USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > Valley of the upper Maumee River, with historical account of Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Volume II > Part 2
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Here, to give an intelligent idea of this great work, from an engi- neering point of view, it will be well to quote the altitudes of various points along its line and at the sources of the streams which were to supply it. The elevation of the Maumee above the level of Lake Erie at the head of the rapids is sixty-two feet, at Defiance eighty feet, at the state line 135 feet, at Fort Wayne 163 feet. The summit level of the water of the canal was 193 feet above the lake, two feet higher than the marsh which is the summit between the Maumee and Wabash riv- ers. The surface of the head branch of the St. Joseph is at an altitude of 423 feet; Jackson railroad track at north line of Allen county, 270 feet. The reservoir at Rome city, built by the state in 1838, to aid in supplying a proposed canal from Fort Wayne to Lake Michigan, has an altitude of 367 feet. Low water of the Wabash at the forks, 126 feet. The formal breaking of the ground, with such ceremonies as could be performed in a little frontier town, was performed at Fort Wayne just in time to save the land grant under the limitation of the act of congress.
The ceremony attending the commencement of the work of build- ing the canal is interestingly described in the Cass County Times of March 2nd, 1832. The preceding birthday of Washington, February 22nd, had been selected as an auspicious time for the beginning, and by order of the board of canal commissioners, J. Vigus, esq., was author- ized to procure the necessary tools and assistance and repair to the most convenient point on the St. Joseph feeder-line at 2 o'clock on that day for the purpose named. A public meeting was called at the Masonic hall and was attended by all prominent citizens not only of Fort Wayne, but of the Wabash and Maumee valleys. Henry Rudisill was chairman and David H. Colerick, secretary. A procession was formed and proceeded across the St. Mary's river to the point selected. A circle 'was formed and the commissioners and orator took their stand. Hon. Charles W. Ewing then delivered an appropriate address and was followed by Commissioner Vigus. The latter after adverting to the
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difficulties and embarrassments which had beset the undertaking, and referring to the importance of the work and the advantages which would be realized, concluded by saying: "I am now about to commence the Wabash and Erie canal, in the name and by the authority of the state of Indiana." He then struck a spade into the ground and the assembled gentlemen cheered. Judge Hanna and Captain Murray, two of the able advocates of the canal, next approached and commenced an indiscriminate digging, and the procession then marched back to the town.
Laborers were employed in great numbers, among them men who afterward grew to wealth and prominence, and the expenditure of money thus made necessary had a marked and healthful influence on the busi- ness affairs of the place. The first letting of contracts was made in June, 1832, under the direction of the then commissioners, David Burr, Samuel Lewis and Jordon Vigus, of fifteen miles, and in the fall, four miles more, including the feeder-dam, were put under contract. Work was done to the amount of $4,180 by the close of that year. In the following May the remaining thirteen miles of the summit division were let, and in 1835 this division of thirty-two miles was completed, at the small cost, including lockage and an important dam, of $7,177. This united the sources of the Wabash with the great lakes, and on the 4th of July, the canal boat " Indiana " passed through the canal to Hunting- ton. At Fort Wayne, on this occasion there was a great celebration of Independence day, with an oration by Hon. Hugh McCulloch.
The work on the line in Ohio was much delayed by financial diffi- culties, soon also to overwhelm the Indiana division. The dilatory action of the Ohio government led to the sending of Jesse L. Williams as an embassador to Columbus, to hasten the action of that state. The work was hastened but proceeded slowly, nevertheless. In 1843, when the work was completed, Ohio owed $500 for its share of the work and the whole resources and credit of the state was exhausted. The position of Indiana was the same, and the work was carried on under embarrassments now altogether unknown. In this state, the engineer on his own responsibility, procured the printing of notes, bearing interest and receivable for canal lands, which became a part of the currency of that era, and received the picturesque name of " White Dog."
The completion of the canal was celebrated July 4th, 1843, by a grand demonstration held in Thomas Swinney's grove just west of the town. The attendance was beyond any precedent, people coming from Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Cleveland and many other points. There were few delicacies to serve at that feast and it partook rather of the solid and substantial character of the meals of the pioneers and the backwoods men.
Peter Kiser drove a fat ox from the Wea prairie, 145 miles south- west of Fort Wayne, at the rate of ten miles a day for the barbacue. The principal orator was Gen. Lewis Cass, the projector of the great Erie canal in New York state. His speech is still recalled by the older residents as glowingly anticipating the development of the country the
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canal would make possible, a development he might have added quite beyond the ability of the orator or his hearers to comprehend. The remarks of Gen. Cass were punctuated by frequent firing of a cannon that had been captured from the British by Commodore Perry, and which now does service as a hitching post in front of Hon. F. P. Randall's residence.
Fast fading from the memory of man are the recollections of that historic celebration. The orator has been dead nearly half a century. Judge Hanna and the other projectors of the canal have long since passed away, and there remains of those who gathered in Swinney's grove but a few white haired men and women. Peter Kiser the butcher, survives. He has since served in the legislature, and for thirty years kept a gen- eral store, which old settlers made headquarters. He was the last of the earlier merchants, and is nearly the only living connection between the prosperous and wealthy city of Fort Wayne and the straggling vil- lage that gathered about the historic fort.
The first canal boat at Fort Wayne, was one built in 1834 by F. P. Tinkham, to add to the pleasures of the 4th of July celebration of that year. In the following year Capt. Asa Fairfield had a boat built, the " Indiana," which under the command of Oliver Fairfield, an old sea cap- tain, started on the 4th of July from Fort Wayne to Huntington, carry- ing a large party of gentlemen, including Dr. L. G. Thompson, Judge Hanna, Allen Hamilton, Samuel and William S. Edsall, W. G. and G. W. Ewing, Francis Comparet, Capt. J. B. Bourie, William Rockhill, Col. John Spencer, J. L. Williams, D. H. Colerick, L. P. Ferry, James Barnett and others. Thereafter trips were made every day. In 1843, Samuel and Archie Mahon began running packets between Toledo and Fort Wayne, and in the summer of 1844, a regular line was organized by Samuel Doyle and William Dickey, of Dayton, with eleven boats and a steam propellor, for use on both branches of the canal. In 1854, the opening of the Wabash railroad caused the withdrawal of the packet lines for- ever. Following are the names of the old packet captains: Thomas B. Filton, W. S. B. Hubbell, M. Van Horne, John M. Wigton, Clark Smith, Byron O. Angel, William Sturgiss, Benjamin Ayres, Joseph Hoskinson, William Phillips, George Alvord, James Popple, Nathan Nettleton, Thomas B. McCarty, Elias Webb, William Dale, George D. Davis and J. R. Smith.
In 1847 the Wabash and Erie canal, under the state debt act, passed into the control of the board of three trustees, two of whom were appointed by the holders of Indiana bonds and one by the legislature of Indiana.
That portion of the canal running through Fort Wayne, was, as has been stated, purchased by the New York, Chicago & St. Louis railway company, which has filled it up, turning it into a magnificent right of way through the center of the city. The long acqueduct over the St. Mary's river, was taken down several years since, and near its site has been erected a handsome iron railway bridge. The wide canal just
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west of the St. Mary's is filled up and converted into a splendid railway yard, capable of the storage of hundreds of cars, and near the point of the junction of the old feeder with the main line of the canal, stands the company's round-house and repair shops.
Early Enterprises .- The earlier enterprises of Fort Wayne, speak- ing in a mercantile sense, were trading with the Indians for the furs and peltries in which this region abounded, and great packs of the skins of the beaver, the otter, bear, deer and raccoon were regularly shipped in pirogues down the Maumee to Detroit, whence they were taken by lake to Buffalo and other commercial centers.
A peculiar industry was that established on the river bottom near where the jail now stands. It was the trying of fish for their oil. This business was managed by Cincinnati parties, and had a profitable exist- ence of several years. It gave employment to a number of Indians and whites who caught and delivered canoe loads of muskalonge and other large fish, which were then so plentiful that they were often caught on the ripples with the hands of the fishermen or were driven into a cove where they were captured in great quantities.
The forests of northern Indiana have long been celebrated. Nowhere was walnut found of finer grade or in more plentiful quantity. Great oak trees of the white and red variety had lifted their strong arms in the gales of a century and nodded to the straight hickory, the graceful poplar and the stalwart ash. The early settlers who set about hewing farms out of the wilderness gave to the business of saw-milling its early prominence, and at many points where a water power could be had by damming the streams, the sawing of logs into lumber was extensively carried on, the farmer being glad enough to rid his land of an incumbrance so great as a grove of walnut trees. Where the distance to the saw-mills was great these trees were cut up into rails, or oftener still, were burned. The first steam saw-mill of Fort Wayne, and one of the best known in northern Indiana, was that established by George Baker and his two sons, John and Jacob, on lot No. 7, county addition, corner of La- Fayette and Water streets, and lying between the canal and St. Mary's river. The situation was exceedingly advantageous and permitted ship- ments of logs by canal, river or wagon road. The mill was fitted with two " muley " saws and employed ten men. It is still operated by Kil- lian Baker, but its capacity of 5,000 feet a day is not now often tested.
In 1842-43 William Rockhill and Samuel Edsall built two saw-mills on the north side of the canal and on the east side of St. Mary's river, and having effected a lease with the canal company for water privilege, built two saw-mills and operated them for a number of years.
In 1848 William H. Coombs and Mr. Edsall built a steam saw-mill on the north side of the canal on lot No. 568, Hanna's addition, and in 1862 a large and splendidly equipped saw-mill of two stories in height, was established on the north bank of the canal between Ewing and Cass streets. The original proprietors were John B. Krudup, Louis Schroder, Fred Brandt and Julius Kenoder, the firm's title being
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Krudup & Co. After many changes in partners the mill was sold in December, 1876, to D. Tagtmeyer, who continues to operate it. This mill's average daily work was the sawing of 4,000 feet of lumber. The circular saw was sixty inches in diameter. The capital employed was $6,000.
Other saw-mills were there of H. G. Olds on the north bank of the canal at Coombs street bridge and a saw-mill operated in connection with the Beaver, or Esmond, grist-mill at the crossing of the St. Mary's river by Broadway and the one established on the Maumee river near the foot of Hanover street by Mr. Coles. This mill was afterward sold to Marshall Wines.
But by far the most important of the saw-mills is the one of most recent establishment. Reference is made to the band saw-mill con- structed on the south bank of the old canal between Van Buren and Jackson streets in 1868 by Hoffman Brothers. This firm leads all others in America in the extent of its walnut lumber business, and has for a number of years been quoted as the largest owner of this timber in America. The firm is composed of Messrs. A. E. and W. H. Hoffman, and was established nearly twenty years ago. The shops have grown to vast proportions and are occupied in the manufacture of fine hard wood lumber for house furnishing and for furniture. A capital of $300,000 is employed, and the firm has constantly in its employ from 150 to 200 men. Eight timber buyers make purchases in Kansas, Mis- souri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and other states. These mills have cut 125,000 feet of lumber per week. A new 300 horse-power engine has just been added to the works. The yards of the firm have become so extensive that every foot of ground that can be leased within three blocks of their mills is covered by their lum- ber and logs.
The first grist-mill was built in 1827 by James Barnett and Samuel Hanna on the west bank of the St. Mary's river, near the crossing of the Bluffton road. The mill was sold to Louis H. Davis, who again sold to Asa Fairfield and Samuel C. Freeman, who in turn sold to A. C. Beaver. It was next sold to George Esmund, and was destroyed by fire on February 27th, 1878. Mr. Esmund immediately organized a company of which the late O. A. Simons, banker, was a principal mem- ber, and erected on the site of the old structure a splendidly equipped brick mill three stories in height, 44 by 64 feet, fitted with three pow- erful turbine wheels and five run of stone. The establishment had a storage capacity of 10,000 bushels and could manufacture eighty barrels of flour a day. The failing health of Mr. Esmond induced the sale of this mill to Messrs Tevis & Proctor, and in 1888 it too was burned down and has not been rebuilt.
Along the canal which early became the great highway for grain shipments, a number of good grist-mills and warehouses sprang up. In 1842-43 the City mills were established by Messrs. Allen Hamilton and Jesse L. Williams on the north bank of the canal, between Calhoun and
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Clinton streets. The business was very successful. Within a few years Mr. Hamilton retired, and later Pliny Hoagland was admitted as a part- ner. After some changes Mr. Christian Tresselt was admitted in 1870, and since the death of Mr. Hoagland he has been the principal owner. The power was furnished by an over-shot wheel, supplied with water from the canal, but since the occupancy of the canal held by the New York, Chicago & St. Louis railway, this power has been lost and the mill is devoted to warehousing only.
For many years the Woodlawn mill or Wines mill was one of the best known. It was erected in 1838, by Marshall Wines at a dam thrown across the Maumee river near the foot of Hanover street and a short distance west of the old canal lock. Mr. Wines sold to Samuel Hanna and Ochnig Bird. Subsequent owers were Bostick & Frone- field, Fronefield & Volland, Trentman & Volland, Orff & Volland, Comparet & Haskell, and finally Esthen A. Orff, during whose owner- ship the mill was burned, ten years ago. The floods have since nearly obliterated the dam. This mill had a capacity of fifty barrels of flour a day, and at the time of its greatest prosperity a capital of $6,000 was invested.
The Empire mills or the " Stone mill,"as it used to be called, is one of the few old ones that continue to grind. It is the largest in this part of the state, and is probably the best known. Its building was begun by Samuel Edsall in July, 1843, and it was first put in operation in 1845. Soon afterward Milford Smith was admitted to partnership, and in 1856 the property was sold in its entirety to Messrs. Orff, Armstrong & Lacy. Mr. Lacy died, and Mr. Armstrong retired, and since then the business has been continued by Mr. John Orff. For a long time, however, the active management of affairs has been in the very capable hands of his two sons, Edward A. and Montgomery Orff. The elder son, Mr. John R. Orff, is the miller. A grain warehouse has of late years been added to the mill. The capacity, under the old process, was 200 barrels per day, but under the new process it is twenty-five barrels less. The capi- tal employed is $6,000. The power was originally supplied by a great overshot wheel which was fed from the canal, but a 100 horse-power engine was afterward put in, and since the abandonment of the canal the sole reliance for power is upon steam.
In 1853 George Little and Hugh McCulloch built an elevator on the south bank of the canal near the foot of Maiden Lane. The elevator was afterward converted into a grist-mill, and was the first steam flour- ing mill to be operated in Fort Wayne. From 1855 to 1859 it was owned and run by William Pratt & Co., who sold to John Brown. In 1867 it was sold to Hill, Orbison & Whiting, and in 1869 was destroyed by fire.
One of the best known among the early business houses was that of Comparet & Hubbell, forwarding and commission merchants. The business was established in 1846 by Joseph J. and David Y. Comparet. In 1850 M. W. Hubbell was admitted to partnership. In 1857 a three-
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story steam grist-mill was built which, like so many other of the mills, was destroyed by fire. This occurred in 1861. In 1862 Mr. D. F. Comparet having succeeded to the sole ownership of the business erected another grist mill on the same sight. The capital invested was $35,000. The mill was sold to A. Powers in 1871. Next year he died and the business was carried on by L. P. Stapleford & Co. until Decem- ber, 1876, when fire wrecked the property and the business of milling was not resumed.
The first mill operated by an overshot wheel in this section of the country was that built on the St. Joseph river, a mile north of the city, by Henry Rudisill and Henry Johns, and this is said to be the first of the local mills to manufacture merchantable flour. The building and the dam were commenced in 1830. The mill was first known as Johns' mill and after Mr. Johns' death was known as Rudisill's mill, taking the name of the surviving partner. Mr. Rudisill died February 6, 1858, and was succeeded by his son Henry J. Rudisill. He was succeeded in 1866 by John E. Hill & Co. The mill is not now in operation and is somewhat dismantled. The property has passed into the hands of Messrs. John H. Bass and the estate of O. A. Simons, principal owners of the canal feeder. It has one of the most valuable water powers in the state and its value is being increased by leading water from the level of the canal feeder to the mill, giving a fall of some eighteen feet with an abundant supply of water. This splendid power will be utilized to operate the power station of the Jenney Electric Light company, which has been newly established within a few yards of the mill, and power will be cheaply let to other manufactories by the Fort Wayne Water Power company, which owns the property. The water of the St. Joseph river will be reinforced by Fish lake, in DeKalb county.
Before the heavy tax was laid upon distilled spirits their manufacture in Fort Wayne was profitably carried on. William Rockhill, in 1836, built the first distillery, on the north bank of the canal immediately in the right of way of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad. It was con- structed of hewn logs and was two stories high. A man named Hays succeeded to the business and the building was abandoned in 1841. By far the best known distillery was that built in 1840, by Francis Comparet on the south side of the canal, just west of where Coombs street now crosses. It was two stories in height. Mr. Comparet conducted the business for ten years, when he leased the premises to Jesse Smith and J. Dudley. They subsequently removed to Peru, and in December, 1848, the common council by ordinance, prohibited any distilling of liquors within the city limits.
The history of a city, however earnest may be the attempt at gen- eralization, can best be told by the narrative of the deeds of the men who worked together for its upbuilding. Of some of those prominent in the history of Fort Wayne, as this account 'of its progress proceeds, brief mention will be made, and here appropriately may be noticed some of the early residents, sketches of whom have not already appeared in the
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account of " the village of the fort." Among these now to be mentioned are still honored and leading citizens.
Of Samuel Hanna, whose name frequently occurs in this work, it may be said without exaggeration, that it is impossible to write an ade- quate account of his life without reciting the history of Fort Wayne, nor is it possible to give a complete history of the city without embodying an account of his career. Loving biographers have detailed the events of his life with much care, and in this work little more than a brief outline can be attempted, in addition to what appears throughout its pages. Samuel Hanna was born October 18, 1797, in Scott county, Ky. His father, James Hanna, removed to Dayton, Ohio, in 1804, and cleared him a farm near the site of that town. Here Samuel's early days were passed, and his educational privileges were no greater than those of most pioneer boys. His first occupation, away from home, was as a post- rider, distributing newspapers to subscribers throughout the country, there then being no mail service for that purpose. In his nineteenth year he was a clerk in a Piqua store, and he and another ambitious young tradesman bought out the store, giving their note for $3,000. Soon afterward these notes were transferred to an innocent purchaser, and a writ of attachment followed, taking the goods away from Hanna and his partner. The notes being pressed for collection the partner pleaded infancy, a valid defense, but Hanna refused to do so, and though he had been swindled, he declared his purpose to pay his obligations in full. When he was able he did so, principal and interest. Such incidents as these explain the remarkable strength he afterward had in the financial world, and the almost unbounded credit which enabled him to assume the main burden of great enterprises. After teaching school some time, he next became prominent as a purveyor at the treaty at St. Mary's in 18IS, with his brother Thomas. They hauled provisions from Troy, Ohio, and by their enterprise secured a small sum of money, a little of which was potent in those days on the frontier. At St. Mary's he decided to come to Fort Wayne, and at this little settlement he arrived in 1819. He established a trading-post in a log cabin, the work on which was mostly by his own hands, on the northwest corner of Colum- bia and Barr streets, thoroughfares at that time, however, unknown. In the Indian trade Mr. Hanna was a notable exception to those harpies who unscrupulously enriched themselves, and his fair and honorable dealing endeared him to the red men, and afterward to the settlers who took the place of his dusky customers. Legitimate profits were the basis of his princely fortune, upon which foundation he built with a rare business sagacity, and an economy which dissuaded him from spending $I for personal luxuries until he was worth $50,000. During the period of his early trade here, manufactured goods were purchased in Boston or New York, and came by the lakes, and down the Maumee in piro- gues, or were brought from Detroit with pack-horses. Provisions of all kinds were brought from southwestern Ohio, by way of the St. Mary's river, in the care of sturdy boatmen who were frequently delayed by
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fallen trees which barred the stream until they were cut away. These discomforts of commerce early turned the attention of Mr. Hanna to the improvement of routes of transportation. Before the time of canal agi- tation began he had widely extended his possessions. He had acted several years as agent of the American fur company, and was rapidly acquiring land throughout Indiana. His influence was aided also by his service as the first associate judge of Allen county. The canal project had its inception in a conversation between Judge Hanna and David Burr, at the home of the former, and their efforts secured the land grant by congress. There was opposition to the acceptance of the grant and Judge Hanna was elected to the legislature as a champion of the canal. He had previously served in the house in 1826, and his subsequent membership of that body was in 1831 and 1840. He also served in the senate from 1832 to 1836. He went to New York to purchase the instruments, which he brought on horseback from Detroit to Fort Wayne, when the survey was begun on the St. Joseph river, Mr. Burr acting as rod-man and Mr. Hanna as axe-man, both at $10 per month. The climate vanquished the engineer on the second day, and the two invincible pioneers continued the work alone. They reported to the next legislature, and Judge Hanna being a member, secured the passage of an act authorizing the construction of the canal.
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