Elkhart County, Indiana - Chapter 10: County Institutions .ind Officials, 1881

Chapter 10: County Institutions .ind Officials

Of all the public buildings of ISTorthern Indiana, the Elkhart conntj' cor.rt-house is, perhaps, the most beautiful. Twelve years ao-o the county business was transacted in very humble offices; but the people- sharing in the busy activities of the times, resolved to substitute for the antiquated building one in every way worthy of this progressive age. In this laudable enterprise they met with some opposition from many tax-payers, who failed to see the existing necessity for such a building as was suggested; but in this matter, as in all others, fogyism was subdued, and subsequently an edifice was raised upon the puijlic square of Goshen, which, in itself, is a tell-tale monument of the extraordinary progress made by the people of tlie county within a period of half a century. This beautiful building was opened for public business in 1870. Messrs. Jacob Bechtel, J. E. Thompson and ]Slathaniel Thompson were the Commissioners who inangnrated the work in 1S68, and to tliem and the great majority of the people who countenanced and urged them OTUvard in this work much praise is due, because they co-operated in doing that which keeps pace with the age and adds a central attraction to the county. The building stands in the center of spacious grounds extending north and south from Clinton to Market streets, and east and west from Main to Third streets. Shade trees lend tlieir aid in making tlie site more beautiful, and already there are 6,000 I'eet of concrete wallv leading from Main street to the eastern entrance of tiie building, with a corresponding number to be laid down on the west side. The grounds are enclosed with a net work of iron rail. There are eight gates leading from the encircling streets to the main promenades, and one large gate to admit vehicles. Outside this palisade is another wide gravel walk surrounded with a chain fence, and he who would desire to positively come here ou market or other daj'S set aj:art for a meeting of the people; for then these chains oiier a comparatively^ secure Iiitching place for the thousand horses and vehicles which are attached to them, the whole presenting a rare scene of rural greatness.

Architectural Design

The design of the new court-house was drawn b}' Barrows & Garnsey, architects, of Chicago, and adopted by the commissioners of Elkhart county June 11, 1S6S.

The building as represented in its front elevation is most imposing in appearance, and strikes the observer as chaste in design, mass ive, and of great strength and delicacy of iinish.

It stands 52 feet in height from base to cornice, its broadside, 82 feet in width, presented to Main or Fourth street, with a grand entrance, its roof supported by four Corinthian pillars. The tower, which rises from the south end, adds greatl}' to the appearance of the building, and is exceedhigly chaste in its proportions.

The basement story, 12 feet in height, is designed for heating apparatus, storage for fuel and two offices. The entrance to the basement is in the tower, with east and west doors leading to the hall under the steps leading up to the grand entrances. The width of the building east and west is 72 feet, and the rear entrance on the west side is precisely similar to that on tlie east.

The second or main story is 16 feet in height, with offices for the clerk and recorder, eacli 26 x 22 feet, on the south side of the hall; and offices for the auditor and treasurer, each 22 feet sc[uare, on the north side. Each office possesses tire-proof vaults of some extent, for the better protection of the valuable records.

The third floor, 2-1 feet in height, is devoted to the court, jury and commissioner's rooms, with the sheriff's offices. The court- room is a thing of beauty. It runs from east to west the entire width of the building and occupies its entire southern end. The material used in the construction is brick witli stone trimmings, slate roof, and cornice of galvanized iron.

iSTow the foregoing brief notice would of course convey a fair idea of the extent of the edifice and the salient points in its architecture; but it deserves a more precise description. The east and west frontao-es are similar in style. Tlire;- great doors or gates resting between massive square columns areapproacbed by a flight of steps, which are as solid as artifice and nature combined could render them. Springing from the Romaic columns are a series of Corinthian pillars with capitals of that order, all forming a fagade on rests the front of the well-proportioned roof of the central section. The tower at the suathern extremity is beautifully proportioned. Siiriuging from a substructure, in keeping with the architectural style of tlie main building, it is carried upward in pure styles, giving position to the great clock section, bell floor, lookout chamber, capital turret, and all surmounted with a monument, in iron, representing the water lily. From the very summit of this tower the indomitable lightning-rod man succeeded in carrying the electrical conductor down, down to mother earth ; and though the wire interferes somewhat with its true outline, or architectural beauty, its supposed utility may be considered a set-off. Beneath the tower proper and in its substructure are rooms devoted to the law library and judges' chambers, county clerks' private office and library, and, in the basement, an entrance to the oflices therein situate; so that this elegant appendage of tlie county building is at once useful and ornamental. The county oflices are well arranged. A spacious hall occupies the entire center of the main floor. Entering from the east, the auditor's and surveyor's offices occupy a position on your right, and the clerk's oflice on yoni- left; further on, the great iron stairway, leading to the second floor, is on your right hand, while at the western side the county treasurer's oflice holds the north quarter section of this floor, and the recorder's oflice the south. Ascending the stairs, the hall of justice is entered from the main lobby, the sheriff's offices are on the left, and the Commissioners' Court on the right. While conceding that these oflices are well arranged, neatly kept, and remarkably well adapted for the transaction of county business, it must be confessed that the magnificent casts them all into sliade. This great room has been improved beyond the original plan; the furniture is immeasurably superior to anything that may be found in some of the greatest court-rooms of the State; the decorative work is chaste and characteristic. In rear of the judge's position is a representation of the "Elkhart Circuit Court Seal," an elk, with the words just written encircling. The ceilino- is a work of art. The representation of the four seasons is exeeedino-ly good, and would lead the stranger to think that the bronzed, blue-eyed maid of the aborigines, the industrious girl of 1830, the fairer maid of 1860, and the elegant, accomplished and more slender beauty of 1S70, formed subject for the painter. Guarding all these, as it were, are very good portraits of Washington, Stephen A. Douglas, Chief J ustice Chase and Abraham Lincoln. In a word, nothing is neglected or forgotten that should be identified with such a work.

The work of the public offices is performed b}- men of ability, who labor assiduously to render the books of their departments so many records of their high taste and attachment to salutary method. Seldom has it been the good fortune of the writer to examine such a great collection of county records, or wade through the pages of so many valuable and ornamental books; but there is a want somewhere, which must soon be supplied. Notwithstanding the attention which the county officials bestow upon their departments, it is a physical impossibility for them to assume the duties of librarians. Now the books are intrinsically and extrinsically valuable; they require constant care, and to meet this requirement the appointment of a librarian almost becomes a necessity. This will perfect the workings of the county offices, and leave nothing further in the way of organization to be desired. This will become more evident from an examination of the subscribed list of books to be found in the various offices of the county building. This list does not include the valuable collection of blue books and other printed works in the vaults and offices; nor does it bear more than a reference to the thousand manuscripts which now encumber the shelves, and create a world of trouble for him who attempts to resort to them for information.

Of volumes in the office there are 60 of deed records, eight index books to the same, 45 mortgage and other records, with 12 index books; and 120 assessment delinquent books, eight general index books, which cost the county $1,000. They, together with the other books of the department, are monuments of official industry which may not be surpassed.

In this office there are 69 general record books, 33 docket books, 87 fee and special record books, 21 order books, two lis-pendens records, with perhaps about 100 old record books and 10,000 manuscripts.

In this office are 122 general books. The tax duplicate books of this office are marvels of neatness and accuracy, and reflect much credit on the officials.

Sukveyob'S Office

In this office are 65 volumes of tax duplicates, 36 of tax receipts, one of register of accounts, one cash book, one register of receipts of the trust fund, one register of orders of trust fund, one journal of trust fund and one ledger of trust fund.

All these books meet with full attention, and their pages are the surest evidences of progress in what may now be termed the science of bookkeeping. Here, as in the auditor's office, the intricate duplicate tax books show remarkable diligence.

C. J. Gillett, Sheriff; LaMar Gillett, Deputy Sheriff. The records of the sheriff's office are principally to be found in the office of the county clerk.

The Cocxty Jail

The institution known as the county jail has many olden memu'ries attached to it. It was introduced shortly after the organization of the county and has remained wim us since. It is a strange but necessary accwinpaninient of our civilization; ami tlioiigii here in this connty it is not, happily, very extensively requisitioned; in other districts it seems to point out, that as science advances men decay. The old jail lias been referred to in former pages; here we will speak of the new one, and its belongings.

The stranger arriving at tlie connty seat of Elkhart, and visiting the court-house, may see a building of a very pretentious character, just opposite, witii an eastern aspect. That stranger will never dreanr that such is the county jail! He may credit it t(3 the enterprise of some millionaire citizen; for it looks to be the home of such ; but not until some ])hilanthropic soul conies forward to assure him that it is the county jail can he believe the fact. The present building is as modern in appearance as architecture will permit, and in point of time, claims 1879 as the date of its reconstruction. All that red brick, stone facings, concrete walks and green parterres can do to render it exteriorly beautiful, has been done, and so in its front elevation it may be considered complete. Within are the apartments of the ofHcials, - all neat and orderly, if not actually luxurious in their furnishings; to the rear are the cells of the prison proper. Of these cells there are 19, all regularly embedded in a massive masonry of iron, steel and stone. The window bars are steel, the partitions steel, and there is so much steel in connection with all its surroundings, one would be led to think that steel formed the food of the prisoners, did not the genial countenances of the officials present themselves to dissipate such an anti-humane thought. The floors of the prison are solid stone, 1] inches thick, the roof of heavy tin, and cornices of galvanized iron. The institution is heated by steam, and at present offers a very healthy, if not pleasant home, to two unfortunates, who fell.before the onslaught ot justice. The rebuilding of the old jail is said to have cost the county $22,000; so that were Ira Storr - the first prisoner incarcerated in it on May 23, 1845, long years before it? restoration - to return, his desire to re-enter it might lead to a serious breach of the peace as well as to his taking up a temporary residence there. Such a small trade in jail-birds is promising.

From the earliest perioii in tlie history of the county the people made ample provision for the relief of the poor. At a meeting of the commissioners in .ilarcli, 1S40, tiie Board accepted the proposal of William W'^i^gh to keep the poor at 62;} cents per week for paupers when in health, and 75 eeuts per week during sickness. Notwithstanding this very liberal rate and faithful observance of the contract the people desired to place the more helpless members of the communitj^ under the supervision of a county official, and to this end did, through their representatives on the Board of Commissioners, conclude to purchase the tarm known as ISTancy Raymond's, containing 140 acres, at 835 per acre, and entailing on the county a payment Sl:,900, §3,900 of which were spread over a period of four years, bearing interest at six per cent, per annum. This ordinance was issued in April, 1S53, and during the session of June of the same year it was ordered, ''That Henry Cook be employed to complete a draft uf a building to be used for the poor, and not to exceed the following dimensions: Size, 32x45 feet; cellar, 32x45 feet; walls, 1-j feet thick, 4 feet in the ground, '2^ feet above the ground. Such house to be fi'arae and planked, with ash or oak floor, roof of pine shingles; or if made here, to be shaved. Said draft is to embrace specifications of the amount of lumber, stone, and all building raatej'ials, with the probable cost of construction. The county auditor is instructed to give due notice by publication in the Goshen Deraocrat, of the sale of said work as soon as the di-att and specifications were complete; and, further, that the said auditor sell out the said work to the best bidder for the same, rei|uiring bond with good and sufficient security for the performance of all contracts thus let, said work to be completed on or before the 1st day of December next." That house was duly built, but was destroyed by fire in February, 1S71. Henry Heller was then superintendent. The new house was erected in the summer of IS'Tl, and the paupers took up their quarters in it in the fall. During those trying times Israel Hess offered a portion of his residence to the uses of charity, and made every disposition to render the lot of the poor people less embarassing. Such an act was truly charitable, and though his residence was large enough to meet the emergency, without abridging in any marked degree the space devoted to his family, yet few men could then be found willing to offer even a barn, in the neighborhood of their dwellings, for the temporary shelter of the ])oor. A few years after the conflagration and subsequent building of the present asylum, the fire fiend returned to his work and succeeded in reducing to cinders a portion of the house, together with two semi-insane women who were interned therein. Since that time, however, nothing has occurred to vary the monotony of the institution. The superintendents have, evidently, bestowed upon it paternal care, and partially systematized its worlvings. Much, however, remains to be done. To compare with any of the other county buildings a new editiee is necessary, which mio-ht comprise two wings and a central building or residence for the oificers. The men and women would then be assigned separate buildings and separate recreation grounds, and thus render the duties of the superintendent lighter, and the order of the institution very much superior to anything that can be attained while the present badly arranged frame structure is tolerated. The public interest calls for such a change, and, doubtless, the commissioners will, within a short time, lend their official ears to the voices of the people.

During the first year of Mr. Cobbum's administration, ending March 6, 1S79, there was an average of -iS inmates in the county asyltim - 24 males, 21 females and four infants. The largest number there at any time was S2. Since Mr. Cobbum took charge of the institution seven infants have been born within it, six of them being illegitimate. He found on the farm, as county property, six cows, three young cattle, 11 hogs and 417 bushels of wheat harvested by him, and at the close of the year reports county property thereon, comprising eight cows, 14 young cattle, 1,220 bushels of wheat, and about 900 bushels of oats.

The superintendent submitted an approximate statement of the poor farm for 1880, which shows 84 acres under cultivation, 10 acres cleared during the year, and the remainder under pasture and timber. He states that the farm will yield about 800 bushels of wheat, 500 bushels of oats, and 2,000 bushels of corn, together with forage for 19 cows and 62 hogs. During the year the asylum offered a home to 20 women and girls. Of that number one died and two were discharged previous to September; 28 men found a refuge there, of whom three died and eight were discharged. The management has achieved other beneficent results, such as a large decrease in working expenses, additions to modus operandi, repairs of fences and many other items which go to show a careful supervision of county aft^airs in that connection, and may compare very favorably with the management of the township fund for the relief of the indigent. In Elkhart township a sum of $800 was devoted to the purposes of relief during the first three months of 1880; wdiile in Concord township $1,500 was paid out during that time for similar purposes. The amounts seem large when the general prosperity of the people is considered; but many are under theim- pressioii tliat the advent of an luiusnal number of men with no nsefnl occupation has caused such an expenditure of pu'olic moneys. The county poor-farm is situated five miles southeast of Goshen, on the old Wayne route; it is absolutely a very primitive structure, and well repays a visit, since it is in itself a monument of the humble mansions in which charity, one of the first principles of the Christian Church, enters upon its career of good works.

The expenditures of the Indiana Hospital for the Insane, from March to Octoljer, IST'.', in purchasing clothing for the insane inmates from Elkhart county, amounted to §57.38. During the fiscal 3'ear, ending Oct. 31, 1879, there were 151 men and 148 women admitted to the wards of the insane, all belonging to the State of Indiana, of whom 12 registered as belonging to Elkhart county, or .03 per cent of the population.

The progress of a county in a great measure depends upon the men who are elected by the people or appointed by the State to guide the reins of the government. In the following pages the names of judges of the circuit and other courts are given, a roll of justices and commissioners, and a roster of county officials collated. This is a ]ileasing duty, because the men whose names are herein recorded have, so far as can be now learned, performed the duties of their various departments with commendable earnestness, and thus brought honor on themselves, while conferring vast benefits upon the people who honored them.

Judges of the Circuit Court. - Charles il. Test, Gnstavus A. Everts, Samuel C. Sample, E. M. Chamberlain, Hobert Lowry, E. A. McMahon, James L. Worden, R'juben J. Dawson, Moses Kenkinson, Edward R. Wilson, Hiram S. Tousley James i). Osborn, Wm. A. Woods.

In May, 1S32 an ordinance was issued by the commissioners directina; that at the annual election a justice of the peace be elected for each township, and instructing the sheriff to advertise such election.

1840. - D. Zook, S. Dibble, C. Zerwilliger, Jas. Dalrymple, SCrane, I. Clark, J. Jackson. I. Kose, Geo. Peoples, L. Pierce, A. Bassett, A. Skinner.

1863. - TV. K. Williams, N. Bates, R. A. Thomas, Levi Sawyer, W. B. Cowan, A. McKibbin, Jacob Geisinger, John Moore, H. W. Goiile. J. Puterbaugh.

1871. - S. D. Straw, Michael Spangler, John Moore, Geo. G. Grenier, J. W. Albin, W. B. Cowan, G. Beech, A. Elliot, A. McKibbin, A. J. Lee, Geo. W. Farrell.

lative enactment, approved Jan. 19, 1831, regulating the transaction of county business, an election of the Board was ordered to take place in December each year, so that in the foregoing record the year of election is given, and the commissioner or commissioners elect held their seats for the ensuing twelve months.

acting cierk of the County Court gave notice, that ou the first Monday of April, ISil, each township should elect the following officers: Three townsliip trustees, one township treasurer, one township clerk, two overseers of the poor, two fence viewers, a constable for each justice of the peace in the township.

Accordingly on Mondaj', the 5th of April, ISil, an election was held for Concord township, resulting as follows: Trustees - Ebenezer Brown, Jonn W. Vioiett and Gideon Myres; Clerk, Jacob S. Raymer; Treasurer, Geo. Howell; Constables - Daniel S. Howell, John S. Freeman, Jesse Hillbush and Leander Sherwin; Overseers of Poor - Levi Beck and Abner Stilson ; Fence-Viewers - Daniel S. Dickenson and Jacob Wagoman.

In February, 1850, an act of the Legislature reduced the number of township trustees to one, and vested in that one the duties hitherto pertaining to the inspector of elections, overseer ot the poor and fence-viewei', with all the powers formerly belonging to the three township trustees. While tlie system was yet in its infancy, grave fears were entertained by the people of Elkhart that it would not equal in efficiency the old form of township government; but now, after the lapse of 20 years, its workings have come near perfection, and have clearly shown that more and greater benefits have accrued to the jieopleof each townshijj from one watchful trustee than could possible emanate from a Board of three; in other words, one man elected to the trusteeship will generally take a deep interest in the work pertaining to his office, while a trio of trustees might possibly be animated by petty jealousies and interests which would militate against the well- being of the people.

The following is a roll of township officers elected under the act of 1859, who were the first to enter on official duties: Towuslilp. Trustees, 1S39. Trustees, isoo. Assessors, ISGO.

Vht Col'.Vtt

The county ratified the constitutional amendments by the following majorities: First, 610; second, 1,810; third, S77; fourth. 1,816; fifth 1,600; si.'cth, 1,469; and ninth, 1,670.