been manufactured at Mishawaka and proved of a good quality. There are four practising lawyers, twenty- five physicians, and a still larger number of preachers of the gospel in the county, and the usual proportion of the different mechanical trades are found here.
The county contains 268,000 acres of taxable lands, and but a few refuse tracts are still owned by the United States. Elkhart is destined to be one of the richest and most productive counties in the State. The fertility of the soil, the manufacturing and commercial advantages, and the exemption, in a great mea ure, hith- erto, from visionary speculations, have kept the prices of property moderate, and make this a desirable location for the emigrant, whether farmer, mechanic or manufacturer.
ELKHART RIVER is said to derive its name from an island at its mouth, which the Indians fancied resembles the h art of the Elk. It is a very fine mill stream, hav- ing always an abundant supply of water, and for the last forty miles above its mouth, its usual breadth is from SO to 100 yards. For a more particular description see first part under the head "Rivers."
ELKHART, a flourishing town in the county of the same name, situated at the junction of Elkhart and St.
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Joseph rivers, ten miles north-west of Goshen. It con- tains a very valuable merchant mill, two saw mills, a distillery, an oil mill, six stores, three ware-houses, a drug store, one grocery, two taverns, and about 120 houses and 500 inhabitants. Most of the produce of the county is shipped here, and the town will ultimately be an im- portant one. Dr. H. Beardsley was the proprietor.
ELKHART, a township in Elkhart county, with a popu- lation of 1,600.
ELKHART, a township in Noble county, with a popula- - tion of 775.
ELKHORN, a mill stream in Wayne county, which rises in Ohio and runs west into the East Fork of White Water, three miles below Richmond.
ELLIOTVILLE, a small town in Monroe county, seven miles north-west of Bloomington.
ELMORE, a north-western township in Daviess county.
ENGLISH'S PRAIRIE, named after John English, the first settler, is on the canal, north-west corner of Daviess, a high, level and fertile prairie.
ENGLISHI PRAIRIE, a dry Prairie in Greenfield town- ship, Lagrange county.
ENOCHSBURGHI, a small town in Ray township, Frank- lin county.
ENTERPRISE, a small town in Spencer county, on the Ohio river, three miles above French Island.
ERIE, a township north of the Wabash, in Miami county, with a population of 390.
ERVIN, a township in Howard county, with a popula- tion of 500.
EUGENE, a flourishing village in Vermillion county, on the south bank of Big Vermillion river, seven miles north of Newport and the same distance south of Perryville. It was laid out in 1827, by S. S. Collett, Esq. There is a Town Hall and a Masonic Hall at this place, and Lea's mill, on the Vermillion, is the principal water mill in the county.
EUGENE, a township in Vermillion county, with a pop- ulation of 1,700.
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EVANSVILLE, was first settled in 1816, by Hugh McGary, and was named after Gen. R. M. Evans, one of the original proprietors. It is situated on a high bank of the Onio . river, about 200 miles from its mouth and the same distance below Louisville, at a bend four miles far- ther north than any part of the river below, and it is also farther north than any part of the river above for near sixty miles. It is 180 miles south-west of Indianapolis and fifty-six south of Vincennes, and is the point at which the Wabash and Erie Canal is to terminate. The situation is a fine one, on a slope gently ascending to Princeton, twenty-eight miles, and a large portion of the business of the south-west part of the State will always be done here. The opening of the canal, on the whole route to Lake Erie, which is expected to take place in about two years, mus vastly increase the importance of Evansville. At this time, in connection with Lamasco, which is a part of it, in all respects except in name, it contains about 1,500 houses, of which one-fourth are brick, the others frame, and 5,000 inhabitants. Evans- ville is the County Seat of Vanderburgh county, and contains the usual buildings for the courts and offices of the county, a branch of the State Bank of Indiana, which is a splendid building and cost $30,000, a market house, seven hotels and seven fine churches, all but one of brick, for the following denominations, viz: Metho- dists, Old School Presbyterians, New School Presbyte- rians, Episcopalians, Catholics, German Methodists and German Lutherans, and it has also two well organized fire companies. The annual amount of exports from Evansville are about 600,000 bushels of corn, 100,000 bushels of oats, 1,500 tons of hay, and 1,500,000 pounds of pork and bacon.
FAIRBANKS, a western township in Sullivan county, population 1,000.
FAIRFIELD, a northern township in Franklin county, with a population of 1,200.
FAIRFIELD, a flourishing village in the above named township, on the East Fork of White river, seven miles north of Brookville, population 500.
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FAIRFIELD, a central township in Tippecanoe county, population 7,200. .
FAIRPLAY, a central township in Greene county, with a population of 450.
FAIRPLAY, a small village in Greene county, west side of White river, three miles north of Bloomfield.
FAIRVIEW, a small town in Randolph county, laid out in 1836.
FALL CREEK, an interpretation of the Indian name, Soo-sooc-pa-ha-loc, or "Spilt Water," so called from the Falls near Pendleton, where this stream descends twenty- five feet in a mile, and at one place falls about eight feet. It rises in Henry and runs south-west through Madison, Hamilton and Marion counties, about seventy-five miles, into White river, just above Indianapolis. It is one of the best mill streams in the State, and many of its water privileges are very valuable.
FALL CREEK, a small tributary of the West Fork of White Water, coming from the west, four miles below Connersville.
FALL CREEK, a south-east township in Hamilton county.
FALL CREEK, a north-west township in Henry county.
FALL CREEK, a southern township in Madison county.
FALMOUTH, a small town in the north-east corner of Union township, Rush county, ten miles north-east of Rushville.
FAWN RIVER, a fine mill stream in the north part of Lagrange county, running north-west into the State of Michigan, and emptyi g into the St. Joseph.
FAYETTE, an eastern county, organized in 1819, and named after Gen. Lafayette, is bounded east by Union, south by Franklin, west by Rush, and north by Henry and Wayne counties, and contains 211 square miles. The population in 1830 was 9,112, in 1840, 9,837, and at this time about 11,000. There are eight civil town- ships, viz: Connersville, Jennings, Jackson, Columbia, Orange, Harrison, Posey and Waterloo.
This county is divided nearly in the centre, from north
INDIANA GAZETTEER.
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to south, by the West Fork of White Water, which feeds the canal, and with its tributaries affords an abundant supply of water power, at all seasons, for machinery. The surface of the country is rolling in the east and south, and level or gently undulating in the north and west, with a large proportion of bottoms, and every part of the county is susceptible of profitable cultivation. The dense and majestic growth of the forests, which con- sist principally of walnut, poplar, sugar, beech, hickory, oak, &c., and the usually abundant crops indicate that the quality of the soil is not inferior to that of any part of the State, and for the size of the county, there is pro- bably no one from which the exports are larger in pro- portion. They consist principally of hogs, cattle, horses, and grain, though since the completion of the White Water Canal, pork, beef and flour are exported on it, in large quantities.
CONNERSVILLE, the County Seat of Fayette county, was laid out by John Conner in 1817, from whom it took its name. It is very pleasantly situated on the White Water Valley Canal, having the river on the east and south, a beautiful range of hills on the west, from which there is a very fine view of the town, and a large scope of rich and well cultivated country stretching off to the north and east. From its pleasant location, the salubrity of its climate, its valuable water privileges, the produc- tiveness of the surrounding country, and from the enter- prise of its citizens, Connersville bids fair to be one of the best towns in eastern Indiana. It has now six law- yers, five physicians, four preachers, six teachers, two druggists, thirty merchants and 139 mechanics. There are in the town seventy brick and 160 frame dwelling houses, three churches, one each for Presbyterians, Meth- odists and Christians, fourteen stores, five ware-houses, one woollen factory, three grist mills, three saw mills, and one oil mill. The new Court House, of which the preceding engraving represents the east front, is one of the most spacious, convenient, and substantial buildings of its kind in the State,-all the county officers are loca-
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ted on the first floor. in good sized office rooms. In connection with each office are ample fire-proof rooms for the security of their books and papers. The Court room, and Juror's rooms, (of which there are four,) are all on the upper story. In the rear of the centre building there is attached a wing two stories high, in which are constructed six dormitories, or cells for prisoners. The prisoners can be taken to and from the Court from a rear passage by a door entering immediately into the Court room. The building was erected in the years 1848 and 1849, by John Elder, Architect, of Indianapolis, at the price of $20,000. The Commissioners who made the contract with Mr. Elder for its erection were David Moffit, Samuel White, and John Jameson. The popula- tion in 1847 was 1,500; it is now about 1,700, and is increasing. Connersville is fifty-six miles south-east of Indianapolis, twelve south of Cambridge City, eighteen north of Brookville, and twelve west of Liberty. The taxable land in the county is 129,903 acres; the aggregate value of assessed property, $2,292,596. In many respects the county of Fayette has no superior in the State.
FAYETTE, a northern township in Vigo county, with a population of 1,200.
FAYETTEVILLE, a small town in Fayette county, ten miles south-west of Connersville.
FERDINAND, a southern township in Dubois county, population 450.
FERDINAND, a small town in Dubois county, with thirty-one houses; population 150.
FIRST CREEK, a mill stream rising in Martin county and running west into Daviess, empties into Slinkard's creek.
FISHI CREEK, a mill stream, rises in Steuben county and runs through the north-east corner of DeKalb south- east into the St. Joseph.
FISH LAKE, in Pleasant township, Laporte county, is two miles long and one broad. It abounds in fish.
FISHIBACK, a tributary of Eagle creek, in Boone county. FISHER's RUN, a small stream in Pulaski county.
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FISHING CREEK, rises in Orange county and runs north into White river at Lawrenceport.
FLAT CREEK rises near the centre of Pike county and runs south-east into Dubois, and empties into Patoka.
FLAT ROCK, a large and valuable mill stream, which rises in the north-east corner of Henry county, runs south-west through Rush, Decatur, Shelby and Bartholo- mew, and empties into the East Fork of White river at Columbus. Its whole course, with its windings, is about 100 miles, and the country through which it passes is rich and fertile the whole distance, and is now becoming as well cultivated and productive as any part of the State. The Indian name of this stream was Puck-op-ka.
FLEENERSBURGHI, a small town in the north-east of Monroe county.
FLETCHER'S LAKE, a beautiful sheet of water in Fulton county.
FLINN, an eastern township in Lawrence county, with a population of 1,560.
FLINT CREEK, a small stream in Fountain and Tippe- canoe counties, that empties into the Wabash near the north line of Fountain. There is at the mouth of this creek an immense bed of stone, covering several hun- dred acres of a species of flint, broken and shattered, and to a great extent ready for use. Those on the sur- face and tor about fourteen inches in depth are, in shape and size, like the fragments of stone beaten and prepared for Macademizing; but in excavating this bed for the canal, it was found that they increased in size as the ex- cavation became deeper, though they retained the same shape and appearance, but when thrown up and exposed to the frost and air, they soon became like those on the surface. This bed of stone has a white appearance, and has either no covering of earth, or a very slight one, on which there grow, only a few scrubby forest trees, and a little underbrush. It is a freak of nature which at first cannot but strike the beholder as a great curiosity. As this bed extends along the canal for some distance, the material will no doubt be hereafter transported for the
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improvement of the streets of Lafayette, and other towns along its borders.
FLINT CREEK, a small mill stream that empties into Little river from the north, at Huntington.
FLINT LAKE, a beautiful sheet of water in Porter county.
FLORENCE, a small town in York township, Switzer- land county, on the Ohio river, eight miles above Vevay.
FLORIDA, a township in Parke county, with a popula- tion of 1,350.
FLOYD COUNTY was organized in 1819, and was named after Col. John Floyd, of the distinguished Virginia family of that name, who had been killed by the Indians on the opposite side of the river.
It is bounded on the south by the Ohio river, on the west by Harrison, on the north by Washington and on the east by Clark counties, and contains about 150 square. miles. It is divided into five civil townships, viz: New Albany, Lafayette, Greenville, Georgetown and Frank- lin. The population in 1830 was 6,363, in IS40, 9,454, and at this time about 13,500., A range of hills called "the knobs," from one to three miles in width, runs through the county from north to south, coming to the Ohio river a short distance below New Albany. They pre- sent a very uneven surface, and are composed of slate, clay, soft sand-stone and iron ore. Above the clay and ore is a stratum of free-stone, valuable for the purposes of building, and on the pinnacles a stratum of lime-stone which becomes very thick as the country on the west falls off nearly level. East of the "knobs," and in part of the country west, the land is either level or gently un- dulating, but the general character of the county is hilly and the soil poor, with the exception of some tracts of very good land. The timber varies according to the va- rieties of soil and surface. Much of it has first rate tim- ber, peculiarly excellent for the construction of Steam- boats. On the knobs, the white, black and chestnut oaks are abundant, and in some places, pine. In the west part of the county are poplar, chestnut, beech and
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sugar tree, and in the bottoms of the Ohio and Silver creek, the timber common in similar situations. Much of the county is well adapted to the cultivation of corn and grass, and to raising hogs, horses, cattle and sheep. The principal manufactories are a bagging manufactory. which cost originally about $50,000, three foundries and steam engine manufactories, on a large scale, one brass foundry, and usually from five to ten steamboats are built, and twice that number repaired, annually. There are in the county eleven grist and nine saw mills, mostly propelled by steam, about 130 stores and groceries, four- teen lawyers, eighteen physicians, fifteen ministers, two printing offices, and at least 500 mechanics and artizans. As New Albany, the County Seat, contains more than half the population of the county, the reader will turn to that for further information.
The taxable land is 85,691 acres.
FLOYD, an eastern township in Putnam county.
FORT WAYNE, the Seat of Justice of Allen county, is beautifully situated on a high bank, opposite to which, on the north, the St. Mary's and the St. Joseph, the former from the south-east and the latter from the north-east. unite and form the Maumee, On the site of this town was the old "Twightwee village," or principal seat of the Miamies, in their language called Ke-ki-o-que, a place of importance a hundred years ago. Here too was old Fort Wayne, erected by order of Gen. Wayne, in September, 1794, and. just below this Fort, on the opposite side of the Maumee, was fought the disastrous battle of Gen. Harmar, on the 22d October, 1790. This place, at one time, was called " the French Stores," as it was, for a long time, a place of resort for many of their traders. and near it was, the carrying place from the navigable waters of Lake Erie, to those of the Wabash. Fort Wayne continued to be a military post until IS19, and until the removal of the Miamies and Pottawatamies west of the Mississippi in IS41, it was extensively resort- ed to by the Indians for the disposal of their furs, and for the purpose of spending their annuities. The popu-
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lation of Fort Wayne is at this time about 5,000, and the rapid improvement of the country, the successful bu- siness of the Wabash and Erie Canal, and the opening of plank roads into the interior, which have been commenced with much spirit, now rank it among the most important towns in the State. A branch of the State Bank is located here, which has always been managed with much prudence; the Methodists have a flourishing Female Col- lege, the Catholics have an Institution under the direc- tion of the Sisters of Providence, and there are five other good schools in the town. The Methodists, Old and New School Presbyterians, Catholics, Baptists, Epis- copalians, Lutherans and Africans, have good Churches. The stores, ware-houses, and private dwellings are mostly in good taste, and there is every prospect that for twenty years to come, Fort Wayne will continue to improve rapidly. It is situated 112 miles north-east of Indianap- olis, in latitude 41 deg. 5 min. and longitude 8 deg. 7 min. west.
FOUNTAIN COUNTY was organized in 1826, and was named, at the suggestion of Judge Watts, in honor of Maj. Fontaine or Fountain, of Boone county, Kentucky, who was killed at the head of the mounted militia, in the battle on the Maumee, near Fort Wayne, on the 22d October, 1790.
Fountain county is bounded west and north by the Wabash, which separates it from Vermillion and Warren, east by Montgomery, and south by Parke, and it con- tains about 400 square miles. It is divided into ten civil townships, viz: Jackson, Fulton, Wabash, Cain, Van Buren, Troy, Richland, Shawnee, Logan and Daviess. The population in 1830 was 7,644, in IS40, 11,218, and at this time about 13,500. The surface of the country is mostly level, though the central and southern parts are occasionally undulating, and it is beautifully variegated with heavy forests and rich prairies, which latter consti- tute about one-fourth of the county. The soil is gene- rally a black loam, with a mixture of sand and is very productive, and the crops of corn and wheat here are
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not inferior to those of any part of the State. Clay prevails more in the south portion of the county, which is best adapted to wheat and grass. The timber here is principally poplar, sugar and beech, while in the north, oak, walnut and hickory predominate.
The exports from the county are by the way of the Wabash river and the Wabash and Erie Canal. They consist of corn, oats, wheat, flour, pork, live hogs, cattle and horses, and they are not surpassed in value and im- portance by the exports of any of the counties which have not heretofore possessed superior advantages.
There are in Fountain county ten flouring mills, twenty saw mills, one woollen factory, one brewery, one distillery, one foundry, two printing offices, between fifty and sixty stores and groceries, ten lawyers, about twenty- five physicians and fifteen preachers, and the usual propor- tion of mechanics; coal, iron ore and water power are abundant, and there is now every appearance that Foun- tain county will soon be one of the best and richest coun- ties in the State.
The taxable land amounts to 245,739 acres, and about 2,500 acres still belong to the United States.
FOURTEEN MILE CREEK, a valuable mill stream, rising in Scott and Jefferson counties, runs into Clark, and empties into the Ohio, fourteen miles above the Falls, from which it derives its name.
FOXGRAPE, the name of a prairie in Pulaski county.
FRANKFORT, the Seat of Justice of Clinton county, is situated near the centre of the county, on the west side of Prairie Branch. This town was laid out in 1830, and the first house was built by Col. S. D. Maxwell, in Au- gust of that year, but the population did not increase much until 1832. There are in Frankfort eight stores, five lawyers, five physicians, and five churches, one for each of the following denominations: Old School Pres- byterians, Episcopal and Protestant Methodists, Chris- tians and Associate Reformed. Frankfort is forty-one miles north north-west of Indianapolis, twenty-four east
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south-east of Lafayette, twenty-six north-east of Craw- fordsville, and thirty-seven south-west of Logansport.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, named in honor of Dr. Franklin, was organized in 1810, and is bounded east by the State of Ohio, south by Dearborn and Ripley, west by Deca- tur and Rush, and north by Fayette and Union counties. It is about twenty-seven miles in length from east to west, and fifteen in breadth, and contains 400 square miles. In 1830 the population was 10,199, in 1840, 13,349, and at this time about 18,000. It is divided into eleven civil townships, to wit: Springfield, Bath, Brookville, White Water, Posey, Highland, Ray, Bloominggrove, Fairfield, Salt Creek and Laurel. The north-east part of the county is level, the central and western rolling, and in many places quite hilly. The timber is principally oak, sugar, beech, hickory and black walnut. The soil is generally good. About one-eighth of the county is bot- tom land, lying along White Water and its branches, with a very rich soil, well adapted to the growth of corn. The high lands are better for wheat and grass, and the state of the farming interest is creditable to the county.
There are twenty flouring mills, thirty-five saw mills, one paper mill, one fulling mill, two cotton factories, two printing offices, fourteen lawyers, twenty physicians, twenty-one ministers of the gospel, a flourishing County Seminary, and common school districts are organized in every part of the county. There are numerous monu- ments of ancient population, such as mounds of earth and structures of stone, embedded in the earth and pre- pared with apparent skill, so that the deposites of some very distant period are found in a remarkable state of preservation.
The abundant water power of Franklin county, the facilities for trade by the White Water Canal, its vicinity to Cincinnati and generally very fertile soil, are rapidly increasing its population and wealth. The taxable land, at this time, amounts to 245,631 acres.
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