WARREN COUNTY, INDIANA HISTORY
HISTORY
OF
WARREN COUNTY. GEOLOGY AND SETTLEMENT.
NATURAL ADVANTAGES.
Perhaps no other county
in Indiana has a greater diversity of natural features than Warren. On
the north and west are alluvial plains, as rich and productive as any
on the globe, while bordering the Wabash and the various smaller
streams that traverse the county, are vast beds of the finest building
sandstone and the choicest block coal. Sand, gravel, marl, limestone,
ironstone, potter's clay, mineral springs, cascades, valleys, hills,
prairie, woodland and numerous views of picturesque grandeur combine to
render the county one of the best in the State for the abode of
civilized man. An occasional discovery of virgin gold, silyer, lead or
copper detracts nothing from the general interest felt in the county.
There is scarcely a section of land that cannot be rendered fit for
almost unlimited production. Even over the summits of the bluffs, below
which lie the rich deposits of stone and coal, is found a mixed soil
which yields a satisfactory return to the agriculturist. The " barrens
" in the valley of the Wabash, though too cold for the cereals, are
excellent for certain garden productions.
DRAINAGE.
The entire county is
within the valley of the Wabash, which river forms the southeastern
boundary. Big Pine Creek, the most important intersecting stream,
enters the county in Adams Township from the north, thence flows
southwesterly across Pine Township, thence southeasterly through
Liberty, emptying into the Wabash at Attica, Little Pine Creek flows
south through Medina and the eastern part of Warren. Kickapoo Creek
rises in Medina, flows across southeastern Adams and across western
Warren, with a general course of south- southwest. Mud Pine Creek
drains all of western Pine Township and eastern Prairie, and joins Big
Pine Creek near the northern line of Liberty. Rock Creek rises in
Liberty and flows south southeast, forming the boundary between
Washington and Pike Townships. Redwood Creek rises in Jordan, crosses
Steuben and Pike and reaches the Wabash with a southeast course.
Opossum Run has its source in Steuben, thence it flows southeast across
Kent and Mound, into the Wabash, Jordan Creek drains southern Prairie
and Northern Jordan, and flows southwest into Vermilion River in
Illinois. Gopher Creek drains western Kent and the greater portion of
Mound, and joins the Wabash in Vermillion County. A few smaller
streams, such as Dry Creek, Fall Branch, Little Creek, Coal Run. Hall's
Branch, Salt's Run West Kickapoo Creek and Chesapeake Run have been
properly christened.
THE LANDSCAPE.
Warren County has many
natural scenes to delight the eye. Several bluffs along the Wabash,
towering up like huge domes far above the water, command a view of over
twenty miles along the valley and reveal the sinuous curves of the
historical old river and the beautiful natural scenery along its banks.
One may look down the river from above Independence and see live or sis
natural horizons of forestry until the view is terminated by a long
belt of heavy timber over twenty miles away. But the most beautiful and
picturesque views are along Big and Little Pine Creeks. Perpendicular
embankments of sandstone, from which cascades as airy and bewitching as
a bride's vail, leap from forty to eighty feet to the rocks below, and
rise in mimic clouds of spray like a miniature Niagara, kindle in the
beholder the highest emotion of grandeur. Natural groups of white pine,
that most commanding of all trees seen at a distance, occur at
intervals along the bluffs which skirt the valleys and stand like
faithful sentinels over the vale below, through which the brook runs
laughing aloud on its way to deeper bays and swifter currents. Even the
prairies in early years, with their islands of groves, were the
grandest sights to those whose view from infancy had been hemmed in by
heavy bodies of timber. The eye greeted the boundless vista of green
velyet until sky and prairie met in the far distance as it did the
immensity of the starry spaces or the sublime expanse of the ocean. All
this and much more is in Warren County. Many people in other counties
and States would travel miles to enjoy the beauties which too many of
the citizens of Warren do not appreciate. Warren has three or four
great natural pleasure resorts.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The following is taken
from the report of John Collet. State Geologist:
" The topographical
features of Warren County are agreeably varied. The western and
northern parts, embracing more than half its area, present a broad
stretch of Grand Prairie. The surface is undulating, or gently rolling,
and offers ample facilities for drainage, without am- or but little
waste lauds; while from the tops of any of the slight knolls or prairie
ridges the eye is delighted with miles of corn-fields, or leagues of
blue grass pasture and meadow land, diversified with island groves or
their partings of timber. Adjoining the prairie region to the south and
east is a wide belt of high rolling or hilly land, that descends gently
to the abrupt bluffs which the Wabash and the creeks that flow into it
have cut down through the underlying coal measures, conglomerate sand
rocks, and deep into the subcarboniferous formation. The soil of this
belt is mostly yellowish clay, the decomposition of Silurian, Devonian
and subcarboniferous lime rocks, imported by rivers anciently flowing
at this level. It is rich in tree food, and was originally clothed in a
dense forest of oak, hickory, ash, walnut, poplar, beech, maple and
other large trees, beech and sugar trees predominating on the reddish
clay soils, and oak trees on drift clays or sandy soils. The bluffs
along the Wabash River and the principal creeks are from eighty to 150
feet in height, and are of romantic boldness. The tops at several
stations are crowned with pines and cedars, and the sides are generally
curtained with living walls of conglomerate or subcarboniferous sand
rocks.
SURFACE GEOLOGY.
The surface deposits of
this county comprise two members of the Quaternary, or more recent of-
the geological formation, viz. : Aluvium, new or ancient, and the
Bowlder drift. The alluvial bottoms owe their origin to causes now in
action. They are formed of sedimentary sands and clays, torn away and
transported by streams at high water stage, and thrown upon the flood
plain by overflow. The soil is sandy, largely intermixed with decayed
leaves and other vegetable matter, and is in effect a rich garden mold.
At an elevation of sixty to ninety feet near the channel of the river,
are found wide areas of the more ancient alluvial formation, as the
Mound Prairie, in the southern portion of the county, and the " Barrens
" south of Williamsport and southwest of Independence. The soil of this
formation is generally a warm, black loam, bat sometimes sand or colder
clays predominate. It is under laid by gravel, sand or the rounded
fragments of sandstone; and from the wide range of the deposit,
extending miles on either side of the river, and from the great depth
and uniformity of the material, we may date back the age of these
terraces to the time when they served as flood plains of the Wabash,
then a mighty river miles in width, which poured, in a broad channel
vexed with numerous islands of conglomerate sand rock, the surplus
waters of Lake Erie to the sea.
Still higher, reaching up
to the most elevated point in the county, and full 200 feet above the
bed of the Wabash River, are found the oldest alluvium terraces and
banks of modified drift gravels and sand, as at Walnut Grove, in
Prairie Township. These signalize the infancy of the river when, an
insignificant and current less stream with uncertain course, the
Wabash, traversing all the region for thirty to forty miles on either
side, sometimes flowing around through Illinois, sought by the line of
least resistance the easiest pathway to the mouth of the valley of the
continent.
THE BOWLDERS.
The Bowlder drift next
succeeds in age. This formation is well developed in the west and
northern parts of the county, and in fact underlies all the Grand
Prairie district. It consists of tenacious gray and blue clays,
obscurely laminated, and holding a considerable proportion of worn 'and
polished pebbles and bowlders. Some of the latter are specimens of the
Devonian and Silurian rocks in Northern Indiana and Illinois, but a
larger proportion are metamorphic or transition rocks from the
neighborhood of Lake Superior, or from still more arctic regions. The
bowlders and coarse gravel are scattered from near the top down to
within five to twenty feet of the bottom of the drift; for these clays
were in a soft and oozy condition, and the heavy granite would
naturally sink some distance. As a consequence, where bowlders are
found on the surface, we may safely conclude that erosive action had
carried away the finer matrix, leaving bare the heavy rocks. These in
return, by then number, are a measure of the amount of denudation.
Partings of quicksands and thin layers of stony fragments from
neighboring strata are found located at large intervals through this
formation, showing that for short spaces during the drift period the
great ice-bearing stream from the North was obstructed or overpowered
by currents from the east or from the west, thus mingling with the
northern drift fragmentary materials from Indiana, Illinois and Iowa.
Near the base of the drift, and resting on a broken and irregular floor
of coal measure rocks, is generally found a bed of potters clay,
intermixed with quicksand and black muck. A marked bed of the latter
was found in sinking the West Lebanon shaft. From the soil here
discovered was taken a large number of roots of trees, shrubs and
plants of pre-glacial age.
SANDST0NE.
Conglomerate sand rock,
resting on subcarboniferous groups of rock, containing coal plants and
dark pyritous clay, is of irregular formation. Upon exposure to the
air, it decomposes, washes away, and gives origin to caves, cascades
and rock houses, so common in Kentucky. It is often accompanied by a
thin seam of coal. In Warren County, no coal was found more than two
inches thick and a single band of black slate at Munson's old mill on
Little Pine.
In the northwestern
portion of the county, outliers of conglomerate rock are found capping
the highest tables, as at Black Rock and near Green Hill; also at Point
of Rocks, below Rainsville, and Island Rock, in Mud Pine. It extends to
the west with a slight dip to the west bank of Pine Creek, where the
dip suddenly increases at the rate of twenty to thirty feet per mile.
Southerly along the line of strike. Pine Creek flows in a deep valley,
generally walled by bold mural escarpments or overhanging cliffs of
massive sand rock, crowned with evergreen pines, cedars and juniper
trees, combining scenery at once gr-and, wild and beautiful. The valley
is from 150 to 200 feet deep, and the narrow margin of alluvial soil
was originally covered with a tangled mass of thorny brush, briers and
vines. These features made Pine Creek a strong line of defense in
Indian warfare, well suited to their strategy, and in the campaign of
1811, the confederate tribes planned to light here with Gen. Harrison.
The gallant General, by a quick march to the left flank, crossed higher
up to the open prairie, and ended the war by the brilliant victory of
Tippecanoe. The conglomerate is well developed at Williamsport,
on the Kickapoo, and in the bluff's near the mouth of Red Wood. This
formation consists of massive, variously colored sandstone, and rarely
presents the typical character from which the name is derived, but near
the mouth of Kickapoo. at Black Rock and at Thompson's quarry near
Green Hill, specimens are found full of pebbles. These stones are
easily quarried, freely cut. but harden upon exposure, making choice
material for building purposes.
COAL
The coal measures occur nest in order of time. They lie directly upon
the conglomerate and in outcrop occupy the regions south and west of
that deposit, in area more than one-half of the county. The outcrop of
coal may be traced from near the Ohio River in Dubois and Pike Counties
to the middle of Warren County. Good, choice semi block coal is found
in the lower stream on Possum Rim, at Steely's farm, at Adamson's and
J. Briggs', from two to three and one-half feet thick. On Fall Creek,
all the banks furnish choice block coal, free from sulphur, W£*ll
suited for smelting iron and with an average of three feet in
thick-ness. The dark, bituminous limestone roof is almost invariably
pres-ent, ranging from one to four feet, sometimes changing to a
calcareous shale. It is well developed at Main's mill on Red Wood,
where huge blocks are laid bare in the bottom of the creek. Here the
stone is hio;h colored, homogeneous and compact. Specimens have been
dressed by workmen. Locally, it is known as black marble. Fat coking
coal, con-taining much sulphur, outcrops on Mud Pine, at Briscoe's and
at Wil-son's bank, at the head of Fall Creek. The product at this point
meets a ready market. The seam ranges from six to eighteen inches in
thick-ness. The roof of this coal seam generally consists of pyritous
slate, lean iron stones and concretions of argillite, of no economic
importance as far as visible in the outcrop. Good coking coal is found
at Briscoe's Tinkler's Mines, near West Lebanon. Block coal is found at
Hooper's and Barringers, on Possum Bun, and nearly as good at Lupold's.
on Fall Creek. The lower stratum is generally crowded with leaves,
fruits and trunks of carboniferous plants, in a remarkable state of
preservation. Near the railway station. Fall Branch plunges from the
summit of an overhanging mass of rofck down sixty feet to the valley,
and has thence cut a narrow outlet to the river, affording a first rate
section of the con-glomerate sand rock, in massive strata, from twenty
to forty feet thick. Here a choice quarry is worked by the Hon. B. F.
Gregory's heirs. As mentioned in the general outlines, it is probable
that in the early ages, Wabash or Pine Creek, at a high level, Mowed
through this gap and thence south. At that time, was formed the valley
and terrace plains alotig the railroad, widening southward to Rock
Creek.
A chalybeate spring is
found on Dr. Boyer's land. The head being at an elevation the water
falls in spray or drops and in the winter time forms fairy grottoes of
ice and frost. Near by is a sulphur spring. Prof. Cox, State Geologist,
analyzed the water of the Boyer Spring as follows- Sulphate of
protoxide of iron, carbonate of protoxide of iron, bicarbonate of lime,
chloride of sodium (common salt), sulphate of soda (Glauber salts),
sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salts), and free carbonic acid gas. Black
Rock, near the eastern line of the county, on the Wabash River, is a
notable and romantic feature in river scenery. A bold, precipitous
cliff overhanging rises 140 feet above the bed of the river. The top is
composed of red, brown or black conglomerate sand rock, highly
ferruginous and in part pebbly. At the base of the sand rock and where
it joins upon the underlying carbonaceous and pyritous shales, are Pot
Rock Houses.' Some of these of no great height have been tumbled back
under the cliff, to a distance of thirty or forty feet, by the force of
the ancient river flowing at this level."
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
It is a well known and
conceded fact that all of Indiana and all her neighboring States were
once inhabited by a semi -barbarous people, known as the
Mound-Builders. Some authorities maintain that they were the ancestors
of the Indian tribes, and that the lapse of several thousand years will
account for the divergence in habit and osseons structure. Others
insist that they were a distinct race of people and that the lapse of
the probable time between the lives of the two races will not account
for such divergence. All agree that the Mound- Builders were an
agricultural people. They were idolatrous and immolated the lower
animals and even human being-, to secure the favor of their Deity. They
cultivated the soil with rude stone implements, wove a rude" cloth from
bark and reeds, and erected huge stone and earthen structures of
various forms and uses. Three kinds of mounds are found in Warren
County—sepulchral, sacrificial and memorial. Within the first class are
found the crumbling skeletons of this people, besides various trinkets
or ornaments. Within the second are baked clay altars upon which are
heaps of ashes, charcoal, and very often burnt fragments of human
bones. The sacrifices to the Deity were offered on these altars. The
third class contain nothing; they seem to have been erected, like the
Bunker Hill monument, to commemorate some important tribal event.
Mounds are found in Medina, Pine, Prairie. Adams, Liberty, Mound, and
possibly other townships. Mound Township received its name from this
circumstance.
THE INDIANS.
For several hundred years
prior to the appearance of the white race all the United States was
inhabited by this people. Who they were or how they came here is
unknown. As far back as definite accounts can be had, the Miamis
occupied the following tract of country: From Detroit south to the Ohio
River, thence down the same to the mouth of the Wabash, thence up the
same to about the boundary between Vermillion and Warren Counties,
thence north to the southern extremity of Lake Michigan, thence east to
Detroit. This fact comes from various reliable sources, the most
noteworthy being from Mish-e-ken-o-quah, or Little Turtle, a Miami
Indian of great intelligence and renown, who lived in Northern Indiana
during the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first of the
nineteenth. Warren County was thus on the boundary between the Miamis
and the Kickapoos of Illinois. This was the condition of things
previous to about one hundred years ago. But from 1780 to the war of
1812, so great was the rush of white settlers into Eastern Ohio that
the Indians resident there were compelled to abandon their ancient home
and seek a new one farther west, and thus numerous other tribes began
to invade the domain of the Miamis. The Pottawatomie soon occupied
almost all of Indiana north of the Wabash, while the Miamis retired
mostly south of that river. Thus Warren County was so situated that
Miamis, Pottawatomies and Kickapoos were found within its borders by
the French traders who began to come up the Wabash from Vincennes in
pirogues loaded with whisky and trinkets to trade with the Indians as
early, probably, as the beginning of the present century, and certainly
before the war of 1812. The Wabash had been the highway of travel for
Frenchmen and missionaries between Detroit and the French settlements
at Vincennes and at several places in Illinois since the latter part of
the seventeenth century, and it is not unlikely that temporary trading
posts were established in Warren County at very early periods.
ZACHARIAH CICOTT
This man was a French Canadian, who at the age of about sixteen years
came down the Wabash to Vincennes, where he lived for a number of rears
and then began the business of conveying boats or pirogues loaded with
fancy articles and whisky up the river to trade with the Indians for
their furs. Nothing is known of these voyagers except what he himself
told, and as the information comes from various mouths and
recollections, it should be taken with some grain of allowance. If
Cicott's statements were correct, he came to trade with the
Pottawatomies and Kickapoo at Independence, Warren County, as early as
eight or ten years before the war of 1812. So profitable became his
trade, especially when he could get the Indians under the influence of
whisky, that he became a comparatively wealthy man. Interesting
stories, without limit in number, could be told regarding; these
trading- voyages. Many times Cicott's life was in extreme danger, but
he was watchful and brave, and managed to secure a confidential Indian,
who speedily informed him of all plots involying danger to his person
or interests. Mr. Cicott was a swarthy man of average size, was quick,
wiry and very strong for his weight, and possessed considerable skill
and bravery and an iron constitution. He married a squaw of the
Pottawatomie tribe, by whom he had two children, John Battiece and
Sophia At Independence were two or more natural springs of excellent
water, which circumstance had caused that point to become a great place
for the Indians to encamp. Cicott, in nearly all his voyages, found it
profitable to stop there to trade, although he occasionally went up to
Hackberry Island or stopped to trade with the Kickapoos at the mouth of
Kickapoo Creek, there being quite a large encampment of the tribe
there. He erected a rude building, probably before the war of 1812, and
usually occupied it while trading. On one occasion, just before the war
of 1812 broke out, he found the Indians so savage and threatening that
he thought it prudent not to unload his liquor from the pirogue, but
moored close to the bank, where he dealt out the liquid for the
valuable furs which were handed from the bank to him. Finding that his
liquor was sure to be consumed before all the furs had been secured, he
instructed his companion to cautiously pour water into one end of the
barrel while he dealt out the mixture from the other. In this shrewd
way he got all their furs and had considerable liquor left. But the
Indians became clamorous and violent and demanded more whisky, and were
refused because they had no more furs and were without money. One
savage looking fellow, half-frenzied with intoxication, drew a huge
knife and shouted that he must have more whisky or he would murder the
trader, and made preparations to put this threat into execution; but
Cicott also drew his knife and swore that the Indian could have no more
unless he were the better man. A collision seemed inevitable. Several
hundred Indians were present, swarming like maddened bees on the bank,
the most of whom were drunk and all were more or less infuriated at the
loss of their furs and ready to wreck their revenge on the trader, who
was careful tn keep on his pirogue and out of their reach. The old
chief Parish came forward and bought the remainder of the whisky, and
taking the barrel on his shoulders, carried it to the top of the bluff,
knocked in the head, and told the Indians who crowded around to help
themselyes, which they quickly did. Cicott saw that this was his
opportunity to escape, and quickly and quietly pulled out into the
middle of the river and began to row rapidly down the stream, his
departure being greatly favored by the approach of darkness About a
mile down, he stopped under the shade of the opposite shore to listen.
He could distinctly hear the savage revelry behind him, and finally
could hear his own name shouted from scores of throats, " Se-e-cott,
Se-e-cott." He did not dare to return, and continued on down the river.
CICOTT AND THE HARRISON
CAMPAIGN
A short time before the
war of 1812. Cicott received a note from Gen. Harrison at Vincennes,
directing him to go immediately to that point prepared to act as a
scout for the army, which was on the eve of marching against the
Indians. The trader had noticed that the Indians of Warren County were
in a state of great excitement, and soon became aware that some great
disturbance was on foot, as they were holding war and scalp dances and
were arming themselyes and ornamenting their persons with red and black
paint and other horrid paraphernalia A savage warfare. The note was no
sooner received than Cicott began making hurried preparations for his
departure. He secretly packed everything of value that he could take in
pirogues, and, unknown to the Indians, left Independence at night,
pulling rapidly down the Wabash. His confidential Indian was left on
shore to drive about forty ponies around through Warren County on the
way down to a place of safety. This the faithful fellow succeeded in
doing, though all the cattle, sheep and hogs were killed. Upon his
arrival at Vincennes. Cicott was selected as a scout for the army,
which soon afterward passed northward to invade the Indian country. The
plan of the Indians was to bring on an encounter in the ravines and
timber, where their mode of warfare would be greatly favored, one of
the places being on Big Pine Creek, eight or ten miles from its mouth;
but Harrison was too prudent and experienced to be caught in that
manner, and in his march sought the open country but kept near the
timber, occasionally passing through detached portions of woodland. His
army entered the county in the southwestern part of Mound Township,
thence passing northeastward through Kent about a mile east of State
Line City, thence on through Steuben and southwestern Jordan, and
possibly northwestern Pike, thence on diagonally on through the center
of Liberty, crossing Big Pine Creek about a mile and a half northeast
of Carbondale, at a place known as the "Army Ford," thence on through
Adams and Medina Townships and into northern Tippecanoe County, where,
on the 7th of November. 1811, the Indians were subdued in the bloody
battle of Tippecanoe. Judge Isaac Naylor, Cicott and several others who
afterward lived in the county, were with this army on its march out and
at the battle, and afterward, when the county was settling up. wont
over the route or trail of the army and identified its camping places
and related many interesting anecdotes. The army encamped in Warren
County first in Kent Township, in a detached grove, where two of the
men died and were buried The spot is used now as the Gopher Hill
Cemetery. Much of the route of the army lay along an old Indian trail,
and as it was afterward traveled considerably, it was worn so deep that
it can vet be traced in the county some ten or twelye miles. In the
door yard of G H Lucas who lives about a, mile east of State Line City,
the trail is at least a foot deep and live or six yards wide. The army
also encamped on the east bank of Big Pine Creek immediately after
crossing the stream. A few traces of this encampment were yet visible
when the county was first settled.
CICOTT AFTER THE WAR.
After the war of 1812 had terminated, probably about the year 1816,
Cicott resumed his voyages up the Wabash to trade with the Indians. The
following year he erected the hewed- log house which is yet standing,
though on the verge of falling down from neglect and decay. It stands
on the bank of the river a few rods east of the town of Independence,
and is surrounded by about four acres of land which were cleared by
Cicott and used by his family for a garden. A few old apple trees
planted by the family are yet standing. At the Indian treaty of St.
Mary's, Ohio, on the 2d of October, 1818, a section of land on Flint
River, Mich., was reserved for Perig, a Pottawatomie chief, bat at the
treaty with the Pottawatomies at Chicago on the 29th of August, 1821,
the claim of Perig was transferred to John Battiece, son of Zachariah
Cicott, by a Pottawatomie woman, though the section thus reserved was
not the same, but was to be located by the President the United States,
who, at the request of the Cicotts, established it at Independence. The
Cicott reserve was located on Sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, Township 22
north. Range 7 west. Upon reflection, it would hardly seem that Cicott
would go to the trouble and expense of erecting his large hewed-log
house on land which did not belong to himself or some member of his
family; and therefore the writer concludes that Cicott's recollection
of the time when the building was constructor, or Mr. Jacob Hanes'
recollection of what Cicott told him regarding the date, is at fault,
and the log house was not really erected until after the section was
reserved to John Battiece Cicott, or probably about the year 1822. Here
Zachariah Cicott lived until his death, about the year 1850, continuing
to trade with the Indians as long as they remained in the county. John
B. Cicott could not Sell the reservation without authority from the
President of the United States, but this was finally gained through
John Tipton, Indian Agent, who certified (when the land passed from J.
B. Cicott to his father, Zachariah Cicott, in about 1830) that J. B.
Cicott was receiving a valuable and sufficient consideration. The
recorded consideration for the transfer is 11,000, though David Moffit
informed the writer that as a matter of fact the consideration was an
Indian pony almost thin enough to warrant being followed by the crows,
and a saddle which looked as if a thunderbolt had fallen on it. Mr.
Moffit is no doubt correct, as it would not take much ingenuity to have
the pony and saddle valued at $1,000. In March, 1830, Cicott mortgaged
the reservation to Menard and Valle, French traders of St, Genevieve,
for 13,000, which amount was due them for merchandise obtained by
Cicott for the Indian trade. The mortgage also covered the following
personal property: Two large two horse wagons, one small wagon, two
yokes of work oxen, eighteen stock cattle, twelye horses, 100 hogs, one
cherry bureau, two butt rifle guns, eleven head of sheep, four
promissory notes of $185 each and Cicott's Indian book account. This
mortgage was afterward largely satisfied by the transfer to Menard and
Valle of numerous town lots in Independence, which was laid out by
Cicott in 1832. In his latter years, Cicott was partially paralyzed,
the disorder seizing his tongue and preventing speech, which made him
an object of general sympathy. At last, in 1850, he died at an a-e of
over eighty years, and now lies buried in tbe cemetery at Independence,
near the spot made historic by his own energy and darmg.
THE CHATTERLIE RESERVATION.
At the treaty of St.
Mary's, in Ohio, in 1818, a section of land was frranted to or reserved
for Mary Chatterlie, a daughter of Nelbust, a Pottawatomie chief, and
was located on Sections 1 and 2, Township 1 north, Range S west, on
Section 30, Township 22 norlh, Range 1 west, and on Section 6, Township
21 north, Range 7 west.
In the early settlement
of the county, Amos Griffith became the husband of Mary, and in about
1830 a consiaerable portion of the reservation was sold to John Seaman,
the consent of the President of the United States having been obtained
upon the certificate of A. Finch, of La Fayette, and S. B. Clark, of
Warren County, who had been appointed by the Indian Agent, John Tipton,
for that purpose. The remainder of the reservation was soon afterward
disposed of.
SETTLEMENT BY THE WHITES.
Of course, Zachariah
Cicott was the first white man to reside permanently within the present
limits of Warren County. Probably no others appeared until about
the year 1822, at which time a very few came in, and during the
succeeding two or three years the settlement was quite slow. Amongst
those who came into the southwestern part of the county prior to June,
1827, were Samuel Watkins, William Jolly, Thomas Cunningham, Joseph
Thomas. John N. Lewin, Nicholas DeLoug, Lewis Evans, John Black,
Humphrey Becket, Benjamin Beoket. William Becket, John Ferrell, Elias
Oxford, Sylyester Stone, Elisha Miles, Hiram Miles, James Holmes, James
McCune, Robert Mills, Enoch Stran, Jacob Ferrell, and others; while
farther northeast were J. C. Watson, Thomas Kitchen, Luther Tillotson,
James Kitchen, Nelson DeMoss, Peter High, Amos Clark, William Hall,
Samuel Clem, Henry Coons, Adam Coons, Augustus Watson, William Kent,
Nathaniel Butterfield, Holder Sisson, James Shaw, Lemuel Boyd, Benjamin
Cheneweth, John Jones, James Forbner and Joseph King. Near the center
portion of the county were Ransom Wilkinson, Seth Shippy, James Oxford,
William Harrison, Nathan Billings, Samuel Harrison, Uriah Dunn, George
Billings, Marcus Shippy, John Fields, Jr., James Gilbert, Christopher
Pitzer, David Dickinson, William Harrington, Mathias Redding, John
Hankins, John Fields, James Fipps, James B. Harrison, Thomas B. Clark,
Jonathan Shippy, Daniel and Robert Benjamin, Jonathan Pitzer, John
Dickinson, Thomas Doan, Joan Seaman, Daniel Clark, Nimrod Harrison,
David Fleming, Andrew Fleming. William Pugh, Peter Fleming, Lyman Judd,
Marshal Billings, Jacob Halstead, and farther east were David, White,
Constantino Messmore, Zachariah Cicott, Thomas Herron, Solomon Pitzer,
Francis Boggs, M. Hunt, Daniel Tevebaugh, John Tevebaugh, Adam White,
James McCord, John and Enoch Farmer, Joseph Cox and others, while
farther north, along Big and Little Pme Creeks. were James Bidwell,
Archibald Davis, Samuel B. Clark, Edward Mace, Samuel Green, Isaac
Rains, John Anderson, John Jackson Jeremiah Davis. John Gradner and
several others, whose names cannot be learned with certainty. In 1827,
the county was organized, and during the succeeding five or six years
the settlement was very rapid. The first tracts of land entered in the
county were as follows:
| Purchaser |
Twp |
Range |
Sec. |
Acres |
Location |
Date of Entry |
| Wm. & Jonas Seaman |
21 |
8 |
2 |
80 |
w 1/2 s e 1/4 |
December 16 1820 |
| John Blind |
23 |
7 |
14 |
40 |
n w 1/4 s e 1/4 |
September 11, 1822 |
| Benjamin Landon |
22 |
8 |
29 |
80 |
e 1/2 s e 1/4 |
September 15, 1822 |
| James Barnes |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
e 1/2 n e 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| James Barnes |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
e 1/2 s w 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| James Barnes |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
w 1/2 s w 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| John Black |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
w 1/2 n e 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| John Black |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
e 1/2 n w 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| Thomas Cunningham. |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
e 1/2 s e 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| Thomas Cunningham. |
20 |
9 |
33 |
80 |
w 1/2 s e 1/4 |
November 15, 1822 |
| Thomas Wright |
20 |
9 |
28 |
80 |
e 1/2 s w 1/4 |
November 18 1822 |
| Thomas Wright |
20 |
9 |
28 |
80 |
w fr s e 1/4 |
November 18 1822 |
| Samuel Watkins |
20 |
9 |
28 |
80 |
e 1/2 s e 1/4 |
September 20, 1823 |
| Samuel Green |
22 |
6 |
4 |
41.86 |
n e 1/4 n w 1/4 |
November 9, 1823 |
| William Newell |
23 |
6 |
7 |
80 |
e 1/2 s w 1/4 |
January 22, 1824 |
| Silas Hooker |
23 |
8 |
15 |
40 |
n e 1/4 sw 1/4 |
February 25, 1824 |
| James McCune |
20 |
9 |
34 |
80 |
w 1/2 n e 1/4 |
May 29 1824 |
| Unknown |
20 |
10 |
21 |
274.80 |
s 1/2 |
August 9 1824 |
| Lewis Colleyer |
22 |
7 |
11 |
80 |
n 1/2 s w 1/4 |
August 28 1824 |
| Lewis Evans |
20 |
9 |
27 |
70 |
s e fr w 1/2 |
December 27 1824 |
| Enoch Farmer |
22 |
7 |
30 |
80 |
w 1/2 s e 1/4 |
December 31 1824 |
| In 1825, the
following men entered land: |
|
|
| Thomas Bowyer, |
Township 23, |
Range 6; |
| William H. Mace. |
Township 23, |
Range 6; |
| James Bidwell, |
Township 23, |
Range 6; |
| John S. Reid. |
Township 23, |
Range 6; |
| John Cox, |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| John McCord, |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| Jonathan Cox, |
Township 22. |
Range 7; |
| Samuel B. Clark. |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| Nancy Maudlin. |
Township 22. |
Range 8; |
| Henry Coons, |
Township 20, |
Range 9; |
| Thomas Lewis, |
Township 20, |
Range 9; |
| Lewis Evans, |
Township 20, |
Range 9; |
| Benedict Morris, |
Township 20. |
Range 9, |
| In 1820. the
following men entered land: |
|
|
| Isaac Shelby. |
Township 22, |
Range 6; |
| John Stanley. |
Township 23. |
Range 6: |
| Jeremiah Davis, |
Township 23, |
Range 6: |
| Samuel B. Clark. |
Township 23, |
Range 6; |
| John Rhode. |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| David White. |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| Samuel Ensloy, |
Township 22, |
Range 7; |
| Henry Wetchell, |
township 23, |
Range 7; |
| William Kendall. |
Township 22, |
Range 8; |
| William Worthington, |
Township 23, |
Range 8; |
| Levi Osborn. |
Township 23. |
Range 8; |
| Abel Oxford. |
Township 20. |
Range 9; |
| Joseph Themes, |
Township 20. |
Range 9; |
| William Henderson, |
Township 20, |
Range 9; |
| Joseph Foster. |
Township 20, |
Range 9; |
| William White. |
Township 21. |
Range 9; |
After this the settlement was more rapid. A great many families came
in—some from neighboring older counties and some direct from Ohio.
Pennsylyania, and other States east. The early settlers sought the
timber for four reasons: First, because, as
they had been reared in a timbered country they knew nothing of the
prairie, and thought the soil was too poor for the production of
forests, and consequently too poor to be cultivated; secondly, they
thought it impossible to survive the cold winters in such an exposed
situation; thirdly, they preferred to remain where wood was abundant;
fourthly, they concluded to locate near some water-courses which were
then the great commercial highway. It is therefore seen that the very
earliest settlers preferred the timbered land, and selected their farms
on streams where there was a good mill site and where never failing
springs of good water issued from the ground. Some of the settlers had
learned the value of prairie land, and they resolutely pushed out on
the broad expanse despite the scoffs of those who pretended to be
wiser. Many of the earliest settlers squatted upon their farms, being
too poor to pay the entry price until after the harvest of the first or
second crop. Others had barely sufficient to enter their lands. Others
still had considerable means, and found that settling up a new country
was not so hard after all. Still others were obliged to return whence
they came. Money was very scarce, and people were often enforced to
resort to barter in order to effect exchanges. The comparative demand
and supply regulated the price of all articles. A yard of calico was
worth so many pounds of butter; a deer skin was worth so much sugar or
coffee, and an ax was worth so many bushels of potatoes. The tanneries
supplied leather, which was obtained and made for whole families at
once into shoes and boots. Sheep were early introduced, and those that
were not killed by wolyes supplied wool, which was taken, very often,
by the backwoods mother, and washed, rolled, carded, spun, woven into
cloth, dressed, cut and made into suits without once leaving the house
where it had been clipped from the sheep. Everybody had ox teams. Young
men went courting with ox teams, and many young couples went gayly off
to some old " Squire " to get married, driving a span of fast young
cattle. If they were fortunate enough to own a horse, they would both
mount the animal, the girl on behind, and away they would go, followed
by a shower of old shoes, horseshoes and rice. The first marriage in
the vicinity was after this fashion. It occurred on the 1st of January,
1828, between Noble Owens and Catharine Coons, Nathaniel Butterfield,
Associate Judge, performing the ceremony. The second marriage was June
19, 1828, between James Perrin and Cassandra Clarke, Lemuel Boyd,
Justice of the Peace. The third was November 30, 1828, between Jonathan
Pitzer and Nancy Bivens, by Squire Dunn. On this occasion the evening
was passed in an old-fashioned backwoods dance. It must have been a
sight to have seen them whirling around the room of the little log
cabin, shaking their feet to some familiar tune on an old fiddle.
" As the fiddler touched the
string,
Some youngster cut the
pigeon wing."
The Scotch, Virginia and
other varieties of reel were indulged in; old men took the floor under
the inspiration, and unlimbered themselyes in; old men took the floor
under the inspiration, and unlimbered themselyes in a manner to elicit
rounds of applause from boys of less skill and experience.
There were no "stuck-up"
people in the new country; all were friendly, for all were poor. The
latch string hung out for everybody; this hospitality was so universal
that every settler seemed to keep tavern. It would not do to turn
travelers away, for the cabins were so few that the night would
probably have to be passed in the woods. The only question was, can
they put up with what we have Traveler backwoods usually could
and did.
OLD TIME CUSTOMS.
The first thing for the family to do was to erect the little log cabin;
and while this was being done by the men, often assisted by the
neighbors, who came for that purpose often four or five miles, the
families were obliged to live in the wagon, or in a tent of boughs,
bark and blankets, or in the cabin of some near neighbor. The cabin,
such as it was, often without floor or permanent roof, and destitute of
door or windows, was very often ready for occupancy at night of the day
it was begun. Blankets served for doors, greased paper for windows,
while the floor was, perhaps, the bare earth. The next few days were
passed in getting comfortable. The chinks must be daubed with mud; the
chimney and tire-place must be made serviceable and reliable; puncheon
floors and doors must be split out. and the latter hung on wooden
hinges, with a huge wooden latch on the inside provided with a string
which extended outside through a small hole in the door. To draw in the
string was to prevent entrance, and hence the old saying that "the
latch-string is out" is tantamount to an invitation to all in need of
hospitality to enter the humble cabin home. After the family had been
made comfortable, active work was begun to clear a spot of ground for
the first crop. The men would cut down trees all day and far into
favorable nights, while the women would often pile and burn the brush.
Mrs. William Robb said she did that many a time and enjoyed it. Her
husband. William Robb, said he would rather live in a log cabin on the
frontier with the family he loved and with all the surroundings
hardships and privations than to live in a palace amid the gilt and
pride of to-day. Many of the old settlers think likewise. Those were
active, happy times for them—the sunshine in their long lives, and now,
When the twilight of age comes swiftly on, it is happiness to see the
old times again, even in a momentary vision. How nice it was some
crisp, bright moonlight night in winter, when the snow lay thick upon
the ground, to close the house and all take a brisk walk through the
sharp air a mile or two to the house of a neighbor to spend the long
evening. There is inspiration in the thought of old times. We see the
pioneers building their log cabins and cutting down the great trees; we
hear the echoing axes and the thunder of falling timber; we see the
blazing brush and the sky is tilled, with the glare of burning heaps of
logs, and the sun is darkened with blinding smoke; we hear the sturdy
pioneers shouting to their oxen as they roll the logs or tarn the soil
for the expected crop; we hear the sound of mauls as the rails for the
little fields are split; we see men and women planting corn with hoes
and weeding pumpkins and potatoes among the roots and stumps. The
autumn comes and the corn is husked and the potatoes dug. The evening
comes and we hear the ding-dong of the cow-bells—for the cows have
returned from the prairie and are standing down by the bars, with
distended sides, waiting to be milked. The chores are done and night
has thrown her curtain upon the earth, and the long-drawn mournful howl
of the wolf and the weird hootings of the owl are heard down by the
swamp Now the scene is changed. The crops are gathered, the corn is
cribbed the potatoes are buried, the great yellow pumpkins are covered
with hay and vines to protect them from the frost, the prairie hay is
cut and stacked and great heaps of logs have been hauled into the
door-yard for winter use. The boys and girls have bright new suits of
home-made linsey, or the faded old ones have been patched; and each
with a new pair of cow-hide shoes (which must last a year), is getting
ready for the winter school in the new log schoolhouse, with a great
open fire-place and windows of greased paper, and long benches hewed
out of split logs. There is the old schoolmaster. What an important
personage he is How stately he looks, as, with whip in hand, he marches
up and down the room, hearing the little ones saying their A B C's and
showing the older ones how to cipher. Occasionally he touches up some
of the boys who are caught whispering to the girls. How they jump and
scratch for their pants are thin, and the whip is hickory, well
seasoned in the hot embers of the glowing tire. There is the school
standing in a long row with folded arms, ready to spell—yes, ready to
spell every word in the old spelling book. How hungry the scholars are
at noon, and what dinners they have! Johnny-cake, venison, and
sometimes a big piece of pumpkin pie, and once in a great while a slice
of wheat bread with butter and a little sugar sprinkled on the butter.
Now they are at home, gathered around the blazing tire-place. What
tires! How they roared and snapped those cold winter nights! There sits
father, smoking his wooden pipe, and mother with her knitting, while
the girls are making the old spinning-wheel hum as they spin into yarn
the rolls which have been carded by hand, and there are the boys
working their sums, cracking hickory nuts or whittling puzzles out of
little wooden blocks, while the great fire throws out a cheering heat
and gleam, and comfort pervades the whole house. Now it is the fall of
the year. The poison of the undrained swamps has made all to shake and
shiver with the ague, or lay for weeks burning with fever, without well
ones enough to wait on the sick. There comes the old doctor, picking
his way among the logs and swamps, on horseback, with blazed trees for
his guide and an old Indian trail for his road. What doses of medicine
he doles out! Calomel, jalap, ipecac, Dover's powders, Peruvian bark,
pink and senna and snake root, and pills as big as peas. How the
patient is vomited, purged and bled, and how, after weeks of shaking
and burning fever, he pulls through, a mere skeleton, a yellow, bilious
looking wreck.
EARLY MILLS, FACTORIES, ETC.
Warren County was well
supplied with early mills, owing to the ease with which the water
powers along the creeks were made available. However, the settlers,
prior to 1828 were obliged to go south into Fountain County. Henry
Stump started a saw mill on Big Pine Creek in 1828; Isaac Rains started
one soon afterward at what afterward became Rainsville. He conducted a
small corn-cracker. Francis Boggs also began sawing about the same time
northeast of Williamsport, on Big Pine Creek. Peter Cristman's mill was
started later on the same creek. Enoch Farmer started the first saw
mill on Kickapoo Creek. Isaac Rains started a saw mill lower down on
Big Pine Creek, afterward known as the Brier Mill, as early as 1828, A
small grist mill or corn-cracker was conducted at the same place. The
Cristman Mill was afterward owned by Mr. Dick. William Rhodes built a
saw mill on Big Pine Creek, as early as 1833, about two miles northeast
of Rainsville, A corn-cracker was also located there, and afterward an
excellent grist mill. William Fincher, Isaac Waymire, William Boggs,
Jonathan Cox. Levi Douthert and Frederick Waymire built early saw mills
on Kickapoo Creek, Isaac Waymire also started a small Flouring mill. S.
and O. Munson built a saw and grist mill on Little Pine Creek as early
as 1831. Christopher Henry built a saw mill on the same creek, and a
Mr. Burchren a grist mill. Henry Stewart and John Talbert built saw
mills on the same creek early. Stewart conducted a small carding mill,
as did Brier also, on Big Pine Creek, These old factories were well
patronized.
WILD ANIMALS.
A few bears have been
killed in the county, two or three of them being stragglers, in
comparatively late years, Early in the 30's and in the month of
October, Wesley Gray and others were hunting by moonlight one night,
when the dogs started a bear not far from Rainsville. The large animal
started northward at a rapid rate, closely pursued by the dogs and
followed by Mr. Gray, who was on horseback. and who could scarcely keep
up with it, awing to the swamp; and woods. But finally he reached the
fierce animal near the northern boundary of the county, just as it was
in the act of killing one of his dogs. It had seized the dog in its
deadly embrace and was crushing the unfortunate animal to death by
repeated hugs Mr. Gray jumped from his horse, which was very restless,
and threw his rifle to his shoulder just as the bear, with mouth open
and gleaming teeth, displayed in the moonlight, released the dog and
made a dash at him. He fired as the animal reared up, and a half ounce
of lead went crashing into its body near the heart. The maddened animal
gave a spasmodic bound, fell over on the leaves, and after a few feeble
kicks was dead. The Grays and some of their neighbors ate bear steak
for breakfast the following morning.
Wolyes were very
numerous, especially in very early years, and sometimes in winter, when
rendered desperate by hunger, they would enter door and stable-yards
and attack domestic animals, and sometimes would pursue and attack man
himself. This, however, was only when they were half starved and
desperate. A settler in Liberty Township once pursued a large wolf,
chasing it on horseback. Ho ran over it once, but the horse was
severely bitten by the wolf, and would avoid the beast upon subsequent
charges. At last it was brought to bay. and the settler, having no gun,
took of his stirrup, intending, if possible, to brain the animal by one
blow. He advanced upon it. and it, in turn, rendered furious by the
long chase, advanced upon him, showing two rows of teeth that a
crocodile might have envied, and that snapped together like a steel
trap. When close enough, he struck it upon the head with the heavy iron
stirrup, stretching it upon the ground, and finishing. the work by
repeated blows upon the head. Cattle in the woods, becoming mired down
in the swamps at night, often furnished a feast for a ravenous pack of
wolves. Ordinarily the wolves were not dangerous to man. Sheep
constantly fell victims to their rapacity. The County Commissioners
offered a heavy bounty, which had the effect of largely ridding the
county of the nocturnal marauders They continued, however, to do
serious damage to sheep folds long after the county was quite well
populated Finally some time in the early part of the 40's, it was
resolved to organize a grand circular hunt in order to exterminate as
many of the animals as possible. The time came, and the night before a
large pole was erected on the big mound at "Walnut Grove, from the top
of which four wagon covers sewed together were spread to the breeze.
Eighty acres at this place were staked off, the flag pole being the
center, and this tract of land was to be the center where the game was
to be driven, and upon which none of the hunters were to advance
without orders from the Captains. Bright and early the next morning,
the settlers started from Benton County, Vermillion County, Ill., and
Tippecanoe County on the east, and the Wabash River on the south, and
as they moved along they were joined by hundreds, until the great
circular line was almost solid. They made loud and constant noise to
scare up all game. The big flag could be seen for ten miles, and
steadily toward it the line of excited and anxious men advanced.
Animals could be seen running in front of the line, and at last
opposite lines could see each other. The circle of men at this time was
complete, and the fun began. Herds of deer, led by some fine old stag,
would dash madly round and round the circle, and were met everywhere by
volleys of rifles. Sometimes, when made desperate by the noise and by
fear, they would dash at the line, and, jumping over the heads of the
hunters, or breaking through the line, would go wildly off at full
speed and escape. Notwithstanding the care which had been used, nearly
all the game except deer had managed to escape through the lines during
the march. A few wolves were hemmed in and shot, and a few foxes were
seen and, perhaps, a few killed. Several herds of deer also had managed
to escape during the advance; but there were about 300 in the circle
when the lines reached the limit of march. Many of these escaped by
breaking through the lines or leaping over the heads of the hunters.
Many men were so excited that they scarcely knew what they did, and the
line was sometimes very irregular and broken, thus admitting the escape
of the animals. About 160 deer were killed; also six or eight wolves.
It had been expected that not less than twenty-five wolves would be
hemmed in and killed, so that the herds, as a whole, did not come up to
the expectations. Fortunately no man was injured by a stray bullet.
This was the most extensive hunt ever in the county. David Mofitt was
one of the most successful hunters and trappers ever in the county. He
enjoys the sport even at this day, and for a man who has seen fourscore
of years, is remarkably clear mentally, and strong and active
physically.
VIGILANT C0MPANIES.
In comparatively early
years, when through all this Western country the lack of law and
measures to bring criminals to justice led to the formation of
organized bands of horse-thieves and counterfeiters. Red wood Point
became a notorious resort for their depredations; and at times large
numbers of horses and quantities of jewelry, merchandise, etc., stolen
farther east and across the Wabash, were secreted in the ravines and
heavy woods until such property could be safely disposed of by the
thieves. So far as known, no bogus coin or counterfeit paper money was
ever manufactured in the county, although, many years ago, the
necessary implements for such manufacture were found concealed in the
ravine at Redwood Point. Reports were once circulated that a man had
been murdered not many miles from West Lebanon—an inoffensive peddler,
supposed to have had in his possession a considerable quantity of money
and jewelry—after which his body was said to have been thrown into a
certain well", and the reports pretended to point out several of the
guilty parties. One dark night, a company of Vigilantes called upon the
alleged guilty persons who lived near by. and informed them that they
were wanted, and accordingly conducted them to the well, around which
they were stationed well guarded, while the water was thoroughly
dragged for the body of the missing peddler. No such body was found,
and the suspected parties were conducted home, no doubt greatly to
their relief. In consequence of the resort made of the county ravines
and woods by criminals and the mysterious disappearance of horses,
cattle, goods, etc., various companies "for the detection and arrest of
the rascals were organized and continued to be so until the present. In
1853. two companies for catching horse-thieves and other criminals were
organized in the county, the Milford Regulators, with a membership of
thirty-five, in the eastern part of the county, and the Grand Prairie
Rangers, with about the same membership in the northern part. These
companies were thoroughly organized, with Captains and Lieutenants, and
were instrumental in breaking up organized bands of law-breakers. These
were the first companies of the kind in the county The Warren
Regulators were organized in 1839. Among the members were J. L. Dick.
J. M. Fleming. Adam Troxel, H. L. Gallon , Daniel Meyers. Solomon Dick,
Josiah Clawson, John Stephenson. John Young. John Bigham, J. C. Adams.
George Nelson and Austin Heigh. The Grand Prairie Rangers were
organized in 1861 for the same purpose, some of the members being
Wesley Clark, J. R. Marshall. Andrew Brier. Isaac Christman. W. H. H.
Reed, M. A. Osborn, Elias Thompson. John Mellott. Thomas J. Cheneweth
and Isaac Cheneweth. The Warren Detectives were organized in 1839, in
Liberty and Washington Townships, and the Pine Creek Rangers, the same
year, in Southern Liberty and Southern Prairie and Pine. In 1865, also,
Warren Township organized the Warren County Minute Men. The State Line
Detective Company was formed in 1866 in Kent, Mound and Steuben
Townships. Soon after this, the Liberty Police Rangers, the Warren
County Institute Men. the Pine Village Detectives, the Liberty Guards,
the Rainsville Detectives, the West Lebanon Detectives, the Jordan
Rangers, the Kickapoo Guards, and similar companies, were formed, the
object being to bring criminals, especially horse-thieves, to justice.
Such a general organization has had a salutary effect upon the
commission of crime.
McCLURE WORKINGMEN'S INSTITUE
The object of this
association, which was organized in 1857, was to procure and sustain a
library of useful books, to improve ourselves in reading, discussions
and lectures, and to acquire useful and practical knowledge." The
members were composed of those only "' who labor with their hands and
earn their living by the sweat of their brows." The fund to secure the
library was left by the McClure bequest. The members wre G. H.
Nordutt, J.M. Norduft, P. W. Lewis, Robert Pearson, Peter Malm,
M. P. Woods, G. R Livingood. Samuel Ducket. Levi Miller A. Suhler, E.
A. Boardman, J. F. Reiff, Joseph Jones. John Moore. Mohn Cox, Henry
Wright. A. S. Jones. H. P. Downey, James Park. Alyin Heigh and H. B.
Thomas. The organization amounted to but little.
THE COUNTY LIBRARY.
An early enactment of the Legislature provided that ten per centum of
the proceeds of the sale of county lots should be a library fund, and a
short time before 1840, a small library was purchased, and added to
afterward as the fund accumulated. Many of the books may yet be seen in
the county. In 1855, the State distributed to the townships what became
known as township libraries, then considered a most important means of
disseminating knowledge to poor persons. In 1868, the township
libraries amounted to 2,199 volumes, some of which, owing to neglect,
were in poor condition.
RAILROADS.
The "Wabash Railroad was
fully completed through the county in 1857, but trains ran over
portions of the county the year before. In 1809, the citizens of Mound
Township were called upon to vote for or against a tax to aid the
Indianapolis, Crawfordsville & Danville Railroad, with this
result—for, 140; against, 1,090 The vote to aid the Northern Indiana
and Southern Railroad was also unfavorable about the same time. The
Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad was built across Mound
Township, and the coal branch of the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes
Railroad was graded across Mound, Kent and Steuben Townships, but never
finished. The coming year, 1883, or at any rate 1884, will see the
Chicago & Great Southern Railroad constructed across the county
from north to south. Warren County will then be well supplied with
transportation facilities.
Source: History of Warren County Indiana by Weston A Goodspeed