USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I > Part 56
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"The law must and shall be vindicated," said he. "Now, unless you quietly disperse at once, it will be my duty to see that you are not only punished, but to compel you to disperse by the strong arm of the law." The proclamation was received with derisive laughter.
All arriving trains were stalled by the removal of coupling pins. On Sunday evening, July 22, all of the railroad shops were closed and eight hundred men were added to the roll of strikers. This number was soon enlarged by the addition of the conductors, firemen and yardmen of the Wabash road. Directly, the employes of the H. G. Olds spoke factory joined the strikers. Mr. Olds appealed to the city to prevent the burning of his plant.
On the 28th of July, Superintendent Gorham, of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad; Superintendent P. S. O'Rourke, of the Grand Rapids and Indiana road; Sheriff Charles A. Munson and Mayor Zollinger, with an engineer and fireman, took possession of a locomotive and ran it to a point near the Calhoun street cross- ing, where the strikers had made their headquarters in a coach and a caboose. Upon the refusal of the occupants to leave, the locomo- tive was attached to the cars and they were taken eastward to the neighborhood of Lafayette street. Here the strikers seized the engine, removed the engineer and fireman, and drove the engine into the roundhouse, where a strong guard prevented the officials from re- moving any of the rolling stock from the building.
ARRIVAL OF THE SOLDIERS.
In the meantime the disturbance at Pittsburgh, Chicago and other points had reached such alarming proportions that military help was required to restore quiet and order. Then followed the conferences and negotiations between the men and their employes which resulted in the ending of the trouble after twelve days of disturbance, which was marked in other cities by rioting and blood- shed. The final settlement of the trouble was followed by a glad feeling of relief, and in a few days normal conditions were restored.
The troops sent to Fort Wayne from Chicago-Companies A and C, under command of Colonel E. C. Otis-did not reach the city until the day following the settlement of the strike, and they pro- ceeded eastward without delay.
STORMY CAREER OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
Nor were other groups of men of a different sphere of action entirely at one with their brothers. A second tale of inharmony deals with the organization of rival medical colleges in Fort Wayne. Briefly, the tale unfolds as follows :
On March 10, 1876, at the Aveline house, the Fort Wayne Col- lege of Medicine was organized by Drs. C. B. Stemen and H. A. Clark, teachers in a medical college at Cincinnati, and Drs. B. S. Woodworth, I. M. Rosenthal and W. H. Myers, of Fort Wayne. The building, later occupied by W. F. Geller, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Washington boulevard, was fitted up as the college home. The original faculty consisted of Drs. Stemen, Woodworth,
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Clark, Rosenthal, Myers, J. H. Ford, M. M. Latta, H. D. Wood, A. M. Hunt, R. W. Thrift, H. Van Sweringen, S. H. Swan, A. E. Van Buskirk and E. Melchers. Two well-attended sessions followed the opening of the institution.
At the end of the second session, a controversy between factions of the faculty of the college resulted in a reorganization which en- dured for one year. after which period two institutions-the Fort Wayne College of Medicine and the Fort Wayne Medical college- came into being simultaneously. Each claimed the other to be an intruder and not legally established. During the three years of the existence of the latter institution, which was located at the southeast corner of Calhoun and Baker streets, the controversy continued, and wordy conflicts provided frequent and varied forms of enter- tainment for the non-professional portion of the population.
Added to the earlier internal troubles of the medical school was the hostile attitude of many people of the town, who failed to appreciate the advanced methods of the school in the teaching of certain branches through the means of dissecting human bodies. Dr. W. H. Myers, on the occasion of the graduation of the class of 1878, described the experience of the school as a purification "by passing through the refining quarantine of prejudice."
The grand jury, of which I. D. G. Nelson was the foreman, condemned the dissecting room of the college on the ground that it was "used for the purpose of depositing, concealing and dissecting human bodies, a portion of which, at least, are stolen from ceme- teries or graveyards in this vicinity, in violation of law, common decency and the proprieties of life." The report added that the alleged practice "has produced and is producing great excitement, anxiety and indignation, especially among those who have families or have recently lost friends."
GRAVE ROBBERIES.
The report refers to several cases of the removal of bodies from Lindenwood and other cemeteries, which had resulted in the arrest of six physicians and one student. The investigation of the cases was replete with sensational features. In one instance, when the body of a Roanoke (Indiana) man was found within the college walls, a prominent member of the faculty declared that he believed that professional grave robbers in the employ of the enemies of the institution had placed the body there "with a view to bringing our college into disrepute." The physician added the information that within a brief period thirty graves had been robbed.
In 1877, ghouls removed the body of a prominent citizen from a grave in Lindenwood cemetery; the cemetery association offered a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the culprits.
It is of interest to note that the Fort Wayne College of Medicine survived the attacks made upon it and became recognized as one of the leading institutions in the middle west. During its later years and until the college was made a part of Purdue University, it occupied the home of the late Judge Hugh McCulloch, on West Superior street, now the headquarters of the Fort Wayne Turn- verein Vorwaerts. In later years the medical department of Purdue
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was taken over by the Indiana University and the course of study includes attendance in departments at Bloomington and Indian- apolis.
FIRST GRADUATES OF MEDICAL COLLEGE.
The first class of graduates to leave the Fort Wayne College of Medicine was composed of Drs. William Jones, L. L. Dent, James McClure, Elijah Mumaw, A. Wooley, J. H. Renner, C. B. Rice, Charles W. Gordon, T. B. McNabb, N. E. Bachman, L. A. Abbott, I. N. Myers, A. A. Jolleff, W. W. DePuy and G. W. McGovern. The commencement event was held at the Wayne Street Methodist church in June, 1877, and addresses were given by Dr. B. S. Woodworth and Rev. R. D. Robinson.
SUPERIOR COURT ESTABLISHED.
With the establishment of the Allen county superior court, in 1875, with nearly equal jurisdiction with the circuit court with the exception of criminal and probate powers. Allen Zollars was named by Governor Williams as the first judge. Judge Zollars retained the office but a short time, however, when he resigned and Robert Lowry was appointed in his stead. Judge Lowry's election followed at the fall election of 1878. Succeeding judges of the superior court have been James L. Worden (1882), Lindley M. Ninde (appointed, 1884), Samuel M. Hench (elected, 1884), Augustus A. Chapin (1886), Charles M. Dawson (1890), William J. Vesey (appointed, 1899), Owen N. Heaton (1902), Carl Yaple (1912).
ACTIVITIES OF 1875.
"Fort Wayne, by the record, is the most lawless town in Indiana," observed the Chicago Times, editorially, in the winter of 1875. "For some time murders and affrays more or less fatal have been reported, the cap-sheaf of lawlessness coming this morn- ing in the shape of a canal crew feud, in which both parties pro- ceeded to actual combat. The general existing impunity of crime in the city has encouraged the outbreak." That the severe arraign- ment by the Chicago publication was not without reasonable founda- tion is shown by the words of Judge Borden, of the criminal court, who, in delivering his charge to the grand jury, said: "It is useless to shut our eyes to the fact that for the past year crime has been increasing. Scarcely a day passes that the papers do not teem with accounts of murders, robberies, rapes and other crimes which cause the blood to chill in our veins." With Rev. R. L. Walgus as pastor, Cavalry United Brethren church was organized in 1875. Succeeding pastors were J. L. Luttrell, D. A. Johnson, J. P. Stewart, John Lower, J. W. Lake, George F. Byrer and John W. Borkert. George Moon was appointed deputy revenue collector, Hiram Iddings pension agent and John F. Curtice register in bankruptcy ; Mr. Curtice was succeeded by John W. Hayden.
James B. Harper, a graduate of the University of Indiana, began the practice of law and rose to a high position among the members of the Indiana bar. J. H. Buckles remodeled the Little and McCulloch grain house and opened it as the Grand hotel. New residents of the city were John M. Landenberger, of
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the Indiana Road Machine Company, and John B. Reuss, of the Centlivre Brewing Company. The Fort Wayne Medical society was organized, with Dr. B. S. Woodworth, president, and Dr. Joseph Beck, secretary. Robert Lowry resigned as judge of the circuit court, and Governor Hendricks appointed William W. Carson to fill the vacancy. With the incoming of Ruther- ford B. Hayes as president of the United States, Frederick W. Keil was named as postmaster of Fort Wayne. A. H. Hamilton was re-elected to congress over Mr. Bonham by a vote in the district of 19,142 to 12,777. Thomas J. Foster and Charles B. Austin were elected state representatives. With the election of Edward O'Rourke as judge of the circuit court, that official entered upon a period of thirty-six years in the same position of important trust.1
The discovery of a wholesale plot to carry through a fraudulent scheme on presidential election day called the people in a mass meeting at the courthouse, when A. P. Edgerton was chosen chairman, Charles A. Munson, secretary, and thirty other prominent citizens as vice presidents. A large number of fraudu- lent ballots had been printed, but the watchful opponents of the move prevented their use.
ACTIVITIES OF 1876.
In the national campaign, Allen county gave Tilden and Hen- dricks, democrats, 7,732 votes, and Hayes and Wheeler, republicans, 4,013. The people of Allen county were treated to the unusual sight of the passage of a monster meteor on the night of December 21. L. C. Cone, of Pierceton, Indiana, writing under date of November 14, 1914, says concerning this spectacle: "The meteor passed about directly over Fort Wayne at 9 o'clock. It was first seen in Kansas. It traveled in a direction a little north of east at a fearful rate. It struck the ground in northern New York not far from Lake Ontario. It exploded while passing over Illinois, producing a brilliant display of fire and a noise like a battle of artillery. Fort Wayne members of the Indiana commis- sion to the Centennial exposition at Philadelphia were A. P. Edger- ton, R. C. Bell, J. M. Coombs, W. W. Worthington, J. H. Bass, S. B. Bond, J. D. Sarnighausen, Mrs. F. P. Randall, Mrs. I. D. G. Nelson, Mrs. Jesse L. Williams, Mrs. Allen Hamilton and Mrs. Henry P. Ayres. New residents of Fort Wayne in 1876 were Maurice L. Jones, from Peru, Indiana, photographer and wholesale photographic supplies; George W. Pixley, from Utica, New York, clothier and banker; James M. Barrett, from Illinois, attorney, state senator and leader in electric traction enterprises, and Dr. Carl Proegler, from Germany, physician. Princess Rink, used for thirty-eight years as the assembling place of large audiences, was erected at the southeast corner of West Main and Fulton streets ; it was destroyed by fire in 1914. The election of James H. Smart as state superintendent of public instruction left a vacancy in the superintendency of the Fort Wayne schools, which was filled by the appointment of Dr. John S. Irwin, who had served for ten years as a member of the school board. Dr. Irwin came to Fort Wayne in 1853, and was first employed as a bookkeeper in the bank- ing house of Allen Hamilton and Company. Later he was the teller
.
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of the Merchants' National bank. Dr. Irwin resigned in 1896 and removed to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1897. Following is a list of the principals of the public schools in 1876: High school, Charles K. Latham; training school, Ada E. Remmel; Jefferson school, Carrie B. Sharp; Clay school, Mary L. Thompson; Hoagland, Miss Frank Hamilton; Hanna, Miss M. M. Macphail; Bloomingdale, Temple H. Dunn; Harmar, Hettie Mark; East German, John J. Weber; West German, Carl Schwanz; Nebraska, Rev. Edward Rubin.
ACTIVITIES OF 1877.
A few days after the rebuilding of the "feeder" dam across the St. Joseph river, one abutment of the aqueduct which conveyed the "feeder" canal across Spy Run creek collapsed, causing a loss of $6,000. The ruins of this aqueduct still may be seen near the inter- section of North Clinton street and Jacobs avenue. In 1877, Colonel D. N. Foster became the resident manager of the Fort Wayne branch of the firm of Foster Brothers, which had been established here in 1868. Following the establishment of the Fort Wayne branch of the firm of Foster Brothers, a store was opened at Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1870, and another at Lafayette, Indiana, in 1885. John G. Foster, who had charge of the western branches, died in 1878. Scott Foster retired from the firm on assuming the presidency of the People's bank in New York city, and his Fort Wayne inter- ests were purchased by David N. and Samuel M. Foster, the former
CHARLES A. MUNSON.
Charles A. Munson was a son of James P. Munson, who came from Connecticut and became a pioneer merchant of Fort Wayne. Charles was born in Fort Wayne in 1843. After his service in the civil war he became a traveling salesman for the wholesale grocery house of Huestis and Hamilton and was so employed for sixteen years. He served for four years in the city council and in 1876 was elected sheriff of the county. He was re-elected in 1878 by a majority of 4,370 votes. Twice-in 1886 and 1888-he was nominated as the democratic candidate for secretary of state. Mr. Munson later became the Chicago representative of the Fort Wayne Electric Company and was noted as a successful manager of sales- men of electrical machinery in the mid- dle west. His death occurred in 1901.
SAMUEL E. MORSS.
Mr. Morss, a son of former Mayor Samuel S. Morss, was a native of Fort Wayne, born in 1852. Early in life he engaged in newspaper work as the city editor of the Fort Wayne Gazette, and in partnership with William R. Nelson, purchased the Fort Wayne Sentinel in 1879. The following year the paper was sold to E. A. K. Hackett, and Messrs. Morss and Nelson established the Kansas City Star. In 1888 he organized a com- pany for the purchase of the Indianap- olis Sentinel. President Cleveland ap- pointed Mr. Morss to the important post of consul general at Paris, an honor which came unsolicited.
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assuming control of the furniture and carpet portion of the business, and the latter, who came to Fort Wayne in 1879, continuing the dry goods department. A. Z. Foster acquired the business at Terre Haute. Since 1885 the Fort Wayne and Lafayette stores have been operated under the corporate name of the D. N. Foster Furniture Company. In 1886 Samuel M. Foster sold his dry goods business in order to give his entire time to the management of his shirtwaist fac- tory, which has since become one of the leading manufacturing institu- tions of the city. Mr. Foster is known as the "father of the shirt- waist," for it was he who introduced the becoming and convenient style of garment to the women of America. In recent years he has given his attention to the affairs of the German-American National bank, of which he is the president. Louis Fox engaged in the manufacture of confectionery and baked goods. Fremont L. Jones established the Troy laundry. Among the new citizens of the year were Dr. A. E. VanBuskirk, from Harris- burg, Ohio, physician; Edward F. Yarnelle, from Springfield, Illi- nois, wholesale heavy hardware dealer; Charles T. Strawbridge, from Bloomingrove, Ohio, of the Bass Foundry and Machine Works; Daniel L. Harding, from Ireland, mayor, and Dr. John W. Younge, physician, traveler and adventurer. George W. Doswell established a floral greenhouse. Weil Brothers founded a fur and hide business. The Fort Wayne Conservatory
of Music was established. Fred Eckart erected the first buildings of the present extensive plant of the Eckart Packing Com- pany. The business men of Fort Wayne, appreciating the need of a more united common interest, met at the courthouse December 26 and organized the Fort Wayne Board of Trade, with the following officers : President, A. P. Edgerton; vice presidents, John H. Bass and G. R. McNiece; secretary, F. S. Shurick; treasurer, Charles McCulloch. The directors were S. Carey Evans, S. B. Bond, A. C. Trentman, A. Waring, B. Thanhouser, Solomon Bash and John Orff.
ACTIVITIES OF 1878.
The famous organization of singers known as the Haydn quartet, which delighted hundreds of audiences during a period of more than thirty years, was organized. Its members were Charles H. Worden, president of the First National bank of Fort Wayne; Charles L. Olds, president of the Olds Construction Company ; Ed- ward F. Yarnelle, of the wholesale heavy hardware firm of Mossman, Yarnelle and Company, and A. J. Lang, of the George De Wald Company, wholesale dry goods. A new iron bridge was built across the St. Mary's river at Main street. Drs. George W. McCaskey, C. B. Stemen and W. H. Gobrecht established a magazine, the Fort Wayne Journal of Medical Science. Among the well-known citizens who came to Fort Wayne in 1878 are Dr. Miles F. Porter, Dr. A. J. Laubach, George H. Loesch, druggist, and Samuel R. Alden, Thomas E. Ellison and William J. Vesey, prominent members of the bar of Indiana. William Fleming was elected treasurer of the state of Indiana.
Walpole G. Colerick, democrat, made a successful campaign for
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congress against John Studabaker, republican, Colerick's majority being 6,676.2
NOTES ON CHAPTER XLII.
(1) Other officers
elected were: Prosecutor for the circuit court, J. F. Morrison; prosecutor for the criminal court, Samuel M. Hench; county treas- urer, Michael Schmetzer; sheriff, Chas. A. Munson (succeeding Platt J. Wise). Hugh M. Diehl was appointed chief of police. William Gaffney succeeded A. M. Webb as coroner.
(2) County officials elected in 1878 were: State senator, Thomas J. Fos- ter; representatives, Elihu Reichelder- fer and O. E. Fleming; judge of the
superior court, Robert Lowry; judge of the criminal court, James W. Borden; prosecuting attorney, superior court, Samuel M. Hench; prosecuting attor- ney, criminal court, James F. Morri- son; clerk, M. V. B. Spencer; auditor, M. E. Argo; treasurer, John M. Taylor; recorder, Joseph Mommer, Jr .; sheriff, Charles A. Munson; commissioners, Ja- cob Goeglein and Timothy Hogan; cor- oner, William Gaffney; surveyor, W. H. Goshorn.
CHAPTER XLIII-1879-1884.
Waterworks-Telephones - Electric Lighting - Polit- ical Disturbances.
The proposition to use the "feeder" canal as a means of city water supply precipitates a warm fight-Moses Lane's plan-Council restrained from taking action-The people elect anti-canal councilmen-J. D. Cook's plan is adopted-Deep wells are sunk-The first pumping station-The first telephone system proves to be a financial failure-The Western Union venture-Absorbed by the "Bell" company-Development of the "Bell" and "Home" systems-Building of the Nickel Plate railroad-The first electric lights-Beginnings of the Fort Wayne Electric Works-The exe- cution of Samuel McDonald-Crowds prevent James G. Blaine and Wil- liam Mckinley from speaking-Rival torchlight processions-The Masonic Temple-Knights of Labor-The first typewriter-A world-championship baseball game.
T THE YEAR 1879 gave to Fort Wayne its original waterworks plant and its first telephone system. During 1875, the agita- tion for a municipally-owned waterworks system for Fort Wayne resulted in earnest activity for preference in the councilmanic election of 1876.
The owners of the disused feeder canal, which brought the waters of the St. Joseph river into the city limits from a point seven miles north of the town, sought to sell the artificial waterway to the city under the claim that the water supply was sufficient and the quality satisfactory. Two factions engaged in a controversy over the advisability of using the canal water, while others were firm in the belief that the entire question should be deferred for further consideration. The council, however, engaged a competent hydraulic engineer, Moses Lane, who prepared and submitted plans for a system of water supply. . The canal owners offered to construct a plant in accordance with the Lane plan at a cost of $380,000, includ- ing the laying of 21.18 miles of pipe and the erection of a standpipe five feet in diameter and two hundred feet high.
A majority of the members of the council favored the use of the canal water, but their further action was stopped by a restrain- ing order secured by certain citizens, and before the time set for the point at issue a councilmanic election was held which resulted in the defeat of every candidate who favored the use of canal water.
The successful candidates, together with the hold-over mem- bers, were N. H. Putnam, C. Hettler, E. L. Chittenden, E. Zorbaugh, W. H. Withers, D. B. Strope, Joshua Holmes, Henry Schnelker, C. F. Pfeiffer, W. T. Mckean, J. B. White, M. Baltes, C. A. Munson, D. L. Harding, T. Hogan, Silas Tam, Frank Wittenburg and John Wil- kinson.
On the 15th of May, 1879, the council authorized the waterworks trustees, Henry Monning, Charles McCulloch and C. Boseker, to employ J. D. Cook, of Toledo, a competent hydraulic engineer, to prepare plans for a waterworks system. These plans contemplated 506
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1879 1884
the building of a reservoir-the same, in fact, as was finally con- structed-but the council did not favor the reservoir idea. At a special election, however, the people declared in favor of the plan by a vote of 2,593 to 591. Ground was broken in the fall of 1880. The work, exclusive of the reservoir, cost $236,865. The reservoir was later built at an expense of $20,000.
Many citizens favored the plan to pump the water from the St. Joseph river. The owners of the feeder canal urged its purchase by the city, and a third element succeeded in inducing the council to decide to use the waters of Spy Run creek, which flows into St. Mary's river at a point between the Clinton street and Spy Run avenue bridges. Little realizing that the supply would soon prove inadequate, the city erected its pumping station on this little stream, near Clinton street, and equipped it with a valuable low-pressure engine capable of pumping 3,000,000 gallons daily, in addition to which there was also installed a high-pressure engine and a battery of boilers to equip a first-class pumping plant.
Near this pumping station (No. 1), which is operated in con- nection with the municipal light and power plant, a reservoir was constructed. During the first summer of the history of the water- works plant a serious drought made necessary the tapping of the feeder canal and the use of its impure water. Originally, about twenty miles of pipe was laid, and from this small beginning the present great system has been developed. All of the water is now drawn from deep rock wells. There are three widely separated pumping stations.
THE MARVELS OF THE TELEPHONE.
The marvelous invention of Alexander Graham Bell, which "came to be called the telephone and which was revealed to an aston- ished world during the Philadelphia Centennial celebration of 1876, found its way to Fort Wayne in the summer of 1879, when Sidney C. Lumbard erected poles and strung the first wires connecting various places within the town.
The strangeness of the innovation is suggested by the comment of the Sentinel, which observed that "conversations have been car- ried on between the City hospital and Eckart's packing house as satisfactorily as between two parties in the same room. A day or two ago," continues the same paper, "Dr. Myers sent a prescription by telephone from the City hospital to Meyer Bros.' drug store and it was promptly filled." The same paper tells of the singing of solos over the telephone lines by Mrs. Lumbard and Nellie Angell, which were heard distinctly by people at the various wire con- nections. The Lumbard exchange was located in the Foellinger block, on the west side of Calhoun street north of Main. Bell patent telephones and transmitters were installed, and the system secured over one hundred subscribers. The enterprise proved a financial failure, however, and was later abandoned.
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