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 69
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Thomas Hatfield, who deserves much more than passing notice, with his wife, Elizabeth Archer, began at once the development of their farm on the Little St. Joseph, and resided there until 1833, when they sold it, purchasing another on which the heirs still live. Born in New Jersey, he came with his parents to begin a pioneer life on the Ohio frontier at the age of twelve. In still early man- hood he became a soldier in the War of 1812, enlisting as a musi- cian, and after giving three or four years to the service of his country, he came back with his home-made pewter fife to his Ohio home to begin life with no capital but his indomitably cheerful temperament and a certain far-seeing courage which won a slow but sure way to competence. Perhaps his frontier life as a young lad had schooled him for the later struggles.
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In 1826 Isaac Klinger "entered land" near the Bloomingda !! district, but did not take possession until the following year. Also arriving in 1827 were Jonathan Cook and his family accompanied by Mrs. Cook's brother Philip. The following year Philip married Miss Isabel Archer and went into the business of blacksmithing in Fort Wayne-though he had bought land to which he returned later in life and resided permanently. Late in 1827 Lovell Yates and Richard Shaw, both of Virginia, came to the township, not, however, purchasing but renting and tilling a small field. Like Reinhard Cripe the two Virginians were more interested in hunt- ing than in soil tillage, and as the hunting became less plentiful they left for forests further west, and the places that knew them knew them no more. More permanent was James Sanders, who settled on the St. Joseph the same fall, and as he had formerly been a Methodist minister was able to conduct an occasional service for the settlers. A Mr. Hudson who settled with his family in 1828, and Joseph Goins, who came in 1830, practically complete the roster of very early settlers, but between 1830-1840 are recorded the names of Joshua and George Butler, Gavin Peyton and Babel ( ?! ) Wainwright, Elias Walters, John M. Smead, a tanner, who mar- ried a daughter of Thomas Hatfield, John B. Grosjean, Charles Schwab, Benjamin Sunderland and Thomas Hinton, the latter an Englishman who some time later kept the "Bull's Head Tavern" at the point where the Goshen road crossed the feeder canal. Subse- quent to 1840 the increase of population was very rapid.
The industrial features and social events which indicate the progress of the township toward settlement, begin of course with the establishment of that first brick kiln by Father Archer, which dates from 1824-5 and the product of which still exists in parts of the oldest structures in Fort Wayne. The exact date of the first death in the township is not given, but that of the first white birth may be happily stated as New Year's Day, 1827, when David, jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. David Archer, opened his eyes on the wintry landscape of Washington township which was to be his home for life, where he should grow up, marry, rear a family, and finally die at a green old age in the high respect of his acquaint- ance.
The first marriage occurred in 1828 when Franklin Sunderland and Miss Rebecca Archer were made one. Weddings were popular in Washington township and the Archer family in 1828, apparent- ly, for not only the first but the second and third weddings in local history occurred the same year, and all the brides were Archer daughters.
Jonathan (or John) Chapman, or as he is familiarly called, "Johnny Appleseed," made his appearance about this time, and setting up a nursery is said to have sold fruit trees. A descendant of Jonathan's sister is authority for the statement that her Uncle Jonathan never bartered anything, it being contrary to his religious scruples to do so, and that the money he sometimes received or the entertainment and shelter he was accorded was voluntarily be- stowed, and not necessarily in direct return for value given. He himself gave to all alike, asking nothing. Jonathan died in 1843, and is beyond the reach of curious questioning, but the kindly old itinerant who planted the wilderness with apple trees was eccentric
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enough, from all accounts, to make this theory of conduct quite be- lievable. Jonathan's nursery did not prevent David Archer's going back to Ohio in 1829, however, for the express purpose of bringing young fruit trees hence to plant the "first orchard in the township" on his farm. Benjamin Archer and Jonathan Cook also planted orchards on their respective farms from the same lot of trees.
The first religious service held in the township was conducted in 1829, by Rev. Mr. Chute, of the Presbyterian church in Fort Wayne, at the home of Thomas Hatfield. Later in the year a ser- vice was held at David Archer's home. Thomas Hatfield was the donor of the first burying ground, known as the "Township Ceme- tery" and still in actual service. The plot, one acre in extent, was set apart from Mr. Hatfield's first farm in 1830, and first burial in it was that of "Mary, wife of Joseph Gill." This little burial acre is to be seen on the farm now known as Jacob Rudisill's. "Johnny Appleseed's" grave is here, also.
Two roads were surveyed through Washington township in 1830 by Col. John Spencer, one becoming the Goshen road, while the other, afterward made a plank road, led to Lima, Indiana. The Lima road became an especially popular route, and on it was opened the first tavern, a log building, but large and commodious, its good- natured host, Mr. Poirson, soon making the house a favorite stopping place for travelers. The Leesburg and Yellow River roads were laid out in 1831, these four thoroughfares giving special advantages to settlers of this district.
The year 1830 was one of great strides, but of all that was ac- complished nothing quite equaled the building of the first grist mill by Henry Rudisill. Dependent hitherto upon distant mills in Ohio which were to be reached only by roads which were often impass- able, the pioneer families were often reduced to a diet of corn bread because it was impossible to get their wheat ground. No sooner was Mr. Rudisill's intention known than a general impulse to assist him was evinced. The site, still well known and pointed out to interested visitors, was on the right bank of the St. Joseph river at a point which afforded special facilities for building the dam. The residents of the district, whose labor was freely and enthusiastically given, undertook the construction of the dam, but a practical millwright had charge of the frame work of the mill, as befitted a really serious and permanent undertaking. That the whole plant was done on honor is evident from its long and useful existence. For more than fifty years the wheels of the Rudisill Mill continued to grind with water that passed the old dam in the St. Joseph. For seventy years the old mill was a landmark to the country round, and not a little of the county's history was made by, in and around its quaintly ugly architecture.
A log cabin on the farm of John S. Archer housed the first school taught in what was not yet a township. Its first teacher was a man of winning personality, but small educational qualifications, and his school was characterized chiefly by a genial atmosphere and little learning. It was supported by subscription according to the custom of the times. Pupils who lived near enough took ad- vantage of the schools at Fort Wayne, which even there were not numerous. After the State Free School fund was created by the
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legislature in 1851, Washington township began the development of the new system at once. The first Free School building was finished in 1853, and was located at Scarlett's Corners, but it only antedated by a few months four others, public money being used for the construction of the buildings, and the deficit thus made in the teaching fund supplied as before by subscription. By this was accomplished the building of school houses within the reach of all the children in the township without delay. All of these first build- ings were eventually replaced by brick structures, and from time to time have been modernized to keep pace with the times.
Washington township has a school enumeration of 641, with 376 enrolled in the public schools, according to statistics of 1915-6. In that year, eleven school houses, employing eleven teachers, were in operation for 180 days, with an average attendance of 275.
Twenty-five students were graduated from the Eighth Grade in June, 1916. The per capita expense in this township is $30.47. The Library began the year with 1,863 volumes, to which were added 145 volumes during the school year. The old Rudisill school build- ing on Elizabeth Street in Fort Wayne, was erected as a Washing- ton township school, but was absorbed by the school city, and re- cently rebuilt on Spy Run Avenue.
By 1832 the settlement of the district had advanced so far as to warrant its separation as a new township, and upon appli- cation of Mr. Ballard, John Archer and others, the organization was effected in March, under the present caption, and the first election, held in the house of Thomas Hatfield, resulted in the choice of John S. Archer as Justice of the Peace, and Andrew J. Moore and Adam Pettit as constables. In 1834 the "feeder" canal which connected the waters of the St. Joseph with the Wabash and Erie canal, west of Fort Wayne, the junction of the waters being ef- fected by the old aqueduct (near Lindenwood Cementery), giving the best early avenue of trade to the residents of Washington township, and contributing in untold measure to the development of all the northern part of the county.
Charles Schwab, who arrived in 1834, holds the creditable title of "first blacksmith," setting up his forge in the wilderness of Washington. Here he repaired the settlers' plows and other farm- ing implements, and what time he was not busy at his anvil he spent in useful labor at the sawmill on the Archer farm. A
reputation for sobriety and industry survives him still. This saw- mill was erected in the year 1835. It was the first steam mill operated in the whole district. Benjamin Sunderland, its builder, sent to Dayton, Ohio, for the boiler and machinery, entrusting this errand to David Archer and his son John, who em- ployed for the transportation of the boiler alone a wagon drawn by six yoke of oxen. The balance of the machinery was drawn by horses. It is told that when the expedition reached Shane's Prairie on the return trip, they found it impossible to proceed fur- ther without more power, on account of the heavy roads and the great weight of the boiler. Young John Archer, a lad of barely four- teen years, was sent forward alone to Fort Wayne, in this emer- gency, for two more yoke of oxen, which he secured and with re- inforcement the journey was successfully completed. The mill was operated for three years by Mr. Sunderland, who then sold it to
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David Archer (on whose land it stood) and Francis Comparet. It "was destroyed by fire some years later, and not rebuilt, the ma- chinery being sold. The first church organized in the township was the Methodist Episcopal denomination, in 1840. A small log chapel was built about 1845 to accommodate this class, the ground for both church and cemetery being donated by George Ashley, a charter member. The first minister was the Rev. J. W. Winans. After the village of Wallen was founded and a new building erect- ed there, the old chapel was converted into a home for the sexton of the cemetery.
The Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad, completed in 1868, and the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw (now the L. S. & M. S.) finished in 1869, gave Washington direct trade connection with the world, and its prosperity thus assured has continued steadily to increase. The village of Wallen was platted in 1870 by J. K. Edgerton upon lands owned by him adjacent to the G. R. and I. tracks, and is the only village in the township. It was named in honor of the railroad superintendent of that day. James P. Ross, who was the first postmaster of the village, made addi- tions to the town at later dates. Quite important industries have flourished within the little town in the past. Those most prominent were the Grosjean Brothers' saw mill established in 1872, and their tile works begun ten years later. These industries have waned, however, or been removed to other headquarters. The population of the village now is but one hundred, and business is represented by two grocery stores and one Farmers' Exchange. One of the township schools is situated in the town, which has also one church, the Methodist Episcopal. The Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad passes through Wallen, which is also connected with the world by the Fort Wayne & Northern Interurban line, while Wallen road makes it easily accessible to road travel from other highways. The Farmers' and Home telephones give communi- cation in all directions. The postoffice, established in 1871, is one of those still undisplaced by the rural free delivery system. It is impossible to conjecture, from Wallen's present, just what Wal- len's future may be.
Academie, which was platted in 1874 by Samuel Carey Evans, is merely a station on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern rail- road (once the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw.) It failed to develop to any perceptible degree. The farmers who hold the land once laid off in town lots seem content to plant it to crops each year, in spite of the railroad shipping opportunity. A large Catholic Church (St. Vincent de Paul) built to the east of the station, in the direction of the Sacred Heart Academy from which the name of the proposed town was taken, is the center of a rural congregation, and supports a parochial school with 58 pupils en- rolled in 1915-6.
The Lincoln Highway leads toward the west through Washing- ton township from Fort Wayne, following the Goshen road route.
On this highway, in old days, stood the first free school building erected in Washington township, in the close vicinity of Scarlett's Corners, where for a long term of years the scene was disfigured with the notorious old Hiser road house. The Corners underwent a purification by fire some years ago, after which the road house
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no longer offended the eye. Two or three years ago, the old brick school house that succeeded the original log structure vanished in the same manner, though there was a measure of regret at its going. However, here was an opportunity for improvement that was not wasted. Instead, the occasion was seized to inaugurate a new epoch, in Allen county admistration of township schools, em- bodying the modern idea of consolidation, whereby every child in the township may be given equal educational advantages, no mat- ter how remotely he may be situated, and these advantages may be made equal to those provided for children residing in the larger towns and cities. That such advantages cannot be given to the children in the isolated one-room schools of the townships, ex- cept at prohibitive cost, is self-evident. That there should be no discrimination between the educational advantages provided for the urban child and the farmer's child, is equally apparent. Up-to- date educational methods are the best and most effectual means of keeping the boys and girls on the home farm. There is also a healthful community spirit engendered by this school center, which promotes the social welfare of the whole township.
Nevertheless, there was great opposition to the proposed new step, when it was announced by the township trustee, Mr. Leonard Stolte. A loud remonstrance was filed, and a warfare of consid- erable bitterness was waged over the question of whether Allen county should be allowed to settle back in the educational harness, or whether Washington township should fling its strength against the collar and pull it out of the rut. A stormy trial lasting three days was heard in the office of the county superintendent of schools, Mr. David O. McComb, at the end of which, having weighed the merits of the two sides of the controversy with utmost care and deliberation, Mr. McComb decided in favor of the trustee against the remonstrance. The Advisory board, constituted by William Miner, Christ Kammeier and John Bleke, stood solidly by the trustee in the question, and their steadfast support was a heavy factor in the victory won for better township schools by Mr. Stolte.
And so the new Lincoln School was built, to be the first ex- ponent of the new sociological practice in rural education installed in Allen county. It was finished in 1915, and stands on the same lot as the old log cabin of pioneers days, its architecture and ad- ministration both in striking contrast with those of 1830. It is one story in height, of dark red art brick, and is approached by a broad cement walk from the highway edge. Four acres have been added to the grounds for playgrounds and gardening purposes, giving the building surety of an appropriate setting. The entry, broad and accessible, leads up a low flight of steps into a wide central hall arranged for an auditorium, or, by removing the port- able seating, for drills, or any of the many purposes for which the school or the community may need it. A small stage faces the auditorium, and a white screen stretched above it calls atten- tion to a moving picture machine with which many lessons are photographed on the minds of the young students. The piano is in this room, and here the classes receive instructions in sight- reading of vocal music from a teacher who comes at stated inter- vals from Fort Wayne. Provision has been made also for young students who cannot go into the city for private music lessons, to
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take them at the school building. From the right and left of the auditorium four rooms, each accommodating two grades, open. On either side of the stage, short wide stairways lead down to the basement, where the manual training department is installed. This is being equipped with all the tools and simple machinery nec- essary for teaching and acquiring the principles of wood-working craft. At present (spring, 1917) the boys are at work on one of the large domestic science tables for another school. Another table has been ordered from them for the Elks' Temple in Fort Wayne. A very solid and symmetrical oak pedestal, ready for polishing, was noted on the big work bench, also the parts for a cedar chest, fresh cut and fragrant, were reposing on a rack to "season." On the south side of the building, opening from the manual training room, is the germinating room, operated as part of the agricultural training which is one of the courses offered- and eagerly seized upon by the students. This room, maintained at the same temperature as all other apartments in the building, has roof sides of glass, exposed to the best light of day from dawn till dark. The germinating boxes are arranged in tiers, against the two ends and the inner side of the room, so that all are con- tinually in the light. The date of planting and the kind of seed sown is written upon a card and tacked on each box, and the ger- mination is eagerly watched for study of its different stages. Transplanting takes place in due time, as part of the instruction. The grounds were first put in order in the spring of the year 1917 by a landscape gardener, and the students profit by this dem- onstration. Interested parents will be given the privilege of taking a hand in the gardening. From the auditorium, turning toward the entrance, a smaller room opens on either side, that on the left hand being the rest room, occupied by the school library, and that on the opposite hand, designated as the principal's room, now occupied by two or more incubators, in an egg-hatching demon- stration conducted by the principal, Mr. Ernest Warner, for the benefit of the boys who are taking agriculture. The eggs are brought by the young students, who mark them for experiment's sake, and the demonstration includes the instruction of every young experimenter in the arts of inspecting, culling out, can- dling and testing the eggs at successive stages, and the care of the young chickens when they are hatched, as well as the management of the incubator itself.
Though a one story building, the Lincoln school has one upper room, directly over the entrance stairway, and the two rooms just described. This is the domestic science kitchen, a model in its equipment, with electric hot plates and baker, and all the sanitary utensils and conveniences for learning the science of cooking. In the school rooms attractive work of a high order is to be seen on every wall, and no room is without its patriotic decorations. The lighting of the building is ideal both by windows and electricity whenever that is needed. The most improved method of heating and ventilating is in use, and all motive power used is supplied by electricity, this being economically managed by the use of auto- matic devices for the thermostat and water pressure tank. Once inside the building, the visitor will not realize that the open country lies about it, so entirely like a city school of the sort is the aspect
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of the Lincoln school. As far as consolidation goes, it means very much more than the mere bunching of many pupils in one building for economy's sake. It represents the get "together" idea, in its most beneficial aspect. The most tense interest obtains in every department, and a spirit of emulation animates every student. The difficulty in the transportation of the children from the farther quarters of the district was one problem which most obsessed the minds of those who opposed the school, but this is solved by the maintenance of six omnibuses, especially fitted, which gather all the children every morning, and bring them to school on time. There are no tardy marks to be given at Lincoln school. Dismissal is an interesting process involving a complete change from former routines. At the close of study, the pupils file into the cloak rooms, which adjoin each class-room, and are ready in a trice. Outside, the omnibuses wait, drawn up to the walk, three on each side. "One bell" strikes, and at the signal every pupil, in whatever room, who goes in 'bus number one rises and marches out in double file; the moment they are under way, "two bells" is sounded, and the regular passengers for the 'bus number two follow; and so on until the whole procession has been poured into the waiting vehi- cles, which one by one roll away, amid much merriment. The whole dismissal occupies but three or four minutes, and is most entertain- ing to witness. There is no doubt that other townships will fol- low the example of Washington, as fast as rebuilding becomes imminent. Opposition could only have been founded upon failure to understand the advantages which are now conceded to be undeni- able, from every standpoint. Four of the most remote township schools in Washington are still maintained, funds not permitting the Lincoln school to be made large enough to accommodate all, at the present time.
St. Joseph Township
At first separated from Adams township in 1828, and organized as a township in 1834, the present limits of St. Joseph township were not defined until 1840. Its history, however, should begin at a much earlier date, since, while it was still a part of Adams, it received a number of the early arrivals in the wilderness. Jere- miah Hudson is admittedly the first white man to have settled in the territory now called St. Joseph, coming from Delaware in the fall of 1828. The site he chose for his clearing was on land which became known later as the "Ogle half-section." Tradition credits Mr. Hudson with having been a man of great energy and enter- prise, beyond which little is said, in the sparse records of the time.
Early in 1829 Charles H. DeRome, born in Canada, but who had married a Miami maiden at Vincennes, came to the township in which his wife had been granted a reserve lying on the east side of the St. Joseph river. Mr. DeRome was a man of considerable education, and on account of his ability to speak French and the Miami tongue, in addition to English, was more occupied, person- ally, in clerical capacities in the village at the fort than in the im- provement of the reserve. That the reserve was only vicariously his, was a circumstance leading to some confusion, and no little in- justice. Descendants of the DeRomes are still living, it is said, in
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Allen county. The year 1829 brought to the township several men of unusual caliber. Jesse Klinger, from Pennsylvania and Ohio, was one of these. He purchased a tract of land on the Richardville reserve and at once began, with the energy which appears to have been characteristic, to clear and improve it. In the heyday of life, he seemed destined to a long career in the newly opened country. Generous of his strength, he lent a helping hand to every neighbor who had a log cabin to erect or waste timber to reduce. Pioneer days had much need of such neighborly souls, and many might be counted, but in his day, Jesse Klinger was apparently the Great- Heart of St. Joseph. In 1834, Mr. Klinger had given a small tract of land on the St. Joseph river, to be used as a cemetery, burials having been made as far away as the Maumee settlement previous to that date. A year later, when his efforts toward competency were nearing deserved success, his health broke, and he himself was one of the first to be buried in the little "Acre." His wife returned to her Ohio home, with her five-year-old son, Samuel, the first white child born in St. Joseph, only to lose him, also, a few years later.
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