Clinton County, Indiana - Chapter 25: Perry Township, 1913

Chapter 25: Perry Township

Perry is unique among the townships of Clinton count}- in that for over fifteen years it was the onlv one that had a railroad, and during that time most of the remainder of the county was to some degree tributary to it. It is the extreme southwest township, bounded south by Boone county, west by Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties, north by Washington township, and east by Jackson township. It is six miles east and west, bv five and one-half miles north and south. The surface is level, sloping slightly to the west, and is drained he Potato creek which erodes the township from northeast to southwest. The soil is a very fertile sandy loam, and was originally well timbered.

The pioneer settler in this township was Elijah Rogers, who located on section twenty-five, and erected a log cabin, in 1827. In 1828, five more families settled within the bounds of the present township: John Killmore on section thirty-four: Philip Bush on section 3: Moses Watkins on section 30 : Zebina Babcock on section thirty-three, and the Widow Nichols on section thirty-five. In 1829 came Peter droves, who settled on section twenty-six: Nicholas Cunningham, who settled on section one: Charles Campbell, who settled on section twenty-three, and Mr. Brockman, who settled on section thirtv-si.N. In 1 830 the settlement became a little more rapid. Samuel Anderson located on section twenty-five: Luke Blacker and his son William located on section three: William Y. White located on section nineteen: Joseph Cooley located on section thirty; Benjamin Loveless located on section ten. and John Rector located on what w as later know n as the Oat's farm.

The immigration continued steadily for the next five years, among the arrivals being John Davis, John Miller. Charles and Andrew Wolf. Michael Covner, Enoch Johnson. J. E. Loveless. Samuel Hinton. J. D. Corner, Joseph Lane, John and James Hamilton. Alex White, John Perry, Ezekiel Timmons, James Doyal, Dr. James M. Clark, Allen. Joseph and Thomas

Clinton Countv, Indiana

From 1828 to 1830 all of Clinton county was added to Tippecanoe county for governmental purposes, being organized as Washington township. In the fall of 1829 an election was held for justices of the peace - the first election in this region - and Zabina Babcock was one of the justices chosen. He served out his term of five years. At the organization of the county in 1830, Perry township was included in Washington township. It was not until September, 1834, that Perry was made a separate township by the county commissioners. They ordered an election to be held at the Lowrv school house, on the first Saturday in October, and at this election William Rogers and Michael Hilton were chosen as the first justices for the new township.

The first school house in the township was built in 1831 on the land of Elijah Rogers, and William Cave was the first teacher. Soon after this a second school house was erected on land belonging to Solomon Lowry. The first religious meeting, which was among the first in the county, was held at the cabin of Elijah Rogers, in 1828. Rev. Joel Dolby, who was the first man who preached a sermon in the county, officiated on this occasion. Soon after this the Methodists held a meeting at the cabin of Benjamin Loveless, and Rev. Tarkington preached. The first church was built by the Methodists in 1838, and was known as Shiloh Methodist Episcopal church. It was on the farm of Joseph Lane near the southwest corner of section thirtv-three. The next church was built by the Presbyterians in 1840, in the northwest part of the township.

The first marriage in the township was that of James Roberts and Ruamv Cumbest, which occurred in 1831. The first death was of Moses Loveless, in the same year. There were none of the present sources of supply for seasons of distress at that time, and the kindly spirit of neighbors had to be relied on to aid an afflicted family. In this case a rude coffin was made by J. F. Wright, and the body was conveyed to the grave on a sled furnished by Mr. Blacker.

There were 19,751 acres in farms reported from Perry township in 1912, of which 3,327 were in pasture, 791 in timber, and 186 in orchard. Of wheat there were 1,761 acres, with a product of 31,000 bushels; of corn 6,541 acres, with a product of 310,000 bushels; of oats, 4,433 acres, with a product of 214,300 bushels; of timothy 931 acres, with a product of 1,210 tons; of clover 202 acres, with a product of 185 tons of hay, and 82 bushels of seed.

The township has two towns. Mason, unincorporated ,is a village on the Yandalia road, in the northeastern part of the township. There was a village about five miles west of it, at an early day, called Prairieville, but it has long since disappeared from the map. Manson was laid out June 30, 1874, by Lucinda Clark, David Clark and Rebecca Clark, his wife. The New Lights have a small church in this village.

Colfax was laid out in 1849, by Montgomery Stroud, and was given the name of Midway, as a half way point between Indianapolis and Lafayette, on the old Lafavette railroad - now the Big Four. In 1853 it was made a postoffice under the name of Colfax. The double name became a source of inconvenience, as people would direct mail to Midway, and there was a Midway postoffice in Spencer county, Indiana, and half a dozen in other states. In December, 1857, residents of the place petitioned to change the name of the place to Colfax, which was done. In 1861 its population was estimated at 200; and it then had two churches, two general stores, a hotel and a saw mill.

A petition for incorporation was filed December 6, 1869, and the census with the petition showed 159 residents, and 40 heads of families. An incorporation election was held December 25, and resulted 24 yeas and 1 no. The census population in 1870 was 187; but after the building of the Vandalia railroad in 1870-1, the town livened up, and in 1880 the population was 638. In this period the town improved materially. The original log school house had early given way to a frame building; but this was outgrown, and a church building was pressed into service. In 1876 a substantial brick school house was erected at a cost of $7,100, exclusive of grounds and appurtenances. The present schools are noted in the general chapter on education.

The Masons were the fir-T fraternal organization to establish themselves at Colfax. Plumb Lodge, Xo. 4 72. A. F. and A. M. was organized March 5, 1873, with the following officer' : M. C. McDowell, Worshipful Master; J. Amick, Senior Warden; R. A. Clark. Junior Warden ; J. W. Collins, Senior Deacon; S. H. Dovle, Junior Deacon; William Blacker, Treasurer; [ohn Mitchell, Secretarv ; Joseph Boggs. Tvler. The lodge is in good condition, with 83 members. Joseph Rinehart is Worshipful Master, and Charles Teegarden, Secretary.

Sharon Lodge, Xo. 487, I. O. O. F., was instituted May jo. 1875. with the following charter members: R. H. Bishop. E. R. Johnson. John Mitchell, H. J. Webster, Y. B. Bowman. J. W. McClure, and J. E. Dann. The lodge now has 132 members. George E. Anderson is A'oble Grand, and F. B. Covner, Financial Secretary. Esta Lodge, Xo. 278. Daughters of Bebekah, has a membership of 12 brothers and 35 sifters. Treva Dukes is A'oble Grand, and Maud Bush, Financial Secretary. Colfax Encampment. Xo. 257. has 9 members. E. M. Dukes is Grand Patriarch, and F. B. Covner. Financial Scribe.

Stillwell Post. Xo. 375. (1. A. R., was mustered in August. 1884. The first officers were J. IT Girt. Commander: J. L. Reckford, Senior Vice-Commander; J. W. Harris. Junior Vice-Commander: G. W. Allison. Chaplain; J. E. Hamilton. Adjutant: J. R. Shepard. Officer of the Guard: W. X. Clift. Officer of the Day; Thomas Lanam, Surgeon : ( >. P. Roudebush. Quartermaster. Other charter members were Daniel White, Patrick Weslev. H. C. Allen, J. C. Ghent. J. C. Dukes. J. M. Griffin. Wilhelm Lietzke, F. M. Teegarden and John McGrath. This post disbanded March 25, 1913.

Mercy Lodge, Xo. 413, K. of P., was instituted April 4, 1895. It has 92 members. The Chancellor Commander is Charles Meyers, and the Keeper of Records and Seals is H. E. Dukes. Colfax Camp, Xo. 8999. Modern Woodmen of America, was instituted October 18, 1901. It has 98 members. Alva Bush is Consul, and Clyde Brown. Clerk. Missoula Tribe, Xo. 399, Improved Order of Ren Men. was organized December 17, 1904. It has 38 members, and V. E. Barnett is C. of R.

The Methodist church is the oldest religious organization in Colfax, having been formed in 1831-2; but the original organization was across the line in Montgomery county at the house of Rolla Kendall. The first members were Janies Hamilton, A. Truitt, Moses Furgeson, Judge Joseph Lane, William Broderick, Jesse Lane and David Rinehart, with their families. The first preacher was Rev. Miles Hauffaker. Soon after organization they built a church on the farm of James Hamilton, in Perry township. In 1872 they moved into Colfax, and in 1877 erected a brick church at a cost of $3,000. At the last report they had 200 members. 10 probationers and 218 in the Sunday school. Rev. X. A. Chamberlain is the pastor.

A Presbyterian church was organized in 1873. with the following members: Dr. J. M. Clark and wife, I. \\ . Benjamin and wife, Jacob Blacker and wife, and Mrs. Strain. In 1884 they erected a frame church, at a cost of $2,000. The church at one time attained a membership of over fifty, but on Februarv 21, 1910, it was dissolved. The Christian:- built their first church in 1873. and have had a fairly prosperous career. Thev put up a new church building last summer. Rev. Smith L their present pastor. The Catholics have a small church here, which i- served by Father Connellv of Lebanon.

The growth of Colfax has been quite -low for the past twentv Years, but it is a considerable business center. There are two banks, the Colfax Bank and the Farmers' State Bank.