History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II, Part 26

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 680

USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 26

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TOWN PLAT-ALTERATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS.

It appears by the records that the first plat of New Albany was not placed on record for three years after the town was laid out, to wit: Novem- ber 13, 1816. The record begins thus :

Plat of the town of New Albany, being plat of fractional sections numbered two and three, in township three, south of range six east; proved November 13, 1816.

Then follows the plat of the town, from which it appears that Water strect is one hundred feet wide, extending along the river; the next street running parallel was called "High" street (now usually called Main), and is eighty feet wide; the next parallel street is Market (upon which are located the two long market-houses), also eighty feet wide; the next is Spring, eighty feet; the next Elm, sixty teet; and the next Oak, thirty feet. Of' the streets running north and south, State extended through the center of the plat, while the streets below it (down the river) were called Lower First, Lower Second, etc .; and the streets above State were designated Upper First, Upper Second, Upper Third, and so on. Upper First and Upper Second are now generally known as Pearl and Bank streets.

The plat was first recorded in the records of Clarke county, to which this territory then be- longed, and was sworn to betore George Ross, justice of the peace. Subsequently the Scrib- ners caused the following "alterations and ex- planations" to be added to this record:

Alterations and explanations by Joel Scribner, Nathaniel Scribner, and Abner Scribner, the original proprietors of the town of New Albany, agreeably to their original intentions on laying out said town, and not fully expressed and marked on the original plat, as first recorded.

All those lots which are designated by the word church written upon them, are to be appropriated to the support of the First Presbyterian church established in New Albany; and all those lots designated by the word school written up- on them are appropriated for the support of a school for the use of the inhabitants of the town. The slip of ground or square on the bank of the river is reserved by the proprie- tors, their heirs, and assigns forever, the exclusive right of ferrying from Upper and Lower Water streets, between the boundaries of fractional section number two, of town three, south of range six east, which boundaries are agreeably to those in the license given by the court to John Paul. All the narrow spaces running through the blocks of lots are alleys, all of which are twenty feet wide. The four squares on the corners of Upper and Lower Spring streets and State streets,

which are blank upon the original plat, are each one hundred and twenty feet square, and are designed for the benefit of the public in said town. JOEL SCRIBNER,

In behalf of the firm of J., N. & A. Scribner.

The lots marked "church " referred to above were No. 7, Lower Fifth street; No. 9, Lower Fourth; No. 40, State; No. 30, Upper First; No. 7, Upper Third; No. 13, Upper Third; No. 29, Upper Third; No. 26, Upper Spring; No. 7, Up- per Fourth; No. 15, Upper Fourth; No. 35, Up- per Elm; No. 35, Upper Spring; No. 30, Upper Fifth; and a whole square of ground between Lower Matket and Spring streets, on Lower Third.

The lots marked "school" were two numbered twenty-eight and twenty-seven, on the Public Square, fronting on State street, and one num- bered nineteen on Upper First street. In addi- tion to the Public Square, upon which the county buildings now stand, a whole square was reserved on Lower Third street, between High and Market, and designated as "the Public Prome- nade and Parade Ground." This spot is still in use as a public park.

New Albany was very unhealthy for many years after it was laid out, on account of the sur- rounding marshy land and the thickets of un- derbrush and fallen logs, which dammed up the streams and made continual pools and lakes of stagnant water; especially was this the case on portions of the Whitehill tract.

NEW ALBANY IN 1819.

In 1817 this place had so far advanced in population that on January Ist of that year it was made a town, by act of the General Assem- bly. Dr. McMurtrie, in his Sketches of Louis- ville, published in 1819, thus speaks of it:

New Albany is situated opposite or rather below Portland, in the State of Indiana and county of Floyd, of which it is the seat of justice. The town was laid out by the Messrs. Scribner, who were the proprietors, in 1814. It is built upon the second bank of the river, from which it presents a very interesting appearance, many of the houses being whitened, and one belonging to Mr. Paxson, built of brick and designed with considerable taste, meeting the eye in a most consp c- uous situation .* The bottom or first bank is rarely over- flowed, and the one on which the town stands, being twenty feet higher, there hardly exists the possibility of its ever meeting that fate.

For some time after it was laid out New Albany, like other places in the neighborhood, increased but slowly, con- flicting opinions and clashing interests retarding its growth.

"This house is yet standing, on the southwest corner of Pearl and Main streets, and belongs to A. M. Fitch, a relative by marriage of Charles Paxson.

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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

The many natural advantages it possesses, however, have at length surmounted every difficulty, and its progress of late has been unequalled by any town on the Ohio of so modern a date. The good health generally enjoyed by the inhabit- ants (which I think is partly owing to the excellent water made use of, which is found in natural springs to the number of fifteen or twenty within the town plat, and which can anywhere be obtained at the depth of twenty-five feet), the great road from this State to Vincennes passing through it, and the quantity and quality of ship timber which abounds in the neighborhood, are the principal causes which have contributed to this advancement.

It contains at present one hundred and fifty dwelling houses, which are generally of wood, it being impossible to procure brick in quantities suited to the demand. The num- ber of inhabitants amounts to one thousand, and from the influx of population occasioned by the demand for workmen at the ship-yards, etc., it must necessarily increase in a much greater ratio than heretofore. The only public work of any description that is worth notice, is the steam grist- and saw- mill, belonging to Messrs. Paxson & Smith. Three steam- boats have been launched from the yards, and there are three more on the stocks. The inhabitants are all either Meth- odists or Presbyterians, the former having a meeting-house, and the latter have contracted for a church, which is to be built immediately. There is a free school in this place which has been partly supported by the interest of five thousand dollars, a donation from the original proprietors for that purpose; but increasing population requiring more extensive modes of education, other institutions are projected. Upon the whole, New Albany bids fair to be a wealthy and important town, as it is becoming a depot wherein the inhab- itants of the interior of Indiana draw their supplies of dry goods and groceries, and, consequently, to which they send their produce in return.

In a foot-note the same writer says:

At a little distance from the town, issuing from under a stratum of greenstone, is a spring of water containing a large quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen, which inflames on being brought into contact with a candle; and if the spring be covered with a close box, furnished with a pipe and stop- cock so as to condense the gas, it continues to burn until it is purposely extinguished.

This was known as "the boiling spring," and for many years was considered as very valuable, whenever capital could be employed to develop it; but it disappointed all expectations. Dr. Ashel Clapp and others, about 1824, attempted by boring to find coal there. They went down about two hundred feet, but all attempts to utilize the spring failed and the gas long since disappeared.

It will be seen by the above extract that in six years the village had grown to be a place of one thousand people, and that ship building was then the most important industry. Indeed, this busi- ness seemed to have given the village a start it might never have secured without the proximity of good ship-building timber. It also had "one brick house." Dr. McMurtrie no doubt over-

looked the little fourteen-foot-square brick build- ing down near the river-the first one built in the place. And he says nothing about the

TAVERNS OF THE PLACE

at that time; but as these are always important in the building up of a new town they must not be overlooked. There is little doubt that the first "place of entertainment" on the present site of New Albany was Mrs. Robinson's tavern, mentioned in our chapter on New Albany town- ship, located in what is now the northern part of the city. It was there some time before the town was laid out, and served as a stopping place for the mail and for all travelers between Louis- ville and Vincennes. Just when it disappeared is not known.

The second tavern was that of Elihu Marsh, as before stated. This was, no doubt, the first tavern in the new town, and was opened in 1814, David M. Hale's tavern opening the same year.

Prior to the laying out of the town no license was probably exacted of these tavern keepers; but after the incorporation of the village and the formation of Floyd county in 1819, they were not only required to pay license, but compelled to enter into bond with security for the faithful performance of their duties, as the commission- ers' records show.

Hale's tavern, on High street, was built of logs, but subsequently (in 1823) a frame addition was made. The house has been repaired and added to, and has been used as a tavern from that day to this. It is on the corner of Lower First and Main.

Seth Woodruff early opened a tavern on Main street. It was certainly there prior to 1819, for on May 18th of that year the following appears upon the commissioners' records:

Seth Woodruff, upon petition, was licensed to keep tavern in New Albany, on entering into a bond of $500, with Wil- liam L. Hobson as security. The tavern is ordered to be taxed $20.

The records further show that, "May 19, 1819, Summers B. Gilman is licensed and permitted to keep tavern in the town of New Albany, for one year from the 27th day of March last." Mr. Gilman also gave a bond of $500 with Anderson and Elihu Marsh as sureties. His tax was also $20 a year. The same date "Paul Hoge is licensed to keep tavern in the town of New Albany tor one year from the twenty-

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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

fourth day of April last." The bond and tax were the same as in the other cases, and Henry Tur- ner, Sr., was security. On the same date David M. Hale is licensed in the same manner, with Charles Paxson as security; and Hugh Ferguson was also licensed at the same time, with Sylvester Perry as security. Same date (May, 1819) Wyatt P. Tuley is licensed to keep tavern in New Albany, with Thomas Sinex and Paul Hoge as sureties. In November of the same year Jacob Miller is licensed to keep tavern on the Vincennes road, probably at or in the neighbor- hood of the present village of Mooresville. In 1820 John Lamb appears as a tavern-keeper, with Thomas Aborn and Enoch Townsend as sureties. Wyatt P. Tuley, Seth Woodruff, and David M. Hale continue to appear on the rec- ord as tavern-keepers for many years. Wood- ruff was probably longer in that business than any of his contemporaries. After 1820 the names of James Howard, William Drysdale, Adam Spidler, and others appear as tavern- keepers in New Albany.

Mr. Thomas Collins, who came to New Al- · bany in 1827 and is yet a resident, says that in that year the taverns in active operation in the town were Hale's, on High street; the New Al- bany hotel, kept by Charles A. Clark on Main street, between Upper Third and Fourth streets; and the Swan, kept by Mrs. Marsh on the cor- ner of Upper Fourth and Water streets. The Swan was a good-sized frame building, with double porches in the front (the style of nearly all the taverns of that day), and overlooking the river. It was pleasantly situated, was a very good house for the time, and commanded considera- ble patronage. The most conspicuous thing about it, perhaps, was the sign, upon which a large white swan was painted. Clark was at that time keeping the old Woodruff tavern. This was then the largest house in the town. It was a frame building, erected by Woodruff, was a popular place of resort, and became, in fact, the center of attraction for the town and country. The commissioners held their meetings here for several years; the first courts were held within its walls and all the county business transacted, as well as being continually open to the traveling public. Woodruff himself was one of the most prominent of the pioneers, as will be seen else- where. A portion of this building is yet stand-

ing. About 1832 the frame was moved back and a large brick building erected in front of it, which is yet standing, though no longer used as a hotel. More interesting reminiscences of the early days of New Albany are centered around this spot than any other in the city. The tav- erns kept pace with the city in improvement un- til they became "hotels," and at present there are several good ones in the city.

MILLS

were probably of even more importance in the building up of the new town than taverns, and the erection of a mill was among the first consid- erations of the proprietors. Abner Scribner was especially anxious for a mill, even before the cabins were erected; but a first-class mill, such as the Scribners desired, could not be put in operation, notwithstanding all the advantages of the place, without great labor and no little ex- pense.

Mr. Trublood's little mill on Falling run answered the purpose for a time, and was the first on the town plat.

Mills had been erected at the falls and were within easy access of the people of New Albany ; but the Scribners determined that their people should go to no other place to mill. Trublood's mill was a primitive affair, the buhrs being man- ufactured of native "nigger-heads," and was in operation but a few months in the year, owing either to high water, which would wash away the dam, or to drouth, which would almost dry up the stream.

The first two mills erected by the Scribners were failures. Mr. Daniel Seabrook tells about these mills. It seems that a man named Parker came along soon after the town was laid out, represented himself as a mill-wright, and pro- posed to build a steam-mill, engine and all, for the Scribners if they would furnish the money. He succeeded in persuading them that he under- stood his business, and they put him to work. He first visited a primitive foundry, then located somewhere on Salt river, Kentucky, where he succeeded in getting cast an iron cylinder and scveral heating tubes, both the cylinder and pipes being cast in two pieces. The pieces were brought over to New Albany and put together. but when done it was found that they did not fit, a large crack appearing in the joints. This crack Parker filled with lead, thus making the pieces

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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

tight. His next move was to manufacture a wooden boiler. Parker employed Daniel Sea- brook and his (Seabrook';) brother-in-law, Samuel Marsh, to make this boiler, which they did out of hewed timber ten inches wide and eight inches thick. These men were ship-carpenters and succeeded in getting the boiler water-tight. It was bolted together and strongly hooped. Into this the flues, before mentioned, were placed, they being about twenty inches in diameter. When the engine was finished, ready for opera- tion, a fire was built, and as soon as the flues became heated the lead that filled the cracks melted and ran out, and the machine which had cost so much time, labor, and money, was a complete failure.

Not discouraged with this, however, the Scrib- ners immediately discharged Parker and went to Pittsburgh, then the nearest point where steam- boilers were manufactured, and purchased a small engine. This was about 1815. They erected a little mill structure on the spot where the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis depot now stands, into which they placed one small set of buhrs and two saws for sawing lumber. But this was before the days of steamboats or steamboat building at New Albany; the mill had little to do in the way of grinding, and the mills at the falls doing so much better work, this mill also proved a failure. Mr. Seabrook says it only ran a few months, when it was abandoned and the building was occupied most of the time as a "roosting-place" for hogs The saw-mill part was run occasionally, and when it burnt down some years later, a large pile of logs was left on the ground to rot.

This was the commencement of the milling business in New Albany, a branch of industry which has attained to large proportions, as will be seen by reference to another chapter of this work.

ROADS AND BRIDGES.

There was no road through the first plat of New Albany when it was made; the highway was the river. The road from the falls to Vin- cennes passed some distance north of the town. This road first followed up the old Indian trail -or, in fact, the trail was the only road through the country for many years prior to the beginning of the present century. When settlers began to gather about Trublood's mill and the spring

there, the road deflected from the old trail so as to accommodate this settlement, and in a short time that portion of the old trail between Clarks- ville and the Gut ford was almost entirely aban- doned, the travel going by way of Robinson's tavern, from which the road passed north and again joined the trail within New Albany town- ship, not far from the foot of the knobs. After New Albany was laid out this road branched into the town and thus became the first outlet for those in the village, except by river.

A road from Oatman's ferry, which was located a short distance below New Albany, was also one of the first made.

The following, from the records of the com- missioners, dated May 17, 1819, shows what roads were earliest established in the county, and the names of a few prominent pioneers in con- nection with them:

ORDERED, that Jacob Bence be appointed supervisor of the following roads, to wit: Beginning on the road al New- man's ferry, on the river Ohio, running to Corydon, and con- tinning on as far as the county line, and so much of the road lying in said county as runs from George Clark's to the Grassy valley, in Harrison county. And all the lands in Franklin township, lying under the knobs and south of the road leading from Newman's ferry to Corydon, over the knobs, including Thomas Smith and William Bailey, north of said road, do assist him in keeping the same in repair.

ORDERED, That Michael Swartz be appointed supervisor of so much of the road leading from Oatman's ferry to Vincennes as lies in Franklin township, and the hands living on Big Indian creek are required to assist him in keeping the same in repair.

Anderson Long was, in like manner, appoint- ed supervisor of so much of the road leading from Oatman's ferry to Corydon as lies in Floyd county, beginning at the forks of the road on the top of the knobs. John Merriwether was appointed supervisor of so much of the road beginning on the Oatman road and leading to Greenville as lies in Franklin township. Samuel Miller was appointed supervisor of so much of the road beginning at Oatman's ferry and leading to Vincennes as lies in New Albany township. William L. Hobson was appointed supervisor of the road leading from New Albany to and in- tersecting the State road at Jacob Miller's, or so much thereof as lies in New Albany township. John Scott was appointed supervisor of so much of the State road leading from Gut ford, on Silver creek, to Jacob Miller's as lies in New Albany township. David Edwards was appoint- ed supervisor of "all that part of the road lead-

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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.

ing from New Albany that intersects the State road at Jacob Miller's and within Greenville township; and also all that part of the State road beginning at the line dividing the township of New Albany and Greenville east of the knobs, con- tinuing on said road west to the line that divides ranges Five and Six west of said Miller's." Jacob Frederick was appointed supervisor "of all that part of the State road beginning at the line di- viding ranges Five and Six, and continuing west to the line that divides the counties of Floyd and Harrison." John Lopp was made supervisor "of all that part of the road leading from Oat- man's ferry to Engleman's mill and through Lopp's land, beginning at the line dividing the townships of Greenville and Franklin, on said road, extending westwardly to the line dividing Harrison and Floyd counties." Maurice Morris was appointed supervisor "of all that part of the State road in Floyd county west of Greenville, and also all that part of the road' leading from Samuel Kendall's to Salem."

Following is a report made by Josiah Akin and the other commissioners appointed to view a route for a new road leading out of New Albany, made to the county commissioners at their session in August, 1819:

Floyd county, State of Indiana.

We, the undersigned, having been appointed by the Board of Commissioners at their May term, held in New Albany, in order to view and make way for a Public road to be opened on a route from said Town to John Lopp's-to comply with said order we viewed and reviewed said route, and do report that we have marked by Blazes and chops the way as follow- eth, viz: Beginning at the corner of Joel Scribner's post- and-rail fence, at the lower end of High street, New Albany, and running thence on the west side of the line of the out- lots of said Town, on a direction to the Boiling Spring on Falling Run; thence with a road laid out by Joel Scribner crossing the Knobs; thence as near to the straight line as possible to Isaac Lamb's, running through his improvement by consent; thence on a direction to said Lopp's, running through an improvement of D. H. Allison by consent. We are of the opinion the opening and establishing that as a Public Highway would be of Public utility.

JAMES MCCUTCHAN, JOSIAH AKIN, JONATHAN SLYTHE.

ORDERED, That Josiah Akin be allowed one dollar for one day's service rendered in viewing a route for a road to be opened from New Albany to John Lopp's.

It appears that David M. Hale was appointed supervisor to open so much of the above-men- tioned road as lies in New Albany township; Asa Smith, supervisor to open that part lying in

Franklin township; and David H. Allison, super- visor to open that part lying in Greenville town- ship.

In 1820 commissioners were appointed to view and lay out the line for a portion of the State road from New Albany to Hindoostan Field. The commissioners were: F. Shotts, John G. Clendenin, and John Eastburn; and there the report was filed with the commissioners Septem- ber 27, 1820.

In November, 1822, the report of the com- missioners appointed by the Legislature to view and mark out the route for the New Albany and Vincennes road, appears on record. The com- missioners were : John McDonald and John G. Clendenin. Several changes were early made in the road before it was finally located and fixed as it now stands. Prior to the laying out of New Albany it followed the Indian trail from Clarks- ville; after that it passed through New Albany, and thence up through the woods to the trail again, as before stated. Subsequently it was laid out further west, and passed over the knobs before striking the old trail; and for many years this was the customary route of travel between New Albany and Vincennes. This is now known as the "old State road," and has been partly abandoned, though portions of it still remain. The new road now used was opened about 1832. It was macadamized and made a toll road, cost- ing a great deal of money. The section over the knobs alone is said to have cost $100,000. It is still a toll road. The old State road is the one mentioned in the above extract as being laid out by McDonald and Clendenin in 1822.

The present excellent macadamized toll road from New Albany to Corydon was surveyed and established in 1823; the commissioners ap- pointed by the Legislature being Levi Long, D. O. Lane, and William Boon. A most ex- cellent and substantial stone-arched bridge spans Falling run on this road. This little stream has here cut a very deep channel, requiring an arch and bridge of unusual height. Money was ap- propriated for building this bridge in 1828, and also for building two other bridges across the same stream; one on the new State road, then in course of construction from New Albany to Vincennes, and one on the old State road before mentioned. These bridges were generally com- pleted within the next five years.

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History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II, Part 26

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co. Number of Pages: 680

Author: Williams, L.A., & Co., Cleveland
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : L. A. Williams & Co.
Number of Pages: 680