Delaware County, Indiana - Chapter 17: Muncie, the County Seat, 1924 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 17: Muncie, the County Seat

When the commissioners appointed by the legislature to erect the new county of Delaware met here at the tavern and trading post of Goldsmith C. Gilbert on June 18, 1827, to decide upon the point on which the new county town should be located, they found three landholders here in possession, the Gilbert tract (Hackley Reserve) being joined by the lands of Lemuel G. Jackson, a settler, who presently started a saw mill and later represented this district in the state legislature, and the lands of William Brown, a resident of Wayne county. The Gilbert home cabin and a larger log building occupied by the trader as a store and tavern stood on the site later improved by Gilbert and maintained by him as an unbroken square, which square upon the distribution of the Gilbert estate in the '40s was bought by Jacob Henry Wysor and is now owned by the latter's son, Harry Wysor, who still maintains it as a residence site, the full square north of North street between Walnut and Mulberry streets. The Jackson tract joined the Gilbert tract on the south and southwest and the Brown tract, southeast.

These three landowners entered into an agreement with Samuel Simmons, the county agent, to donate certain of their lands, at the point where they joined, for county purposes, these donations being described as "for the purpose of aiding in improving the town of Muncietown, the county seat for the county aforesaid, and for the benefit and use of the said county of Delaware, in the erection of public buildings and for other public purposes," and it was where these lands joined that the public square (court house site) was laid out. These grantors reserved to themselves "'every lot numbered 4 and 8 that may be laid off on said land" in their several donations and in due time deeds for the lands were conveyed to the county respectively by Goldsmith C. Gilbert and Mary his wife for his donation of 20.09 acres, by Lemuel G. Jackson and Hannah (her mark) his wife, 9.72 acres, and by William Brown and Sally (her mark) his wife, of the county of Wayne, 20 acres, "in consideration that the permanent seat of justice of said county be located and remain on the above mentioned premises." And thus the county seat of Delaware county was located and is likely to remain. For the information of such as may be curious to know the precise engineer boundaries of these several donations, these deeds to the county are found recorded in Deed Record 1, the Jackson deed on page 38, the Brown deed on page 142 and the Gilbert deed on page 169.

In less technical terms than are set out in these deeds, it may be said that the Gilbert donation is bounded as "commencing at the west side of Jefferson street, in an alley between Washington and Main streets, or on the south line of the Hackley Reserve, extending west through said alley and on said Reserve line, through about the center of the public square to a point on White river where Gharky street intersects said river; thence, with the meanders of said river, northeast to North street; thence east with North street to Jefferson street; thence south with Jefferson street to the place of beginning."

The Jackson donation is described as "beginning in the center of Walnut street, immediately east of the center of the public square, at a point on the south line of the Hackley Reserve (this point is where the section line between sections 9 and 10 intersect said reserve line) ; running thence south on said section line to the corner of sections 15 and 16 in Jackson street; thence west with the section line, through Jackson street to Gharky street; thence north to Water street, or the northwest corner of lot No. 4 of Block 17; thence east on the south line of the Hackley Reserve, through an alley, to the place of beginning."

The Brown donation commences "in the center of Walnut street, immediately east of the public square, at a point on the south line of the Hackley Reserve, where the section line intersects the same; running thence south with said section line to Adams street; thence east with Adams street to a point west of Elm street (the southwest corner of lot No. 8 in Kirby's addition) ; thence north to the south line of the Hackley Reserve; thence west on said Reserve line to the place of beginning." By checking up on these several boundary lines it will be observed that these aggregated donations of a fraction less than fifty acres comprise what now is the very heart of Muncie's commercial district, a tract of very great value. Could the generous donors of this tract even faintly have visualized the greatness of the growth they thus helped to set in motion nearly one hundred years ago?

In The Days Of The Beginning

Elsewhere throughout this work there are many references to the life of old Muncietown in its "day of small things." In the nature of things the development here was slow. Though a good and convenient trading center for the settlers who by the time the county seat was established had begun to enter upon the lands hereabout, there was little in the village to attract outsiders. The town was "on the map" twenty years before it had attained a population of five hundred. When the railroad came things began to liven up a bit and it was not long until Muncie had become considerable more than a mere straggling county town. After the war manufacturers began to be attracted to the town. In 1870 the population had risen to near the 3,000 mark; in 1880, more than 5,000. Then came the gas "boom" and the opening of a new era for the town, the beginning of what may be regarded as its "modern" development, details of which are set out in other connections elsewhere.

Happily, there have been preserved several interesting reminiscent narratives concerning "the days of old" in and about Muncie. In the Helm chronicles (1880) there is the story of Minus Turner, who was here in the year in which the townsite was created and whose impress upon the growing community was a definite one. As a brickmaker and builder he saw the town grow and was an important personal factor in that growth. His simple tale, told first hand, is peculiarly informative. He had come over in 1827, when twenty years of age, from Randolph county, attracted to the possibilities attending the laying out of the new county town, and presently started a brick kiln in Main street, not far west of the public square. "My purpose in coming at this time," Mr. Turner wrote, "was to settle here and grow up with the country, as you would say. When I came I had only two shirts, one coat and 1214 cents in money. I came in the summer time and kept my money until Christmas. The best part of the joke, in saving my money at that time, was that I loaned the shilling to a fellow and he purchased a half pint of peach brandy with it, which we drank together.

"Upon my arrival here, in 1827, Samuel Watson was the only person selling goods. He had a general store - kept everything - dry goods, groceries, etc. His store was a little building, a log one, located on the site of the pump shop (1880), at the northwest corner of Washington and High streets. William Gilbert was here also, keeping a tavern on the ground now occupied by the jail. He sold whisky and otherwise accommodated travelers with the best the country afforded. The building was erected in 1828. A blacksmith shop was located on North Walnut street, west side, and was kept by David Baggs. Dr. Birt was the postmaster. He had the office in a small log building a short distance north of the boarding house on North Walnut street, east side. The mail was carried on horseback once a week from Richmond. During the year 1828 Goldsmith C. Gilbert dug a mill race, a part of which was blasted out through the rock. The following year, 1829, the 'old mill' - grist mill - was built. This mill was a 'corn cracker' and was afterward fitted with a buhr for grinding wheat. I think the saw mill, which was a few rods north of the grist mill, was built the next year, 1830. The distillery was built about three or four years later and was a small, one-story frame, located near where the present grist mill stands. The woolen mill was built where the race put into the river. All these improvements were the work of Mr. Gilbert."

First Burying Ground In The Settlement

"The first burying ground," continues the Turner reminiscence, "was located in the east part of the town, on the north side of East Main street, east of Beacon street. This was not a private burying ground but a public one. The next burying place was located on the north side of Adams street, west of Franklin, running back to the alley, containing about the equivalent of two town lots. It was cut out in the woods and was therefore surrounded by timber. I had my wife and two children buried there. They, as well as most of the others, were taken up and moved to the new cemetery (Beech Grove). The piece of ground located on the river, in the new cemetery, was either purchased or donated by a man named Loutz, and the two additions were afterward located."

Concerning these pioneer grave yards, it is a matter of common recollection that when the sites above mentioned came under the process of improvement it was no uncommon thing for persons engaged in excavation work to turn up the bones of some who long ago had been buried there and long since forgotten. Wallace Hibbets, retired miller and the oldest continuous resident of Muncie, recalls well the days of his boyhood when stock ran at large about the village and open woodlands surrounded the old Adams street burial ground that family burial plots there were protected against bovine and porcine intrusion by little picket fences, and that when the original plat of the present greatly extended Beech Grove cemetery was taken over in behalf of the village the bodies of those whose families still were represented here were moved to the new site; but some remained and it is recalled that as late as 1907 when excavations were being made for the erection of the Friends church on Adams street crumbling bones were turned up.

The people of Muncie take proper pride in Beech Grove Genes and continual improvements carried out under the direction of the cemetery board of the common council are making of this burial ground one of the notable cemeteries in Indiana. The annual report of the mayor for the year 1866 shows receipts on account of the sale of cemetery lots aggregating $238 and expenditures on cemetery account, $27.61, with a balance in that account of $210.39. The report for the year ending 1880 showed receipts for cemetery lots sold, $326.40; disbursements on cemetery account, $2,780.98. In 1895 a local association made up of more than fifty of the leading business and professional men of the city was organized for the purpose of giving systematic attention to the development and improvement of the cemetery grounds and to aid the city council in that behalf. Through this organization much was done to improve and beautify the grounds. About twenty years ago a stone chapel and the arched gateway to the cemetery were erected. In 1922 an imposing stone office building and chapel was erected within the grounds. The current (1923) report concerning the financial status of the cemetery board of the city council shows $2,824.74 cash on hand, bonds (Liberty), $25,000; perpetual care fund, $32,715.54, and sinking fund, $8,812.07.

Further Tales Of The Olden Days

Continuing, the Minus Turner recollections have it that "when I came Thomas Kirby was peddling goods over the country. He first went on foot, next with a horse, then he went with a horse and wagon. This was business enterprise and prosperity for you; each time when he made his regular visits showed marked evidence of increased prosperity. Mr. Kirby was, I think, the second merchant in the town. He had a general store on Washington street, west of High. I employed Boyd Linville in my brick yard when he came here, in 1829, at a salary of $7 a month, one half in store goods and one half in cash. This was considered good wages then. . . . Thomas Kirby, Joshua Truitt and myself were the first trustees of Center township. We built the school house located in the southeast corner of the township, on the Harter farm; also one northeast of here, known as the

Priest school, and one north, called the Holland school - then we skipped a location. The next one was known as the Shaffer school, southwest of here. We built one to the southeast of town, perhaps on the Bishop land, and a little farther south another one. All these buildings were frame and cost us from $200 to $400. I remember but one of the teachers employed, and that was William Dragoo, who taught in the Holland school. I think Warren Stewart was the first trustee elected under the new law.

"The first barber here was a large, jolly, fat man named Stillwell, who was located in a log building, about the year 1831-32. There were always barbers who accompanied the lawyers and judges when they came here to hold court. I built what was known as the 'Jo Davis House' in 1838 and finished it in 1839. I burned the brick and laid them up myself, doing two men's work, working by moonlight in laying up the brick. After I got the building done I opened it as a tavern, as that is what it was built for. I ran it a few months and then leased it to Colonel Sayer, who managed it for one or two years. Then I got it back and ran it myself for six or eight years. After that I sold the property to a Mr. Hoon. Afterward it went into the hands of Mr. Hunter, Hoon having had it in charge for two or three years. Hunter ran it a few years and then sold it to Jo Davis, under whose management it became popularly known as the 'Jo Davis House.' It finally passed out of the hands of Davis into the hands of Sample and Patterson, who were the owners when it took fire and was partially burned down. The ruins afterward were cleared away and the present structure, the Patterson block, was erected upon the site." The Patterson block, southeast corner of Walnut and Main streets, erected in 1871, the second three-story building in town, is still standing. The first three-story structure was the old Masonic building, still standing at Main and High.

Among other reminiscences of pioneers carried in the Helm chronicles (1880) are those of Boyd Linville, mentioned above, who says that "when I came to Muncie in the fall of 1829 there were very few people here. I remember that Charles Willard was keeping store on the north side of the public square, in a frame building, and Mr. Kirby was peddling over the country with a pack-sack. Mr. Downey, who was the Methodist preacher, held his meetings in houses around and at times in the old court house, then standing on the west side of the public square. A grocery and tavern was located near the ford and was kept by Mr. Gilbert, who used to sell considerable whisky. A tavern also was kept by a Mr. Marshall, located on the south side of the public square. . . . All of Delaware county then was a vast wilderness. There were no roads and no way of penetrating the woods except here and there a winding Indian trail. T have killed many a deer around and near to Muncie." With reference to the Gilbert mill, built the year in which he came here, Mr. Linville said that "this mill was a great improvement here and people came from far away to have their grists ground. Besides, it was an inducement for settlers to come in and locate nearby. The mill was much talked about all around the country."

Business Houses Around The Public Square

In this same collection the reminiscences of William Jackson, who came in 1835, carry a most interesting word picture of the business section of the town, at that time clustered about the public square, beginning with a reference to the harness shop of John Brady, who became the first mayor of the city, at the northeast corner of Walnut and Washington streets, now occupied by the old Times building in which for years the postoffice was located and which was built by Brady's son, Tom Brady, for his newspaper back in the '70s. Concerning this pioneer harness shop he said that "it was a frame, one story high, with a very low ceiling and about 16 by 24 feet in dimensions. It was weather-boarded and very much weather-beaten; inside it was ceiled between the rafters, presenting the appearance of an inverted V, in front having one door and a window." Concerning the northwest corner of Walnut and Washington streets, the site now occupied by the building which was erected for the old Muncie branch of the Indiana State Bank and which has. been so "worked over" that only its ancient mansard roof proclaims its former grandeur, the Jackson narrative has it that it ""was an open space of about twenty or twenty-five feet. Immediately to the north of this space stood an old, dilapitated brick building, unoccupied at that time and nearly in ruins. It fronted on Walnut street and was one story high. West on Washington street, from the corner and immediately adjoining this vacant space, was a one-story frame building badly weather-beaten. Farther west and on the corner of the alley stood a story-and-a-half frame building in which Moses Neely lived, at that time keeping a few boarders, students who were attending the Seminary, then located 'out in the country' on West Jackson street," and so on, around the square, an informative narrative, happily preserved.

"The public square was not inclosed," continues the Jackson story. "At the southwest corner, and in the street some fifteen feet, stood a fine, large elm tree, the last of the forest growth, which was probably left on account of its beauty and luxurious shade. The farmers used to hitch and feed their horses under its boughs and people used to gather there and sit and talk under its shade. It was finally cut down, against the wishes of many. . . . The court house was a twostory frame building, with its gable facing the street (west side of High, opposite public square). It had two doors and four windows in the front, six windows in the upper story. The timbers in it were all hewed and put together with wooden pins. When I first saw it the building was getting very much dilapidated, the floors and timbers getting out of place. When I had been here some time, it took fire and we all turned out and worked, as for our lives, to put the fire out, which we succeeded in doing. Afterward, however, reflecting on our foolishness, we wondered why we had been so anxious to save it - - it was a nuisance and should have been torn down. . . . The old Indian village and graveyard stood on the north bank of White river, a short distance westward of the bridge, on the Muncie and Granville pike. When I came here many distinct features of the graveyard were still visible, the graves in many instances being surrounded with pens, or poles piled around them."

Reminiscences Of Thomas S. Neely

Thomas S. Neely, who came to Muncietown early in 1839, also contributed a series of reminiscences to this collection, one of which, concerning the old ford, is particularly illuminating. Said he: "William Gilbert built a tavern in an early day on the ground now occupied by the jail, near the head of the ford, which was at the bend of the river, just where the bridge on the Wheeling pike crosses at the head of High street. In low water this was the principal crossing place, but at other times a ferry afforded crossing facilities farther up and just where the Granville road crosses the river, on a continuation of Walnut street, the point where the covered bridge is now (1880) located. It was run at this time (1838-39) by Miles Smith, who had a large flatboat and poled or paddled it from one side of the river to the other, charging a liberal fee for transportation. Mr. Gilbert's tavern was a very popular resort and all were very hospitably entertained. His house was an old-fashioned plain frame, with plain front and not painted. You passed in, as was usual in those days in all taverns, to a bar room, where a good natured landlord met you and greeted you with a smile and a little of 'the old stuff, just to warm yeup.' . . . <A good meal was always served at Gilbert's and the traveler felt at home when he reached this place. On the present site of the Kirby House, Joseph Anthony also kept a tavern. The building was a two-story frame, of good substantial build and was finally demolished to make room for the present edifice, Mr. Kirby having purchased the realty from Mr. Anthony."

Concerning the old Jo Davis House, mentioned above, Mr. Neely also recalled that Davis was the part owner of a hack line which operated between Richmond and Muncie. This line, he said, "had built one of those 'very elegant' old coaches known as the 'Rockaway,' with great leather springs. There were three seats in the coach and the necessary baggage facilities in the rear and on the top. The trips were made three times a week, carrying the mails. Prior to the establishment of this line but one mail each week was run over the road to Richmond. The hack line was discontinued when the railroad was completed to Muncie."

The Coming Of The First Railroad

"At the time of the agitation of the railroad question over the country in 1851," continues Mr. Neely, "I thought we ought to have a railroad connection, but did not know where, only that we ought to have an outlet. The canal outlet had failed in reaching us and railroads were beginning to excite the people. I got up a paper and carried it around among our people, but failed to excite any particular interest. Doctor Anthony laughed at me and said it was foolishness to talk about such a thing. A meeting was called, however, at the court house and brought out a large crowd. Several persons addressed the meeting, myself among them. No one had any idea where the road was to be built or to what point. Some suggested Ft. Wayne, in order to connect with the canal. I was not favorable to that project, because it would freeze up. Others suggested Connersville, Indianapolis, Bellefontaine, etc. I was most in favor of a connection to the southwestward, to join the Madison & Indianapolis railroad, just then completed and put in running order. We were finally solicited by parties both from Ft. Wayne and Bellefontaine and finally agreed to join with the Bellefontaine folks. The manner in which the question was settled was indeed novel. At a meeting at the Ohio state line, where Union City is now located - there was no

Union City then - after a number of speeches had been delivered from a box, it was decided to put the question to a test, and all who were favorable to Bellefontaine were directed to take one side of the door as they filed out and those favorable to other points, the other side. It was found that the Bellefontaine folks had two-thirds majority over all. O. H. Smith was made first president of the road. Thus was formed and permanently located a road that was destined to become one of the most important roads in the Midwest, and that, too, here in Muncie and by one of Muncie's own and most respected citizens. Mr. Kirby also was an active and diligent worker for the construction of the road and to his energy and industry is due much of the credit for the completion of this road to and from Muncie."

Another of Muncie's "firsts" is thus recalled in the Neely reminiscences: "A man by the name of W. H. Perkins came and commenced business here as a tailor in one of the small rooms in a frame building on the north side of Main street, between Mulberry and Walnut, the present (1880) site of Birt & Kirby's grocery store. Some of our citizens learned the trade with him, among whom were Wash Green and Samuel Rodman. He came here some time after my arrival and located as above, but subsequently removed his shop and opened up a larger and more complete business on the east side of Walnut, north of Main street. He brought the first sewing machine into town. It was one of Singer's manufacture and excited great curiosity. Everybody went to see it work and all kinds of opinions were passed as to its practicability. The machine was purchased at Indianapolis, at Indiana's first state fair, in 1852. It was one of Singer's first build and was purchased by Mr. Perkins for $250."

Concerning the coming of the old Indianapolis & Bellefontaine railroad (present "Big Four," a part of the New York Central system) to Muncie, a development which opened up for the town a new era of growth and expansion, it will be well to recall that this road received its charter from the state during the legislative session of 1847-48. The "forward looking" people of Delaware county responded liberally in land and stock subscriptions to the stock of the proposed project and at a special meeting of the board of county commissioners on July 2, 1848, an appraiser was appointed to appraise the value of the real estate thus subscribed. At the following March (1849) session of the board it was ordered that at the coming April election the electors of the county should take a vote on the question of whether the commissioners, on behalf of the county, should subscribe stock in the enterprise "to an amount that will be produced by a levy of tax to not exceed the amount of $1 on each $100 valuation of all the taxable property in the said county." Due publication of this election order was made in the Muncie Signal and the election resulted largely in favor of the tax proposition, 594 votes being cast in favor of the county stock subscription and 344 against, a majority of 250 in favor of the public participation in the building of the road.

At the following June session of the board it was ordered "that the county of Delaware do subscribe and take stock in the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad Company to the amount of $12,000, onefourth to be paid when said road shall be cleared and grubbed continuously from Indianapolis to the east line of this county, one-fourth when graded and bridged to the east line of the county, the remaining one-half when said road shall have been completed, ready for cars, from Indianapolis to Muncie," and a levy of 28 cents on the $100 was created for that purpose. At the June session, 1852, it was "Ordered that the county auditor draw on the treasurer an order for $3,000, the last installment of the subscription by the county to the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine railroad." At this same session Thomas J. Sample, a Muncie lawyer, was appointed agent of the county to cast Delaware county's vote in the election of railroad directors. At the March session, 1853, the board ordered ''that the auditor and treasurer refund all tax against stock for the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine railroad." And it was thus that the county had a hand in bringing in the first railroad through this region.

With the coming of the railroad a general impetus was given to all forms of endeavor in the village. The arrival of the first passenger train on May 31, 1852, naturally attracted much attention, but it was when the road from Indianapolis to Muncie formally was opened for traffic on the following June 17 that Muncie had its "big day.'"' Contemporary accounts have it that there were no fewer than 7,000 people in town that day, all wanting to take a ride on the cars, despite the fact that a summer rain fell nearly all day. Five round trips were made to Indianapolis that day and an extra trip to Yorktown. Lawyer Sample, the county's agent in the matter of the stock subscription, made the welcoming speech and Oliver H. Smith, presi- dent of the railroad company, responded thereto. It was a joyful occasion, everyone feeling that at last Muncie really was "out of the woods." As the William Jackson reminiscences, above quoted, have it: "After the completion of the road Muncie took a new start. Additions were laid off, new business houses were erected and new wagon. roads were opened, while old ones began to improve. The main object then, among the citizens and farmers, was to make the highways passable to the points on the railroad. From that time on marked improvements were made every year. Population increased and the slow growth of years was outdone in almost a few months, comparatively speaking. People began to improve their property ; the streets and walks were made passable; shade trees and evergreens began to be set out here and there. All the people felt that Muncie would soon be a rival town, nay, a city. All classes of improvement from this time forward were better and more stable. The town began to put on metropolitan airs and her people held their heads higher; their dignity was asserted and they began to feel their im- | portance. Muncietown when I came and Muncie as I now (1880) see it seem unlike, indeed, as different towns."

Though the town gained in importance as a trading center by the coming of the railroad and the community at large profited greatly by the wider market for grain and live stock thus opened, it is apparent that there was little development in the way of manufactories for some time. The flour mill, the woolen mill, the saw mills, the wagon shops, the cabinet-making shops, the blacksmith shops and kindred neighborhood industries were about the total of the village industrial activities up to that time and it was not until after the war that real advantage came to be taken of the wealth of hardwood timber hereabout by the erection of plants for woodworking industries. In 1859 James M. Matthews had started a planing mill and in connection with the same put in a foundry plant and machine shop, the first of the sort in the town. This was located on South Walnut street. In 1867 Walter S. Phelps put up another machine shop, put in a good deal of machinery and built quite a plant on the south side of Jackson street, just east of Plum. After several years of unsuccessful operation and almost as many changes of management this plant was dismantled and moved to Ohio. In 1873 a company of local business men put up another machine shop, including a foundry and boiler works, installing the same in a two-story brick house on the east side of Mulberry street north of the tracks. In 1877 this concern was sold out at sheriff's sale and was taken over by

The Coming Of James Boyce

It was in 1870 that James Boyce came to town with his flax-mill enterprise, which in time came to be the leading industry in the town and mention of which also is made elsewhere. The Anthony hub and spoke factory was established in 1877 and in 1879 W. T. Davis started a similar factory, utilizing the buildings that had been erected in 1859 by J. A. Heinsohn for a flax mill but which were closed when the war came on. In 1872 a local company was formed for the purpose of manufacturing coil hoops and built up quite a plant just south of the old "Bee Line" depot. In 1875 this plant was destroyed by fire and the interests of the concern were turned over to the heading factory of McKendry & Co., which presently was destroyed by a boiler explosion. The old James Hodge cabinet-making shop, the pioneer industry of the sort in town, passed into the hands of Swain & Nottingham, who shortly after the railroad came disposed of it to R. & I. Meeks, who made a real furniture factory of it, an establishment that was maintained for many years or until changing conditions of manufacture and distribution began to put such local industries out of business. In 1874 John W. Little started a feather duster factory which was kept in operation for years.

When the roller skating craze began to sweep the country along in the late '70s W. F. Cornelius and Thad A. Neely, of Muncie, patented an improvement on the roller skate then in use and in 1879 began to manufacture their product in Muncie. In the fall of 1880 Neely bought his partner's interest in the enterprise and was for some time thereafter profitably engaged in the manufacture of roller skates, his product attracting a wide market. It was about this same time that Henry Alfrey started a heading mill in Muncie and A. L. Johnson and J. T. Arnold opened another saw mill, making a specialty of material for bent-wood manufacture. The woodworking industries were growing in importance. Puckett, Smell & Martin also were developing an important industry in the way of pump making about that time, in succession to the old Miller & Snyder pump factory, which was one of the early industries of the town, furnishing pumps for the demand in this immediate trade area.

The gradual development of the old flour milling industry has been mentioned elsewhere in connection with the passing of the mill which grew out of the pioneer Gilbert "cracker" here at the bend of the river.

When the railroad came in Lloyd Wilcoxon established a second flour mill in the town, erecting his mill at Walnut street and the railroad. About the time the railroad came John S. Reid also put up a steam saw mill on Plumb street, which as the industry developed he turned into a hub factory and created a wide demand for his product. Joshua Truitt, an experienced saw-mill man, started his mill south of the tracks about 1873 and in 1880 increased the capacity of this plant by installing a fifty-horsepower engine manufactured in the local machine works of Wysor, Haines & Co. It also was in the middle '70s that W. C. Emerson set up his saw mill and stave factory. An earlier saw mill was that of the Case brothers, set up in 1866, which later was taken over by the Weller brothers, who turned it into a general wood working factory and in 1878 began the manufacture of organs, which as the "Weller" organ found a ready sale throughout this trade area. It was in 1880 that Sexton & Boyce started their Dhandle factory, which became quite an industry. During the '80s some other shops of greater or less importance were started in town and thus when the gas "boom" came on Muncie already had attained quite a reputation as a manufacturing town.

Change Of Name From Muncietown To Muncie

Muncie apparently had a hard time getting itself definitely fixed as to its name, largely on account of the numerous variations of the spelling of the name of the clan of Indians (the Munsees) who had located here at the bend of the river and to whose village the white man, averse to the use of Indian names, gave by common consent the simple appellation of the Munsee town. When this came to get into print through the narratives and letters of the old writers it came to be rendered variously as Munsey, Muncey, Muncie and the like, with the "town" invariably following. The text of the treaty with the Indians at St. Marys in 1818 renders it "the Munsey town." The field notes of the surveyors who "ran the lines" here in 1821-22, preparatory to the opening of the lands here for settlement following the exodus of the Delawares, indicate the spot at the bend of the river where the Indians had their village simply as "Munsee T." (town), and the spot was marked on their original plat of the township by the drawing of several tepees to indicate the village site. By the time white settlement was effected here, however, and when Goldsmith Gilbert established his trading post at the site of the old Indian village, it seems that by general understanding the name of the site had come to be established as Muncietown, and it so remained for years, or until along in the middle '40s, when many of the leading men of the growing village came to the conclusion that the name of the town had at least one syllable too many and that both for convenience and euphony ought to be shortened. In pursuance of this resolution they took the matter up with their legislators and by legislative enactment had the name changed from Muncietown to Muncie. This was in 1845.

Chapter CCLXII of the laws of a local nature passed and published at the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, beginning on the first Monday in December, 1844, is "An act to change the name of Muncietown." This act was approved by the Governor on January 13, 1845, and is as follows:

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, That the name of Muncietown, the county seat of Delaware county, be, and the same is hereby changed to that of Muncie.

"Section 2. Nothing contained in the first section of this act shall be so construed as to affect, alter or annul any contract, deed of conveyance, donation, act or thing heretofore done or agreed to be done, but the same shall be taken and construed in the same manner as though this act had never passed. -

Some Vehement Objections To Change

Though, according to this last section, this act was to have immediate effect, it did not become locally effective until in the May following. Probably the Postoffice Department had to untwine some preliminary red tape. In 1845 Joseph 8. Buckles, then a promising young lawyer of the county seat town, and years afterward judge, was the editor of the Democrat. The running story of the proceedings of the Legislature carried in his paper for that year contains no mention of the action of the Assembly in the matter of the change of name, nor was the name of the town changed from Muncietown to Muncie in the date line of his paper until on May 24, and this without a word of editorial explanation. The legislative action evidently was not known to all the residents of the town or had been slow getting over from the capital. In the Democrat for May 10, two weeks before Buckles altered the date line of his paper, a correspondent signing himself '"Gyascutus" took the Legislature severely to task for changing the name of the town. It is apparent that he had just heard of the change. "Gyascutus" expressed his "feelings of deep regret'' at the change and deplored the fact "that a law of public concern like this" could "be gotten over without the public having any knowledge of it or opportunity to oppose such trifling."

"As this law incurs the universal censure of the citizens of the county and town, and as an effort, strong and bold, will be made for its repeal next winter," said "Gyascutus" in concluding his lengthy letter of complaint to the editor, '"'we have a right to know who done it and the why and wherefore, and it is expected that our worthy senator and representative will give to the public a full and fair account of how it came upon us. Meanwhile let all the people treat it as a dead letter, until the repeal, and thereby prove that we have too much pride in the sight of the world to suffer ourselves to be treated before it as though we had a place so inconsiderable, contemptible and unimportant that the whim of any idle person could annihilate it with impunity. It is not known from whence this law had its rise - no personal allusions are therefore here intended; but be it whom it may, it is an insult that should not be suffered to pass unnoticed." This indignant correspondent evidently had been taken unaware in the passage of this act and charged that "the matter had been secretly and clandestinely conducted"' and demanded an inquiry into the question of "who done the mischief."

In the succeeding issue of the Democrat a correspondent signing himself "Cutus" replied to "Gyascutus," declaring that the latter "has evidently been for some time groping his way in utter darkness without being sensible of his misery." '"Cutus" defended the change of name and denied that there was any secrecy in the matter, which he said was one of common knowledge "that such an act was in contemplation" on the part of all who "paid even ordinary attention to the proceedings of our legislature during the last session." In conclusion, "Cutus" said that "I have had, since the passage of that law, occasion to visit every township in the county and I assure 'Gyascutus' that he is the first man that I have heard complain or speak disrespectful of the change." The next week the Democrat changed its date line to read Muncie, but made no editorial reference to the change, Mr. Buckles apparently having been content to let his correspondents handle the pros and cons of the matter. In the Legislature that year James Hodge was representing this district in the Senate and John Tomlinson in the House. Hodge (a Whig') had defeated Buckles for the Senate in the previous election.

The Incorporation Of The Village

Two years later, in 1847, the Legislature passed another law affecting Muncie, but this appears to have been locally ineffective for the time, for it was not until seven years later that definite action was taken in the matter by the people of the village. This law, "an act to incorporate the town of Muncie in Delaware county," approved by the Governor on January 21, 1847, sets out in formal legal phraseology that "it appears to the satisfaction of the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, by the petition, properly authenticated, of at least two-thirds of the persons competent to petition for that purpose, _ that the city of Muncie, in Delaware county, Indiana, are desirous of having said town incorporated: Therefore,

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, That the town of Muncie be and the same is hereby incorporated under the general provisions of the Revised Statutes of the State of Indiana, as the same are contained in the Twenty-fifth chapter, article first, of said revision.

"Sec. 2. The boundaries of said corporation shall be as follows, to-wit: The north line of the recorded plat of said town, and on the east to run so far east of the east line of said plat as to include the lots lately laid off and not recorded by Thomas Ruly, and the southern line of said corporation to be the north line of Warren Stewart's land, to the Newcastle road, thence north on said road to the south line of said town plat, and thence along said south line to the west line of said town plat as recorded; and the west line of said recorded plat to form the west line of said corporation.

"Sec. 8. An election of trustees of said town shall be held within one month from and after the passage of this act, in accordance with the provisions of the second section of the article aforesaid, and the clerk of the Delaware circuit court is hereby authorized to give the notice as contemplated in said section, for which service the board of trustees shall make him a reasonable compensation.

Evidently the people of the village were not prepared to follow the terms of this ambitious program, for actual incorporation of the village did not take place until seven years later. According to the records of the board of county commissioners it was on September 8, 1854, that "a petition praying for the incorporation of Muncie was presented to the board, signed by at least one-third of the qualified voters residing in the territory asked to be incorporated," and the commissioners (Abraham Shank and John B. Babb - Henry Hill, the other member, not present) ordered "that an election for that purpose be held at the court house in Muncie on Saturday, the 30th day of September, to ascertain whether said territory shall be incorporated."

In the journal of the board for the following December term and signed as of December 6, 1854, it is noted that the inspectors of the election filed their statement of the result of the election, "from, which statement it appears that there was fifty-seven ballots polled with the word 'Yes' written thereon and forty-two ballots with the words 'For corporation' written thereon, and four ballots with the word 'No' written thereon; and it appearing to the satisfaction of the board that a majority of all the voters polled are in favour of said incorporation, and that board being satisfied of the legality of the election aforesaid do hereby order that said town has been incorporated by the name of Muncie, of which all persons interested shall take notice."

The Status Of The Town At That Time

By this time Muncie had come to be a county town of considerable importance and had developed commercial and manufacturing interests that gave much promise for its future. The town was "on its way" and was "looking up" in every particular of its development. The coming of the railroad had given the town the impetus necessary to take it out of and beyond the "backwoods" state it formerly had occupied and its business and professional men had every confidence in the orderly operations of the numerous factors that were working in behalf of continually increasing development. Four years later the "Indiana State Gazetteer ard Business Directory" for 1858-59 had the following to say concerning the town:

Muncie, the county seat of Delaware county, is situated near the geographical center of the county on the south bank of White river, fifty-four miles by railroad from Indianapolis, in a beautiful and thickly settled country. The postoffice, of the same name, yields a larger revenue than any other in this part of Indiana. The name of the town and postoffice was originally "Muncietown," but the Legislature and the Postoffice Department have stricken off the "town," and the name of each now stands as at the head of this article. It is a town of between 2,500 and 3,000 inhabitants, with fine dwellings and public buildings, and convenient streets, ornamented with numerous shade trees. In it there are, besides the county buildings, two fine, large church edifices, built of brick, at an expense each of about $6,000; one of the largest and best arranged flouring mills in the state, driven by water and steam powers, and facteries of various kinds, two banks - the one, a branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana, having a good brick building - its officers: John Marsh, president, and John W. Burson, cashier; the other, the Exchange Bank of Wolfe & Baxter; Masonic and Odd Fellow halls, one printing office, the office of the Delaware County Free Press, a large and well-conducted newspaper; two large, two-story school houses, common and select schools, fifteen dry goods stores, two extensive hardware establishments, three drug stores, three stove and tinware establishments, two saddle and harness-making shops, two wholesale and eighteen retail groceries, six produce warehouses, hat, cap, boot and shoe dealers and manufacturers, cabinet makers, chair makers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, hotels, livery stables, etc. It is one of the best points for business in this part of Indiana, and there is no doubt would well repay the establishment of a large foundry and machine shop. There are two permanent daguerrean galleries, three ministers, eight physicians and twelve lawyers. The Indianapolis, Pittsburg & Cleveland railroad passes close to the south side of the town, having at this point good passenger and freight depots, engine houses, etc. There is more grain shipped from this station than from any other on the line of that railroad between Indianapolis and Cleveland.

The country around is well adapted to the growth of all the various kinds of grain and grass, and is rapidly filling up with large, well-improved and wellstocked farms, fine dwellings and large and convenient barns, with all the other indications of prosperous, energetic and wealthy farmers. The situation of the town is healthy and pleasant. In the southwestern part of the town there are three large mounds of gravel which, whether natural or made by the aborigines, would be a curious study for the antiquarian. Skulls of members of the human race, whether Indian or otherwise, have been unearthed from these mounds, frequently in a good state of preservation.

In the story relating to The Muncietonian, the first newspaper printed in this county, in the spring of 1837, set out elsewhere in this work, there are given the names of the men then doing business in old Muncietown, who were advertisers in that paper. The 'Gazetteer" above mentioned, printed two decades later, gives the business directory of Muncie in that year (1858), from which it is found that the Rev. F. A. Hardin at that time was pastor of the M. E. church, Rev. J. W. Drake pastor of the Presbyterian church and Rev. John B. Birt minister on the Selma circuit of the M. E. church. Joseph Anthony then was circuit judge and E. C. Anthony kept a general store on the south side of the square. Birt, Wachtel & Kilgore were publishers of the Free Press; John Brady was postmaster and Samuel F. Brady kept a saddlery in the postoffice building. John E. Beemer was the telegraph operator. Attorneys were Joseph S. Buckles, John H. Ellis, Harlan & Nation, Thomas J. Hosford, A. Kilgore, Thomas J. Sample and Carlton E. Shipley. H. Clarkson was principal of the Muncie Normal High School, Miss Hattie V. Simpson, assistant; Miss Sabina Wolfe, French; Mrs. Alice Harden, music; Miss L. W. Jarrett, painting and drawing. J. M. Davis was proprietor of the Jo Davis House, corner of Main and Walnut streets, and a "card" which he carried in the "Gazetteer" announced that passengers would be "carried to the above house and back to the depot free of charge;" also that "the proprietor runs a stage line to Wabash and intermediate points, leaving here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - returning next days." J. R. Moore was proprietor of the Delaware House, corner of Jackson and High streets, and A. Turner, of the Turner House. T. J. Housekeeper and J. Swain were justices of the peace. Charles W. Moore, James Orr and George W. Slack were school examiners, Theophilus E. Burt was county recorder, Thomas J. Mathews, clerk; John C. Mathews, treasurer; David Nation, prosecuting attorney; George W. Seitz, auditor; Lewis S. Smith, coroner; Joshua Truitt, surveyor; William Walling, sheriff, and George A. Helvie, James Orr Jr. and Abraham Shank, county commissioners.

Others Then In Business Here

Among other names listed in that business directory of the late '*b0s were Carter & Craig, carriages; William Cassady, drugs; James Charman, groceries; C. A. Cooper, dry goods; James Corwin, hatmaker; J. Dodd, auction merchant; E. Eichelberger, drugs; George L. Elliott, jeweler; C. A. & N. L. Fleming, milliners; Galbraith & McCullough, general store; Ganson, Bennett & Co., hardware; John A. Gilbert, cooper; George W. Greene, "fashionable" tailor; S. T. Haines & Co., general store; David T. Haines, commission merchant; Herman Hart, dry goods; John C. Helm, physician; Huffer & Son, groceries; Thomas H. Sullivan, railway and express agent; Jones & Stewart, general store; EK. G. Keasbey, boots and shoes; Joseph E. King & Bro., general merchants; William Kirk, grocer; John A. Klein, jeweler; Kemp Lancaster, boots and shoes; John H. Little, dry goods; William H. McCormick, dentist; J. McCulloch, physician; James A. Maddy & Son, produce; H. M. Marks & Co., clothing; M. B. Marshall, harness; J. C. Medsker, dry goods; R. & S. Meeks, furniture; S. A. Neely, wagon maker; M. L. Neely, general store; Osborn & Harlan, hardware; B. Pacey, baker; Parsons & Co., dry goods; Patterson & Sample, hardware; W. & J. R. Paxson, cabinet makers; Robinson & Everett, boots and shoes; Ross, Gilbert & Co., drugs; O. W. Scott, blacksmith; F. Shafer, produce; L. & W. Shick, hardware; W. & E. Smith, blacksmiths; H. Snyder, cooper; E. Speer, groceries; E. Stafford & Co., marble works; C. P. Struther, produce;

Swain & Spilker, hardware; Thomas Tate, ice cream; A. Viridet, jeweler; Mark Walling, tanner; L. Waters, blacksmith; L. Wilcoxon Jr., produce; Alexander Wilson, carpenter; Robert Winters, physician; Wysor, Jack & Klein, millers; Martin Young, carpenter; Michael Young, cooper, and K. Zoller, boots and shoes.

An even more interesting commentary on Muncietown is that carried in the "Indiana Gazetteer" (Douglass & Maguire, Indianapolis) for 1833, which says of Muncietown that it is "a post town and the seat of Delaware county. It is situated on the south bank of White river, on an elevation of about thirty feet above the bed of the river. It is laid out in an oblong square. The four principal streets are 60 feet wide, the others are 45, and all crossing each other at right angles. It contains about 300 inhabitants, three mercantile stores, a saw mill, with a fall of eleven feet, and a sufficiency of water for all kinds of machinery. It has also two physicians and a number of mechanics of various trades. The state road from the Ohio state line to Indianapolis passes through this place; also a state road from Richmond to Logansport, and a county road from New Castle, in Henry county, to Ft. Wayne. It is about 50 miles northeast from Indianapolis. N. lat. 40 deg. 7 min. W. lon. 8 deg. 9 min."

Inspection of the quaint old Original Plat of Muncietown, carefully preserved in the office of the county recorder, shows that the townsite was laid off south of the river, with "the island" at about the center of the north line. The plat was surveyed, as noted thereon, with a variation of 4 minutes and 37 seconds from the compass. Unfortunately there is no date affixed to the plat, nor does the name of the oldtime draftsman appear thereon, though the character of the work is such as to have warranted him in affixing his imprint. This plat reveals North street as the first street on the north, with Gilbert street the next street south; then Washington street and Main street running the full length of the plat east and west and Jackson and Adams streets running three blocks from Elm street, the eastern boundary, to Walnut street; the north and south streets beginning with Elm and going west are Jefferson, Mulberry, Walnut, High, Franklin, Liberty, Cherry and Council. By early and subsequent additions to the number of more than one hundred and fifty, the old Muncietown has expanded until now it covers a tract approximately three and one-half miles east and west and three miles north and south, and prospective additions give promise of further early expansion.

Rebecca Hackley To Goldsmith Gilbert

In a previous chapter, that relating to the days of Indian occupancy here, in the story concerning the treaty at St. Marys in 1818, whereby the lands in this section of Indiana were opened for settlement, there is set out in some detail the story of Rebecca (Wells) Hackley, daughter of Capt. William Wells, granddaughter of Little Turtle and wife of Capt. James Hackley, of the United States army, who by the terms of one of the clauses of that treaty became the proprietor of a mile square of the land now covered by the city of Muncie and which tract became the nucleus of settlement here. Among the personal allotments made in that treaty was the following: "To Rebecca Hackley, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land, to be located at the Munsey town, on White river, so that it shall extend on both sides to include 320 acres of the prairie, in the bend of the river, where the bend assumes the form of a horseshoe." By right of her father's services to the government, as set out in the previous chapter, it apparently was recognized that Mrs. Hackley was entitled to consideration at the hands of the government, which thus set off to her the section covering the site of the old Munsee town at the bend of the river, now covered by the city of Muncie. Rebecca, however, did not occupy her reservation here, preferring to make her home with her own tribal kinsfolk on the reservation in Allen county, and the Hackley Reserve, so far as practical uses were concerned, lay fallow, so to speak. In the meantime, about the year 1823, Goldsmith Coffeen Gilbert, an enterprising and adventurous New Yorker, who had been prospecting about over in Ohio, came over here into the New Purchase, seeking a home and an outlet for his adventurous inclinations in what then was regarded as the Far West, his plan being to establish a trading post, the rich fur trade of this region then continuing to offer attractive possibilities. Gilbert had married a New York girl following his decision to settle in the West and he and his wife located on a site on Prairie creek, later moving to what gave promise of being a more advantageous site on the Mississinewa, in the upper part of what is now this county, and began active trading with the Indians, his post also becoming a convenient house of call for such white trappers and adventurers and "squatters" as were beginning to make their presence manifest over here. It is narrated that "one day, during one of their [the Indians] drunken sprees they set fire to his house and store and burned up all he owned. The Government agent deducted the damages from the annuity of the tribe and, with a portion of this money, Mr. Gilbert purchased the Hackley Reserve and, at a later date, laid out a portion of this tract into town lots, thus donating the original town plat of Muncie." As has been set out, Gilbert shared honors in this latter enterprise with two others.

Formal Record Of Transfer

- That Gilbert was here at the old Munsee town in 1827, the year in which the county was erected and the civil town and county seat site formally determined is clear enough from the records in the matter. His deed to the Hackley Reserve, however, was not secured until in the summer of 1831, as will be seen by the following record of the transaction in the office of the county recorder: "Deed from Rebecca Hackley to Goldsmith C. Gilbert: - Know all men by these presents that I, Rebecca Hackley, of the county of Allen and state of Indiana, for and in consideration of nine hundred and sixty dollars current money of the United States, paid me by Goldsmith Gilbert, the receipt of which I do hereby acknowledge, have given, granted, bargained, sold and by these presents do give, grant, bargain and sell, alien, release, convey and confirm unto the said Goldsmith C. Gilbert, his heirs and assigns forever, a parcel, tract or section of land lying and being in the county of Delaware, White river, Muncie Town, in the state aforesaid, and distinguished as being the section of land which was reserved and granted to the said Rebecca Hackley at the treaty commonly called the 'Treaty of St. Marys' in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and estimated to contain six hundred and forty acres of land - To have and to hold the above bargained and granted premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances thereof and thereto belonging or in any wise appertaining, to him, the said Goldsmith Gilbert, his heirs and assigns, to his and their proper use, benefit and behalf forever, and I, the said Rebecca Hackley, for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators do covenant to and with the said Goldsmith Gilbert, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, that at this time I am lawfully possessed of the premises in fee simple; that they are free of all incumbrances, that I have good right and lawful authority to sell and convey the same to the said Goldsmith Gilbert in manner and form aforesaid; that I will warrant and defend the same to the said Goldsmith Gilbert against all lawful claims and demands of any person or persons whatsoever. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal on this thirteenth day of June in the year of our Lord

"State of Indiana, 1831; Allen county, sct: Personally appeared before me, a justice of the peace in and for said county, Rebecca Hackley, the foregoing grantor, and acknowledges this to be her voluntary act and deed for the use and purpose therein expressed. In testimony, I have set my hand and seal this 14th day of June, 1831. M. K. Taylor, justice of the peace."

"State of Indiana, Allen county, ss: I, Allen Hamilton, clerk of the Allen circuit court, do hereby certify that Marshall K. Taylor, Esq., before whom the within was acknowledged, was and is a justice of the peace duly commissioned as such, and that full faith and credit is due and ought to be given his official acts. Given under my hand and seal of office at Fort Wayne, this 24th day of August, 1831. John P. Hedges, D. C. for Allen Hamilton, clerk A. C. court."

Indorsement on the above deed: "I certify that the sum of $960 which appears to have been paid for the within conveyed section of land was at the time of the sale, towit, 1826, a fair consideration for said section. Mrs. Hackley is an educated woman of prudence, economy and good sense. She is competent to preserve property, and I respectfully recommend this deed for the approval of the President. 2d July, 1831. John Tipton, Indian agent."

This indorsement apparently did not get around to the President until about eighteen months later, when the following indorsement is made: "Approved, this 27th day of February, 1833. Andrew Jackson." The deed was recorded as of this county by Patrick Justice, then recorder of Delaware county.

It appears that ten years later there must have arisen some question concerning the above deed that required further verification, for among the original papers relating to this Hackley-Gilbert transaction in the possession of Mrs. Julia (Andrews) Williamson, of Muncie, granddaughter of Goldsmith Gilbert, there is a time-stained affidavit confirming the signature of David Archer, one of the witnesses to the signature of Rebecca Hackley on the original deed. This affidavit is dated July 6, 1843, and is as follows: 'State of Indiana, Allen County, ss: Personally appeared before me, Robert Hood, an acting justice of the peace in said county, David Archer, of lawful age, who being sworn in due form of law upon his oath says that sometime about the year eighteen hundred and thirty he was present when Mrs. Rebecca Hackley, widow and relict of Capt. James Hackley, de- ceased, and daughter of Captain Wells, deceased, made a deed of conveyance in fee simple for one section of land, it being a section of land granted to her, the said Rebecca Hackley, a half-blood Miami, at the treaty made and held at Saint Marees in the state of Ohio to Goldsmith C. Gilbert, now of Muncey Town, Indiana, and that the said David Archer was a subscribing witness to said deed," etc. For some reason this affidavit was not made a matter of local record at the time and was not filed for record in the office of the recorder of Delaware county until January 18, 1910.

The apparent confusion in the settlement of Hackley-Gilbert real estate transaction, arising, it would seem, out of the loss of some of the papers in the matter, led to further correspondence. In the collection of old papers that belonged to her grandfather now held by Mrs. Williamson, there is a time-stained scrap of paper on which is written the following: "This is to certify that a certain note of hand given by G. C. Gilbert, dated the 1st of December, 1826, payable the 1st day of April, 1827, amount $250, is lost or mislaid by some person, which note is satisfied in full, June 6, 1828. Payable to Rebecca Hackley." And this memorandum is signed by Rebecca Hackley, the character of this signature apparently confirming the indorsement of General Tipton, above noted, that she was "an educated woman of prudence, economy and good sense."

From the Tipton indorsement it thus appears that Gilbert came into possession here in 1826, the year before the formal erection of the county. The Helm chronicle (1881), referring to the invasion and destruction of the Gilbert trading post on the Mississinewa, points out that Gilbert "was fortunate enough to be robbed by the Indians, in a drunken row, and his wife, during the melee, was struck with a hatchet and slightly wounded. The consequence of this assault was a penalty of $2,000, assessed against the perpetrators, and subsequently was deducted from the annuities of the tribe. With this money he (Gilbert) purchased the Hackley reservation for the sum of $960. Upon this tract he erected two cabins, one of which he occupied as a residence and the other as a trading-house. These two cabins appear to have been the nucleus from which the present city of Muncie has sprung."

Regret Expressed At Loss Of Early Records

Unfortunately in the archives of the city clerk's office in Muncie there is no trace of the first minutes of the town board, a loss as regrettable, in its way, as the loss of the first records of the county commissioners' court in the county auditor's office and to which reference is made elsewhere. It is said that in the several shifts of location made by the city hall folks during the years of Muncie's development many valuable documents and records that now would be interesting for purposes of historical comparison have been lost. Complaint has been made that in the last shift of the clerk's office, from the court house to the Wysor block, a "clearing" was made of much old material that was held to have no practical value to the city. Many Indiana cities, as well as counties, have suffered like losses and will continue to suffer such losses so long as present indifference to the value of material of probable historical value continues. The state in years past has suffered losses now known to have been inestimable along this very line, losses that no state historical commission ever can replace. As with the state, so with many of the counties and cities of the state; hence Delaware county and the city of Muncie are not alone in this regard. An awakening historic consciousness throughout the state eventually may lead to an improvement of conditions along this line.

As was aptly remarked at the recent annual conference on Indiana history held at Indianapolis, the people of the state slowly are beginning to be aware of a state consciousness, to realize, after all, that it is something to be a Hoosier and to take sufficient pride in that consciousness to wish that something definite might be done toward perpetuating the history and traditions of Hoosierland. Heretofore, with a few notable and shining exceptions, the people of the state apparently have been negligently indifferent to the history of the state and in consequence much inestimably valuable basic material has been lost, destroyed or carried away by more far-sighted collectors to the libraries of some of the more alert neighboring states. The pioneers apparently were too busy making history to care much for the preservation of anything save that which they regarded as the essential official details of that history; their sons and daughters were not taught to value these things; their grandsons and granddaughters took conditions for granted, without proper thought of the elements on which the superstructure of our common social edifice was erected, and now the great-grandchildren are beginning to realize that much of incalculable value in the way of historical material has been lost and to be aware of the importance of stimulating research that will restore, where possible, some of the buried treasure. This restoration ought to begin - as was pointed out in the conference - in the township, building up to the county and thence to the state, each unit gradually filling in until in time there shall be compiled and preserved a pretty definite record of the achievements of the commonwealth. The value of county history work is being recognized.

How The Village Became A City

Happily, as set out above, the records of the county commissioners preserve the date of the incorporation of the town back in its village days, following a favorable election to that end, the final entry of the board in that behalf, as of December 6, 1854, having it that "board being satisfied of the legality of the election aforesaid do hereby order that said town has been incorporated by the name of Muncie, of which all persons interested shall take notice.' Pursuant to legal notice an election was held in the following spring for the election of a town board and the corporation got down to business. Unhappily, the first minute book of the town trustees apparently has been lost; at least it is not on file in the office of the city clerk, the first minute book there on file opening with a notation as of May 11, 1860 (a hiatus of five years). Happily, however, in the office of the clerk of courts there is preserved a record of the first town election. Under the head of "Certificate of Election of Corporation Officers" there is found at page 50, Order Book 6, Delaware circuit court, the following entry: 'We, the undersigned board of inspectors certify that the within is a true statement of the number of votes that each candidate received for corporation officers of the Town of Muncie: T.S. Neely, for trustee district No. 1, received 62 votes; S. F. Brady, for district No. 2, received 61; A. G. Zimmerman, district No. 3, received 57; William Klein, district No. 3, received one vote; Thomas Barnes, district No. 4, received 59 votes; E. C. Anthony, district No. 4, received three votes; Lloyd Wilcoxon, district No. 5, received 59 votes; James Truitt received three votes. For treasurer, John A. Wachtel received 61 votes; for clerk, W. G. Ethell received 59 votes. D. T. Haines, for. clerk, received two votes. For marshal and assessor, Jacob Dodson received 58 votes; Aaron Cory received two votes. (Signed) December 23, 1854. John Sutton, John Trimble, D. E. Gilbert, inspectors."

From the above and other references, including the appendix to the published volume of ordinances of the city of Muncie, it is certain that among the men who served as trustees of the old town board in addition to Messrs. Neely, Brady, Zimmerman, Barnes and Wilcoxon (above) were C. P. Sample, William Young, Alexander Willson, Conrad Kuntz, Nelson Leonard, Charles F. Willard, James Truitt, John A. Gilbert, William B. Kline, Samuel A. Neely, John Marsh, James Hodge, Arthur F. Patterson, James E. Wilcoxon, Josiah P. Williams, John C. Matthews, Isaac Meeks, John A. Wachtell and Alfred Kilgore. William G. Ethell was the first clerk of the town board. He was succeeded by Daniel E. Gilbert, who in 1856 was succeeded by Carlton E. Shipley, who was clerk of the board when it expired upon the incorporation of the city. John A. Wachtell, Samuel A. Neely, George W. Spilker, Samuel F. Brady and William H. Stewart had served, respectively, as town treasurers during this period and Jacob Dodson, John Sutton, J. A. Hill, John Dungan, William T. Nottingham, Lewis S. Smith, Samuel D. Chipman, Wilson R. Smith, Joseph Kirk and John T. Robinson had served terms as marshal. During that time Charles F, Willard, Volney Willson, William Brotherton, George W. Spilker, William F. Jones, Edward G. Keasby, Frederick E. Putnam and Robert Winter had served on the school board, and John H. Ellis, Volney Willson, James B. Wilcoxon, William T. Nottingham, Adam J. Rilev and C. A. Ellis as assessors.

The earliest minute book on file in the office of the city clerk opens with the notation as of May 11, 1860, as follows: "Be it remembered that on the evening of Friday, the 11th of May, A. D. 1860, the Board of Trustees of the Town of Muncie, in the county of Delaware and state of Indiana, met, pursuant to adjournment, at their room in said town; members present - Samuel A. Neely, trustee for the First ward; John Marsh, 2d; John A. Gilbert, 3d; James Hodge, 4th, and James Truitt, 5th; present also, Carlton E. Shipley, clerk of said town." This apparently was the initial meeting following the spring election, for the succeeding notation has it that the trustees then produced their respective certificates of election and took oath, and James Truitt was elected president of the board. William H. Stewart, treasurerelect, and William P. Nottingham, marshal, presented their bonds, which were approved. The board fixed the compensation of the street commissioner at $1 a day "for the time he may be employed in the duties of his office," and John Brady was elected street commissioner. The retiring treasurer, Samuel F. Brady, submitted his report, which showed a balance on hand, subject to order, of $1,189.52. "Ordered by the board that there shall be raised of general tax, for the current year, the sum of $1,000;'' and the board adjourned until the next regular meeting.

At the next meeting of the board, May 25 (1860), "Walter March presented the following proposition in writing, towit: I will sell gravel at 5 cents the load, taking it off regular as low as the ground by the walnut tree by the fence, dividing the summit from the mowing lot, and no lower, and to be taken off clear and level. The fence to be kept up, that is, the lot closed so that no stock can get in." An offer also was submitted by Volney Willson to sell to the board "all the gravel to be used on the streets during the present year, to be taken either from the river or from the mound, at 7 cents per load." The board accepted the Willson proposition. The lowest bidder, even then, did not always get the contract.

At the meeting of the board on August 4 it was ordered "that the clerk give notice by publication for one week in the Eastern Indiana Courant" that the ordinance requiring the making of sidewalks on certain streets would be enforced. The demand for better sidewalks was growing.

Citizens Demand City Status

At the meeting of the board of trustees on April 11, 1864, "the petition of sundry citizens" praying the board to take steps toward the incorporation of the town under the law regulating the incorporation of cities was laid on the table, and it was not until the following November 9 that this petition, that of William B. Kline and 200 others, "constituting more than one-third of the voters of said town of Muncie," was taken from the table and the marshal was ordered to make a preliminary enumeration of population. John C. Matthews then was president of the town board and William B. Kline, Isaac Meeks, Arthur Patterson and James Truitt were the other members of the board. At the meeting of the board on January 18, 1865, it was ordered that "on Thursday, February 2, 1865, at the court house in said town, a poll shall be opened to determine whether the town of Muncie shall be incorporated" (as a city).

At the meeting of the board on February 4, two days after this election, a report of the election inspectors was made, whereby it was noted "that the number of votes given at such election having the word 'Yes' thereon was 293 and no more, and that the number of votes given at such election having the word 'No' thereon was one, and no more." Evidently the people were practically of one mind on the subject. The board then ordered the town divided into four wards, the First ward to include all of the city west of High street, Second ward all between High street on the west and Jefferson street on the east, Third ward all betwen Jefferson street on the west and Monroe street on the east, and Fourth ward all the city lying east of Monroe street. The board also ordered that an election be held on Saturday, the 25th of February, 1865, for the purpose of electing councilmen and officials for the new city.

The report of the inspectors of this election was received by the board at the meeting on the evening of the 27th following, this report showing the election of John Brady to the office of mayor; Joseph F. Duckwall, clerk; Jacob Dodson, assessor; William H. Stewart, treasurer; Joshua Truitt, city engineer; John F. Robinson, marshal, and Mark Walling and James Truitt, councilmen from the First ward; William B. Kline and Franklin Shafer, Second ward; John L. Little and Isaac Meeks, Third ward, and William Brotherton and Lewis S. Smith, Fourth ward. On the next day these several officials filed their respective oaths of office and under date of March 2, 1865, the record in the old town board minute book begins under head of "City of Muncie - Council Record." The old trustee form of government had passed and Muncie began doing business as a city. The new council ordered "that the seal of the late Town of Muncie be, until otherwise ordered, adopted as the seal of the City of Muncie." It also was ordered that until otherwise ordered meetings of council should be held in the southeast room of the second floor of the court house "'on the evenings of the first and third Tuesdays of each and every month at 7 o'clock." And that is the way the city government began. On March 7, 1865, the council, by resolution ordered 'That the following described seal be adopted as the seal of the city of Muncie, Indiana: The words 'City of Muncie' shall be in the margin of said seal, and the device in the center thereof shall be an eagle, same as that on fifty-cent coin of the United States of America, of recent coinage, and thereon shall also be the date '1865.' "

Jos. F. Duckwall, who had been serving as clerk of the old town board and who was elected first clerk of the city, was then the editor of the Delaware County Free Press and the issues of his newspaper immediately following the setting up of a city government reveal considerable "velvet" in the way of publication of the ordinances of the new city government. In the issue of the Free Press for March 9 it was announced that ''the transformation of our late town into a city proves to be attended with considerable labor, and some time will elapse before the 'mersheen' will be got in running order. Since the election the city officers have all had to be properly qualified, their bonds fixed and filed, and information obtained as to the proper manner of proceeding. This has consumed some time and it will be several weeks before the city authority can be put in operation. The work of setting the city fairly on its 'pegs' is no small job and imposes a considerable amount of labor upon the council. ; When our people look at all these matters they will see why it is that city laws do not go into operation at once." In his issue of the 30th the editor-clerk announced that "the office of the city clerk, so long as the present incumbent remains in office, will be in the Free Press office. The clerk will be ready to issue dog licenses as soon as the necessary books arrive, which will be in a few days." And thus the city got down to business.

John Brady, First Mayor Of The City Of Muncie

On the day of John Brady's funeral, in January, 1884, the business houses of Muncie closed as a mark of respect to the deceased and there was a general cessation of the vocational activities of the community in honor of the memory of this man who from the days of the pioneers here had been one of the foremost figures in the public life of the town. Contemporary appreciations of his life and service have it that he was "a citizen whose support was considered necessary in all public enterprises and whose influence was never refused in promoting the city's progress," and that his life had "been characterized by a uniform kindness and courtesy commendable in every respect." It also was written of him that his dealings with his fellow men had been "of that plain, honest nature that always wears." A simple encomiun, fitting and well meaning.

John Brady, first mayor of the city of Muncie, was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1808, the year in which that state was admitted to statehood, and died at Muncie, where he had made his home for nearly a half century, January 14, 1884, he then being in his eighty-first year, and his wife (Mary Wright), whom he had married at Richmond, Ind., in 1825, followed him to the grave in August, 1884. They were survived by three sons, Gen. Thomas J. Brady, Capt. Edward W. Brady and Samuel F. Brady, the latter of whom was county treasurer during the days of the Civil war and for some time prior thereto town treasurer. Gen. Thomas J. Brady, whose name was one of the best known in national governmental affairs during the '70s and '80s of the past century, active in both the treasury and postoffice departments of the government, was elected captain of the first company formed (in April, 1861) at Muncie for the service of the Union during the Civil war and came out of the service following the close of the war with the brevet title of brigadier general. Capt. Edward W. Brady was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, for some time rendered service in the regular army and then became engaged in newspaper work at Muncie.

William Brady, father of John Brady, enlisted for service on the call to arms in America's second war for independence (the War of 1812) and was with Colonel Campbell's expedition against the Indians over here in this section of what then was Indiana Territory in the _ first year of that war. The terrible privations experienced by that army have been touched on elsewhere in this work. As the result of the exposure incident to this campaign William Brady died in the spring of 18138, his son John then being in his tenth year. The boy John presently was apprenticed to a harness maker and learned the trade. Upon attaining his majority, in 1824, he came to Indiana and located at Richmond, where in the following spring he was married. His native force of character early manifested itself in his new home and not long after settling at Richmond he was elected justice of the peace. In 1836, less than ten years after the settlement of the town here, John Brady moved to Muncietown and opened a saddlery. In 1841 he was elected one of the associate judges of the old circuit court for this county and for more than ten years occupied that position. In 1847 he received the appointment as postmaster of the town of Muncie and for nearly fifteen years occupied that position, or until the change of political administration in 1861. Upon leaving the postoffice he continued to render public service, for some time acting as street commissioner. In 1865, as noted above, he was elected mayor of the city and in this executive office he served for two terms. He afterward served for some years as a member of the city council from his ward (the old Second) and also rendered several years of service as trustee of Center township, his interest in public affairs being maintained until the last. John Brady was for many years regarded as one of the leaders in the Democratic party in this part of the state, a veritable "wheel horse' of the party in Delaware county, and, as was written of him by a contemporary more than forty years ago, "his political career elicits an eulogium from every one who has coped with him in that sphere," an estimate

Successive Officials Of The City

In the foregoing narrative of the beginning of the city government in 1865 it is set out that John Brady was the first mayor elected to set the wheels of city government in motion in succession to the operations of the old town board. Mayor Brady was succeeded in office after two years of service by Job Swain, the pioneer cabinet maker and undertaker, for nearly twenty-five years a justice of the peace, who also served for two years. Swain died in the spring of 1877. He was succeeded by Marcus C. Smith, son of Oliver H. Smith, who had come over from Yorktown to Muncie in 1859 and had become established in the latter city in the grain and live stock business. He had served for two terms in the Legislature just prior to moving to Muncie. Smith served for five successive terms as mayor of the city and was succeeded by William F. Jones, one term, who was followed by Charles W. Kilgore, two terms, after which Jones was again elected and served two terms. He was succeeded in 1883 by Frank Ellis, later judge of the circuit court, who served as mayor for eight successive years, the longest incumbency in the local history of that office, or until 1891, when Arthur W. Brady, now of Anderson, a grandson of the first mayor, was elected. Brady served for two terms and was succeeded by former Congressman George W. Cromer, who held the office four years. Edward Tuhey, then postmaster, was then elected mayor and after four years of service was succeeded by C. W. Sherritt, who served for four years and was succeeded by Leonidas A. Guthrie, who in 1910 was succeeded by Edward Tuhey, again elected to this office. In 1914 Dr. Rollin H. Bunch entered upon the office and served until his resignation on December 1, 1919, when John R. Kelly, city controller, automatically succeeded to the office. It was during this latter incumbency that the city was raised to the rank of a city of the second class and James O'Day was elected president of the council. In 1922 Dr. John C. Quick, present incumbent, was elected mayor and the incoming council elected Edward E. Elliott president of the council, he being succeeded in the following year by Fred Frohmuth, the present president of the council.

Though the city council by resolution, in August, 1919, declared that the city should enter the ranks of cities of the second class (under the provisions of the laws of Indiana) on the following January 1,

"due to its population having reached the required number [35,000] to entitle it to such classification," as this date arrived the state board of accounts advised that "it would be better and more certain to await the United States census now being taken," and the council, by resolution, decided to comply with this advice, '"'as the city desires. to be classified under the law concerning population and not otherwise," and therefore resolved ''that the city continue as a third class city until the government census is certified as to the population of the city of Muncie, and at and upon which time the said city will then enter the status of a city of the second class."'

And then, at a meeting of the council on March 15, 1921, following an official bulletin of the director of the census, dated March 5 and announcing that the preliminary count of the returns of the fourteenth census showed Muncie to have a population in 1920 of 36,524, an increase over the 1910 census of 12,519, or 52.2 per cent, as against an increase of 14.6 per cent in 1910 over the count for 1900, was read into the record of the council. Upon the reading of this official confirmation of Muncie's population rank, and on motion of Mr. Bingham, it was ordered by council "that the city assume the rank of second class city."' In December, 1921, the council passed an ordinance creating a city plan commission and this commission has since been operative in the systematic direction of building and city extension plans. In September, 1923, the council passed a comprehensive ''zoning"' ordinance dividing the city into districts for the purpose of regulating and restricting the invasion of residence districts by factory and commercial buildings and the like.

The Resignation Of Mayor Bunch

It was at a regular meeting of the common council of the city -of Muncie on December 1, 1919, that Mayor Bunch tendered his resignation to the council. In tendering this resignation the mayor expressed a "personal request that its acceptance be recorded by a unanimous vote." Continuing, this formal resignation set out that "T relinquish the helm with no fear for the future. I still have an abiding faith, gentlemen of the council, in the silver lining which gleams beyond the blackest cloud. . . . Gentlemen, in this solemn moment which marks the parting of the ways between the chief executive and a council whose every member is endeared to him for many and varied reasons, I wish, from the very bottom of my heart, to express to each of you my sincere thanks for your kindly co-opera-

With best wishes for a greater and more united citizenship, and requesting the co-operation of all civic organizations with your honorable body, and again thanking you collectively and individually for your kindness, consideration and forbearance shown me while serving as your chief executive and presiding officer, I am, yours most sincerely, Rollin H. Bunch."

On motion of Mr. Michael, of council, this resignation was accepted and John R. Kelly, city controller, took his oath of office as mayor in succession to the retiring executive. Kelly, a druggist by profession, had served as city clerk for seven years, from January 1, 1910, to January 1, 1918, at which latter time the city council created the office of city controller and Mayor Bunch appointed him to that position, which placed him in line of succession upon the mayor's resignation. 'During these painful times," said Mayor Kelly upon taking the chair of the city's chief executive officer, "it becomes my duty to assume the duties of mayor of this city. Regardless of party affiliation, I believe I take this office with the good will and friendship of each member of this council and that I shall have the co-operation of each during the time that I am mayor of the city."

In its editorial comment on the morning following this change in office, the Star, under the head "Success to Our New Mayor," said that "Muncie people should realize fully the burdens assumed by John R. Kelly in stepping into the office of mayor. Taking hold of the municipal reins after six years of a liberal administration - liberal in all that liberality means - under the rule of Dr. Bunch, Mr. Kelly starts out on a road that is strewn with many obstacles. ' The Star wishes Mayor Kelly all success in the conduct of his office and feels that the good people of Muncie will support him for a greater and better Muncie, so long as he shows a disposition to work for the best interests of the entire community." And thus passed an unhappy incident in local municipal history.

Other Officers Of The City

As has been set out above, J. F. Duckwall, then editor of the Free Press, who had been serving as clerk of the old town board, was elected first clerk of the new city government in 1865. At the end of two years he was succeeded by Edward W. Gilbert and he in turn by Eugene W. Shipley, who was succeeded by Samuel F. Brady, who in 1870 was succeeded by William L. Little, who served for six years, or until the election of Calvin S. Wachtell in 1876. Wachtell held the office of city clerk for ten years and in 1886 was succeeded by J. A. Brown, who after four years of service was succeeded by A. H. Shideler in 1890. Two years later Frank A. Elrod was elected clerk and he served for six years, or until in 1898, when Frank W. Clevenger was elected for the four year term. Clevenger was succeeded by R. G. Hickok and he by John A. Jackson, who in 1910 was succeeded by John R. Kelley, later city controller and acting mayor, who was re-elected in 1914 and in 1918 was succeded by Dennis Cleary, who in 1922 was succeeded by the present incumbent, Maynel W. Dalby, who also acts as clerk of the police court.

William H. Stewart, the first treasurer elected under the city charter in 1865, was succeded at the end of his term of two years by Wallace Hibbits, who held the office for five years, or until succeeded by T. B. Earickson in 1873. Earickson was continued in the city treasurer's office for more than ten years, or until his death in December, 1884, and was succeeded by John E. Banta, two years, the latter being succeeded by A. L. Wright, four years, and he by James Williams, four years. Williams was succeeded by Thomas H. Barton (1894), who was re-elected and thus served for eight years, or until 1902, when Robert M. Martin was elected. Martin was succeeded in 1906 by J. M. Motsenbocker, who then also was serving as county treasurer, and since then the offices of county treasurer and city treasurer have been carried on as one. Motsenbocker was succeeded in 1910 by R. H. Clark and he in 1914 by Goldsmith Gilbert Williamson, a great-grandson of the founder of Muncie, who in 1918 was followed by Earle H. Swain, who carried on the office until he was succeded in 1922 by the present incumbent, Fred Reasoner.