USA > Indiana > Vigo County > Terre Haute > The history of early Terre Haute from 1816 to 1840 > Part 4
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borhood. . . . The first settlers were intelligent and worthy pioneers, a very superior class of men and women."
It is with the greatest pleasure that I republish the words of one whose honored name is daily on the lips of rich and poor, old and young, of our citizens. It falls to the lot of few men to become so prominently enthroned for all time in the hearts of a grateful people. By his munificent benefactions we have the Rose Ladies Aid Society, the Rose Polytechnic, the Rose Orphan Home, and the Rose Dispensary. Some time, nay, let it be a time not far hence, when our city in grateful remembrance of her munificent patron, shall set apart large grounds for a Chauncey Rose Park ; in the center of which shall stand a bronze statue of Chauncey Rose.
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But as yet Mr. Rose is a young man, seeking a location to do business. He makes the fort his headquarters. He rides across the prairie to Mr. Abram Markle's cabin, where he talks of land and land sales; especially of a large tract lying due east of the new village of Terre Haute; of his grist till at Roseville; of the removal of the Postoffice from the fort to the village; of the closing up of the fort; and of the new arrivals at the village. A village made possible by the fort, but which in turn makes the existence of the fort un- necessary. The former must increase, but the latter must de- crease. The fall of the fort is therefore a matter of congratu- lation rather than regret. It marks the close of the earliest pioneer period. All comers will henceforth arrive either by land or by the river at the village, concerning whose site and builders we are now ready to hear. But one parting word is due the Old fort before entering upon the next chapter.
In 1822 the fort ceased to be a military post. Of necessity it must from that date have begun to fall into decay. It is well understood that many of the old logs of the fort were worked into a one-story house, which afterwards was cov- ered with weather-boarding and stands just at the rear of the place where the fort stood. These old logs now hid from view, some old trees, and a big stone sunk in the ground, which you search in vain to find, are all that remain to tell of the history of the place. By no means ! for here to the de- light of the eye of the visitor is the high bluff commanding an extensive view to the east, also to the west, with the ap- proach of the river from the north and its graceful curve as it recedes to the south and west, all of which must ever remain to mark the spot where Fort Harrison once stood.
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CHAPTER VIII
THE FOUNDING OF THE VILLAGE
TERRE HAUTE was laid out in 1816, the same year in which our state was organized. The original plat comprised thirty- five blocks, and was bounded on the north, by Eagle street ; on the east, by Fifth street ; on the south, by Swan street ; on the west, by Water street. Of these blocks, one was set off for a public square ; a part of another for a church, the site of the old Asbury M. E. Church on the northwest corner of Poplar and Fourth streets; and a part of another, for a school building, the present site of the Ist Ward City School- house. The land office records at Vincennes, show that Joseph Kitchell entered the tract of land now occupied by Terre Haute : also that on Sept. 19th, 1816, only a few days afterwards, the same tract was sold to the Terre Haute Land Company. This company consisted of Cuthbert and Thomas Bullitt, of Louisville, Kentucky; Abram Markle, of Fort Harrison ; Hyacinth Lasselle, of Vincennes; and Jonathan Lindley, of Orange county. There was an amended plat filed in 1819; also in 1820-21. In one of these a lot was re- served for a cemetery.
In regard to the original site, there is some confusion. We are all familiar with the name of Old Terre Haute, which lies some three miles south of us. The distinctive word " Old " seems to indicate that this was the original location of the town. One authority so affirms, and gives as a reason for the change, that when the company learned that the great National road was to cross the Wabash three miles above, they moved the town thither. Even Judge Gookins was led away by the plausibility of this statement, and says in regard to the change: " Probably the principal reason was
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that the national road already projected, would cross the Wabash at this point." But the incongruity lies in the fact, that while the town was laid out in 1816, the work on the road through Indiana, was in 1835-1840. After the above was written, the following statement was pointed out to me on page 308 in the Appendix of the Early History of Illinois, Sidney Bresse, 1884; " Congress by the act of 1816, author- ized the construction of a national road from Cumberland, in Maryland, to the Ohio; and by the act of 1825, directed its continuation through the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and to the seat of government of the State of Missouri." This is specific and satisfactory, but as everything bearing upon the choice of the location of our city is of profound interest, I quote in substance the following from H. C. Bradsby's His- tory of Vigo County, 1891.
William Hoggatt was a civil engineer, employed by the Company to lay out the town. James Boord seems to have been his assistant, and resided with him in Orange county. Jonathan Lindley was a member of the Land Company. He was a Quaker, a man of prominence, as he represented Orange county in the first State legislature. In 1816, Hoggatt after riding up and down the river, and having decided upon our present site, informed Mr. Lindley of the place he had selected. Mr. L's reply was : "William, don't thee think, that thee has made a mistake? Don't thee think, that thee should have selected Old Terre Haute, or Fort Har- rison?" Mr. Hoggatt explained, that while Fort Harrison was a beautiful place, yet the river bends to the west, and the bottom runs out just below the fort ; and that while Old Terre Haute stands on a high bluff, the same objection holds ; that by the turn of the river, the bottom encroaches on the cast side. " But where I have selected the river runs straight, the land is high, a beautiful place for a town. If built here is will some day become a great city." "Well, well," said Lindley, "William, thee is an engineer, and thee should know."
All praise to engineer Hoggatt and to the good Quaker
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sense of Jonathan Lindley, the representative of the Land Company. So much for the selection of the site, but whom shall we thank for the name?
We are told that the French fur traders as they passed in their pirogues up and down the Wabash, gave the name of Terre Haute to all the high banks along the river. So that the name was waiting for the town; and it made no differ- ence where it was located, whether at the fort; or what was called Old Terre Haute; or at our present location. There may or may not be something in a name, but when nature suggests, and man rightly interprets, the result is likely to be good. In this case, at least, it was most happy. But how the poor name has suffered in its pronunciation at the hands of the unlettered Hoosier, and of the would-be edu- cated Yankee. A minister of the Presbyterian Church in one of our eastern states, wrote to his brother, who resided here, inquiring how he should pronounce the name of the village ; " Was the pronunciation to be as if spelled Tā-ra Ho-tā?" No one misunderstands the name on the lips of a native Hoosier, though he calls it, as if written : Tar Hut, Tar Hüte, Terry Hut, Tarry Hut, or Tarry Hawt. From the first, how- ever, the pronunciation of the name by our townspeople has been as if spelled : Taré O'te : and then our name as a people, should be pronounced, Taré-O'-te-ans.
It is well nigh impossible to form a correct idea of the picturesque situation of the village, from our present flat and level streets. The roll of the prairie, which was a ridge running, north and south, parallel with the river, was a de- light to the eye. Then there was a gully at the crossing of Chestnut and Third streets, which served as a drain to carry to the river the excess of water from the plateau above. Where the Normal School building now stands, was regarded and spoken of as "On the hill," as the ascent on Mulberry street towards the east proved. Then the outstretching prairie was on a bright morning, an inspiration. In the common parlance of those early days, we went "Up the prairie," " Down the prairie," or " Across the prairie." Be-
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sides the prairie did not, as would now appear, extend to the river. Tall sycamores with their great trunks, and extended white arms, lined the immediate banks; while other forest trees with oak saplings, and hazel bushes, flourished up on what was called " Sixteen," and as far east as Fifth and Sixth streets. While every stroke of the axe and every driven stake of the engineer, has been in the interest of civilization, yet it has been at the expense of the natural beauty of the land- scape.
As suggested by William Hoggatt, the engineer, the nat- ural course of the river made practicable the laying off of par- allel streets, directly north and south. Third street or Market, as it was called, was intended to be, by its extra width, the main avenue of the village. Besides, this avenue extended on the north, into the pack horse and wagon road to Lafayette; and on the south, it connected with a similar road leading to Vincennes. This Lafayette, and this Vincennes road linked together by Third or Market street constituted what was known as the Old State road. The outlook therefore at this time for commerce or trade, was north or south, either by the river or by these roads. There was no public road east or west, as Indianapolis was not laid out until 1821. But when a public road was opened from Indianapolis, we became in the best possible sense, a cross-road village, with our center at the crossing of Main and Market streets. It is this geo- graphical position that has given our city an advantage from the first, for not only did the great National road come to us but the great Trunk railways, also, in their traversing of the country from east to west.
As yet, however, we are but a single remove from a paper town. The town was laid out Oct. 25, 1816, and the first sale of lots took place Oct. 31st, of the same year. In 1817 there were but two cabins, of which one was built by Dr. Charles B. Modesitt, and the other by William Mars. But the year 1817 was one of preparation. There were new comers not only to occupy the village, but desirable colonies to take up the farms in the adjacent country. These latter were a most
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important element for the building of a village. As yet we were in Sullivan county. There was a prospect, however, of the erection of a new county, and when done, it was a fore- gone conclusion that our village would be the county seat. This will be treated in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER IX
FOUNDING OF TIIE VILLAGE-CONTINUED
By an act of the legislature of Indiana, approved by the Governor, Jan. 21st, 1818, Vigo county was erected. Whether this was or was not a surprise to the Terre Haute Land Com- pany we are not informed ; but evidently it was a matter of rejoicing to all concerned in the immediate future of the newly platted town. It seems natural, however, that the Land Company should have been kept apprised of the doings of the legislature, since Jonathan Lindley was one of its influ- ential members at the time. At any rate the company were on the alert and quick to act, as we find them dining the new commissioners at the fort. This was in part a necessity as the fort was the " head house " of the county; but behind this there was a method and an evident purpose. It was the golden opportunity of the Land Company, and they improved it by liberal offers ; and when the bid of $4000.00 was made as a bonus, the commissioners accepted it, and from that time Terre Haute became the County Seat of Vigo county. Already the Land Company as proprietors of the town, had provided a public square for a Court House ; and now the commissioners with the liberal donation in hand, set about the building of the same, which was completed for occupancy in 1822.
The success of the new town is now assured. The lot purchasers can now with confidence go forward and build. Dr. Charles B. Modesitt was among the early prospectors. He had faith in the town. He was a large purchaser of lots at the first sale; and then returned to Old Virginia for his family which consisted of a wife, son and daughter. They traveled for the most part on horseback. The daughter,
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who was quite young, was seated in front of her father, with a pillow for her saddle. This daughter after- wards became the wife of Mr. Chauncey Warren, one of our early and most respected citizens. Dr. Modesitt was edu- cated as a physician and after settling in Terre Haute prac- tised his profession. His name, therefore will be found in the chapter on Early Physicians ; but he was evidently a man of affairs. He had the reputation of building the first log-house in the village. It was made of round logs. He afterwards built a two-story hewed log house, on the corner of Third and Poplar streets. He established a ferry across the Wabash in 1818. The boat was flat-bottomed ; and was pushed by poles, when the river was low ; and propelled by oars when it was high. There is a question whether this was the first ferry, as another record states that Touissant Dubois was licensed to establish a ferry at Terre Haute Nov. 10, 1818.
Among the early pioneers and builders was Henry Red- ford, who came with the other members of his family, and landed with the New York colony at the fort in 1815. He built the celebrated Eagle and Lion on the southeast corner of First and Main streets.
Another early pioneer, who has already been referred to as an occupant of the fort, was Curtis Gilbert. He was a pioneer of the village, and a heavy land purchaser. He lived to see his out lots platted and his farms also, that laid adja- cent to the city. So soon as the question of the County Seat was settled in 1819, he arranged for the erection of a large two-story frame house on the northeast corner of Ohio and Water streets, suitable for public purposes. The upper part of the building was occupied by the County court, and the lower story by the Postoffice. Mr. Gilbert was the first clerk of Vigo county ; and by successive elections served in that capacity for twenty-one years. The duties of the office at that time, included that of recorder and auditor. It is said that the records kept by him "are as precise and beautiful as copper plate." Mr. Gilbert was prominent in all public movements that had for their end the prosperity of the vil-
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lage. In 1824 he was placed on the Board of Trustees of the Vigo county library. In 1834 he took part in the organiza- tion of the Branch Bank of Indiana, and was made director. Our village was most happy in having such men as Curtis Gilbert among its founders. The descendants of Mr. Gilbert are among our most worthy citizens of to-day. Mr. Gilbert was born in Middletown, Conn., 1795, and died in Florida at the home of his daughter in 1877.
Judge Demas Deming was another early pioncer. He was born in Berlin, Conn., in 1787. After completing his educa- tion in his native town, he entered the regular army as second lieutenant. After serving two years he resigned. In 1818, he came to Terre Haute and at once engaged in merchandiz- ing. He purchased large tracts of land lying east of the town. His life-long residence on South Sixth street still stands a prominent land mark. Mr. Deming was one of the Associate judges, with Judge Joseph Jenckes, and Hon. Thomas H. Blake. As the Common law of England was the standard in the courts of this country, the Associate judges were not com- pelled to be professional lawyers. Common sense and a keen sense of right and justice were the main requisites of a good Associate judge. Judge Deming helped to organize the Terre Haute Board of the State Bank of Indiana in 1834. He was one of the directors and was chosen president and served in that capacity for eighteen years. After his decease his widow resided for many years with her children in the old homestead. Her maiden name was Patterson. Her father came from Ireland and settled at Vincennes in 1814. The munificent gift of Mrs. Deming, of a large tract of ground located east of the city on the side of the bluff for a City Park, will keep fresh in memory the Deming name for years to come.
In addition to what has been said in a previous chapter, a few more words are due to the memory of Chauncey Rose as a far-sighted business man. After traveling as he tells us, over several states, he foresaw the probabilities of the Wabash valley in the immediate neighborhood of Fort Harrison. He
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at once became a permanent settler and heavy land owner. Next to permanent settlers, the county needed grist mills. Such a mill he built on Raccoon creek, a place which became known as Roseville. So soon as pioneers pushed into the village of Terre Haute, he saw an opening for a country store ; and so he became one of the successful merchants as early as 1824. Mr. Rose was brought up on a farm, and he gratified his taste in this direction, in the management of the broad acres adjoining the east and northeast portion of the town.
As the years passed and the canal fever subsided, he was the first to grasp the possibility of a railroad ; which in due time resulted in the Richmond and Indianapolis Railroad. Successful in every advancing step, this of all others proved the greatest enterprise, not only for the city, but for himself also, as it brought into market his farm lands.
His wealth grew apace. . To his own were added by in- heritance the vast accumulations of a brother in New York city. And it became a grave question with him how to make a wise disposition of it. He is said to have remarked to a friend: "Other people have trouble to make money, but my trouble is how to dispose of it." In this difficult task, his good sense and foresight did not fail him. First of all he chose wise counselors. Among these, by way of eminence, should be mentioned the lamented Col. W. K. Edwards, a man with whom he could advise; and whose advice he could accept. In many of Mr. Rose's original papers the hand and brain of Mr. Edwards are visible. Col. Edwards was probably the only man who could have given a correct list of Mr. Rose's private benefac- tions. We only know in general, that he gave an half million here, and an half million there.
In July, 1869, he endowed the Ladies Aid Society of Terre Haute with ninety thousand dollars. By a graceful act of the Society, in January, 1892, the name was changed to the Rose Ladies Aid Society.
His noble gift to Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana,
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amounted to some eighty thousand dollars. This was doubt- less prompted by his sister, Mrs. Israel Williams, who with her husband resided in Terre Haute for a number of years ; both of whom were deeply interested in this young college. In New York city once the home of his deceased brother, Mr. Rose invested two millions of dollars in the founding of three separate beneficent institutions. In Charlestown, South Carolina, he made large donations to several worthy objects of public charity. I have already spoken of the three magnificent institutions reared to his memory in Terre Haute; but besides these he made liberal provisions for a library in the State Normal School; also for the aid- ing of worthy students in the same institutions. He endowed the Vigo County Providence Hospital. Besides the above who shall tell of his private benefactions, concerning which he said nothing to his most intimate friends. Mr. Chauncey Rose was born in Weathersfield, Connecticut, Dec. 24, 1794, and died in Terre Haute Ang. 13, 1877, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. As a village and a city Terre Haute owes a lasting debt of gratitude to the memory of Mr. Chauncey Rose.
There are numberless pioneers who came in this period from 1815 to 1824, whose prominence as merchants, law- yers, doctors and business men demand immediate attention ; but to avoid confusion I have thought best to classify and so consider them in separate chapters.
EARLY TERRE HAUTE
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CHAPTER X
POSTOFFICE
As intimated in a former chapter, the Postoffice was here before the town. The duties of the office could not have been onerous ; but Mr. Gilbert as Postmaster rendered important service to the department at Washington, by helping to locate new offices in Indiana. When his office was moved from the fort to the village, in October, 1818, there were less than a dozen log cabins in the town. Mr. Gilbert having been elected County clerk, Mr. John M. Coleman received the ap- pointment of Postmaster, in his stead. If reports can be credited, Mr. Coleman set up at once a free delivery system. To understand this it must be remembered that a man's hat in those days was a very important part of his outfit. He 11sed its tall crown as a receptacle for his big red silk hand- kerchief, his gloves, and any other loose articles he might be carrying. It is said Mr. Coleman readily converted his big hat into a letter pouch. The letters deposited in the hat, with the handkerchief to hold them in, he cheerfully started forth on his rounds. Meeting a friend for whom he had a letter, he would doff his hat, and deliver the same, provided the friend had the required twenty-five cents postage. If not, the letter was returned to the hat, and sometimes to the dead letter office, at Washington. In writing to friends, often such words as the following were used : " Please don't write, unless there is something important to communicate. We have everything in abundance here, excepting money." Even those who had money to spare, often scanned the out- side of a letter in doubt as to whether to take it from the office. As an occasion for such doubts, a gentleman took out a letter addressed to him, and found a notice from one of
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his debtors which read: " That he had taken the benefit of the bankrupt law." The Wabash Courier ( 1832) suggests that correspondents prepay postage, and adds : "Two letters re- ceived from one person consumed one-eighth of the subscrip- tion price in postage."
Even at so exorbitant a charge as twenty-five cents for a single letter the department at Washington was too often the loser, when we consider the long distances, the sparseness of population, and the condition of the roads. The stage coach companies at that day had much to contend against, especially in the badness of the roads. The coaches and mud wagons told the story as they came into town covered with yellow clay. Travelers had endless stories to tell, of walking up the hills, also of carrying fence rails to pry the stage out of mud holes. These tales of travelers were all within the range of possibility ; but the stories of the stage driver in the bar-room of the country tavern, were remarkable if not alto- gether credible. Possessed of a vivid imagination, he was the center of attraction, as he related his wonderful ex- perience on the road. There was one locality, between Terre Haute and Indianapolis, called the Devil's half acre, that was so bad, that draw as he might upon his imagination, he scarcely awakened incredulity in his hearers. In solemn soberness, he would relate how more than once he lost sight of his leaders as they plunged along through this fearful slough. Entering into particulars he would describe the fear- fulness of the place; the darkness of the night; the names and disposition of his horses ; how well they behaved in their desperate struggle ; how they seemed to comprehend the work before them, and knew just what to do. In the fiercest of the struggle, he never cracked his whip, nor uttered a word, unless gently to quiet and encourage them. By the way of contrast, he would draw a highly colored picture of the be- havior of some of his passengers, when requested to leave their comfortable seats, and help the horses by prying up the wheels of the stage. Then the good Yankee aunties for the sake of amusement, were given a prominent place in the
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story; especially some old lady who bemoaned the day she ever left her comfortable home on the hillside, to find a grave in this dreadful country.
It was a magnificent sight for the small boy, in those early days, to witness the stage driver four in hand, drive into the village; to hear the blast of his long tin horn, and the crack of his whip ; altogether it was something that impressed itself indelibly upon his memory. Every small boy likes a whip, but a stage driver's whip was his ideal ; something to admire, but not to handle. The whip itself was a work of art. The stock was of tough hickory, long, slender, and elastic, with a heavy butt end, ornamented sometimes with flat silver rings, and sometimes with bone knobs; having a lash scien- tifically plaited of thin strips of leather, on the end of which was attached what was called the cracker, made of plaited sewing silk. To crack the whip near to the tip of the ears of his leaders was an accomplishment even for an expert driver. This was possible by bending over and reaching forward, as the stock of the whip was four feet and the lash ten feet long. I have this from a friend and fellow-townsman who in his early days had been a stage driver, and whose stage had been honored by such notables as Henry Clay, Abraham Lin- coln, and Stephen A. Douglas.
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