USA > Indiana > Grant County > Fairmount > The making of a township, being an account of the early settlement and subsequent development of Fairmount Township, Grant County, Indiana, 1829 to 1917, based upon data secured by personal interviews, from numerous communications > Part 24
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John Flanagan
Nathan W. Edwards
June 6. 1901
Dr. J. W. Patterson
John Flanagan
Nathan
Edwards
June 18, 1906
Dr. 1. W. Patterson' john Flanagan
Edwards Nathan
.June 3. 1907
Dr. J. W. Patterson
Oscar M. Bevington
Nathan
W.
Edwards
June 1, 1908
Dr. J. W. Patterson
Oscar M. Bevington
June 7. 1909
Dr. J. W. Patterson
Oscar M. Bevington
Nathan W. Edwards* Non H. Edwards
June 7. 1910
Dr. J. W. Patterson
Oscar M. Bevington*
Oliver R. Scott
.lune
6. 1911
Dr. J. W. Patterson Oliver R. Scott
Asa Driggs
Juno 1. 1912
Walter L. JJay
Oliver R. Scott
Asa Driggs* Oliver Buller
June
3. 1913
Walter L. Jay
oliver R. Scott
Oliver Buller
June 2, 1911
Walter L. Jay*
Oliver R. Scott
Enos M. Lafler
June 1. 1915
V. A. Selby
Oliver R. Scott
Enos M. Lafler
lune 6. 1916
V. A. Selby
Oliver R. Scott
Enos M. Lafler
June 5, 1917
V. A. Selby
Oliver R. Scott
Dr. Charles N. Brown
* Resigned. (a) Removed from corporation. (b) Moved to Marion, Ind.
August 15, 1876, Board of Trustees declared all school board offices vacant. erased.
Alexander Pickard
Josse Roope
Joseph N. Rush Dr. Henry Charles
Dr. Henry Charles*
June 6, 1876 (c)
Nirs. Alice Nixon
Enoch Beals
Alphous Henley
Nathan W. Edwards
Dr. J. W Patterson
Fred H. Macy
Nathan W. Edwards
.lune 5, 1902
June 5. 1905
Dr. J. W. Patterson
John Flanagan
Nathan W. Edwards
Nen H. Edwards
Mrs. Helen Wells
Fred H. Macy
N. W. Edwards
Clarkson D. Overman
Thomas J. Nixon
280
Fairmount Township-Corporation.
ASSESSORS AND MARSHALS
Year
Marshal
Assessor
Jan. 1871 to May 1872
May 1872 to May 1873
May 1873 to May 1874
May 1874 to May 1875
May 1875 to May 1876
J. F. Jones* David B. Mason
Charley Hasty (a) George Modlin* Jonathan McDonnell
John Kelsay*
Adam M. Miller
Adamı M. Miller
Elwood Gardner* Adam M. Miller
Adam M. Miller
Adam M. Miller
Adam M. Miller
Adam M. Miller
J. W. Kester (b)
J. W. Kester
Alexander Little
Adam M. Miller (c) Sylvester Smithson*
J. W. Kester
John W. Symons
John W. Symons*
William M Kennedy
William M. Kennedy
William M. Kennedy Seth Cox
David O. Ice
Elmer E. Hiatt
Ilmer E. Hiatt
Riley Jay Esom O. Leach
Esom O. Leach
Esom O. Leach* W. E. McCoy
Thell Crabb
Esom O. Leach
Esom O. Leach
James J. Payne (c) C. V. Hadley
C. V. Hadley James A. Jones
George Bannister* James L. Collins
William H. Eastes
James A. Jones
Micajah Wilson* Foster Davis* D. H. Crawford
D. H. Crawford* James R. Smith*
Frank Norton
Henry Winslow John Ried Elwood Haisley
ITenry Winslow John Ried Elwood Haisley
Elwood Haisley* J. F. Jones
Elwood Haisley* J. F. Jones
May 1876 to May 1877
May 1877 to May 1878
May 1878 to May 1879
May 1879 to May 1880
May ISSO to May 1881
May 1881 to May IS82 May 1882 to May 1883
May 1883 to May 1884
May 1881 to May 1885
May 1885 to May 1886 May 1886 to May 1887
May 1887 to May ISSS
May 1888 to May 1889 May 1889 to May 1890
May 1890 to May 1891 May 1891 to May 1892 May 1892 to May 1893 May 1893 to May 1894 May 1894 to May 1895 May 1895 to May 1896 May 1896 to May 1897
May 1897 to May 1898 May 1898 to May 1899 May 1899 to May 1900
May 1900 to May 1901 May 1901 to May 1902 May 1902 to May 1903 May 1903 to May 1904
May 1904 to Dec. 1905 Jan. 1905 to Dec. 1909 Jan. 1910 to Dec. 1911
Jan. 1912 to Dec. 1913 Jan. 1914 to Dec. 1915 Jan. 1916 to Dec. 1917 A. M. Seright
* Resigned (a) Removed from town. (b) Moved away. (c) Deceased.
Foster Davis* Joel O. White* D. H. Crawford
D. H. Crawford* James R. Smith* Frank Norton
290
The Making of a Township.
HEALTH OFFICERS From 1873 to 1917
July 2, 1873, to January 2, 1882-Dr. Alpheus Henley.
May, 1883, to May, 1884-Dr. P. H. Wright.
May, 1884, to May, 1887-Dr. C. V. Moore.
May, 1887, to May, 1889-Dr. William B. Thomas.
May, 1889, to May, 1891-Dr. Allen Moon.
May, 1891, to May, 1893-Dr. J. O. Lowman,* Dr. J. W. Patter- son, t Dr. A. F. Marlow.
May, 1893, to May, 1894-Dr. A. F. Marlow. May, 1894, to May, 1895-Dr. Alpheus Henley.
May, 1895, to May, 1901-Dr. Joseph W. Patterson. f May, 1901, to May, 1903-Dr. J. P. Seale.
May, 1903, to May, 1905-Dr. S. G. Hastings. t
January, 1906, to December, 1909-Dr. William M. Warner. t January, 1910, to December, 1911-Dr. J. P. Seale.t January, 1912, to December, 1917-Dr. C. N. Brown. " Moved to Anderson, Ind. + Resigned.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE TANYARD HOME GUARDS AND QUAKER ARSENAL-CAMMACK'S
SAW-MILL-THE EXPLOSION.
TN 1846 William Hall built and operated a tannery south of town on the ground where the late J. W. Parrill lived for many years. In 1853 Daniel Ridgeway started a tannery at the northeast corner of Second and Main Streets. In 1856 Micah Baldwin purchased an inter- est of Ridgeway. They operated the tannery until 1860, when James R. Smith took over the interest of Ridgeway. Baldwin & Smith con- ducted the business until 1876. In this year William Thomas bought Smith's interest and the enterprise was thereafter managed by Baldwin & Thomas. After disposing of his interest to his partner, Ridgeway started a tannery southeast of Fairmount, where John H. Caskey now lives.
Nathan Little, who had been employed by Ridgeway, in 1861 opened a tannery on East Washington Street. A striking object dis- played over the south door of this tannery attracted considerable atten- tion from passers-by. A lynx had been killed by Billy Brewer on land now owned by Charles Allred, situated one mile and a half northeast of Fairmount. The lynx was skinned, prepared, stuffed and mounted, and used as an advertising device for the business carried on within.
It required about a year to tan, properly, a cowhide. The skin was first placed in a lime-vat. After it had remained in this vat a few days it was taken out and the hair removed with a scraping-knife, then to a vat of clean water, where the lime was thoroughly soaked out, and then through a succession of vats containing hen manure, weak oak ooze, strong oak ooze, this process being continued until the skin was thoroughly tanned and turned over to the finishing-room, where an application of "dubbin" was put on, one side blacked and dressed and made ready for the market. The hair was saved and sold to put in mortar for plastering.
Oak bark, called tanbark, was plentiful in those days. Farmers would peel this bark off of trees and cord it up to dry. When thor- oughly dried, it was hauled in, and found a ready cash market. The price ranged between two and four dollars per cord. At the tanyard it was corded up under sheds so as to be kept perfectly dry. When needed, it was taken to the grinder, located upon the upper floor, known as the bark-mill. In the center of this room was a large iron hopper,
291
1
292
The Making of a Township.
something near three feet in diameter at the top and eighteen or twenty inches at the bottom, and about three feet deep. Inside was a succes- sion of iron teeth, and there was fitted in the hopper another iron small in proportional size and iron teeth fitted on it. This hopper was used to grind the tanbark into a fine powder. It was operated by a large beam, to which was attached one horse going about in a circle. This mill was usually operated by a boy, sometimes the proprietor's son. His work was to get the bark up into the mill and with a wooden mal- let break the bark over the edge of the hopper in small pieces two or three inches in length. After being ground the powder fell below into another room, and from there taken out in a wheelbarrow to the yard and placed in the vats.
The tannery was in that day an important institution. It was head- quarters in War times for men who were interested in the issues of the day. Abolitionists, especially, would meet here to discuss the slavery question and the progress of the War. It was the stopping-place for refugees, both white and colored, and during the entire War was the center of interest for people from miles around. It was in 1867 that Thomas Harvey, one of the prominent anti-slavery men of his day. suddenly died in the beam-house of the Baldwin-Smith tannery.
According to older residents, it was the housing-place for quanti- ties of arms and ammunition of the Fairmount Company of Home Guards, organized to maintain law and order in the community and to assist in repelling any stray bands of guerrillas that might happen to ride in this direction.
There were one hundred members of this organization. Roland Smith, who had served in the Union army, was the captain ; Joseph Macey, first lieutenant, and Dennis Montgomery, second lieutenant.
Regular drills were practiced every Saturday afternoon in the north part of town, which was then known as Christianville. Here on sey- eral occasions the company was divided into two forces and sham bat- tles were fought. Often during the week the company would be assem- bled for military drills, conducted in the evenings after supper on the yard of the school building which then stood on North Walnut Street, near the present home of George Montgomery.
The corner building of the tanyard shown in the picture came to be known as the Quaker Arsenal.
Roland Smith, retired farmer, son of John and Mary Ann ( Thomas) Smith, was born four miles northeast of Fairmount, on a farm then owned by his father, on April 20, 1839. On his mother's side he is a
293
The Tanyard-Saw-Mill Explosion.
grandson of Solomon Thomas, His paternal grandfather was Judge Caleb Smith, both grand- parents natives of North Caro- lina. Roland Smith was educated in the common schools of Fair- mount Township, his first teacher being John T. Morris, who, in 1845, was in charge of the school at Back Creek. For many years Mr. Smith owned ninety-six acres of land located south of Fair- mount, now known as the Cal Dean farm, which he managed successfully. He has always voted in Fairmount Township, his first ballot being cast for Abraham Lin- coln. In politics he is a Progres- sive Republican. For twelve years he served as road super- ROLAND SMITH visor. He is a charter member of Beeson Post, Grand Army of the Republic. For many years he has been a member of the United Breth- ren Church. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Twelfth Indiana Infantry, serving with this regiment twelve months. For meritorious conduct he was promoted to sergeant. Returning home in 1862 he organized a company of infantry and was elected captain. When he called upon Governor Oliver P. Morton to tender his services and arrange for his commission, the Governor suggested that he remain at home for duty in Grant County. Accordingly, Smith formed a company of Home Guards, known as the Fairmount Militia Company, composed of one hundred volunteers, and on July 16, 1863, was given a commis- sion for four years as captain of this company. The Home Guards did duty in Fairmount Township during the period of the Civil War, the organization disbanding in 1865, with the close of the Rebellion. The members of the company, so far as Captain Smith is able to recall them from memory, follow :
Captain, Roland Smith First Lieutenant, Joseph Macey Second Lieutenant, Dennis Mont- gomery
William Hasting Nelson Thomas Alfred Waldron Berry Farrington
294
The Making of a Township.
Eli J. Scott Jesse Scott Jesse Haisley William Smith
Andrew Buller
Elias Rich Samuel Kirk T. B. McDonald Morgan O. Lewis Moses Adams
LAST OF THE OLD TANYARD
Above is an excellent picture of the finishing room of the tanyard which stood at the northeast corner of Main and Second Streets, on the lot now owned by Victor A. Selby. The house was occupied for many years by Ben Thomas and his sister, Mina. The picture shows Ben Thomas standing in the foreground. Here the pioneers of the early day brought their cow- hides and here they hauled oak bark and sold to the tanner at two dollars per cord. In the Garfield campaign. 1880, it was used as a voting place.
Evander Farrington
Levi Scott Stephen Scott Elwood Scott J. M. Hundley Charley Howell Jonathan Smithson
Calvin Dillon Wesley B. Hollingsworth Philip Davis
Zimri Richardson
Leander Baldwin Gilmore Hollingsworth Solomon Duling Jesse Milner Harvey Davis, Jr.
David Y. Hoover
Azel Little
William Dillon
295
The Tanyard-Saw-Mill Explosion.
Many of the men named volunteered their services and were at the front in the Union army. In the fall of 1863 a dozen shots were exchanged between unknown parties and members of the Home Guard on the Jesse Winslow farm, now owned by Foster Davis, about a mile east of Fairmount. In 1862, Captain Smith was married to Miss Nancy Hasting, daughter of Carter and Elizabeth (Roe) Hasting, pioneers of Fairmount Township, where Mrs. Smith was born, in May, 1844. Eight children were born to this marriage, namely, Effie, Mary Eliz- abeth, Dailey Henley, Cora, Bertha, Thomas Edwin and Clista. Effie married H. E. Payne ; Mary Elizabeth married W. H. Underwood ; D. H. married Elizabeth Gimmer ; Cora married Lon Payne ; Bertha married C. B. Fry and Thomas Edwin married Grace Brattain.
(By J. M. Hundley.)
I was a member of the Fairmount Militia Company referred to as the Home Guards for a short time in 1863, and while I belonged we took our equipment home with us. This equipment consisted, as I now remember it, of a Belgian musket, bayonet, cartridge-box and sixty rounds of fixed ammunition. Very few of this company had uniforms. They were boys from fifteen to sixteen and men from forty to fifty- five, most of them clad in homespun, with straw hats made from straw plaited by mother, and now and then would be seen a coon-skin cap. Some one, whose name I do not now remember, would come to drill practice wearing a stovepipe plug hat. Several of the members had been in the service and had been discharged for disability or because of expiration of term of service, and had a fairly good idea of military tac- tics. The Belgian muskets with which they were armed were quite as dangerous to the man behind the gun as to the man in front. The boys at the front used to say that there was death at one end and six months' sickness at the other end of these weapons.
I am reminded that some time in June, 1863, I was ordered to report with my blunderbuss for immediate duty. We were drawn up in line and told that Fairmount was to be invaded and burned on that night. Details were made and a cordon of men established around the town. I was placed on duty southeast of town, in the shadow of a dense woods, situated on the farm which formerly belonged to James Tuttle, and told to shoot anything that approached me from the east or south. Captain Smith failed to relieve me during the night and I remained there from 6 o'clock in the evening until 7 o'clock the next morning. I never could
296
The Making of a Township.
quite understand the action of the captain in this matter, as I should have been relieved in two hours; but perhaps the captain thought I might shoot him if he came my way in the darkness of the night. I think it perfectly certain that had any luckless bovine or elm-peeler hog strayed in front of me there would have been an explosion and a hasty retreat, and I am not quite sure what other casualties might have ensued. I think it perfectly safe to say that the men who were suspected with intentions of making war upon your town were soundly sleeping in their homes, with no intention of doing harm to anyone while I stood there alone in the darkness.
I want to say in conclusion that some of these Home Guards had seen service and many of them went to the front and remained until the close of the War. The writer had seen service before and left this organ- ization after some three or four months and again entered the service in the field. I am sure that I left my Guard equipment at the home of my father when I entered the volunteer service and never at any time had it in the Quaker Arsenal.
Summitville, Indiana, April 2, 1917.
James Cammack, who came in the winter of 1848, built a saw-mill the following year on the ground at the southeast corner of Washington and Mill Streets. Cammack had been induced by Iredell and Elizabeth Rush to come to Fairmount. They had been neighbors in Wayne County, Indiana. In 1857 the saw-mill was owned by Albert and Allen Dillon. Jonathan P. Winslow later purchased the mill of the Dillons. and a grist-mill was started in connection. The two occupied a frame building, the grist-mill using the lower floor and the saw-mill the upper one. In 1870, J. N. Wheeler & Company purchased the property of Winslow, and it was for many years successfully operated by J. N. Wheeler and George W. Butler, his father-in-law. under the firm name of J. N. Wheeler & Company.
In August, 1861, occurred the first big sensation that the people of the sparsely settled community had known. The boiler in a grist-mill exploded, scattering fragments of iron and brick and timber in every direction. The mill, which was located on the west side of Mill Street. just north of where Jesse Bogue's house now stands, had been built a few years before by Clayton and Isaac Stanfield and Thomas Lytle. Ward MeNeir, of Anderson, known in that day as a trader, owned the mill. A man named Frank Brindle was the miller. John Brandon was the engineer and Hugh Finley was in charge of the mill.
297
The Tanyard-Saw-Mill Explosion.
It appeared that Brandon had neglected to keep the proper amount of water in the boiler, and the result of his carelessness was disastrous. The heavy balance-pea was sent by the force of the explosion to the creek bottom on Nathan Wilson's farm, a distance of a quarter of a mile. A piece of the boiler was blown a distance west of the creek on Daniel Thomas's farm. John Smith was passing by at the time in a wagon with his son, William Smith. The father was struck in the head by a piece of brick and the sight of one eye was temporarily destroyed. Dr. Elliott was summoned to take care of Smith, the physician extracting particles of bone and brick from Smith's face. George Doyle, at the time, was conducting a grocery store in a frame building located at the northeast corner of Mill and Adams Streets. A fragment of the debris passed through this building, leaving a hole in its path 18x24 inches square. The mill was so completely demolished that it was never rebuilt.
"Fairmount was scared for once," writes M. A. Hiatt, under date of January 29, 1917.
"In the year 1861 the writer was standing on the front porch at the J. P. Winslow residence. Although I was only eight years old. I can remember the time well. It was a fairly warm, still day, in the afternoon. Everything was quiet. Some were taking their naps. The corner whit- tler had left his box and retired to the shade, when all at once a very loud noise was heard. It sounded as though there was a great earth- quake, or a great volcano had broken loose on the banks of quiet Back Creek. I do not know how high I jumped, but I landed on my feet. I looked down Main Cross ( now Washington) Street toward town, and I could see people running and coming from all directions. You should have seen this boy scooting into the house where my mother and Mrs. J. P. Winslow were. Mrs. Winslow said it must have been a keg of powder that had exploded at the store. My mother said she would guess it was the steam mill that had blown up. And she was right.
"If ever a mill blew up that one did. It stood a little south of where Van Arsdall's coal office now stands, on West Washington Street. The boiler blew up while the engineer was up town. If he had been attend- ing to his business it might not have happened. The lower story was blown all to pieces, letting the roof down on it, making it look like a one- story building. It is a wonder no one was killed. The miller and one boy were in the mill. I do not know their names, as I did not live here then. I was visiting here for a few weeks. They were rescued from the mass of broken timbers, and, strange to relate, they were not dan- gerously hurt.
208
The Making of a Township.
"Uncle John Smith, living south of town, had just driven up in front of the mill. A brickbat struck him in the face and broke his jaw. He was hurt the worst of any. The pea off the safety-valve was thrown a long distance, alighting in a field on the Jesse Wilson farm. One end of the boiler fell into a pig pen, killing two hogs."
CHAPTER XXVI.
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM AND PIONEER MERCHANTS.
T' TRANSPORTATION was a problem hard to solve in the first set- tlement of Fairmount Township," writes T. B. McDonald.
"They were compelled to go to Cincinnati for their supplies, such as coffee, salt, powder and lead. This was hauled in wagons drawn by four and six horses over all kinds of roads. They would start from the settlement with what barter they might have to sell, such as fur, gin- seng, beeswax, tallow, dry hides, etc. This they would exchange for such goods as were really necessary-shoe pegs and boot and shoe lasts.
"If the men of Fairmount today could see the harness that the teamsters of the early days used they would wonder where all the leather came from. It took an able-bodied man to put the harness on a horse. The back band was from six to eight inches wide. The hames were of wood, three to four inches wide, with high tops, on which bells were often placed. This was done by having an iron arch on which three bells were fastened. There were staples driven in the hames to receive the arches. The collars were immense-leather, usually stuffed with corn husks. The bridles were very heavy with big blinds. The tugs were iron chains housed or covered with leather. The breeching was heavy to match the balance of the harness. A large leather housing went on the top of the collar, and this was for the protection of the horse's neck and shoulders.
"All harness and wagons were made at home. By this I mean they were made by local talent. A saddle was placed on the near, or pole horse, from which the driver directed the lead horses by a jerk line (a single line). An immense leather whip called a black snake was always to be found on the driver's saddle horn. This was used more as a reminder than to punish the horse.
"The wagons had wooden axles and wooden spindles. Pine tar was used as a lubricator. A bucket of tar was always found suspended from the coupling pole at the rear end of the wagon. A feed box was fastened on the rear of the wagon and a tool box on the front. The wagon was always covered to protect the contents. The men who drove these freight wagons usually calculated to reach a given point to stay over night, but if they failed to reach the desired point they would camp out, as they always carried feed and provisions for an emergency.
299
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The Making of a Township.
"In those days almost every house was open to the traveler. If but a one-room house, all were welcome as long as there was room to lie down.
"We have tried to describe the method of transportation in the early days of Fairmount Township. The farmers, however, as a rule, did not have many wagons or horses. The ox team was used because they cost less and were better adapted to clearing the immense forests. There were no harness to buy, nothing but a yoke and a log chain. A team of oxen could be driven where a team of horses could not go with safety. An ox team was perfectly reliable except when thirsty. An ox would go to water at any cost. Often, in cases of necessity, a cow would be broken and used as an ox, as well as supplying milk for the family.
"When we moved to Fairmount Township carriages were scarce. In fact, I do not now remember one. No doubt there were a few, but I failed to recollect it. Most people went horseback or on foot. Sad- dles were not plentiful. You would often sec a sheep skin fastened on with a surcingle. A young man who was fortunate enough to have a saddle horse thought nothing of going to call on his sweetheart, and. if there was church, spelling school or any other social function that she wanted to attend they would go. The young lady would be mounted behind the young man and they would strike out, care free."
I have read with much interest the contribution of T. B. McDonald" describing early transportation facilities. I think the Wabash and Erie Canal was built in the thirties, writes J. M. Hundley. I know the canal had been in operation many years before the Indianapolis & Bellefon- taine (or Bee Line) Railroad came to Anderson, and this was in 1852.
The Pan Handle (or Pennsylvania) Railroad came to Anderson in 1856. Many men now living will remember that there was no railroad in Grant County during the Civil War, and that soldiers going to the front were transferred in wagons to Anderson, where they took cars for the State capital. What would our military authorities of today think of that kind of mobilization ?
I think that for many years after the railroads came to Anderson the farmers of Fairmount Township hauled their wheat to Wabash, probably because the cheap transportation afforded by the canal enabled the buyers to pay a better price for this commodity. Sure I am that this was the chief market, and quite well I remember of having made the trip with my father and some of his neighbors. It required three days to make the round trip, and they generally went four or five teams together, so they could splice and pull up the hills, especially
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