Elkhart County, Indiana - Chapter 12: Industries, Newspapers and Banks, 1916

Mills at and Near Goshen - The Hawks' Interests Transferred TO Goshen - Building of the Hydraulic Canal - Present Hawks Industries - The I-X-L Furniture Company - Sanders & Egbert Plant - Goshen Buggy Top Company - Kelly Foundry and Machine Company - Goshen Novelty and Brush Company - The Spohn Medical Company' - "Famous" Churns and Ladders - The Banta Furniture - Western Rubber Company - Chicago-Detroit Bag Company - Other Present-Day Industries - Substantial Newspapers - The Goshen Express - Charles L. Murray - The Goshen Democrat - The Goshen Times - The Goshen News-Times - The Starr Brothers - News Printing Company Incorporated - The Goshen Banks - The Salem Bank - City National Bank - The State Bank of Goshen - Elkhart County Trust Company.

The three items to be covered by this chapter are mentioned in their historic order. There were very few mills in the region when the first newspapers made their appearance at Goshen in 1837, and the pioneer local bank did not venture into the rawness of Northern Indiana until nearly twenty years after the press had valiantly planted itself. The railroads preceded the banks by a few years; but the newspapers were on the ground even before there was a fair chance for life. In bold venture and cool defiance of conditions which make for self-preservation the average newspaper man of the shifting western frontier always represented the best traditions of American knight-errantry. The printer, not the railroad or bank, was the advance agent of western expansion.

John Carpenter, grandfather of George, John, and Isaac, hung one on the banks of Rock Run near wliat is now the northwest corner of Oak Ridge Cemetery. It was made of logs and covered with a clapboard roof, a very low two-story structure about 22 by 24 feet. The following year a man by the name of O'Connell constructed the second mill near the site of the Big Four railroad depot. Hewn logs and lap shingles were used in its construction. The same year Oliver Crane established a sawmill on the banks of Rock Run, which was fed and run by hand. Joel P. Hawks asserted that the fourth mill was built by Elias Baker at Waterford in 1834; then came the Bainter Alill and the one on Solomon's Creek. In the Carpenter Mill a row of stones was used for grinding corn ; one of which was in use, at a comparatively recent time, as a horse-block in front of a farm house a short distance east of Goshen. The Baker IMill was the first frame building in the county. This was purchased, in 1835, by Cephas Hawks, father of Joel, and soon became famed for the fine quality of its flour. The farmers for miles around were attracted to it and the mill yard was always crowded with teams. Gradually the products of the farms increased and during the later '30s the mills began to export flour to quite distant territory.

More than any other personal element, therefore, does the Hawks family represent the past, present and future of industrial Goshen. For thirty-two years Cephas Hawks and his sons, Cephas, Jr., Eleazer and Joel P., variously associated in business, conducted the old flouring inill at Waterford, as well as a large general store, sawmill, distillery and woolen mill, and the farmers came from a radius of forty miles to do their trading with this substantial family. But attention was gradually being centered on the commercial and industrial advantages of Goshen proper and, with a noteworthy improvement in the water power at that point, the Hawks' interests were transferred from Waterford to the county seat.

the industrial development of Goshen, and a number of factories are still using this means as an auxiliary. The antique water wheel of the old mill on Rock Run turned the stones that ground the grist for the pioneers and later an expensive dam was constructed at Waterford. Special stimulus was given to the industries of Goshen in 1868, by the opening of the hydraulic canal. The project was started in 1866 by J. H. Defrees, Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, Dr. J\I. M. Latta, P. M. Henkel, Cephas Hawks, Milton Mercer, John Stauffer and Adam Yeakell. These men spent nearly $100,000 in the construction of the canal. A dam was built across the Elkhart at a point i>4 miles south of the city and the water diverted into the canal that runs parallel with the river, through the factory district, and thence returning to the regular channel to the north of the city.

The hydraulic dam was built by the Waterford firm of C. & E. Hawks, and during the year of its completion (1868) the old mill was moved to the present location of the combined plant of the Goshen Milling Company and the Hawks Electric Company. The old-fashioned burr mill was first placed in operation. Later another mill was built and the two, the Hawks and Thomas mills, were merged into one, and in 1883 came under the corporate management of the Goshen :\Iilling Company. The Hawks family retained a controlling interest not only in the mills, but in the hardware store, the coal company and other auxiliary interests, which were expansions of the old-time Waterford enterprises.

Among the important industries founded in Goshen was the Hawks Furniture Factory, in 1873. It was the first manufactory of the kind in the city and was represented by a small building which stood at the foot of Jefferson Street on the hydraulic canal. The original proprietors were Cephas, Eleazer and Joel P. Hawks and D. M. Fravel. In 1884 the business was incorporated as the Hawks Furniture Company, and in the following year the frame factory buildings were burned. They were replaced by large and substantial brick structures, completed in 1886. At present F. E. C. Hawks, son of Cephas Hawks, Jr., is president of the Goshen Milling Company and Edwin W. Hawks president of the Hawks Furniture Company. The Hawks Electric Company supplies commercial light, heat and power to Goshen, Middlebury, Millersburg,

Benton, Xew Paris, and Bremen, and, through the Syracuse Power & Light Company, to Syracuse and Milford, Kosciusko County. The plant, which is operated in connection with the mills, has a total horse power of over 2,000. The company was incorporated in 1898, and is really a wheel within the Goshen i\Iilling Company.

plant is located between the Xew York Central and Big Four tracks. The industry originated in 1S54, when the Goshen Pump Company was established by William D. Platter. In 1878, the factory was purchased by William L. Bivins, and in 1885 by the I-X-L Pump Company. The latter had been established in 1879 by James A. Arthur, Alfred Lowry and John Korrady, Jr., and in 1885 the two pump companies were consolidated. The business was reorganized under a state charter in 1895, and its manufactures have gradually centered in the production of kitchen furniture and desks, with side lines of screens, ladders, swings, tanks, etc. B. F. Deahl has long been president of the company.

The Goshen Sash and Door Company has been in continuous business since 1869, a new plant being completed in 1893. It has held to its original line of manufactures - sash, doors and interior finish, with the necessary improvements to meet increased demands in quality, variety and quantity. The company is incorporated under the presidency of H. R. Whitmer.

In the eastern part of the city and covering forty acres along the New York Central and Big Four tracks, are the hardwood lumber yards and factories of the Sanders & Egbert Company. The industry includes the manufacture of hardwood lumber and sawed The raw material for their manufactures comprises butternut, walnut, cherry, white and red oak, white wood, bass, elm, hickory and ash, and the supplies are drawn from the timber lands of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. In 1880 the business and industry were established under the name of John H. Lesh & Company ; were continued under the Lesh, Sanders & Egbert Company and at the death of the senior member in 1898, the Sanders & Egbert Company was incorporated, with'Haines Egbert as president and H. M. Sanders as vice president.

The Goshen Buggy Top Company was organized in 1883 and incorporated in 1891, and is therefore one of the city's old industries. It was originally located in the old woolen mill. Tlie corporate name does not do full justice to the scope of the company's manufactures, which include automobile tops and trimmings, seats, cushions and backs, and an auto "trailer" or wagon for freight or baggage. The president of the Goshen Buggy Top Company is Mrs. J. FI. Stametz.

The Kelly Foundry and Machine Company originated with Frank, Edward, Charles and Clark Kelly, who came from Ohio to take charge of the foundry in the plant of the W'alker-Stutz Carriage Company. That was in 1887. That department so expanded that the Kellys secured the plant of the Goshen Machine and Boiler Works and established a general foundry business. Then came the purchase of the Globe Implement Company, located on the present site along the lines of the Big Four division of the New York Central. The foundry now occupied was completed in 1891. Frank Kelly is president of the company, the products of which include boiler fronts and castings, stationary grates, galvanized steel tanks, and grey iron castings for power plants.

The Goshen Novelty and Brush Company also originated in 1887. It was incorporated in 1901. Its specialties are light furniture, furniture novelties and lighting fixtures in wood and metal, and the lines include library tables, desks, book racks, cabinets, stools, screens, porch novelties and ceiling lamps. H. F. Cosbey is president of the company.

The large l)lock which is the headquarters of tlie Spohn Medical Company is located o]iposite the Hotel Alderman in the business center of Goshen. Mayor S. F. Spolm founded the company, of which he is president, in 1894, and his manufacture is a specific for distemper and colds of live stock. As he was born on a farm in Elkhart County, and he and his three brothers had a model live stock farm for a number of years, the product of his company is the resvilt of long experience and observation.

In 1895 M. C. Dow and Charles E. Gorham formed a partnership in the manufacture of veneers for funniture, made from both native and foreign woods. The business was incorporated under the name of the Goshen ^'eneer Company in 1900, with Mr. Dow as president, and Mr. Gorham as vice president. The company operated first in the west end of the city on the Big Four Railroad, but in 1906 purchased the Walker plant, remodeling it, and beginning operations in January of that year. Several additions have since been made to the plant. Mr. Dow was president until his death in April, igii, when Mr. Gorham succeeded him. M. C. Dow, Jr.. has been secretary-treasurer from the first. The lines manufactured by the Goshen \'eneer Company are built-up panels.

tops, and a full line of veneers ; in reality, everything that enters into the construction of furniture, shipments being marie in the white, and the parts assembled and finished in the furniture factory.

The Goshen Churn and Ladder Company was established and incorporated in October, 1901. Its brand is the "Famous" as applied to the manufacturers implied by the name. J. B. Hager has been president from the first.

The Banta Furniture Company succeeded the old Xash, Knox & Hubbell firm, after the disastrous fire which overtook the latter in March, 1901. The company erected new buildings and the original manufactory was placed in operation by the first of the year 1902. The first goods bearing the Banta stamp comprised a complete line of extension tables. In 1905 a large addition was made to the plant, and in 1907 still another; the latter, a two-story brick building, was made to accommodate the pronounced expansion in business produced by the broadening of the output in the production of complete dining room sets. In November, 1912, the company purchased the business and rights of the Ariel Wood Bed Company of Chicago, and after that enterprise was absorbed it was transferred to Goshen. The present plant of the Banta Furniture Company is five times its original size, and represents one of the leading industries of the city. Its officers are: H. F. Banta, president and general manager; J. F. Banta, vice president and secretary; F. W. Banta, treasurer and assistant manager.

The Western Rubber Company was organized in April, 1902, and manufactures a general line of rubber goods. Its officers are : B. F. Deahl, president; H. Oppenheim, vice president; and G. B. Slate secretary -treasurer.

hands and is the latest exposition of bagology ; for its large threestory brick factory not only turns out paper, cotton and burlap bags, but does all the printing to make them complete products. The Goshen concern is a branch of the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company and began operations in August, 1910. The sales headquarters are in Chicago. The burlap is imported from India, the company makes its own papers in its mills at Boston and Cleveland, and the cotton also comes direct from its mills in the South. J. D. Cramer is manager of the Goshen factory.

Among other manufacturing plants worthy of note may also be mentioned the Goshen Lightning Rod Company which, although it was not organized until 1909, is a leader of wide reputation in its specialty. It is said, in fact, to control the bulk of the business east of the Mississippi River. A. G. Hoovens is the active head of the enterprise, the machinery used in the plant being all specially made from his own designs.

The Lewis & Neville Manufacturing Company, of which R. O. Neville is president, is devoted to the fabrication of the oldfashioned line of horse-drawn \ehicles put out in the newestfashioned styles, and the Rock Run Mills manufacture wool and worsted union suits for men. W. L. Stephenson is the local manager.

Throughout the history of the local press runs a marked strain of conservatism and substantial ability. They have always fully met the demands of the public for reliable news and free discussion of the vital questions affecting the community. While progressive and uplifting forces they have shown the good sense to avoid setting a pace which they could not maintain. The result has been that, considering the fact that the history of the Goshen press extends over a period of almost eighty years, the number of unsuccessful ventures and changes in the journalistic field has been surprisingly few.

by Charles L. Murray, a younger printer and newspaper man, who had already established the Piqua (Ohio) Courier and boomed Harrison for the presidency. Anthony Defrees of Goshen and other citizens had heard of him and his energetic abilities, and induced him to come to their place, which was even then ambitious to become an incorporated town. Messrs. Murray and Defrees formed a partnership to found a Goshen newspaper of the whig order, and for that purpose went to Cincinnati and bought such an outfit as they could afford, shipi>ed it to Dayton by canal, and thence transported it in wagons to Fort \\'ayne and the county seat.

As stated, the first issue of the Express appeared in January, 1837. In the following May Mr. Defrees sold his interest to ]Mr. Murray, who continued as its editor until 1840, when President Harrison appointed him postmaster of Goshen and he relinquished all interest. in the Express. Thereafter, Mr. Murray engaged in agricultural pursuits and gradually became identified with the State Journal at Indianapolis. He continued to reside on his farm north of Goshen, served in both houses of the State Legislature, was an active figure in the Civil war, and several years after its close resumed his connection with the press. The Goshen Democrat, the South Bend Herald and several newspapers of New York and Chicago, welcomed his services, either as editor or contributor, up to the time of his death in South Bend, July 15, 1889. Mr. Murray was justly considered the pioneer journalist of Elkhart County and was a fine credit to his profession.

The Express survived with difficulty after Mr. JNIurray severed his connection with it in 1840, and the plant was finally mo\ed to Elkhart, and thence, in 1845, to Kosciusko County.

About eight months after the first appearance of the Express, the Goshen Democrat entered the local field as an exponent of Jacksonianism, as democracy was then called. In its Golden Anniversary issue of May 18, 1887, William A. Beane, who had then been identified with the paper since 1844. wrote as follows: "Today the Goshen Democrat enters upon its fiftieth year. A little history of its existence written from memory may be interesting to many of its readers and patrons. In the early part of 1837 '^h^ '^te Ebenezer Brown bought out an old office in Penn Yan, New York, and shipped it to Niles, Michigan, by water, and thence brought it to Goshen by wagons. Thomas H. Bassett, a brilliant but somewhat eccentric young man, was also brought here by Mr. Brown to take charge of the editorial department of the paper. It took eighteen months to complete the first volume of the paper, on account of the many difficulties it had to encounter for want of sufficient support. It ran along until about 1840, when the immortal Dr. E. W. H. Ellis, one of the brightest intellects of the day, came here from South Bend and was placed at its head. He remained with it until 1850, when he was appointed state auditor and moved to Indianapolis. About 1846 Col. M. S. Hascall was a partner with Doctor Ellis for a year or two. About 1849 ^^'- R- Ellis (also a partner) left here and went to South Bend, where he published an Abolition paper for awhile. In 1850 the office passed into the hands of Emerick & Bouton for a time, and from them to Hon. Robert Lowry, wdio 'controlled it up to 1858, when he sold it to Earle & Heath and finally to J. T. Bennet. From 1850 to 1873 it passed through the hands of several parties, the first being the present proprietor, then Beane & Osborne and W. A. Beane & Company, then back to Judge Lowry and to the present proprietor, to LaPorte, Heffner, Col. ;\I. S. Hascall, Murray & Beane, and lastly to W. A. Beane, who has been sole proprietor since 1878, and who has been intimately connected with it more years than any man living or dead. We commenced with it in 1844, and with the exception of a very few years have been with it ever since, a fraction forty-three years.

"Fifty years ago today we were living in Benton and wa.s eight years old and going to school to Old Dantrow, as everybody called the schoolmaster. The name teacher was not yet heard, in that neck of the woods at least. Several years later we commenced our career in the office. The older men around Benton at that time have all passed away, and the boys of that day are now men far advanced in life ; such men as John W. Irwin, R. D. and E. D. Irwin, David Darr, Ira and A. C. Jackson, the Weddells. the Longacres, the Butlers, the Kiblingers. Here in Goshen were W. A. Thomas, A. L. Hubbell, Milton Mercer, Joseph D. Knox, John L. Gary, H. W.

With the death of W. A. Beane in 1893, the Democrat passed under the control of his son, Joseph A. Beane, who had been connected with the practical work and management of the paper since 1880. From 1893 to 1897 Mr. Beane also held the postmastership of Goshen, and in December of the latter year established the Daily Democrat. Mr. Beane, who has been the editor and proprietor of the Democrat for twenty-three years, is serving his second term as postmaster.

The third paper to be founded at Goshen was the Times, which was established by E. W. Metcalf in 1855. Mr. Metcalf sold his interest to Dr. E. W. H. Ellis and C. W. Stevens, and in June, 1862, Messrs. Copeland and Cole became proprietors. In November, 1863, H. W. Smith succeeded Mr. Cole, and William M. Starr purchased the paper in 1867. A half interest was purchased by Dr. Henry J. Beyerle in 1877, who became sole owner upon Mr. Starr's retirement in 1880. Associated with him, in later years, were his two sons, A. R. and L. H. Beyerle, and finally the newspaper was transferred to Lincoln H. Beyerle. The Times first issued a daily in 1882, which suspended in a few weeks, but was revived August 17, 1886. In September, 1899, W. H. Ragan and W. S. Gard purchased the Times plant, Mr. Gard retiring in November, 1900. In the following year it was absorbed by the News Printing Company and the News-Times is the result.

The News Printing Company, which owns and conducts the consolidated publications, was incorporated in 1892, but the business originated in the establishment of the News, a decade previously. The story of its development up to the time of the News- Times consolidation is told in the historical edition of the Goshen Daily News, of April 15, 1901, from which the facts which follow are extracted.

The plant which formed the nucleus of the present large establishment had had quite a history prior to the time when the News was first issued. J. P. Prickett started the original paper in January, 1875, at Syracuse, Kosciusko Coimty. It was known as the Syracuse Enterprise, an eight column folio, and Thomas A. Starr was employed in its mechanical department. Within a few months the plant was moved to jMilford, same county, F. J. McAlpine having secured the ownership. At that time the name of the paper was changed to the Independent, and in 1876 George T. Ager and O. A. Rhine, both of Goshen, purchased the plant and moved it to that city, where it was continued under that name.

After four years spent in Ohio in the newspaper business, Mr. Starr returned to Goshen in 1882 and purchased the plant in which he had worked in previous years. He used the same old hand press, the same old type and furniture, that had done duty down at Syracuse, in preparing and issuing the first copy of the News. But soon a steam power press, new type and furniture, were installed, and within six months the circulation of the new paper showed a marked increase.

Coming from Hicksville, Ohio, in December, 1883, where he had disposed of his interest in the News of that place, Martin V. Starr, brother of the founder of the Goshen Weekly by that name, joined his abilities to those of Thomas A. Starr, and on the loth of the month named they jointly issued the first number of the Daily.

In 1884 the building at No. 207 South Main Street was erected, and with the business office a small stock of goods and stationery was installed. Within a short time the job printing establishment of Starr Brothers was purchased and embodied in the newspaper plant. In 1S86 an addition to the building was erected and a book bindery installed, and two years later a second addition was made.

News Printing Company Incorporated On April 8, 1892, the News Printing Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $20,000, and in 1894 the Mid-Weekly was

The main facts in the history of the News Printing Company since it purchased the Times in 1901, from the Beyerle Estate, and effected the consoHdation under the name of the News-Times, are as follows : The company occupied the building at No. 207 South Main Street until 191 1, when it moved across the street to No. 114 into a new modern building erected expressly for its use. On December 12, 1 914, a fire which broke out in the basement under the News Book Store caused a heavy loss, but, in rebuilding, a more modern newspaper plant and job printing office were installed than those previously in use. The book store itself was sold and moved elsewhere.

Thomas A. Starr disposed of his interest in the business in the late '90s and Martin \'. Starr was editor and manager of the News Printing Company for many years. George W. Kinnison has long been president of the company, and his son, O. AI. Kinnison, secretary, and editor-manager of the business and newspaper. Charles E. Gorham, the widely known manufacturer, is vice president.

The banks of Goshen have always been conservative, substantial and safe, and a bulwark to the healthful progress of its business and industries. That character seemed to have been fixed by that veteran of them all, the Salem Bank, which stood stanchly by its paper in the times when so many of the financial institutions of Indiana were finding it more convenient to repudiate their obligations. Besides the Salem Bank, in the order of their establishment, are the City National Bank, the State Bank of Goshen and the Elkhart County Trust Company.

In 1854 the Salem Bank was founded as a state institution at what is now Wakarusa (then Salem) by John Cook and Thomas G. Harris. They conducted it as a bank of issue until 1863, when it w^as taxed out of existence, as such, and relinquished its charter. In that year its business was transferred to Goshen and it transacted business as a private institution, under Mr. Cook, for the succeeding two years, the location being on the site of the present Masonic Temple. In 1865, John W. Irwin, the well known lawyer and public man, formed a partnership with Gen. Mile S. Hascall in the purchase of the business and good will of the Salem Bank from John Cook. That act accomplished, ^Mr. Cook soon afterward moved to New York, where he was engaged for about a year in the flour commission business; he then settled at Elkhart and became identified with the First National Bank of that city.

In 1866 Irwin & Hascall, the new proprietors, moved the Salem Bank of Goshen to the location it has since occupied on the south side of the public square. It was at that time that Frank A. Hascall, brother of the general, and cashier these many years, became identified with the steady progress of the bank, and he has since been one of its stanchest pillars. John H. Lesh was for a time associated with Irwin & Hascall in the management of the bank, as in the manufacture of hardwood lumber. In 1890 General Hascall withdrew his interest in the bank and took up his residence in Chicago, and for some years after Air. Irwin's death in 1898 it was conducted by the estate of the deceased, under the direct management of his son, Frank J. Irwin. Anthony Deahl is now president of the bank, and Frank A. Hascall has been its cashier for half a century.

This institution, organized in Septemlier, 1S72, is the only national bank in Goshen and has always been in that class. It is the city, county and township repository and also the United States depository for postal savings. The City National Bank was organized with a capital of $50,000, FI. H. Hitchcock being its first president. He was succeeded by Dr. A. C. Jackson, J. H. Defrees, A. L. Hubbell. J. AI. Latta, W. Jack Latta, F. G. Hubbell (son of A. L.), D. A. Sanders and I. O. Wood. In 1884 the capital of the bank was increased from $50,000 to $77,000 and, in 1902, to $100,000 at which it still stands. Its surplus amounts to $50,000 and its undivided profits to $10,000; assets, $650,000, and average deposits, $360,000. The City National has had only four cashiers : Ira Nash and T. H. Daily previous to 1884; Charles J. Garvin, from

The bank above named had its origin in the Farmers & Citizens Bank, organized in 1874. It was owned and operated by William A. Thomas, president, and LaPorte Heefner, cashier. In 1892 it was incorporated as a state bank under its present name, since which its presidents have been LaPorte Heefner, Charles W. Miller, Frank P. Abbott and Harris Oppenheim. David W. Neidig has continued as cashier during its entire period as a state institution. The capital stock of the State Bank of Goshen is $80,000, its surplus $10,750, and average deposits, $275,000.

This was first organized as the Elkhart County Loan & Trust Company at a meeting of stockholders held in April, 1900. They elected directors, who, in turn, named the following officers: Charles W. Miller, president; I. O. Wood, first vice president; Lou W. Vail, second vice president ; D. W. Xeidig, secretary and treasurer. Articles of incorporation were filed the same month. In May, 1903, T. A. Davis was elected secretary and treasurer to succeed Mr. Neidig. For the first six years the company was located in the State Bank, but in May, 1906, purchased the Charnley Corner, at Main and Lincoln streets, and remodeled the building for its purposes. In the meantime the capital of the company had been increased from $50,000 to $75,000, and in April its name had been changed to its present style. In ;>.Iay, a few days after the purchase of its separate quarters, new officers were elected as follows: Charles W. Miller, president; Lou W. Vail, first vice president: I. O. Wood, second vice president; Daniel \l. Bechtel, secretary and treasurer. Mr. \'ail was elected president in 1909 and P. R. Judkins in 19 12, with Charles A. Pooley as secretary and treasurer. Upon the death of Mr. Judkins in April, 1914, Haines Egbert, the present incumbent, was elected president, and Mr. Pooley continues as secretary and treasurer. In 1914 the rooms of the company were enlarged and otherwise improved to care for the steady growth of its business. Besides doing a commercial banking business, the company conducts savings, trust, investment and loan departments. Its surplus is now $29,500; its loans amount to $469,000 and deposits to $627,000.