Clark County, Indiana - Chapter 11: The Eighth Decade 187i-1880, 1909

Chapter 11: The Eighth Decade 187i-1880

An epoch of commercial, political and religious activities was that of the seventies. The temperance question, the county seat removal, the glass works and car works questions, the panics and strikes, and a general condition of material improvement marked this decade as war had marked the preceding one. The various departments and offices of the United States quartemiaster were still scattered over the city of Jeffersonville, but work was soon commenced upon the new buildings which were to contain all of the offices and storehouses under one roof. In 1870 was launched the steamer, James Howard, at the Howard ship yards in Jeffersonville. She was the largest inland river steamer ever built on western waters.

The village of Marysville, containing- about one hundred inhabitants, was laid out by W. W. Tevis. civil engineer, in 1871, for Patrick H. Jewett. It is located on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, between Otisco and Nabbs. It is on both sides of the railroad and has forty lots. The village is located on the south side of tract number two hundred forty-eight, about midway from the north and south line. Marysville was named after Miss Maiy Kimberlain, the wife of A. Q. Abbott, of Oregon township. During the years which have elapsed since the village was regularly platted, very little has been done in the way of improvement.

On January 31, 1871, the city of Jeffersonville ceded all jurisdiction over the four blocks purchased by the United States Government for a quartermaster's depot, to the United States Government. At meetings held in several places in the county immediately following the Chicago fire, substantial donations were made for the benefit of the sufferers.

On the 6th of July, 1871, the city council passed an ordinance providing for a steam fire department, to consist of one engineer, two drivers, and four hosemen for each engine and hose-cart. In September of the same year a committee was appointed to buy the necessary engine, hose-cart, hose, etc. An Amoskeag engine was bought at a cost of four thousand five hundred dollars ; hose cart, five hundred fifty dollars ; one thousand feet of hose and three horses, six hundred dollars, and harness, eighty-four dollars and twenty-five cents, making a total cost of seven thousand two hundred twenty-four dollars and twenty-five cents. Previous to this the department consisted of a hand engine and fires were often the occasion of a fight or a frolic.

On September 22, 1872, Horace Greeley, nominee of the Democrats and Libera! Republicans for the Presidency, visited Jefifersonville and spoke to an immense crowd on Spring street. His speech was delivered from the small iron balcony in front of the second floor of the old hotel at Spring and ]\Iarket streets. In this year also occurred a great disaster to the city of Jefifersonville in the burning of the shops of the Ohio Falls Car and Locomotive Company. The company had just made extensive improvements, but everything was swept out of existence. Fortunately a heavy insurance was carried and the building of the present magnificent system of fire-proof and isolated structures was begun. The improvements were still incomplete when the panic of 1873 came and the long period of financial depression which followed completely paralyzed the car building business.

In December, 1872, the office of the County Treasurer at Charlestown was robbed, and although the amount of actual county funds stolen finally turned out to be small, the robbery caused great excitement. A gang of toughs had terrorized Charlestown for several years, and the robbery was of their doing. They were captured, how'ever, soon afterward.

In both Charlestown and Jeffersonville fairs were held this year to raise fimds to be used for the relief of the poor who were sufifering as a result of the panic. Mosart Hall was the scene of the fair in Jefifersonville. This building, at the southwest comer of Spring and Court streets, sensed for many years for gatherings of this kind, and held the unique position of being the only available hall of its size in the city, during a period when such fairs and social gatherings were far more frequent than at the present day.

During the winter of 1872 smallpox was epidemic throughout the county, and reached such a stage that the council of Jeffersonville ordered that red flags be displayed before each house containing a case. The papers of the time tell of Sam Hedge being ill with the disease, and of how he had decorated the whole front of his house with myriads of red flags to warn away eveiybody.

Building a new school-house at Utica was a wanm subject in 1873, in that township. However, after extended debate and much feeling, but no casualties the building was ordered built.

In this year on October 8th all the female convicts at the prison were sent to Indianapolis. Previous to this the Prison South received female as well as male prisoners as no special provision had been made by the state up to that time for their separate incarceration. Previous to this, in Februaiy, 1873, the citizens of Jeffersonville had held a meeting and adopted a most inexplicable resolution. They worked and used even,' influence to get the prison removed from Jeffersonville to iXIichigan City, but fortunately failed.

A new company was incorporated this year to constract a bridge across the river from the foot of Clay street in Louisville. Among the incorporators were Barrett, Dennis Long, W. Ray, Doctor Green, T. Bradley and others. The following subscribed stock:

Baird S History Of Clark Co., Ind. 1 19

The fact that Jeffersonville siibscrihed as much as Louisville shows either a financial healthfulness or a desire to be so that was commendable. That she was abreast of Louisville in some ways was evidenced by the existence of three banks, all in a flourishing state of prosperity. The Citizens' National Bank, the First National Bank and i\Ir. Barnaby's Faro bank.

In 1873 the village of Bethlehem made application for incorporation. It had been laid out in 1812, and since that time had seen varying changes of fortune.

In 1873 began the agitation against the liquor traffic. The movement began as did the one in 1907 and 1908, and gathered momentum as it advanced. In the year 1874 the actual warfare against the saloon and the whiskey business in general was begun by the women of Jeffersonville.

Dr. Sallie C. Jackson was president of the woman's society which was battling against the rum demon. ]\Irs. \\'inesburg, of the Presbyterian church, was elected vice-president, and Mrs. ]\Iartha Cook, treasurer. These women, numbering sometimes a hundred, would meet at the Methodist church, and after prayers, would march out in column of twos to the various saloons in the city.

Their first meetings were held in the saloons of Alonzo Fonts and the Falls City hotel, where they were treated with great discourtesy. At the saloon in the Strauss Hotel, on the corner of Front and Spring streets, meetings were held, but whatever results may have come at that time have wholly disappeared as this place still dispenses old Tambo over the bar in satisfactory quantities.

At John Sittle's emporium the ladies were attacked by the proprietor's wife with tubs of water. Although drenched to the skin, they stood their ground and one i_^f the party of crusaders, glorying in her condition, cried out in her ecstacy, "Bless God, I am a Baptist!"

These eff'orts culminated in the formation of the ^^'omap.'s Christian Temperance L'nion in Jeft'ersonville, and the reputation of the crusaders of this city went abroad in the land. A paper of the day has this item concerning the effects of their efforts:

"The ladies of the Temperance L'r.ion of this city have been now about four weeks engaged in active work against the liquor traftic. All the druggists but one in the city have signed the pledge to sell liquor only upon the prescription of a regular physician. All the physicians but two have signed pledges to use iquor in their practice only in cases of emergency. Pledges not to sign applications for a renewal of license have been widely circulated among the voters and have met with such favor that it is believed that a renewal of license could not now be obtained in any ward in the city. There has been such an awakening on the subject of temperance as was scarcely if ever known Ijefore. The traffic has been reduced at least sixty per cent."

During the time of the crusaders the women held one hundred fifty-two street prayer meetings, besides visiting saloons, offering pledges and praying and talking to saloon-keepers.

In 1874 another fine school-house, the Rose Hill school in Jeffersonville, was finished. The question concerning the removal of the county seat from Charlestown to Jeffersonville resulted in one of the bitterest political fights ever known in Clark county. The fight which was made in 1838 and won by the removalists. the Jeffersonville party, resulted in nothing as the Legislature refused the people of the county their wishes on that subject.

During the sixty-six years, while Charlestown had been the county seat, Jeft'ersonville had passed her in population, and had acquired an envy of her only great possession. After a lapse of forty years from the first attempt the fight was renewed.

Jeffersonville township, including the city of Jeffersonville. now had near- Iv one-half of the whole population of the county, and it seemed just that the majority should rule. As early as March. 1874. the papers of the time contain accounts of meetings held to discuss this subject. At this time one meeting was held at Charlestown, and a united effort was decided on to prevent the removal. Discussion became bitter, letters, circulars and newspaper articles appeared. About Januar}- i. 1876, the City Council of Jeffersonville, headed by its then recently elected Mayor, the Hon. Luther F. Warder, decided to inaugurate a determined effort to regain the long lost county seat. The ground was donated for the site of the court-house and thirty thousand dollars was voted, raised and deposited with the County Treasurer as a donation to the county to build a court-house in case removal was made. The people of Charlestown met the movement at the beginning and foug'ht it with vigor and determination. The people in the upper end of the county joined them. The contest ran into bitter personal animosities and hostility between the two sections of the county. Animosities were engendered that perhaps will never he healed, and the newspapers of the time present some rich and racy reading. Political affinities were destroyed and the removal question dominated every other and all other questions of public interest. The Board of County Commissioners met at Charlestown court-house on the first Monday in March. 1876, and the petitions for removal, containing a clear majority of all the voters in the county were presented, but every eft'ort Avas made to defeat them. It was charged that a large portion of the signatures were fictitious, but the antiremovalists were met at every point. The case was pressed through the Com- missioners' court and then appealed to the Circuit Court. A change of venue was tal<en to Floyd county and a special judge was agreed upon. Judge Perkins, of Indianapolis, was sent to tr\' the case. At length the anti-removalists had reached the end of their resources and were compelled to submit to the inevitable. On September 23. 1878, the order was made to remove the county records to Jeffersonville. and during the month of October they were brought to the new county seat and placed in the new and commodious court-house, which had been built to receive them. After a lapse of sixty-seven vears. Jeffersonville again became the county seat of Clark county, and it is hardly probable that the removal cjuestion will ever arise again.

The affairs at the Prison. South, occupied a great deal of attention in 1874, on account of the frec^uent escapes of a genius namer Rodifer. who was serving- time there. An investigation of conditions at the prison was made soon after, and the report of the investigating committee was to relieve Shuler, the warden, for gross mismanagement.

In May, 1875, the first notices of the new glass works began to appear in the papers, and it was stated, "Work will be started if twenty thousand dollars worth of stock can be subscribed. On November i, 1876, work was started on the plant. The company was chartered under the name of the Ford Plate Glass Company, with a capital stock of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars. The city donated five hundred feet of ground on ^Market street, east, extending to the river front, to secure the location of this industrv in Jeffersonville. John F. Read was chosen president of the company. In February, 1880, the name was changed to the Jeft'ersonville Plate Glass Companv, the incorporators Iseing at this time. John F. Read, S. Goldbach, Felix Lewis, Edward Howard, James Burke, Edward Ford, ^^'arren Horr, Joshua Cook, Frederick Herron, Abraham Frye, Jonas G. Howard. S. Goldbach was elected president. H. T. Sage, secretary and treasurer and E. L. Ford, superintendent. After the reorganization nf the company one hundred feet front was added. Two hundred men were employed and the business was confined to the manufacture of plate glass. This industry was a valuable addition to the city of Jeffersonville, and as it was one of the first glass works in the United States, its output was easily disposed of. An article of that time described the plant as follows :

"So great is the demand for plate glass that the works in Jeffersonville are driven to their fullest capacity, and find it difficult to fill their orders. They have two large furnaces, each with a capacity for eight crucibles holding fifteen hundred pounds of melted glass. One furnace is opened in the morning, the other in the afternoon, and sixteen large plates are rolled each day. As soon as possible after pouring, the plates are removed from the iron bed on which thev are made and transferred to the annealing ovens, where thev are allowed to graduall}' cool. They then pass through the various stages of grinding, polishing and cleaning, and are ready to be packed. The entire process requires the greatest care and accuracy, owing tn tlie brittle character of the article, and breakages are not infrequent.

"The talile on which the molten mass is poured is eleven by twenty-two feet and glass can be made of nearly this size, the largest being one hundred ten by two hundred thirty inches. The time required to melt the metal in the crucibles, and allow it to cool sufficiently to pour, is twenty-four hours."'

In the year 1881 the sales of the company amounted tn two hundred fifty thousand dollars. The finished plate glass was worth at that time about one hundred dollars and sixty cents per square foot.

The year 1876 being an election year as well as the centennial year, the usual enthusiastic demonstrations during th.e compaigni took place, and the torch-light processions of this and the succeeding campaigns of 1880 and 1884 were evidence of the great interest which the masses took in the issues of the day.

On April 24, 1876, the great steamer, the Robert E. Lee, was launched at Howard's ship yard. It was an occasion which drew great crowds, not only because of the name of the boat, but on account of her size. The shipyards at this time were in the most prosperous period of their existence, but the founder and head of this industry, Capt. James Howard, was drowned on October 14th by his buggy backing oft" of the feriy boat.

An amusing incident occurred during the early part of 1876. A baby was found on a doorstep in Jeft'ersonville with a note attached, giving the information that its father was a councilman. Col. James Keigwin, always a great joker, discussed the matter at a council meeting, and together with Capt. William Northcutt and William S. Goldbach, other members, furnished amusement to the people of the city for some time.

In Jeft'ersonville the Orphans' Home was founded this year, and the work of raising a building fund was begun. This 3^ear also the town of ^\'atson was laid out. J. B. Speed was the moving spirit in the new village. In 1871 the cement mill had been erected in this vicinity and it was this fact which brought the village into existence. In 1872 the post-office here was established.

Following the election of Mr. Hayes to the Presidency, after the hot campaign of the fall, came the violent dissatisfaction of those who voted the other way, and Clark county added her mite to the cause by holding meetings at several points to protest. At New Washington the Democrats and Republicans clashed and engaged in a rough and tumble fight, but no casualties resulted.

The panic and strikes in 1877 affected the industries of Clark county materiallv. The threats of members of the mob in Louisville, that they intended coming to Jeffersonville to seize the stores and amis at the quartermaster's depot, was tlie occasion of much concern, and the Jetifersonville Rifles, the local militia company, was held under arms for quite a while. Cannon from the Government building were kept in readiness, but the mob never came.

In 1877 the question of water works for Jeffersonville was agitated, and in the latter part of the year a company was organized, called the Jeffersonville Water Works Company. Dennis Long, of Louisville, was president ; John C. Howard, John Read, D. S. Barmore and other were interested, but the company failed to make good.

The visit of President Hayes to Jeft'ersonville and his enthusiastic reception, September 17, 1877, was evidence that the people of Clark county had forgotten the animosities created by the campaign and in the election squabble.

The town of New \\'ashington was increased in size in 1879 by the addition of thirty-three in-lots. and twelve out-lots. On Thursday, September 18, 1879. the ]\Iost \\'orshipful Grand blaster of the Masons of Indiana, Calvin W. Prather, of Jeffersonville, laid the cornerstone of the Jeffersonville Orphans' Home with great ceremony.

As a whole the decade of 1870-1880 was one in which Clark county showed material advancement in many ways. Her industrial, her social and her religious life had each their revivals, and the year 1880 opened with a people happy, prosperous and ambitious. The population of the city of Jeffersonville in 1880 was ten thousand six hundred sixty-six; that of Clark county was twenty-eight thousand six htmdred ten.