| MISCELLANEOUS. |
AGRICULTURAL.
BY reference to the first chapter in this work, the reader will see what "foundation" there is in Wells County for agricultural prosperity. A large portion of the surface is a rich clay or loam, and the rest a gravelly loam. The gravel, or drift, lies at various depths from the surface down to many feet, constituting a system of under-drainage for most of the land. Every section of land is either tillable now, or in a short time will he made so, by drainage into the respective water-courses. The swamps are nearly all high above the creeks and rivers, and in course of time will be effectively drained.
Previous to June 1, 1882, there had been 240 miles of public ditching done. At that date a new system was begun, under a new impetus, and by November 1, 1883—seventeen months—11,000 acres were effectually supplied with ditches, at a cost of only $30,000—not quite $3 to the acre. It is estimated that there is now between 1,300 and 1,400 miles of ditching in the county, besides many miles of road graveled; and work in both these lines is progressing more rapidly than ever before. The cost of graveling a road is about $1,700 per mile.
The "Wells County Agricultural Society" was first organized in 1853, with Rev. D. H. Drummond as president, who continued in that position until the career of the society was interrupted by the great civil war. Mr. Drummond has since died, at his residence near Bluffton. During his time the society held annual fairs, all of which were successful. In 1867 the society was reorganized, with John McFadden as president, and successful annual exhibitions were held until 1882, when the expenses became so great as to prevent the association from awarding premiums, and thus killed the interest in these best holidays of the year. By the phrase "successful fair," we mean that the exhibits were generally good and the receipts liberal. Some departments of agriculture, horticulture and stock-raising would be comparatively poor some seasons, while the majority were excellent, and the quality varied much from year to year. The fair of 1879 was particularly exciting, as there was a "baby show," and premiums were awarded to Mrs. Joseph Lipkey, Mrs. J. J. Todd, Mrs. William Grooms, Mrs. Kittie Smith and Mrs. William Ernst, in the order here named.
Eminent men from abroad were often engaged to deliver an address, among them "Blue Jeans" William, Governor at the time (1873), and B. F. Butler, in 1880, etc.; but when the last-named was here, on Thursday of the fair, he seemed to draw more away from the fair-ground than to it. In 1880 the Presidential campaign interfered seriously with public interest in agricultural and stock exhibits, and the two succeeding years the crops were cut short, and thus caused the interest to wane still more.
Succeeding Mr. McFadden as president of the Agricultural Society were Joseph C. Silver, Abram W. Johnson, Levi Mock, John T. Glass, John Shoemaker, Nathaniel Greenfield and Branson Weaver, each a term of two years except Mr. Glass, whose term was only one year. Messrs. Greenfield and James R. Bennett have been especially identified with the interests of the society from the beginning.
The old fair-ground was sold for a park, but the latter feature has been neglected. There is also a good stone quarry there, but it is not now worked. The "park" is now a farm. Situation, across the river northeast of Bluffton.
A "Short-horn Breeders' Association" was organized September 11, 1886, with Dr. John C. Fulton, of Murray, as President; Branson Weaver, Vice-President; David D. Studabaker, Treasurer, and David T. Smith, Secretary. Total membership (March, 1887) thirty, all but two being residents of Wells County. They meet the last Saturday of each month, and have arranged for an exhibition and sale of stock the second Tuesday and Wednesday of June, 1887, at Bluffton.
When the Patrons of Husbandry took the country in 1870 they afterward, of course, "took in" Wells County in their march, organizing granges in every part of the county, two or three of which are yet in successful operation, at Five Points, Rockford, etc. Several prominent citizens in Bluffton were members of the Bluffton grange, as E. Y. Sturgis and wife, William J. Craig and wife, George E. Gardiner and wife, S. M. Dailey, J. G. Smith and others. At one time during an exciting political campaign, one of the parties undertook to work in the Bluffton grange in its own interest, but was thwarted. It caused some trouble, raising a question of jurisdiction between the grange in the city and that in the country near by, which had to be settled by an appeal to the State grange officer. The interests of this movement are thought to have been greatly damaged by an effort to establish and conduct co-operative stores, which proved abortive.
To give some idea of the progress which Wells County has made in her agricultural developments, we give here the latest census report, that of 1884: Wheat, 28,272 acres, 370,507 bushels; corn, 34,607 acres, 821,585 bushels; oats, 7,727 acres, 253,921 bushels; potatoes, 89,390 bushels; apples, 38,500 bushels; timothy, 16,289 acres, 25,880 tons; clover, 10,689 acres, 15,227 tons; timber land, 66,260 acres; newly-cleared land, 2,039 acres; idle plowed land, 8,144 acres; blue and other wild grass, 5,741 acres; number of horses, 6,679; mules, 263; milch cows, 5,622; total cattle, 13,149; stock hogs, 26,720; fatted hogs, 26,672, weight 5,062,348 pounds; sheep, 12,045; lambs, 3,888; gallons of milk, 2,111,862; pounds of butter, 405,663; pounds of cheese, 106,603; wool clip, 45,358 pounds, which had averaged about 60,000 pounds for the five preceding years.
But it must be borne in mind that the official census generally falls far short of giving the full amount.
As to orchards, it must be confessed that they are gradually succumbing
to modern diseases and insects.
RAILROADS.
In introducing this subject we may notice briefly the only plank road ever built in this county, before the day of railroads.
As long ago as 1848, we see by reference to the Republican Bugle, now in the possession of Dr. Melsheimer, a movement was set on foot for the laying of a plank road from Bluffton to Fort Wayne, the entrepot for this section of the country. The Bugle for January 6, 1849, gives an account of a public meeting held at the court-house in Fort Wayne, December 16 previous, for the purpose of appointing delegates to attend the plank-road convention at Bluffton on the 19th. Twelve delegates were appointed, but only the following appeared at the convention: Hugh McCulloch (afterward a member of President Johnson's cabinet), P. Hoagland, S. Edsall, P. P. Bailey, H. B. Reed, C. W. Aylsworth and S. C. Freeman. The mere attendance of these men at the convention was sufficient proof of their zeal in the cause, for a trip from Fort Wayne to Bluffton those times, and especially at that season, was fraught with great difficulties. In some places the roads surpassed descrip tion. It was really amusing to see one of the horses walk on a pole and step on stumps, while another would be standing still with his head stuck into the mud up to his eyes, apparently meditating whether it were better to give up or make another effort to get out. Poor Hamlet!
On arrival at Bluffton the delegates found some of' the citizens in favor of a plank road to Fort Wayne, and some opposed, favoring a railroad instead; but the latter were readily convinced that a railroad was impracticable at that early day, and joined the others in the plank-road enterprise. They combined their forces and pledged themselves to build ten miles of the road, and, if possible, to the county line.
We have not space here to give all the particulars that followed. Suffice it to say that the road was planked from Bluffton to Fort Wayne between 1852 and 1856, except in some places it was graveled only, kept in repair for a number of years, toll paid on it, and then it was suffered to run down.
As early as 1840 to 1850 railroad projects were talked of; various routes proposed, etc., but the people here were too poor to build them, and Eastern capital was busier with the main lines running east and west, north of us.
Fort Wayne, Cincinnati Louisville.-The route for this line, popularly known as the "Muncie Railroad," was surveyed through this county as early as 1852; but, before the work of construction actually commenced, the war came on and interrupted all railroad enterprises. In looking over the old files of the Bluffton newspapers, one constantly meets with the characteristic, universal wail of "O how long, how long shall we have to wait for those Eastern men to go ahead and build the railroad, as they have encouraged us to believe they would," interspersed with a setting forth of the advantages of a railroad "through this point" and to a certain other point beyond us, and with exhortations to the people to wake up and take an interest in it, and with news of some railroad meeting somewhere, or interview with some railroad magnate at some distant point, where some encouragement was contingently expressed. These contingencies were generally some complications with other railroad companies or rights of way or local aid. The same may be said of the "Narrow Gauge" route.
In 1867—'68 Messrs. Hugh Dougherty, John Studabaker and others took the Muncie route in hand and soon had the road built. They first signed bonds to the amount of $100,000, then canvassed the county for support, finally securing the endorsement of the board of county commissioners, who made an appropriation of the above amount. The work of construction then went rapidly on to completion.
As the track was being laid south from Fort Wayne, on approaching the county line, great excitement prevailed in Bluffton, and a pleasant strife was indulged in for being the first to lay a tie within the limits of Wells County.
On Tuesday, October 12, 1869, a great procession, with a band of music, cannon, etc., went with wagons to the point, where a dinner was enjoyed, etc., and when the critical moment arrived, Hon. Newton Burwell and J. Gerry Smith (the Banner editor) carried a tie to the county line, or a little south of it as they thought, and dropped it in place. Next came W. B. Wolfe and J. J. Todd with a tie and laid it, claiming that Burwell & Smith's tie was not far enough south to be in Wells County. Many others also laid ties, continuing for several rods, amid music and cheers and roaring of cannon indescribable.
By previous agreement, the honor of driving the first two spikes was conferred upon Colonel Hall, of Bluffton, and James Metts, of Murray. This occurred at half past three o'clock in the afternoon. Similar scenes occurred November 10 following, as the track reached Bluffton, at 11:30 A. M., where the first spikes were driven by John Studabaker, then the oldest citizen, and by William Bluffton Miller, the eldest male child born in this town. Lively addresses were delivered by Levi Mock (then mayor), J. J. Todd, T. W. Wilson and others, a free dinner was given in Studabaker's new warehouse, silver cornet bands played, everybody shouted, and the "Little Giant" cannon fairly split its throat in endeavoring to overtop the noise of the crowd. Indeed, it blew itself all to pieces, knocking even the wheels of its carriage to splinters, and yet, providentially, no one was killed, and but one or two injured!
It should be stated, before closing, that John Studabaker, above referred to, was for a time a director of this road, and W. W. Worthington, of Fort Wayne, has been superintendent nearly from the beginning, under whose management the line is well conducted. Mr. Dougherty continued to aid the road on its southward extension, until connection was made at Connersville with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton road. For a time the name was the "Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad."
The capital stock of this road is now $4,000,000. In Wells County there are now 24.95 miles of track, assessed at $3,500 per mile, besides side-track, and $800 per mile for rolling stock. The line has generally yielded dividends, but of course not so large as the east and west lines.
Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City.—As just intimated, an east-and-west line of railroad has ever been thought to be the greatest desideratum in respect to thoroughfares. Accordingly, a movement was set on foot, immediately after the completion of the Muncie Railroad, for the building a narrow-gauge railroad running from Toledo to some western metropolis, through Wells County, under the impression that such a road could be more cheaply built, and more cheaply operated after it was built. The long-delaying, soul-sickening hide-and-seek, now-you-see-itand now-you-don't performances of various supposed capitalists, including the presidents (?), "Colonel" Thomas S. Sprague, and others, have characterized the early history of this line to an unusual extent. The numerous chameleon changes and skillful pres tidigitations of the various "companies," building or proposing to build the various links between Toledo and the Great West, generally are too tedious to relate here, and in fact uncalled for. Even the names of the routes are too numerous to catalogue here, the most prominent of which have been the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis," and for short the "Narrow-Gauge Railroad." The links which now constitute it have also had various names.
May we be pardoned for relating, in this connection, what took place in a Bluffton Sunday-school, illustrating the long and intensely felt desire of the citizens to have this line of road hurried up? It is related that a Sunday-school teacher had a boy in her class who had not failed in his penny contribution for more than a year; and when he was found empty-handed one Sunday, his teacher observed, "Why, Johnny, did you forget your penny to-day?" "No, ma'am," he humbly replied, "but father says the Narrow-Gauge Railroad will do this town more good than any fourteen Sunday-schools; and I am going to chuck my coppers into that enterprise for the next few weeks." "Won't the heathen miss your pennies?" she asked. "I suppose they will; but we've got to come right down for this road or this town is busted."
Well, to condense the history of Wells County's connection with this road into a few lines, let it be sufficient to say that Messrs. Hugh Dougherty, James Crosby, W. J. Craig, clerk of the Wells County court at that time, and others of other distant points, took hold of the enterprise in 18—, and, under the new law enabling townships to vote aid or take stock, raised the money on their individual credit, and soon built the road from the State line to Warren, the first train reaching Bluffton in August, 1879.
The present name of this road, given at the head of this section, was adopted by the new company last year, and it is determined now to widen the track to the standard gauge, run through trains to Kansas City, and bring the whole line up to first-class condition. It has already been greatly improved within the last few months. It has fifteen miles of track in Wells County, assessed at $2,000 per mile, and is also assessed at $625 per mile for rolling stock, and $550 for improvements and right of way.
Chicago & Atlantic.—This line was proposed about 1872. The next year Wells County voted by 247 majority for aid to this road, but before it had the opportunity to repeat the old history of hope-deferring hide-and-seek with other companies, local aid and links, etc., etc., a solid company of Eastern capitalists seized it and pushed it through, completing it from Marion, Ohio, to Chicago. Instead, however, of passing through Bluffton, as the citizens here hoped, it struck an independent air line from Decatur to Huntington, leaving our county seat about five miles to the south. Commenced business with through trains in July, 1883.
The Chicago & Atlantic connects at Marion, Ohio, with the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio for the Atlantic seaboard. In Wells County it has 13.80 miles of track, exelusive of sidings, assessed at $8,000 per mile; rolling stock, $2,500 per mile; improvements and right of way in the county, $400.
Besides the above roads there are two or three other companies organized
to build railroads through Wells County; as, the "Bluffton & Logansport"
line, to be a link connecting with a line from Wheeling, West Virginia;
and the "Bluffton, Kokorno & Southwestern, with a directory consisting
of such eminent names as Robert G. Ingersoll, Joseph E. McDonald, James
M. Quigley, Sylvester H. Kneeland, Francis M. Russ, etc., etc.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The first court-house was situated on the west side of Main street, between Market and Wabash streets. It was built of square hewn logs, was two stories high, the first floor being occupied for courts and all sorts of meetings, and the upper by one or two county offices that were in existence at that time.
June 18, 1838, the commissioners ordered that John R. Greer, county agent, should advertise for the letting and building of a court-house in Bluffton, on the first day of August next.
Specifications: The house to be built of hewn logs, 18x24 feet, two stories high, and covered with three-foot boards, nailed on; floor to be oak or ash; with six twelve-light windows, four below and two above, and stairs to upper room. Also one jail, of hewn timber one foot square, 18x20 feet, two stories high.
These structures were accordingly built, and were therefore very similar in appear ance. They were erected by David Whitman, an old farmer residing out in the country a few miles. The jail was situated some twenty rods to the south, on the southwest corner of the lot, where the present courthouse now stands. Both these buildings were destroyed by fire many years ago.
April 24, 1843, the board of commissioners contracted with Almon Case for the construction of the second and present court-house, at $5,000. He sold the contract to George W. Webster, of Marion, Indiana, who completed the structure in 1845; it was accepted by the board October 4, that year, and at the time it was one of the finest court-houses in Northern Indiana; but the times have now far outgrown it. It is built of brick manufactured near by, fronts the east, with four large, tall columns in front, characteristic of the age in which it was built, is two stories high, the lower for court and the upper for county offices; but the upper story is partly abandoned. The county offices are in smaller brick buildings adjoining or on the premises. The citizens wish they felt able to erect a new structure in keeping with the demands of the county work.
About the years 1855—'56, a brick jail was built a little south of the court-house, but it is now temporarily occupied by some of the county offices.
The third and present jail and sheriff's residence was built in 1880, at a cost of $21,400, and is a fine structure. Its extreme dimensions are 44x80 feet, and 75 feet from the ground to the top of the spire; two stories high, mansard roof, of slate, cellar throughout, walls of brick, and the exterior of the French renaissance style is very attractive. Prison wall lined with one-fourth inch boiler iron. It is situated one square southwest of the courthouse. Jonathan P. Smith, of Bluffton, contractor, and E. J. Hodgson, of Indianapolis, architect.
The infirmary is a few miles southeast of Bluffton, on the southwest quarter of section 23, Harrison Township. The farm, comprising 156 acres, was purchased in 1864; 125 acres are in cultivation. The building is a new, substantial brick edifice, of modern style, completed in 1875, at a cost of about $16,000, and will accommodate eighty persons. The value of the building and farm is estimated at about $28,000. Average number of inmates, forty to fifty. Present superintendent, Amos Rowe, with a salary of $500 per annum.
The County Library, comprising about 800 volumes, is sustained by the
interest accruing from the fund established by setting apart ten per cent.
of the proceeds of the original sale of lots in the Bluffton plat. The
library is at present kept in the office of the county surveyor, and is
in his charge. The use of the books is free to. the public.
EDUCATION.
The first school in Wells County, as already mentioned, was taught by Jesse B. McGrew, in 1837, on the farm of Adam Miller, above Bluffton, on Six-mile Creek, on the south part of section 11, Harrison Township. Another school, one of the earliest if not the second, was taught on a place adjoining the above, where David Powell's old tannery building now is, in a log house 11x18 feet, with clapboards held on by weight-poles, seats arranged in a semi-circular form around the fire-place, and writing desks of hewn slabs pinned to the wall. In 1841 a schoolhouse was built on the land of William Studabaker, north of Bluffton. It had a stove. Charles Grimes, a good teacher, taught the first school here, for $30 to $38 per term of seventy-eight days. After this Lewis Prillaman and Abraham Studabaker taught at the same place. In 1843 a school-house was erected on the land of Thomas W. Van Horn, about four miles above Bluffton, where the teachers were Henry Prillaman, John H. Moore and Ellison Covert.
All these early schools were supported by private subscription, and were good schools.
Other early teachers were Charles F. Cruikshank, Absalom Brewster, Asa Coho, George C. Fellows, James Turner, W. P. Mann, Henry Atchinson and James Ferguson. Ann Maria Fields, prior to 1850, taught school in a house in the rear of T. L. Wisner's present residence; and she often used to say that she had to use " "birch tea" in order to preserve the peace.
For many years now there has not been a log school-house in the county.
The first school commissioner, Judge W. H. Parmalee, was an energetic, efficient officer. He received $238.79 for school purposes, but how the money was obtained the records do not show.
Such were the beginnings. Now let us glance at the stage of educational work the people of Wells County have attained. There are now in the county 6,763 children of school age, 3,554 males and 3,209 females; fifty-one brick school-houses, and fifty-seven frame, which, with the apparatus, furniture and grounds, are valued at $105,185; total number of pupils enrolled, 5,810, and average daily attendance, 4,093; total amount of tuition funds July 31, 1886, $51,234.55. The total indebtedness of the respective schools of the county for the year ending at the above date was $668.60.
Mr. Ernst, the present county superintendent, publishes annually a manual of the schools, comprising the names and postoffice address of the members of the county board of education, an outline of the Indiana school system, name and locality of the State educational institutions, schedule of school officers, an account of the permanent school funds of the State, course of study, calendar of school officers' duties, rules for teachers and pupils, grade outfit, text books adopted by the county board, enumeration of school children by townships, statistics of school property, tuition funds by townships and the roll of teachers.
Teachers' institutes have been held annually or oftener since about
the year 1852, and since 1875 normals of six to ten weeks' duration have
been held during the summer at Bluffton, conducted by the county superintendent.
TEMPERANCE.
Reference has already been made to the political temperance movement of 1874—'75, when the "crusade" wave struck Wells County, but not in the "Mother Stewart" form; it was in a mild political form. Temperance lectures and signing of temperance pledges have been in vogue here from earliest day, but there have been three great movements. The first is the one we have just alluded to, when among the leaders were Newton Burwell, William Perdue, Dr. J. C. Fulton, John Alexander, John Byall, A. T. Place, Jonathan Lowery, A. N. Coddington, William Bloxsom, James S. Williams, Morrison R. Walker, Isaac Marshall, Charles Ellingham, Allison Fulton, John S. Goodin, D. K. Hanna, D. H. Griffith, Elias Rinear, B. E. Merriman, John Chalfant, Dr. Sewell, William Stobie and others. The animus of this movement was to operate through statutory law, as well as by moral suasion.
On the other hand, on a subsequent occasion, in June, 1877, George A. Barry, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, visited Bluffton, representing the moral suasion principle on the Murphy plan, when over 1,800 signed the pledge, 300 of whom had been drunkards or drinking men. To secure the permanency of this revival a society was organized, with William Blackstone for president; Robert R. Harvey, recording secretary; Frank T. Waring, corresponding secretary; and an executive committee consisting of Hugh Dougherty, W. W. Wisell, W. J. Craig, George E. Gardiner and Elza H. Justus. It was called the Bluffton Temperance Union.
As a third revival, the old plan of legal prohibition is looming up
again, encouraged by its success in other States and localities, and by
the tremendous increase of the prohibition vote on the national ticket
from 1880 to 1884, a leap from 11,600 to 160,000 in the United States.
The labor party, however, especially in the cities, are at present drawing
heavily from the prohibition element. The plan in Wells County is to operate
through the old parties first, and, that failing, then strike out independently.
CENSUS.
The total population of Wells County, in 1860, was 10,844; 1870, 13,585; 1880, 18,442. As it is still increasing, it must be over 20,000 by this time. Number of males in 1880, 9,547; females, 8,895; number of males of military age (eighteen to forty-four inclusive), 3,821; males over twenty-one (voting population), 4,540.
Nativity: American, 17,851; foreign, 591. Of the American-born Indiana furnishes 11,879; Ohio, 3,958; Pennsylvania, 991; New York, 136; Illinois, 86; Kentucky, 83. Of the foreign-born, Germany supplies 206; Ireland, 133; England and Wales, 55; Scotland, 26; British America, 16; France, 1; Sweden and Norway, 1.
The population by townships in 1880 was: Chester, 1,668; Harrison, 43,089 (including Bluffton, with 2,354, and Vera Cruz with 260); Jackson, 1,496; Jefferson, 2,262; Lancaster, 1,806; Liberty, 1,752; Nottingham, 2,057; Rock Creek, 1,412, and Union, 1,600.
The assessment of real and personal property in 1884 was: 231,098 acres of land in the county, valued at $3,177,035; improvements, $795,005; lots, $263,545; improvements, $374,615; Personal property, $1,568,165, polls, 3,497. Total value of taxable property, $6,178,865.
Agricultural statistics are given under the head "Agricultural."
OTHER ITEMS.
In the autumn of 1871, when devastating fires raged so furiously throughout Michigan, Wisconsin and Chicago, similar destruction from the same source was witnessed throughout Wells County. From October 3 to 10 the woods were on fire in many places, often breaking over into the treasured property of the farmer or the lumberman. Fences, barns, hay, lumber-yards, etc., were burned in considerable numbers, and it was only with great difficulty that many residences were successfully protected. Everything combustible had been drying and "seasoning" so long and so thoroughly that the copious rain of the morning of the 10th put only an apparent or temporary stop to the progress of the consuming element, for in a few days it broke out again and did immense damage, until fields, roads and water-courses put a final check to its sway.
March 20, 1886, two and three miles south and west of Bluffton, a violent wind demolished houses, barns and timber in great quantities. It tore up jam piles, tore down large oak trees, and switched every movable object around like straws. Happily, no lives were lost, but many had a very narrow escape, with small bruises. Probably the most violent storm that ever visited Wells County.
In 1873 a wall map of Wells County, four feet by five, was published by a Philadelphia firm. On one corner is a map of Bluffton.