Carroll County, Indiana - New Jail Building, 1882

New Jail Building

A New One - Examination of Like Buildings Elsewhere- Notice Given - Plans with Specifications Filed - An Examination Had - Award of Contract- Progress of the Work - Quality of the work and it.s Sufficiency- Cost of the .Structure - Settlement with and Payment of Con- TRACTOR.S, Etc. \ ITITHIN a brief period after the completion of the new coiu't ' ' house, when the stately edifice began to be recognized as one calculated to command the pride of the people in whose interest it had been erected, the question of its great cost was no longer deemed to be a barrier to the erection of another public building equally as necessary for the maintenance of law and order, and the protection of the people's rights against the perpetrators of wrong. In this view of the situation there seemed to be a common pai'ticipation :' hence, moved by the expression of public sentiment on the subject, a special session of the. Board of [ County Commissioners was called to meet on the 14th of September, 1871. and consider whether it was advisable, at that time, to ! embark in the proposed enterprise of erecting a new county jail and a Sheriffs residence in connection therewith. Having matui-ely deliberated upon the matter, the board signified its con_ j elusions in the premises as follows :

The board being sati-sfled that the old jail is insufficient (having examined the same), for the wants of the county, and unsafe for criminals, etc..

Ordered, That, as soon as practicable, the board purchase such lot or lots a~s may tie necessary, within the corporation, in a central portion of tlie city fnf D'Ophi], and most convenient, and which can be bought at the

When the bui Iding had been otherwise completed, a town-clock was placed in the tower, at the southwest corner of the edifice, at a cost of $800, by William Bradshaw, and, about the same time, a bell was also placed in the same tower. Not far from the same period, the square, upon which the coiu-t house was erected, was artistically graded, with a regulai- descent from the building to the four streets fi'onting the same, at a cost, for labor and superintendence, of about $2,000. It was subsequently sodded and ornamented with numerous shade and evergreen trees, and is now one of the most tastefully decorated areas in the city of Dnlphi.

During the summer of 1859, a contract was entered into by the Commissioners, with T. J. Gaylord & Co., for the construction of an iron fence around the square. After the work was completed and partially paid for, before the matter could be fully adjusted between the contracting parties, a settlement was had, October 2(1. 18511, the record of which is as follows:

r, 'I, Within a period of two months, the board examine and select ihe inci^i iligilile point in the city for the erection of said jail, and to purchase the same. Also, to visit other points, etc., necessary to mature and project the plans, etc.. taking with them Colin A. MeClure, a competent architect, and with him mature the plans contemplated.

Accordingly, at their session of October 12, 1871, the board appointed Mr. McClru'e architect, to prepare plans, etc., for the jail, and report the same on the second day of the March session, 1872.

At a spacial session on tlie 7th of November, 1871, the board agreed to purchase, and purchased accordingly, Lots 37 and 38 of the original plat of Delphi, for the sum of S:i.iii)ii si.Oilii jn hand, and with interest thereon from October 1 i. I^i I : -^imi in one year; $400 in two years; $400 in three year,-^: J^HIll in fomyears, and $400 in five years, from October 17, 1871, all payments bearing interest at 6 per cent, and payable to Noah Corey, from whom said lots were purchased. At the same time the Sheriff was directed to i-ent the premises so purchased at such amount as he could procm-e, but not for a longer period than April 1, 1872, when it was expected the work on the new jail building would be commenced.

In the meantime, the seats of justice of several counties in this, as well as in the adjoining States, in which model buildings of the class projected were situated, were visited by the architect anJ olhers, for the purpose of consulting the best designs and utilizing the valuable information thus obtained in the plans for the new edifice then being prepared. Having secured the information sought for, the board, at its regular session, on the 8th of March. 1872, conDiiilcir. uiKjn the aceeptanee of his boial. oue-lijuilh , one-fourth when llie sidiir work is completed, of the prison ; one-fourth when the building is uiiilir mot. and one-fourth when the entire buildings are completed and

Subsequently, at a session of the board, held on the 9th of April following, the bids for the construction of these buildings were opened and examined, aud the contract awarded to F. LFarman, on his bid, for $36,998.75. At a special session of the boai'd, on the 29th of October. 1872. it was

Afterward, at the session of December 6, 1872, the architect, liaving re(!ommended that an estimate of one-fourth the contract jirice be made in favor of the contractor, in pursuance of the terms of the agreement, an estimate was directed to be made accordingly. Thus far the work appears to have progressed satisfactorily, and was acceptable to the Building Committee, who, with the architect superintending the same, had examined the materials procured and declared its sufficiency.

According to the terms of the contract between the County Commissioners and the contractor of the work, the latter was required to furnish the materials used in the construction, for which the board Was to issue orders, payable in installments of one, two and three years, with 8 per centtun interest, while the payments for the erection of the buildings fioutracted for were in installments of one-foiu'th each, at certain stages, as the work progressed - on the acceptance of the bond of the contractor; on the com- ])letiou of the stone work: when the building was under roof; and when the whole work was completed and accepted. The first installment was paid according to the original conditions; the second was paid December 6, 1873; the third, in the early part of the summer of 1873, when the bttildings had progre.5sed so as to be in compliance with the aforementioned terms. While the building process was going on, it was occasiounlly found necessary to make changes in the plan, or in the method of construction, which, having boon agreed upon, involved the payment of additional sums in llio way .d extras, the valtte of which was estimated by the suporiiit,'iMliiiu :ii-cliitect, C. A. McClure.

At a special ses^^ion of tlio hntirJ, hold on the 29th of December, 1873, Mr. McCliu-e was allowed the sum of $1,225, as balance due him for services rendered in the prPi)aration of plans and specifications, in superintending the inspection of materials, and of the construction oE the buildings. At the same session of the board, Mr. McChu-e, the architect, filed the following report touching the sufficiency of the work:

This report was submitted, then, for examination, with the schedule, etc., filed as exhibits thereto, before final action could be taken in the premises. Subsequently, " the board, having duly considered the report of the architect, and having inspected, in person, the buildings; and the board, being sufficiently advised in the premises, do now approve the report of the architect, and do now receive the prison and Sheriff's residence from the hands of the contractor, and do now direct that the Auditor draw his warrants on the County Treasurer for the remaining one-fourth of the contract price, according to the terms of said contract - one-third in one year, one-third in two years, and one-third in three years. And the board now allow Francis L. Farman, the contractor, the sum of $570.52, as extra services, and passed upon and allowed by the Superintendent. And the contractor, F. L. Farman, having made proof to the satisfaction of the board, by vouchers submitted, that he had sustained a loss to himself, in the erection of the prison and Sheriff's residence, in the sum of $8,(100 and upward, and the board, to partly compensate the said contractor in his loss in the erection of said buildings, do now allow the said Fi-ancis L. Farman the additional sum of $-1,430.73, the board being satisfied that the count)' has received full value for the same. And the Auditor is directed to draw his warrants on the Treasm-er, as for former amounts named in his contract." [Commissioners' Record, No. 8, pp. 382, 383.]

After these buildings had been completed in accordance with the terms of the contract, and accepted by the board in behalf of the cottnty, they were, on the 30th day of December, 1873, formally place.d in the care and under the control of the Sheriff of Carroll County, whose duty it was declared to be to see that they should only be used aud approijriated to the purposes for which they were designed and constructed. A brief description of these buildings will not be out of order in this connection. They are situated on Lots 37 and 38 of the original plat of the town, now ciiy. of Delphi, being the southeast corner of Main and Wab.ish streets, on the second .square west of the cottrt house, and on the north side of Main street The Sheriff s residence occupies a position fronting north on Main and east on Wabash streets. It is a brick structure, thirty-eight by forty feet in size and two stories in height above the base, the first, and the front portion of the second floor of which, is occupied by the Sheriff, or Jailer, and his family, while the rear portion of the second floor is used for the better class of prison rooms. In the rear of this building, aud connected with it, is the main prison building, in which the criminals for the higher order of offenses are confined. The building is of stone, /ery heavily and substantially constructed, with a view to the safe-keeping of prisoners. Its internal arrangements conform to the plan found to be best adapted to the jjurposes for which it was constructed, great pains having been taken by tlie superintending architect to examine and utilize the valuable feat lu'es found in buildings elsewhere, coiistnteted for a like purpose. In size, the jail building is Hiirty Ity twenty-eiglit feet atid two stories high.

Asylum For The Pour

ASYLUM FOR THE POUR. How THE Poor Were Cared For Half a Century Ago - The Lam' and How it was Administered - Changes in the Law AND Improvements in its Administration - The Methods in Carroll County - A Poor-Farm and its Management- Old Buildings and the New - Old System and New in Contrast - The Present. I'.tc.

ONE of the essential elements in the local economy of every community, and one of the distinctive features of our civilization, is the measm-e of charity extended in providing for and maintaining the poor and indigent, relieving the distresses and attending to the necessities of those unable or incompetent to take care of themselves. Public policy demands, at the hands of the people's rejiresentatives, that ample provision be made in every locality, to secure this branch of society against want by an economic distribution of the surplus of home products. The history of oiu- own community in this regard, like that of every other, especially in the great Northwest, shows that active, living charity is an integral quantity in our body politic, a prime factor in the movemBnts of the people everywhere. As a means to this end, provision is made by the law-making power of the State for the exercise of a liberal charity in behalf of all who are entitled to be recipients of public benefactions.

Among the first provisions made by law for the alleviation of the wants of the poor and indigent, was in directing the appointment of Overseers of the Poor, whose duty it was to hear and examine into the nature of all complaints in behalf of the poor, in each civil township of the county, and see that their wants \\i'x-f sufficiently provided for; that such should not suffer for till' nniiiiiiin necessaries of life, nor be ill-treated. It was aK'> iiiacli' the duty of these overseers to keep a record, in which sVnjuld lie truuscribed the names of all persons in their respective townships who were unable to take care of themselves, and who. in their opinion, were entitled to the benefits so provided for the maintenance of those unfortunates. A further provision made it necessary for them to put out, as apprentices, all poor children whose parents were dead, or were found to be unable to maintain them - males until the age of twenty-one; and females, until the age of eighteen years. The general provision governing the duties of such overseers is as follows: name and in fact, bodies corporate and politic, in law, to all intents and purposes, with perpetual succession, liable, by the name of " the Overseers of the Poor, of their respective townships, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in all coui-tsof jurisdiction, and by that * * * purchase, take or receive, any lands, tenements or hereditaments, goods, chattels, sum or sums of money, to or for the use of the poor of their respective townships, of the gift, alienation or devise, of any person or persons whomsoever; to hold to them the said Overseers, or their. successors in tnist, for the use of the poor forever." The Legislatiu-e, in the enactment of this law, had in contemplation in the near futiu-e, the erection of proper buildings, such as the County Commissioners might prescribe, to be used as an asylum for the poor who might become a permanent charge, as paupers, on the county.

Dtvring the early years of the county's history, but little progress was made toward the development of a more practical method of providing for the wants of the poor and indigent of the jurisdiction, by the local legislative authority. In the course of time, however, a decided advance was made, the result of which became manifest in the improved condition of the recipients.

The farraing-out system was generally adopted by the Commissioners, in the management of the poor of Carroll County, from the period of organization during the succeeding twenty years, and no effort appears to have been made for the purchase of a farm or for the erection and maintenance of suitable buildings for the benefit of those, who, from indigence or inability^ were not in condition to make provision for their own support and comfort. In 1848, the question was agitated among those whose duty it was to exercise a general supervision over the matter. The board, after determining to pm-chase a farm that v.-ould be well adapted to the purpose of utilizing pauper labor, occupied some time in examining different proposed sites, and making a satisfactory selection before making the purchase. In the meantime, on the 7th of March, 1848, the Commissioners, at that time in session, ordered notice to be given that proposals would be received by them until the second day of the succeeding term, for boarding, washing for and mending the clothes of paupers on the poor- farm, for one year from the 1st day of March, 1849; and, also, for the rent of tlie poor- farm for the saue purpose - the notice to be published during foui' successive weeks, prior to the date mentioned, in the newspapers of the county. Immediately following this order, on the 13th of March, of the same year, an agreement havin r been consummated for the purchase of a farm, a contract was executed with Messrs. John W. and Samuel G. Greenup, for the conveyance of the east half of the southwest - quarter, and the west half of the southeast quai-ter of Section 33. Township 25 north, Range 2 west, containing 100 acres, to CaiToll County, in consideration of the payment of S2,000 therefor, and a deed made accordingly.

On the 6th day of June following. In conformity with the above notice, Richard Lynch was appointed, as in his proposal expressed, " to board, wash for and make and mend the clothing of all paupers put on the county by the Overseers, at §].5<) per week each."' The_ poor-farm was also leased to him for the period of one year, he guaranteeing to take care of the paupers and pay the County Treasurer $155 per year.

At the session of March 8, 184tl. Dr. William McFarlane. piu'suant to his proposal, was appointed to take charge of the paujiers, and the prisoners in jail unable to pay for medical attention, one year, for .S58 per year, payable quarterly.

had been destroyed by fire, a special session of the board was called to meet, on the 14th of Augnst, 184'.), at which time the Commissioners entered into a contract with Richard Lynch, the lessee of the poor farm, and John Luce, to Ijuild on said farm, a " hewed log house, one story of eight feet in height, with foundation of oak, or other dui'able timber, thirty-two feet long and eighteen feet wide in the two rooms - a log partition to be put between the rooms - one door and one window, of twelve lights, in each room," the latter being placed between the doors; "the building to be well chinked and daubed; ceiled under the joists with matched boarding; the floor of oak plank, seasoned - a common rough floor, laid down jointed; a common clapboard roof : ons brick chimney - the old brick- -the floor twelve inches above ground; flue for stove in one room, from the joists through the roof a sufficient distance; also, another house of round logs, ceiled overhead, and a loose plank floor. The building to be sixteen feet square and one story high, with same kind of doors as above, and the same kind of roof, and a like stove-flue - the whole to be completed by the 1st of November following, and all for the sum of .15120." These buildings were completed in substantial accordance with the terms of the foregoing contract, and continued to be. for many years, the main buildings of the county, on the farm, for providing the poor with a comfortable habitation.

On the 6th of March, 1850, the board allowed Mr. Lynch, the lessee and contractor, for keeping the poor and for building the houses contracted for, a balance of $68.12 over and above the amount of rent due from him for the use of the farm. He was also continued in possession of the premises for another year, on the same terms as the preceding. September 20, 1 S.5] , Levi Mock was appointed to take charge of the poor-farm, and pay for the use of the same $171; also, to take charge of and properly care for the paupers placed in his keeping, at the rate of §1,40 each per week. Again, at the special session on the ISth of September, 1852, Mr. Mock being the only bidder for the poor-faim, was appointed to the superiutendency of the same, on the conditions that he " keei. the farm in good order and farm the same in a good farmer-like manner, and remove all sprouts and briers off the cleared land - keep and board all paupers brought to said farm; and pay for rent $181 per year, and keep all paupers placed in charge by the Overseers of the Poor for $1.40 per week, except Joseph Hare, he for $2." Before the expiration of the year, it was found that the accommodations on the fai-m were insufficient to meet the demands upon it. As a consequence, steps were immediately taken to enlarge the buildings, or otherwise, . to erect new, better adapted to the situation. To this end, a special session of the board was held on the 12th of February, 1853, when the plans submitted for suitable buildings on the poorfarm were examined by the board. After due consideration, the following proceedings were had: Thomas C. Hiighes, Joseph Evans and John Vail, were appointed a committee to draft plans for the building; notice of the letting was ordered to be published for two weeks, or until the next March terra.

A meeting was held pursuant to said notice, on the 10th of Mai'ch, 1853, when proposals were received for tlio erection of a brick building on the poor-farm. The several proposals having been inspected Ijy the board, the contract was awarded to Joseph Evans and David Buzzard as the lowest responsible bidders - " the building to bo finished from fir.st to last, in every partictilar, according to the drawings and specifications on file in the Auditor's office, on or before the 1st day of December, 1853, for the price and sum of $2,544, payable one-fourth when the stone wall is completed and finished ready for the brick, one-fourth when the brick wall is completed, one-fourth when the building is inclosed and the balance when the work is completed and accepted by the board."

Mr. Mock was continued in charge of the poor- farm diu-ing the years 1854 and 1855, and until December 3, iSoli, when Theodore Smoyer was appointed superintendent of the county asyhuu for the poor, at a salary of $600, payable in quarterly installments.

On the 30th of January, 1858. the superiutendency passed into the hands of John Maxwell, who, on the 4th of March following, made a report of the situation of affairs, showing, that, during the year preceding, twenty paupers had been received and twenty-one discharged; that two deaths had occxirred dm-ing the year, the diseases generally being self -abuse and bad whisky; expenses incurred, $1,839.96; cash on hand, $40.61 ; total, $1,880.57. Received from County Treasiu-er, $1,716.30; received from produce sold, $164.27; total, 11,880.57. Produce sold, outstanding, $413.69.

. A change was made in the administration of afl'airs. on the 28th of January, 1859, when Mitchell Girard was appointed Superintendent. From time to time since that date, according to the demands of the situation, modifications and improTements have been made in the county buildings for the management and maintenance of the poor. The area of tillable lands and the facilities for cultivating the same, have also been enlarged so as to afford employment for as many of the inmates of the asjdum as were physically capacitated for labor. As a rule, the proceeds arising from pauper-labor has been in excess of the amount necessarily expended for their maintenance on the f aim ; hence, with occasional exceptions, under judicious management, the institution has been self-sustaining.

From official soui-ces, it has been ascertained that the expenses incidental to the management of the poor in this county, including amounts paid in labor on the farm, and disbursements made for the maintenance of the indigent poor outside the asylum, for the past fewyears, has been about as follows;

By the Auditor's x'eport for the year ending May 31, 1876, it is shown that disbursements were made on account of the poor asylum to the amount of $1,560.15, and 'for other expenses of the poor of the coimty the sum of $2,097.20; in the aggregate, $3,657.35. By the same authority, for the year 1877, it is shown that the expenses of the asylum were $1,440.22 ; in aid of otlier poor, $3,040.84; aggregating the svim of $4,481.06, not including the salary of the county physician. In 1878, the expenses of the asyliun were $I,58"2.G4, and the expenses of the poor generally, $8,631.58; in the aggregate, $5,214.22. For the year 1879, tbe disbursements were, for expenses of the poor asyUim, $1,461.49, and for other poor, $3,725.77; total. $4,187.2('>.* For 1880, the county paid for expenses of the poor asylum, $1,044.02; for the maintenance of other poor, $3,481.20; for lx)th, $4,525.22: and. in 1881, the amount paid for the asylum was $1,653.56; and for