Baird's history of Clark County, Indiana

Author's Preface

In the preparation of this history, the author has endeavored to carry out the following design, viz; to give only the most important and interestingevents, and to place them hefore the reader in not only an attractive hut systematic form. The chronological arrangement of the history proper from the traditional period to the present time, is treated in decades, as hy this method, the gradual de\-elopment of the people and the resources of the county can be best appreciated. Following this will he found separate chapters on such phases of our history as deserve individual treatment. The military annals, the churches, the secret societies, the ship-lniilding industry, the car w<irks, banks and banking, the Ijench and bar, etc., etc., ha\e been described from data furnished bv men ni'St capable and most intimately acquainted with these subjects.

If some of our frailties have been exposed, the account of our material de\-eloi)ment, and the high character and ability of our earlier leaders more than overbalance the weaknesses of those periods, and should sen-e to direct and enthuse the lives and efforts of this and succeeding generations. The author has endeavored most conscientiously to make this work authentic and complete and has freely cnnsulted authorities lioth local and otherwise.

He is indebted to man\- persons in the preparation of the chapters following the decade^ as well as in writing the body of the work, and believes that the facts thus presented may be relied uixm as being authentic. To John Owens, of Charlestown, he wishes to give the greatest credit for the facts procured frtm the storehouse of his memory and his library, and for the suggestions he has made. Col. Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Hon. Jonas G. Howard and Dr. D. L. Field, both of JefTersonville, and others have added greatly to the value of the work. English's "Conquest of the Northwest," Dillon's "Indiana," Dunn's "Indiana," and other volumes have furnished much. In fact every precaution has been taken to record the history of the county correctly and the author is profi.aindly grateful for the encouragement

he has received.

Lewis C. B.mru.

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

All life and achievement is evolution : fjiesent wisdom comes from past experience, and present commercial pros])erity has come only fn.m past exertion and sufl'ering. The deeds and motives of the men that have gone before have lieen instrumental in shaping the destinies of later communities and states. The de\elopment of a new country was at once a task and a privilege. It required great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the present conditions of the residents of Clark county, Indiana, witli what tliey were one hundred \ears ago. From a trackless wilderness and \irgin prairie it has come to be a center of prosperity and civilization, with millions of wealth, systems of inter- .secting railwavs, grand educational institutions, marvelous industries and immense agricultural productions. Can any thinking person be insensible to the fascination of the study wliich discloses the incentives, hopes, aspirations and efforts of the early pioneers who so strongly laid the foundation uprm which has been reared the magnificent prosperity of later days? To perpetuate the story of these people and to trace and record the social, political and industrial progress of the community from its first inception is the function of the local historian. A sincere purpose to preserve facts and personal memoirs that are deserving of preservation, and which unite the present to the past is the motive for the present publication. The work has been in the hands of able writers, who have, after much patient study and research, produced here the most com- ])lcte biographical memoirs of Clark county, Indiana, ever offered to the pu])lic. A specially valuable and interesting department is that one devoted to the sketches of representative citizens of this county whose records deserve perpetuation because of their worth, effort and accomplishment. The prblishers desire to extend their thanks to these gentlemen who ha\-e so faithfulh' labored to this end. Thanks are also due to the citizens of Clark county for the uniform kindness with which they have regarded this undertaking, and for Iheir nvuiv ser\ices rendere<l in the gaining of necessary information.

In placing "Baird's History of Clark County, Indiana" before the citizens, ihe ]jublishers can conscientiously claim that they have carried imt the ])lan as outlined in the prospectus. Every biographical sketch in the work has been submitted to the party interested, for correction, and tlierefore any error of fact, if there be any, is solely due to the person for whom the sketch was jirepared. Confident that our efforts to please will fully meet the appn il)atiiin of the public, we are,

Respectfully,

The PuRi.isiiERS.

CHAPTER L

TRADITIONAL EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF CLARK COUNTY.

The Welsh in America in Twelfth Century — \\'hite Indians or Stranger People at Falls of the Ohio — Madoc — Evidences of Early Inhabitants in Clark County — Great Battle at Falls — La Salle 17

Chapter II. Early History Of Clark County Before Organization

The French Claim — British Claim — Virginian Claim — Ceded to United States — Early Names of Clark County — First Settlement — First Flood of Ohio River 23

Chapter III. The Illinois Grant

George Rogers Clark's Instructions From Patrick Henry — Capture of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, St. Phillips, Prairie du Rocker — Helm at Vincennes — Vincennes Captured by British — Clark's Recapture of Vincennes — Virginia Gives 150,000 Acres of Land to Clark and His Men — The Grant — The Survey — The Allotments — Clarksville — Original Settlers — General Clark's Residence 26

Chapter IV. Organization Of Clark County The First Decade 180i-181o

Organization — Name — Extent — Springf\-ille — First Court — Division Into Townships — Jeffersonville — Early Settlers — Aaron Burr — Indiana Canal Company — Spring\'ille Anti-Slavery Convention — Jonathan Jennings — Charlestown — Early Mills 46

Chapter V. The Second Decade 181i-182o

New Counties Cut Off From Clark County — Roads and Ferries — New Settlers — Gov. Posey — Utica — Early Notices of Charlestown — New

Washington — New Providence — Early Notices of Clarksville and Jeffersonville — Tunnel Mill — The Jeffersonville Ohio Canal Company — First Steamboat — Indian Brutality — The Jeffersonville Springs 62

Chapter VI. ' The Third Decade 182o-183o

Early Mills — First Newspaper — The State Prison — Early Schools — General La Fayette's Visit to Jeffersonville — Jeffersonville Proposed Capital of Indiana — New Villages and Townships — Notices of Jeft'ersonville and Clarksville yj

Chapter VII. The Fourth Decade 183o-184o

Earlv Notices of Charlestown and Jeft'ersonville, Bethlehem. New Washington and Utica — First Steam Ferry Boat — Utica Township — Hibernia — Hamburg — Jeffersonville Replatted — Jeffersonville Incorporated as a City — Flood of 1S32 — Cholera — First Bridge Across River — Bennettsville — New Market — Attempt to Remove Count}^- seat to Jeffersonville — High Moral Standard of People 88

Chapter VIII. The Fifth Decade 184o-185o

Jeffersonville Enlarged — Noted Visitors — Death of General John Carr — The Millerites — Sellersburg — Site of State Prison Changed — Flood of 1847 — The Indiana Canal Company — Mexican War Troops — Benson's Addition — Schools 96

Chapter IX. The Sixth Decade 185o-1860

Broom Hill — Bridgeport — Henry ville — Memphis — Oregon Township — Otisco — Carr Township— Petersburg — Union Township — ^Jeffersonville Railroad — J. M. & I. Company — Fort Wayne and Southern — Ohio Falls Marine Railroad Company — Public Schools of Jeffersonville Opened — Citizens' National Bank Established — County Seat Question — Social. Religious and Intellectual Condition of People in this Decade 104

Chapter X. The Seventh Decade 186o-187o

The War — Bridge Across the River — Severe Winter — O. & M. Built. . . 114

Chapter XI. The Eighth Decade 187o-1880

Steamer James Howard Launched — Marysville Laid Out— United States Quartermaster Depot Built in Jeffersonville — Jeffersonville Fire Department Organized — Smallpox Epidemic — Female Convicts Sent to Indianapolis — The Crusades — County Seat Fight and the Removal to Jeffersonville — The Glass Works — Jeffersonville Orphans' Home Founded — The Panic and Strikes of 1877 117

Chapter XII. The Ninth Decade 1880-189o

A\'arder Park in Jeffersnnville — Sweeney's Foundry — Great Floods of 1883 and 1884 — Depths of Water in Jeffersonville — Xatural Gas — Campaign Enthusiasm — Borden Institute Founded — Jeff'ersonville Water Works Finished 124

Chapter XIII. The Tenth Decade 189i-i9oo

The Cyclone — Collapse of Big Fuur Bridge — The G. A. R. Reunion — Remains of Jonathan Jennings Removed — Company G. Indiana X^ational Guard — Spanish ^\'ar Company — Improvements 127

Chapter XIV. The Eleventh Decade I9oo-i9io

Centennial Decade — Celebrations at Jeff'ersonville and Charlestown — Cornerstone of Jeff'ersonville Carnegie Library Laid —Contents of Cornerstone — St. Augustine's Church Burned — Last Mule Car — Interurban Approach to Bridge Built — Forestry Reservation Created — Spring Hill School — First Electric Car Over Bridge — Picturesque Charlestown — Jeffersonville Improvements — Toll Roads Made Free — First Electric Car to Seymour — Cornerstone to Poor Asylum Laid — Flood of 1907 130

Chapter XV. The Military History Of Clark County I7s6-1844

Port Steuben — Governor St. Clair — General Harmar — Captain John Armstrong — Early Militia Offfcers — Battle of Tippecanoe — Pigeon Roost Massacre — Indian \\'arfare — Black Haw!; War — The Rangers 137

TABLE OF CONTEXTS

CHAPTER X\'I.

THE MILITARY HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY 1844-1860.

Teffersonville Blues — The Mexican War — Charlestuwa Companies — The F'ourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Jeffersonville — Capt. Ford's and Capt. Simonson's Companies of Dragoons from Charlestown — General Taylor in JefTersonville 152

Chapter XVII

Rousseau's Regiment — Camp Joe Holt — Jefferson Genera' Hospital — Jefifersonville During War of Rebellion — United States Quartermaster Depot — The Indiana Greys — The Clark Guards — Home Guards — Morgan's Raid 159

Chapter XVIII. The Military' History' Of Clark County'

The Forty-ninth Indiana \'olunteer Infantry 1861-1865 — Organization — Leaves for the Front — First Skirmish — Cumberland Gap — The Fights and Frolics of the Regiment — The Return Home — Colonel Keigwin 1 78

Chapter XIX. The Military' History' Of Clark County

• Sterling's Battery — Company D, Fifty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry — Company D, Seventy-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry — Companies I and B, Eighty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry — Company E. One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Indiana Volunteer (Tenth Cavalry) — Company M, One Hundred and Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer (Thirteenth Cavalry) — Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantr}- — Jefifersonville Rifles 1876 — Company G. First Regiment Indiana National Guard, Jeffersonville — Company E, One Hundred and Sixty- first Indiana Volunteer Infantry — Company M, First Regiment, Indiana X^ational Guard 198

Chapter XX. Free Masonry In Clark County'

Early History — Blazing Star Lodge — Posey Lodge — Clark Lodge — X'ew Washington Lodge — Utica Lodge — Jefifersonville Lodge — Buckner Lodge — Henry\ille Lodge — Xew Providence Lodge — Horeb Chapter — Jefifersonville Council — Jeffersonville Commandery — The Eastern Star 211

Chapter XXI. Odd Fellowship, Pythl\ns And Other Secret Societies In Clark County

Odd Fellows — Knights of Pythias — The Ell<s — Modern Woodmen — Knights of Honor — German Aid Society — Knights and Ladies of Honor — Railroad Men"s Organizations — Red Alen — Eagles — Royal Arcanum — Pathfinders — Golden Cross 220

CHAPTER XXn.

HISTORY OF ST. PAUL's PARISH, JEFFERSONVILLE, THE ONLY' EPISCOPAL

CHURCH IN THE COUNTY.

Earl}- Church History — First Church — Present Church — Church Societies 229

CHAPTER XXHI.

THE METHODIST CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.

Earliest Societies — Samuel Parker — Benjamin Lakin — Peter Cartwright — Early Revivals — History of Wall Street Church. Jeffersonville — History of Port Fulton Church. Charlestown — Xew Washington Circuit — Henryville Circuit — Otisco Church and Circuit — Utica Circuit — Morton Memorial Church — German Methodist, Jeffersonville 242

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.

Organized in 181 2 — The Charlestown Church — The First Presbyterian Church of Jefi'ersonville — Pisgah — \[t. \'emon — Owen Creek — X'ew Washington — Bethlehem — Xabbs — Utica — Mt. Lebanon — Otisco — Mt. Zion — Hebron 259

CHAPTER XXV.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.

Roman Catholics in Clark's Regiment — Missionaries — St. Augustine's, Jeffersonville — St. Anthony's. Jeft'ersonville — Schools — St. Joseph's Hill — Church Societies 270

CHAPTER XXMI.

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY'.

THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENT CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY'.

Location of Christian Churches in Clark County — Earliest Organization — Founding of the Advent Church — Dr. Field — Present Church Rebuilt in 1899 276

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE REFORMED CHURCH IN CLARK COUNTY.

The Church in Jeffersonville — Tlie Church in Sellershurg 278

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE BENCH AND BAR OF CL.ARK COUNTY.

Previous to the Convention of 1851 by Judge C. P. Ferguson — Subsequent to the Convention of 185 1 by Hon. Jonas G. Howard 282

CHAPTER XXX.

BANKS AND BANKING IN CLARK COUNTY.

The First Bank — Tlie Second Bank — The State Bank — The Citizens' Xational Bank of Jeffersonville — The First X^ational Bank of Jeffersonville — The Bank of Charlestown — The First Xational Bank of Charlestown — The Henryville State Bank — The Borden State Bank — The X'ew Washington State Bank — The Sellershurg State Bank- — The Citizens' Trust Company of Jeft'ersonville 315

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE RIVER STEAMBOAT BUILDING AND STEAMBO.VTING FLATBOATING AND

FALLS PILOTING HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS AND THE NINE FOOT STAGE.

Frontage on River — Advantages — Keelboating — Flatboating — Broad Horns — The Falls — Dangers of X^avigation — First Steamboats on River — The Steamer United States — The French Boat Yard — Falls Piloting — The Howard Ship Yards — Flood Stages of River — Barmore Ship Yard — Improvements of River by Congress — Falls Improvements 321

CHAPTER XXXII.

HOSPITALS AND HOMES.

Jeffersonville Hospital — ]\Iercy Hospital — Hauss Sanitarium — Old

Ladies' Home — Orphans' Home — Poor Farm 357

CHAPTER XXXIII.

PUBLIC UTILITIES.

The Ferry Company — The Pennsylvania Railroad Company — The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company — The Big Four — The Monon Railroad — The Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph

Conipaii}- — The Home Telephone Company — The Jeffersonville Water Supply Company — The United Gas and Electric Company — The L. &• S. I. T. Co.— The L. & X. R. & L. Co.— The L & L. T. Co. 362

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE INDIAX.\ REFORMATORY AND THE AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY.

The Old State F'rison — The Prison South — The Reformatory — Description of Institution — The Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company — The Ohio Falls Car Company — Location — Plant — The American Car and Foundry Company 375

CHAPTER XXXV.

JOURNALISM IN CLARK COUNTY.

Early Xewspapers — The Xational Democrat and Evening Xews — The Jeffersonville Times — The Jetlersonville Gazette — The Jeffersonville World — The Penny Post — The Clark County Republican and Jeffersonville Star — The Clark County Sentinel — The Clark County Citizen 386

CHAPTER XXXVI.

SCHOOLS OF CLARK COUNTY.

Early Conditions of Schools — Steady Advancement — Early Charlestown Schools — Public Schools Started in Jeffersonville — Present Conditions 394

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE LIME AND CEMENT INDUSTRY.

Early Lime Burners at Utica — Extent of Shipments — Decadence of the

Business — Cement Mills of Clark County — The Portland Industry. 399

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES.

The Grand Army of the Republic, Daughters of the American Revolution,

C. A. R., L'nited States War Veterans, Historical Society 403

CHAPTER XXXIX.

PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF CLARK COUNTY.

Hardships of Early Doctors — Early Practice — Early Practitioners —

Sketches of Doctors Early and Late 410

CHAPTER XL.

THE JEFFERSONVILLE CARNEGIE LIBRARY THE BORDEN MUSEUM.

Old Township Library — Air. Carnegie's Gift — Building — Books — Circulation — Professor \\'illiam Borden's Aluseum — Collection of Specimens — \^alue 425

CHAPTER XLL

INDUSTRIES AND STATISTICS.

Manufactured Products — Agricultural Statistics — Temperature — Rainfall — Population — Wealth — Charlestown — Jeffersonville — Advantages 428

Bic)gra])hical 431

HISTORICAL

Advent Christian Church in Clark

County 277

Agricultural Statistics 428

Allottments. The 34

American Car Foundry Company 382

Ancient Order of Hibernians.... 275

Armstrong, Captain John 138

Atlantis Tradition 17

Attempt to Remove Countyseat to

Jeffersonville 94

Baptist Church in Clark County. 237 Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern

Railroad Company 370

Banks and Banking 315

Barmore Ship Yards 327

Battle of Tippecanoe 144

Bench and Bar 2S2

Benevolent and Protective Order

of Elks 224

Bennettsville 93

Big Four Bridge 368

Biographical 431

Black Hawk War 149

Borden Institute — founded 126

Borden Museum 426

Bridge Across River 115

Bridgeport 104

British Claim 23

Broom Hill 104

Burr. Aaron 57

Camp Joe Holt 160

Campaign Enthusiasm Ill

Captain Ford's and Captain Simonson's Company of Dragoons

from Charlestown 157

Capture of Cahokla, Kaskaskia, St. Phillips. Prairie Du Rocker 27-30

Carnegie Library 425

Carnegie Library, Cornerstone

Laid 130

Can- Township 106

Car Works Established 114

Catholic Knights of America.... 274

Ceded to the United States 24

Celebration at Jeffersonville and

Charlestown 130

Centennial Decade 130-135