Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 3, 1917 (part 2 of 3)

Topography Of The White Water Country

A study of the topography of the White river country, stretching down through central Indiana, will reveal the connection it had with our own neighborhood - the valley of the west fork of the White Water - for the Delaware Indians. In highlands and hilly countr}-, a small distance sometimes measures all the interval between the basins of two rivers whose courses are in opposite directions. The small streams of our valley, when traveled to their beginnings, are found in territory that is identical with that where other brooks, coursing leisurely in search of their geographical destiny, are directed oppositely, and form the White river, which flows westwardly through the state and empties into the Wabash near Vincennes. The region referred to as the common source of both rivers contains the highest altitude in Indiana, viz., about 1,200 feet above sea level. (Near the northwest corner of Fayette county, at the town of Bentonville, it is 1,060 feet; and in Connersville, at courthouse square, it is 840 feet.) A map reveals the close connection which exists between the two sections of country when creeks and rivers are used for travel. The Delaware Indians had been in touch with borderland white folks now for more than a hundred years, and had accustomed themselves to fixed habitations, using the surrounding country for hunting expeditions. In this way a familiarity arose with the region the White river drains. Their site northwest of here, on the White river, was well established and contained buildings for use the year around, but temporary camps and hunting centers are found in all the adjacent territory. In this way, the site Connersville occupies, as also the west bank of the river for several miles north, became a favorite point for them, for it is an easy step from the Lick creek channel, near Harrisburg, and the country beyond, being merely a coming down into the lowlands from the higher ground of that locality.

Paths Converge At Conner.Sville

But e\ents transpire rapidly in the years treated of, and soon an important incentive for coining directly to Connersville's site arises for them. Their various paths are now made to converge to the immediate point where Connersville stands, because here exists the best opportunity for exchange and barter. For some time past it was a point on the main trail, from the country to the northwest, down to John Conner's trading post, near the mouth of Big Cedar creek, but now the post is brought up here. Conner had been in the lower valley, near Cedar Grove, for several years, and his place was a center of great activity. The site at Big Cedar creek is somewhat eastward, besides lower down the valley than Brookville, and consequently nearer to Cincinnati. The year of 1805 sees John Conner aiding Governor Harrison of Indiana Territory as interpreter at the treaty of Grouseland (the section of country below Brookville), and after its completion he resumes his operations at Cedar Grove, l^ecause that point is tlie key to the route up the valley to Brookville, Connersville," and on to the northwest to the upper channel of Lick creek, and then southeast across the highlands to the small streams that led to the Indian settlements of the White river. There is a tradition in one of the old families of Brookville. which is told by Edgar R. Quick of that locality, relating to the change of base undertaken by Conner. At a log schoolhouse, on the road from Cedar Grove to Brookville, the grandfather of Mr. Quick, as a youth, was playing at ball with com])anions, when up the road came John Conner with a band of faithful Indians, all carrying ]iacks. Mo\-ing vans were an unknown convenience for obvious reasons. The properties were bundled and each individual carried according to strength. The fact that John Conner was moving his post up the valley is what the incident helps to confirm, for a halt was made and the Indians indulged in the pleasure of playing with the ball, much to the amusement of the toys, who looked upon the intrusion as a unique distinction for themselves. The stop was of sufficient duration to make it clearly known that it was John Conner, the Indian trader, and that he was moving his post to a new location up the valley. The probable age of Mr. Quick's ancestor, at the time of the experience, harmonizes with the general details of the testimony furnished by the Simpsons, an old-time family living several miles east of Connersville. The following recital of their tradition is taken from the general history of Fayette county:

Thomas Simpson, now ii resident of the county, aged eight.v-four (in 18S5), with a clear memory and vivid recollection of the past, is authority for saying that John Conner had his trading post here at Connereville in the year of ISOS. Mr. Simpson's father was througli the county at that time and found Conner here.

In lSO8-lS0t» Tliimias Simpson. Sr., a native of Maryland, was employed .-is hunter to. and accompanied, the surveying party, while they were engaged in surveying the lands of the Twelve Mile Purchase, at which time he traversed the territory of the county throughout, and in the month of December. 1809, removed Ills family to a cabiu house, which had previously been erected for the surveying party, and stood in what is now the northeastern part of Jennings township.

The exact location here given is far enough eastward to make it very close to the old boundary of 1795, and this adds to the plausibility of a surveying party being inside of the limits of the new purchase, so close to the date of the treaty (September 30, 1809). As the surveying was thoroughly done in preparation for the sale of lands by sections and quarter sections, it is very probable that the elder Simpson was fully cognizant of the facts preserved in his family.

Conner Clings To Frontier

'Ilie disposition of John Conner to maintain himself at the outpost of civilization in the direction of the Indians' homes - of preserving for himself a premiership in the frontier as trader - is well known, and his coming up here, in 1808, was clearly dictated by this ambition, and the denser population now filling- the country below Brookville. His life, at least for a few days to come, was still to be of the wilder sort. He preferred the open for his operations, and his choice was forestalling- white emigration in the regions toward which it tended. Governor Harrison attempted to include the scoi>e of the west valley of the White Water in the treaty of 1805, "but in consequence of some of the chiefs refusing to sign it upon other terms, the article relating to it was expunged." (Dawson, p. 135.) John Conner was a participator in this effort, as Delaware interpreter, and its failure cannot be dissociated witb. his sul)se(|uent move. Up the \'alle\' he transports the post into the heart of the territory involved, where several years of unchal- leiiged iinixirtance is in store for it. This neighborhoixl diil not lx.'coine government lands nntii the year later (uScx;); and even beyond that date, for several years, lamls are not in readiness for entry, during all of whieli time Conner's Post is the one point toward which all interests gravitate. Hunting and prospecting were indulged in by whites to the south and east, but strictly speaking it was the redman's domain until land was duly entered at the land office at Cincinnati. The name of John Conner appears in the purchase of portions of two separate sections, in 1812. But that he was without legal status previous to the land distribution of 181 1, is taking ,in imperfect view of the case, for his services as trader and interpreter indicates that Connersville's founder was ably an instrument in the hands of the territorial authorities in the furtherance of their work. In the first years of Governor Harrison's, office, he found the influence of British trading posts, auxiliary to Detroit, quite vexatious. He wrote f)f it to his superior officer at Washington, in 1802, as follows:

In iirdci- the licfliT In tiiid imt wlint is goiug i'or\v:inl .iniciijn Ihe liidiinis. I li:nc eiiiliMvor^il to atliKli some of the best . intoriued tradeis to our interest; Jbut,. generally speaking, they are nnprincipled men, juui entirely devoted to the British, by whom they iire sui)i)lied with all their good.s. Could this be otherwise - <'ould the valuable skin and fur trade which our territory supplies he diverted to the ports of- the t'nited State.s,. instead of Canada, it wotild not only give a handsome emolument to our merchants, and increase our revenue by the additional consumption of imported goods, but it would also confirm the dependence of the Indians upon us. The princip:il objections nijide by the tr.iders to whom I have recommended the carrying of their furs and peltry, to the ports of the United States, is. that there are none of our merchants whit make the importation of Indian goods or purchase of furs and peltry their business, and of course they are not always certain of making sale of their commodities, or of obtaining in return goods suitable for their purpose; both of which they are sure of when they go to the British mereh;ints. who are exclusively employed in this kind of traffic

New Sites Higher Up

It will be noted that the >ear this polic\- was inaugurated is followed with the appearance of John Conner in the lower portion of tlie White Water valley. And that to protect his operations, he selects new sites higher ti]> when white settlements come nigh. His name is associated with Brook\ille a year or two earlier than Connersville, but still earlier with Cedar Grove. Both stores are known in the traditions of those two places (Cedar Grove and Brookville) as "the French store."' owing, no doubt, to the nationality of the custodian left in charge by Conner. The name of "Pilkey" is connected also with the store of Brof)kville. Sometimes it is met with ;is

"Conner and Pilkey." As this name is also found in Connersville records in "Pilkey's Donation Strip" - one of several land donations to secure the county seat - it is worth noting how much at fault the early settlers could be with French proper names, for their benefactor's name, in fact, was Michael Peltier, and under this form of spelling it is clearly French. Noah Beaucamp is another French proper name belonging to the first stages of Connersville history, but, except in the matter of land transfers, it can not be associated with the activities of the time.

One other link in the chain of evidence holding our valley a primitive path, and explaining how it grew into a recognized route to the marts of civilization, is found in certain traditions of the county to which Noblesville belongs. The importance of The Trail to them, and, inferentially, the high character of our position in the development of early activities in central Indiana, will be seen by the statements of Augustus Finch Shirts, in "Primitive History of Hamilton County."

He I William Oounerl was :\{ the time living in a double log cabin with bis Indian wife. This cabin was situate four miles south of the present site of Noblesville, on the east bank of White river. His place was called a trading post. In one room of his cabin he kept beads. lead. Hints, steel knives, hatchets and such other goods and trinkets as were usually necessary in such a place. These articles he exchanged for pelts taken from the Indians and brought to him for trade.

Jlr. Conner had a lirother named .Tohn Conner, then living on or near the present site of Connersville. This brother was the proprietor of a trading post at that point. * * * .lohn Conner received his supplies from points along the Ohio river and William ('(inner received his supplies from his brother .lohn.

The furs jiun-hased by William Conner from the Indians were dressed, stretched, and ]iarked in proper form and sent Iiy him b.v means of pack horses to his brother, and in like manner the goods furnished William by his brother John were transjiorted from John Conner's post to W'illiam Conner's post. At that time there was no ro.ad leading from this |ioint in any direction. There was an Indian trail leading from the Jolni ('(innfr Ir.-iding [lOst to William Conner's place by \yay of the present site of New Castlo .md .\nderson to the mouth of Stony creek, thence down the river to William Conner's jilace. This was the route o\ev which the supjilies mentioned were transported.

My f.ither. George Shirts, moved his f.-imily from the present site of Conuer.sville on p.ick horses, to William Conner's place in the month of March, 1819. My father made a Iriii from the William Conner place on horseback to the John Conner trading post .'it Comiersville. On his return trip to this count.v he was .ioiued by Charles I^acy,

On the first day of April. LSI!). .Solomon Finch, his wife. Sarah, his daughters, Itebeccah, Mary and Alma, and his sons, James and Augustus then living near the present site of Connersville. left their home for the Horseshoe Prairie, two miles .southwest of Xoblesville. Their route was over the Indian trail siwken of above. * * * Wagons and teams were useil : to these wagons two yoke of oxen were attaohe<l. - * * Solomon Finch and one or two of the men with him were constantly, when moving, in front of the team, axes in hand, cutting out .-i road and removing logs and brush.

First Attkmpt To Make Wagon Road

'Ilie year i8n), conse(|iieml\ , saw the fir.st attempt tu make a wagon road of what had been the recognized path through the woods for some years. That it had been a route to civiHzation - to the Ohio river points of commerce - for the Delaware Indians, in their newer sites at the headwaters of the White river, froin the beginning, seems evident, for the Conner brothers were of a family that was an old-time friend of this division of the aborigines. The father, Richard Conner, shared the fortunes of these children of forests in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and settled in the Detroit neighborhood with them as early as 1781 (Zeisberger Diary, p. 76), which place became his home, and because of his occupancy of the land was allotted title to it, at the close of the War of Independence. The close connection of the Conner family with the Delaware Indians is well known, and that either or both of the brothers, Jdhn and William Conner, operated in the White Water valley, is itself an e\idence of the use those Indians made of it.

Of the conditions under which the Delawares lived. Governor Harrison's first official communication contains another reference, which in its irrferences, has no doubt a connection with the to])ic here treated.

The Delawares are ni.-ikin^' one other altenipt .-it becoming agricultui-.-ilists - they are forming settlements U|ion the White river, a branch of the Wabash, under the conduct of two missionaries of the Society of the United Brethren for the propagation of the gospel among the heathens - otherwise called Moravians. To assist them in this pl.-in. the chiefs desire that one-half of the next annuity may be laid out in implements of agriculture, and in the imrchnse of some domestic animals, as Cows and hogs.

One other topic reported on in Governor Harrison's communication of July 15, 1801, will be of interest, especially as it has been quite generally overlooked in our pioneer literature. That Governor Harrison knew human nature and could judge character is without question; consequently, the

.Some weeks ago, I received a letter from tbe imymaster-general of the army, written, as he said, by your direction, retiuesling to loiow whether the .services of Mr. Rivet, Roman Catholic priest, of this place, and Indian missionary, could not he dispensed with. If it continues to lie the intention of the government to --ittempt the conversion of the Indians, the employment of missionaries like .Air. Rivet will be found one of the best means which can be employed for the accompli-shment of this oh.1eet. People of this description can he procured ,it much less expense than any other: and they certainly will be attended to by the Indians, much more than .any other that could be emi)loyed. At any rate the services of Jtr. Rivet have been, and still continue to be, equal to the .sm.iU sum allowed him. Tlie Indians in this quarter venerate tlie old French government formerly established here, and it would excite the most disagreeable feelings amongst them to have the only one of that nation removetl who is allowed to speak to them. Mr. Rivet is. indeed, constant in his exertions to diffuse principles of sobriety and .iustice amongst the Indians, .md to cause them to respect the authority of the t'nited States.

Cincinnati As A Supply Station

Although their location was on a tributary of the Wabash river, and the seat of territorial government was at Vincennes, still Cincinnati, because of its location on the Ohio river, served as a supply station for both sections, including Vincennes. The Moravian missionaries used the White Water valley for reaching the new missions; and this seemingly confirms the fact of the prior use the Indians themselves made of the valley. William Conner is known to have teen at Noblesville in 1802, and John Conner was at Big Cedar creek - only thirty-five miles from Cincinnati - earlier than 1804. Consequently, the known facts establish the intimate character of the \Vhite W'ater A-alley"s use, for all who had to do with Indians on the White river ; and it is not unlikely that the government assistance furnished the Delawares in 1802, trailed its way over this route. A treaty with the Indians, in 1804, brings additional opportunities for usefulness to it, if the Delawares are to be provided with the following beneficences of that treaty:

The United States to cause to he delivered to them | l)ehiw;ircs|, in the conrse of the following spring, horses fit for draught, cattle, bogs and implenienis of bnsliandry to the amount of four hundred dollars.

That the Indians had a variety of recjuirements which called for a draft on civilization's superior store house, is to be expected; but how quaint is the touch of human nature in certain needs to which the governor, at this time, saw fit to give his official sanction.

Althoiigfi the physical evidences nt The 'itail are vefv tmich effaced, and clear traces of it are hardly discernihle imw. still, here and there vestijjes can he tmind in ancient landmarks and other local conditions. .\nKjno' theni is the present waiion road t'roni Cedar Cirove to lirookville. Withont attemptinj^- a delineation of what there is helow that point - on towards Cincinnati - it is very ])lain that the road which comes up from Cedar Grove, and which crosses the East Fork at Brookville. is the one that John Conner followed. There may have been changes since his time, but generally si)eaking. it follows the old path. Where it crosses the East Fork, the bridge below Brookville, the older main entrance into the town is along the jiresent road to the right, the one leading up towards the Catholic church. The present Mill street is nearbw and the hrst grist-mill and saw-mill were not far distant. Up still further is an ancient gTa\Tyard, and this location contains also the site of the old French store - the store which has associated with its memor\- the names of Michael Pilkey, Charles Teiler and John Conner, Their business location antedates the arrival of Amos Butler, the first white settler, in 1804: and i)erhaps helps to explain the latter"s selection for the site of the new town the f(jllowing summer. All of these local monuments are in line with the road beyond, .along the F,ast h'ork, to Fairfield. And the use of this road toward l'';iirfield is connected with ;ill eai'liest traditions of Brookville. In fact, viewing the location generally, the physical properties tif the route, the direction it takes, its altitude, all signs jxiint to it as the natural selection for reaching the Indian settlements to the northwest, on the W^hite river.

The early settlements along the luist Fork, especially the Carcjlina settlement near I'airfield. in 1804, give them also an important place in the development of the theme under consideration. The locality is within the older government lands, and the date is several years prior to the Twelve Mile Purchase, 180Q. which opened u]) the lands between the two forks of the White Water. It is occupied as early as Brookville itself, and the ques-

Presence Of French Traders

The subject seems to have never been considered in this light before, but the account of Fairfield township, in the Franklin county history, contains one item which may be found helpful to reach a conclusion. It relates to the winter following the arrival of the advance party of the Carolina emigrants, who were temporarily domiciled near Harrison, Ohio. Several cabins had ))een erected, but not occupied as yet by the families for whom they were l)uilt. It reads as follows: "During the winter of 1804-5. '^'''^ Indians occupied the cabin of Robert Templeton. During their tenancy, an Indian woman died and the Indians were about to bury her in the cabin floor, but were prevented by French traders who were passing near."

French traders were passing! The point at which they were passing is close to the Indian boundary (of 1795) ; it is the latest of the advances made by white settlers: it is close to the river, and across the stream, not very far above, comes a creek from the northwest - one which drains the highlands separating the two valleys of the White Water. This creek is named Eli creek after a member of the first colony of settlers. As to why French traders were passing near the Templeton cabin, below Fairfield, in the winter of 1804-5, easily be associated with the conditions just described; for, to say the least, it presents an alluring spectacle to one looking for evidences of The Trail which led to the Delaware towns, and it off'ers a promising channel in which to search for traces of this primitive route.

There are no traditions extant favoring any other route. The bed of the West Fork, lietween Brookville and Connersville, is cjuite circuitous. It was used, no doubt, by Indians for fishing and hunting; and in this sense there was an Indian trail down t!ie West Fork to Brookville. But John Conner's career shows prominently a capacity for direct methods, where an accomplishment is aimed at; and his transporting merchandise or losing time in reaching his destination by following the West Fork's meanderings is altogether improbable. The Indians would act similarly, for the whole countr)- was well known to them at this time. There is no argument in favor of the present Brookville-Connersville pike, which passes through Everton and Bloomingrove, for it is clearly a surveyed road and was made after the lands were entered 1>}' the whites. The prohal)iHties are all in favor of The Trail passing over to the East Fork before entering Brookville.

Was Eli creek the [loint of departure, when leaving the luist Fork, for the northwest? The reasons for assuming that it was may be summarized as follows:

Second : The presence of some settlers in the Eli creek neighborhood, as early as the date of Conner's first connection with AMnite Water valley history, makes this creek the closest approach for him to Connersville.

Third: The fact that the three-counties map (Fayette, Union and Franklin), made a half century ago with painstaking care, shows portions of a direct road from Eli creek to Connersville ; and additionally, that the missing portions of this direct road can be connected up, by traditions of an early path (never converted into a township road) along Crandel creek, which is a northwest arm of Eli creek, and then across the original Adam Pigman farm, where the existing township road (from Ouakertown) for a short distance coincides with the line to Connersville, lends color to the theory of its use for reaching Connersville in primitive times.

Fourth : That this line from Eli creek, along Crandel creek, then across the Pigman farm, next following a portion of the existing township road (from Ouakertown), and tlieii. as is slil1 rcniemliered bv many, angling across the old Samuel Harlan farm, direct for the Sparks-Stoops' neighborhood and for the ford of the West I'ork at Connersville (near Roots' foundry), does correspond in its general direction with The Trail beyond Connersville toward the northwest along Lick creek to New Castle and Anderson, is an incident tlie historical significance of which cannot be overlooked in considering the question of the direction taken bv The Trail originally when it left Connersville for the lower portions of the vallev. The described route below Connersville is merely an extension of the route above it.

Fifth: There is a close relationshi]) and similarity of general traits in the first settlers of the stretch of country descrilied between Fairfield and Connersville. indicating that in their choice of location, immigrants followed a common route.

William Abernathy was a pioneer of the Fairrteld neighborhood, who came with, the Carolina colony and lived there till his death in 1888. In the Liberty Herald recently, in an interesting sketch, Theodore L. Dickerson, of Brookville, writes:

Captain Noble, of Brookville, presented .Vliernath}- with a sword for his services, which is preserved in the Dickerson collection of pioneer relics at Brookville.

The incident of Captain Abernath)'s expedition establishes the fact that the P'airfield neighborhood at that time was a home for volunteer militiamen, and that Conner's Post was an out-station from which to start for Blue ki\-er Iinlian settlements. .\ corollary is, that there was .some known route between the two points. But as the time antedates the settlement of the intervening country by the whites, it could only be The Trail that was followed, and that Conner's Post was merely one station further out upon it than their own locality.

War Clouds Begin To Lower

The summer of 1810, to which this military service of Captain Abernathy belongs, was not without a warlike sky in the territory of Indiana. The prime cause oi the trouble was the growing hostility of Tecumseh, an Indian of exceptional powers of strategy and cunning. He was engaged collecting the disafifected members of every Indian tribe within his influence ; and not a few facts were known to the territorial officers showing the purpose of the Indians, and also the effects of British aid froiu Detroit, ^^'ar was clearly inevitalile if their conduct remained unabated. As early as the year 1808, John Conner was the messenger sent by Governor Harrison, with a letter couched in the strongest terms, to bring home to the Indians a realization of the trend of the path they had taken up. But what the efifect of the letter was can be judged by the following reply which The Prophet, Tecumseh's brother, asked Conner to write down in the English language and take back to the governor ;

Fatlfer - I am veiy sorry that you listen to the advice of bad birds - you have impeaclied me with having porrespondence with the British; and with calling and sending

To know something of the minor det;iils of The Trail at the point which was Conner's J^ost, or h'ort Conner, and which is now Connersville, would he interestino- ti> many persons at the present time. lUit the whole suhject seems to ha\e heen lightly appraised liy the rus^ged pioneers who were engrossed with the hardships surrounding them and they left little data concerning it. Consequently the suhject is poorl\- illuminated hy any present-day source of information.

A study of the physical aspect and general surroundings of the location given to the new town, in 1813, hy Conner, will perhaps he useful in hringing light to the subject. I'lie early topography is still ascertainable to a great extent: and if the few detacliecl facts, that have escaped the general oblivion into which the subject has fallen, be coupled with a careful study of this phase of the question, some sort of order will unfold itself, and the vague tradition about The Trail coming down from the hill, northwest of Conner.sville, that it passed through the town and crossed the river at the foot of \'\'ater street, will become instantl\- clear and more definite.

It may be well at this time to fit t<»gether these isolated facts, for the possibility of doing so is rapidly passing, and leave to the futiu"e a ct)nnected view of Connersville's ancient lineage. The main fact that The Trail was here, and that "Conner's Post" was a name hy which the ])lace was known for a number of years, is unquestioned, lint can we follow Phe Trail exactly ; and where was the post ?

The first aid in deciphering these (|uestions no doubt is the original ]>lat of Connersville, which occupies a small stretch of territory on a bluff of the west bank of the river abo\-e the ford and lielow Sixth street. The line of the bank Ijelow Fourth street furnishes the base line upon which to lay out the long streets of the town. A few years later, in 1819, Conner laid off some additional lots known as "Conner's North Addition," which extended above Sixth street. In making a sketch of this new addition, the first county surveyor, Thomas Hinkston, shows Eastern avenue narrowed down to the west half of the street near Seventh street. The river bank encroached to that e.xtent on the ground needed to extend Eastern avenue northward. It can still lie noticed at East Sixth street that the river bank makes a sharp turn westward. This condition was much more apparent only a few years ago : and, originally, it terminated in a deep ravine at Seventh street, where there was a natural watershed coming down from the we.st. Above Seventh street, say, two hundred feet or more, it turned eastward again. This change of the direction of high ground was so sharp above Eighth street that half wa}- between it and Ninth street the original bank of

Charles street coincides with the hij,di part of tliis 1)ank since the place was made part of Conners\ille in 1866. In this locality, that is two squares east from Eastern a\enue, or, more exactly still, just beyond the mirror works' buildings, John Conner established a saw-mill in the very earliest days of the town's history. Tt was a crude prototype, this attempt at forestalling the achievements in the world of industry for which the new town was destined. P>ut a close study of the location of this early enterprise, and its associated activities, will unco\er much of the histor\- that is seemingly lost of Connersville's beginning. There are still evidences of the location of the saw-mill in the bottom lands belonging to the mirror works, for it was continued in an enlarged state by others who followed Conner, until about the year 1865, when it fell into disuse and was largely forgotten by the general public. There are some documentary references to this mill site, besides a pioneer story, which are illuminating.

I cMiiie to the v.-illcy iif Wliifewjiter in the sprins; of ISKi. niiil enrly in thi' siinimer of that year. I ri.'sited Coiinersville. A snuill tract of lanrt had heen hiirt ofT hy .Tohn Conner into town lots, which lay alons the river bank, on Water street and along .Main street, and a few log c.aliins had heen erected. The most of the land, which comprises the present site of the town, was then a forest. Iii traveling up the river to the place, there was now and then a small opening to lie seen, with an inhabited log cabin on it. .Tohn Conner, after whom the town is named, .and who owned the land on wliicli it staiiils. h:id Imilt a mill .inst above the town.

In the traditions of the Claypool family is preserved an incident, which the late Austin B. Claypool was fond of relating, and it gave both local color and a definite date for a transaction at this saw-mill. Xew'ton Claypool, who was the father of .\ustin R. Clay])Ool. decided on Connersvillc for his futm-e residence, and in i(Si,S arri\cil licre with liis l)ri(le from l\(iss ci>unt\-. Oliio. As tliere was no Imuse for them, he decided to build one. .\nd as the onl) a\ailable source from which to obtain the needed hmiber was the saw-mill. a]>]ilication was made there, with the result, however, of l)eing told that no more business could be accepted, since the capacity of the mill was taxed to the utmost. Rut soiuething liad to be done, and the elder Claypool fell in with the plan suggested by Conner of using the mill for himself after sundown, and get out what lumlier he could by moonlight.

Many forms of activity centered in this particular spot in the early years. There was a saw-mill, a grist-mill, a distillery, and later a porkjjacking establishmenl, l^esides a cooper shop or two. It was truly the cradle of Connersville's industries, and it is not a little singular that its history should have been so completely lost to most people. Conwell's old mill on Eastern avenue, the ruins of which are still to be seen, is the successor of the earlier one further up the mill race, but it also loelongs now to the lost activities of Connersviile. There was a period of nearly fifty years in which the head race of the new mill - the one built in 1849 o" Eastern avenue - and the site of the old saw-mill established by Conner were allowed to fall into complete disuse, and the neglect of them was so pr(3found that a tangled mass of undergrowth grew up, through which venturesome boys roamed in later davs with the dread of the dangers incident to wild and unpeopled regi(jns. There are many grown persons, the \Ariter among others, who indulged \'(juth's imager}- about Indian hunts, and wild beasts and reptiles and adventures of many sorts, in this small tract of unused land, where life's conventional action was gone out, and the sleep was so long that nature again made it truly a wild country. But it is now restored to its rightful heritage by the presence of the mirror works; and the site of John Conner's first industrv will be marked with one monument at least; the tender mercies of an owner who appreciates the importance it once held in the period of time that led up to the o])eiiing of the White Water valley, no less than the important place it holds in the memory of times when even Indianapolis residents were dependent upon this locality for some of the necessities of life. It is part of the histor}- of that city that going to mill for grist meant coming here; and that, for the first marriage at Indianapolis, the license was procured at Connersviile.

The trip to Connersviile to procure the marriage license for the first marriage at Indianapolis was made directly across the country, Indianapolis to Connersviile. The route was known because George Pogue and John A'lcCormick, two Fayette county i)ioneers, who first settled in Columbia township, made their way across the Mat Rock countr\- and Rush county when Indianapolis was first located, in the year of 1820. Pogue. who lived here between the vears of 1816-1820, was a contributor to the fund that made Connersviile the county seat of Fayette county, and his companion in the first trip to Indianapolis liy the new route was an ancestor of the AlcCormick family still having representatives in Connersviile.

1813, John Conner's trading place: 1820, Absalom Bnrkham; 1821-^24 Sample's Inn also postoffice: 1S.54, length added to and remodeled by George Heinemann. Fiont halt of building is "Sample's Inn" of the early days.

Of the group of industries which John Conner established at this point, the saw-mill and grist-mill were close together, and the wisdom of the selec- . tion of their site can even \et be discerned. There is a straight line of bank northwardly (above and below the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western railway), but a sharp curve westwardly existed where the new city waterworks are located and at this point, the water was collected to start the head race for the two mills. On the high ground nearby, say fifty feet north of the office of the mirror works, Conner built himself a two-story frame home, of some pretensions, from the lumber produced at the mill. There has been no exact date found for the erection of this building, but it doubtlessly belongs to the period that expresses the prosperous days of its owner. He had been active for a dozen years or more, under the varying conditions of frontier life, and <inl\ lately the exciting times of the War of 1812-1814 had ceased, h'or him. the more profitable, if less heroic, occupations of civil life were unfolding. He was the first sheriff of the newly-made county of Fayette, and his Connersville venture - the founding of the town - was progressing satisfactorily. And to add to his social prospects - a something not unrelated to fine dwellings - about this time he married Lavina Winship, daughter of a respectable family, living at Cedar (irove. He was made a state senator in 1816. In his capacity of senator he served on the committee that selected the site of the state's new capital, the present city of Indianapolis. But while the location of Conner's saw-mill and grist-mill and frame-built residence, as described, are well enough known, it remains to be noted that, at a point somewhere above Eighth street, near the west end of Charles street, and exactly in the middle of Eastern avenue, there was a large-sized log house, in the first days of Connersville, which is unaccounted for or ignored in all the traditions or written reminiscences of the town. There are few now who know of it at all. It disappeared quite early, for the reason, no doubt, that it was an obstruction to the street. But what it was and how it came to be there is an interesting question. It is certain that those who were acquainted with its history have left no records. It was more than an ordinary cabin. It is described as a good-sized log house with at least two rooms and perhaps three of them, besides a loft overhead. It was an old house, in appearance, as remembered by those who knew local conditions as early as 1830, and it faced riverwards - to the southeast. It occupied a jjoint on the highest level after coming up from the '.9) ravine at Seventh street; and besides, its original occupant must have been a person of large views and foresight and means, for a considerable apple orchard survived on the grounds, which fact is quite generally known, for, as late as the fifties, some old apple trees still existed there, especially on George Brown's present lot nearby.

The position is simply the western portion of the high ground that ran eastwardly, as far as Fayette street. The natural waterpower, it would seem, was found at the latter point when the saw-mill stage was reached in the affairs of those who lived here. The log house was far enough westward to allow a southern course to cross the ravine at Seventh street, without leaving the line of Eastern avenue, conseciuently, a path from it might make for the ford on the south end of Water street by following Eastern avenue a short distance, then across the public sf|uare (the Fifth street school site) for Water street below Fourth.

Probable Site Of Conner'.S Post

There were three other log houses along the lower part of the route indicated, which together constituted the oldest portion of Connersville. They are closely connected with the subject now treated and will be referred to again later. Hawkins Hackleman, who lived just west of Elephant Hill, until his death a few years ago, came through Connersville with his parents in 181 5, when he was five years old. The character of the surroundings at that time left a clear impression on his youthful mind; and his statement is tliat Connersville consisted of the block-house and tliree or four log cabins.

The log house in the middle of Eastern avenue was not, howe\er, within the limits of either of the quarter sections of land first entered by Conner at the land sales at Cincinnati, although it was very close to one of them. Yet this is not inconsistent with the theory that thevhouse described might be his old home. It could be explained by the uncertainties and confusion prevalent at public land allotments - with always a possibility of misreading the field notes of surveyors in new sections of a country ; or, again, by an enforced absence of Conner on account of duties elsewhere. John Conner retained close relationship with the Delaware Indians, and in the summer of 181 1, when the land of the Twelve Mile Purchase was opened for settlers, he was occupied with these duties, in the campaign inaugurated by Governor Harrison against the Indians under Tecumseh and The Prophet. But Conner, by purchase, soon put himself in possession of the adjoining quarter section of land upon which this house was actually situated. Its ck)seness to the scenes of Conner's known activities in Connersville. its evident priority and age, and the clear distinction of comparative size and equipment, besides nearness to a large spring, at the bottom of the hill, which still exists back of Convvell's mill site f)n Eastern avenue, gives it every earmark of being the first home of one whose footprints lead up to its door, the first site in fact of the founder of Connersville. No doubt, could the past be made to speak, this log house would be designated "Conner's Post," and around it would be woven many a tale of the interesting experiences of the days vvhich preceded the year of 1813, when it was the center of the activities of John Conner and his faithful band of Indians who left Cedar Grove in 1808.

Crisis In Indian Affairs

The first land entries near Connersville were made in October of 181 1. At this time the crisis had .teen reached in the affairs of the Indians under Tecumseh ; and Governor Harrison was determined to break up the confederacy. .\s early as July of that year, the famous council took place at \^incennes, in vvhich Tecumseh was surrounded by three hundred of his warriors ; and on account of his insolence and the apparent plan to do as much mischief as possible, a forward movement, with the militia and regulars at the command of the Governor, was put on foot against the Indian settlements on the W'abasli. The culmination of this campaign was the battle of Tippecanoe.

On the whole, the Delawares were friendly to the government of the United States, but not a little diplomacy was needed to maintain this condition : and John or William Conner was the usual agent trusted by both princi]ials. The following quotations from Dawson reveals the points of contact in which Conner seems to have participated, in the militarv expeditions of the summer of 181 1 :

Before the Rovernor left Vinoeiiiies lie sent a (iepiit.-itioii to the Delaware tribe to re<niest some of their chiefs to meet him upon the march, that he mi^ht employ them iii missions to the several tribes which h.-ul a part of their warriors with The Trophet. All the chiefs of this faithful tribe, who were able to march, set out from their towns on the fith of October, Tliey had procee<lecl but n few miles when they were met by u deputation from The Prophet, requiring a categorical an.swer to the question, "whether they would or would not .ioin them in the war against the Tnitefl States? that they bad taken up the tomahawk and would not lay it down but with their lives; they had, however, positive assurances of victory, and when they ha<l beaten the Americans, those tribes which refuse<l to join tbeni would have caused to rei)ent it."

of their men to inform the governor of the circumstance, and that they had determined to go immediately to The Prophet's town to endeavor to divert him from his purpose: that they would be with the governor in a few days and communicate the result of their mission ; and that if they were unsuccessful in their endeavors to prevent The Prophet from striking a blow, they would abandon him to his fate.

On the 27th of October the Delaware chiefs, who had gone upon a mission to The Prophet, to induce him to lay aside his hostile designs, arrived in camp. They rei)orteil that they had been badly received, ill treated, and finally dismissed with the most contemptuous remarks upon themselves and the governor.

On the. 29th, the day after the army left Fort Harrison, the governor remained for some hours behind, for the purpose of holding a conference with the Delaware and Miami chiefs. As he had no reason to doubt the information he had received of the intentions of The Proi>het to burn the first jjersons he should take, and had apprehensions that lie would find iiuich difficully in opening a coniniunicatidn with him. as the interpreters had become so alarmed that he could scarcely get them to the front of the array, he proposed to the Delawares that they should send three or four of their young men to be the bearers of another speech to The Prophet.

On the evening of the 5th of November, the army encamped at a distance of nine or ten miles from The Prophet's town. * * * But no Indians were discovered until the troops arrived within five or six miles of the town on the Oth of November. The interpreters were then placed with the advance guard, to endeavor to open a <'omnnmication with them. The Indians would, however, return no answer to the invitations that were made to them for that jiurpose, bnt continued to insult our people by their gestures. * * * During all of this time, Indians were frequqently seen In front and on the flanks. The interpreters endeavored in vain to bring them to a parley. Though sufficiently near to hear what was said to them, they would return no answer, lint continued by gestures and menace to insult those who addressed them. Being now arrived within a mile and a half of the town * * * the governor determined to remain there and to fortify his camp.

The location of The Trail towards the northwest, from the point just described, is less a matter of conjecture, as there are several definite traditions which locate it with some degree of certainty. The Trail leaves the portion of Connersville that is associated with the river bank, or, transversely stated, the particular locality last described is the first contact it had with the river when coming down the hill above Edgewood. In traversing this section of Connersville. it crosses the location of the citv cemeterv, which carries the history of bearing- evidences of The Trail when first used for burial purposes. A vague tradition, also, of pony races, Indian fashion, in the early village days, say in 1830- 1840, in the neighborhood south and east of the cemetery, lends some additional weight to this opinion of the char- acter of that It ma)' be a mere fortuitous happening - an inciHisequent choice of location, for the races - but even so, it is noteworthy that Connersville's first fairgrounds, 1850 to 1862, should be also located at the same place, west of Central avenue and north of the railway. These facts seem to mark the iocrdity as one of freciuent use. And it is most likely that The Trail, wendint,' its way across the territory described, in reality explains its popular uses in the early histt)ry of Connersville.

After passing the cemetery, in going towards the northwest, a short distance brings the location of Edgewood. The road which still goes up the hill, from the northwest corner of Edgewood, through the Austin Ready farm, is, in fact, a part of the original path. The Trail, at this jKiint, came down into the lowlands now forming the upper part of Connersville ; "and the use made of it h\- tlie whites when following The Trail, in the pioneer days, has left this short stretch of road unaltered and consequently still in use. The fact of the identity of this road with The Trail of the Indians is borne out by every tradition to be found upon the subject. These traditions are more positive than traditions ofttimes are, for tlie reason that the Indians themselves lingered longest in that direction, and this kept afresh a large store of Indian lore in the families nf not a few of the old-time settlers along the route.

One story often tuld - so often, in fact, that its telling has become inextricably mixed with the humorous - is that, in an early da\ , an old Indian came into the Harrisburg neighborhood looking for a pot of gold buried at the foot of a large tree along The Trail. He had what purported to be a map, a few marks and scratches on a leathered hide, and was serious enough about his business, although the pathetic side of the simple red man's visions are now only preserved as c^ne of the lighter veins in which he is remembered by the whites. The opinion grew naturally, that the Indian was loath to leave the burial grounds of his fathers, and any excuse to to them, and again to view his happy hunting grounds, was most welcome - the final leave-taking being made as tardy as possible.

After reaching the toj) of the hill, by following The Trail, as the road still exists, through the Ready farm, there will be found only minor changes from the original path to the fcjot of the hill when approaching Harrisburg. At the latter point, instead of going up the hill westward. The Trail must have followed the creek bed northward, up past the old Hackleman home, to the old Florea home, to Sanford Guard and David Gordon and others who in the very first days established themselves on their lands in reference to the creek bed rather than to the township roads which were created later. The evidence of two other trails in the vicinity of Harrisburg in nowise conflicts with this theory. The explanation is that the other trails were of later origin, and served for direct communication after Bentonville and Harrisburg came into existence. There is truly reflected in many Indian traditions about Harrisburg the story of a trail which reached that place from Bentonville by a direct line across the old Joseph Caldwell home farm. And also of another one which bore sharply southward, passing the old Murphy home on the south side. As can still be seen, the Murphy home, west of Harrisburg, is built with a south frontage instead of facing the present road on the north.

This trail made its way towards the location of the Lick Creek cemetery and attached itself to the original trail along the south side of Elephant Hill, near the northeast corner of the Austin Ready farm, whence it came into the valley by means of the old trail as first described. A due measure of credence given to every fact bearing on the subject leaves little doubt of the precedence of the first-described route - the one from the northwest corner of Edgewood, passing along the east foot of Elephant Hill, to the foot of the hill near Harrisburg, and then along Lick creek to its source. This is evidently the original trail. The topography of the country in the channel of the upper portion of Lick creek lends itself readily to the purpose. A comparatively level country stretches across the highlands of Posey township in the direction of Stony creek, straight past the site of New Castle, and on towards the Delaware towns on the White river where Muncie and Anderson are now located.

Origin Of Elephant Hills Name

The hill along the old road to Harrisburg, commonly called Elephant Hill, is conspicuous from whatever point it is viewed. Its present name comes from an incident which, briefly stated, is as follows : Connersville for some years was the wintering quarters for the Van Amburgh Company circus shows, with which members of the Frost family were associated. In the winter of 1871-1872 a large elephant, which went bv the name of Tip-po Saib, died, or was purposely killed on account of iiis vicious disposition. Although liis demise took place in tlie old brick foundry building on Eastern avenue, which was used for housing the animals, the carcass was divided into parts and the same carted to tlie high hill on tlie farm tlien owned l)y Charles Frost, and Imried on tlie very apex of the hill. The skeleton was later taken up l)y an t)fficial of Earlham College of Richmond, Indiana, where it is still preser\cd. The animal's height was over nine feet and weighed something more than nine thousand pounds. In consequence of this episode the hill came to be known as Elephant Hill : although previously it was known among the first settlers as Indian Hill. It has many associations in pioneer histor\- with the Indians and their doings, and on account of being on The Trail it was a common camping ground for them.

The county south of Fayette county has preserved a knowledge of several Indian mounds within its limits; although none are definitely recognized in Fayette county.

As a retrospective study, it is uninviting now to attem])t to establish any claims ff)r this locality in that regard. If tumuli existed here the evidence is all but lost completely. But in the case of Indian Hill, in the beginning, some results might perhaps have been obtained. Any long-distance view of Indian Hill, say from Dale cemetery, reveals a sky line that clearly shows a crowai that seems to be hardly a natural effect. There are traditions extant that lend color to the opinion that tliere was an Indian mound on the top of the hill, but they are quite barren of definite details. No excavations are known to have been made for disco\ery.

Site Of Old Indian Camp

Early traditions, as well as the evidence of the sites selected by the pioneer white settlers, the local tojjography, all fix upon the old Harrisburg road as The Trail that led down to John Conner's post. And it is particularly the l<nver portion of this ancient road, as it still enters Connersville. that retains the largest amount of pioneer evidence, establishing it as the identical path u>e(l by the Indians. It cannot be doubted that this is The Trail coming down from the northw-est. and in fact, it has no rival claimants disputing that honor.

In looking for some final witness on the subject, it may be worth mentioning that, not far above the old Hackleman home, in the Lick creek channel, is the location of the largest camping grounds of the Indians within I'avette county after the wlittes came into possession of their new homes. It lies westwarft of the present bridge across Lick creek, near the old Powell home; and it was an important point, judging from legends left behind of the number of Indians assembling there and the frequency with w hich it was used.

This Indian camp ( a part of the southw est quarter of section 34) became one of the favorite landmarks and centers of activity in an early day. A road formerly led from it towards Harrisburg, and another one, eastward, towards Waterloo; but both of them are now extinct. There was a sawmill in operation there for many years, it was built some time prior to 1819, and the log-cabin home of its owner still stands, as the oldest pioneer monument existing in Harrison township.

Location Of The Old Block-House

On the top of a sharp bluff, the high bank to the southward of the Indian camp just described, and just where a spring still flows, at the bottom, is the location of the block-house of 181 J. The commanding position of this primitive fort, as it sweeps the channel of Lick creek in either direction, is surely well suited for its purposes. Something more than beautiful scenery will come into the mind of the student of local history when viewing it. A calm survey of the situation allows the mind's eye to trace out, even today, a ver}' probable route for The Trail to follow in wending- its way toward the setting of the sun. The traditions of the Caldwell family, whose original home is nearby, makes it certain that the block-house was of importance to the first settlers of the neighborhood, and that it was garrisoned by a small squad of soldiers. Vnd also that it was picketed after the fashion of the more important blockhouses of those days : that is, surrounding the fort there was a solid timber-built fence, made up of short logs planted in the ground, by first setting them on end in a ditch, and then filling Jjack the earth as is done with fence posts. The topography of the locality, if studied from the position of the fort, furnishes ample proof that along the foot of this steep bank, and where the spring is. and where only a short distance below, less than a mile, it joins on to what is commonly known as The Trail, must have traveled the main body of Indians, who were wont to go down to John Conner's on the west bank of the White Water, for trade and barter.

Before dismissing the matter of block-houses and the collateral evidence to be found for the location of The Trail by the presence of these rude forts of the most trying period of pioneer Indiana, it should be noted in conclusion that Connersville has also the distinction of occupying a site which had one of them once as a garrisoned fort, and the history of which helps mark out the exact spot upon which the future town was to arise. It was inside of what became, in 1813, the first part of Connersville, and it touches the particular parts denominated "the public square" in the original plat laid out by

Julin Conner. .\s Tlie I' rail came down from the northwest, it tirst tonched the river bank at Conner's I'ost. wliieli was no doul)t the point of high ground above Eighth street on Ivistern avenue: from there it made its course towards the foot of Water street. In doing tliis it crossed tlie ]'"ifth-street schoolbuilding site to reach Water street. At Fourth street, as is still to be noticed, there is ground somewhat iiigher than the surrounding locality, and of course but a few hundred feet removed from the Ijank of the river. It was upon this spot, say one hundred anfl fifty feet north of the Gernian church, and twenty-five feet eastward, the lilock-liouse was situated tliat was Jiuilt that }ear, and whicli slieltered a detachment of soldiers sent u]) there by Commandant \\'illiani flelm in iSt2.

That the hostile Indians were in their ugliest mood in the spring and summer of iSi_> is written in large characters in the traditions of pioneer Indiana. The severe defeat administered ti> them the ])re\ious fall, on the battle ground of Tippecanoe, was a bitter recollection to them; but with the opening of the war with luigland - June iX, iSij, events seemingly brought them a moment for rejjrisals on the whites.

On July 17th the American ]iost at .Mackinac surrendered to a force oi British and Indians. A large force menaced Detroit, and early in .\ugust tlie commander of I'ort 1 >earl)orn~ Chicago - was ordered to abandon that l^lace and come to the relief of Detroit. But the hostile Indians fell upon the whole ])art\ of soldiers, men, women and children, leaving only a fewalive to tell the details of the horror of the massacre. .Vt this time the principal outpost of Vincennes was Fort Harrison. This place was treacherously assaulted by them on .September 4th, but less successfully. And as if to wreak their vengeance for the failure, the Pigeon Roost massacre, in an outlying district, to the eastward ,ind to the south of \'incennes. was enacted on the same day.

.\s this was .an onslaught on an unsuspecting settlement of white pioneers, it naturally put into a trenmr the whole of our frontier region. .And as central Indiana was still the red man's domain, the border, districts, of which the west fork of the White Water formed the eastern alignment, were quickly put in a state of open warfare. It is not strange, under the circumstances, that the pioneers who had just come into the valley all fell to work building block-houses. There was a double ])urpose served bv it. In the first ])lace it was jirolection. but secondarily the buildings served later for

Conner.Sville A Military Station

To most persons the statement that Connersxille had a military station at one time will ])e so iKuel that a resume of the ex'idence upon which its location has been determined ma\' be appropriate. It does not appear anywhere in print what its location was, but the following considerations seem definitely to settle the point, in the absence of documentary proof.

First- - At the old settlers' meeting in 1862, Doctor Mason makes this statement:- "One of these block-houses was located near the present site of our county seat ( i. e., the present court liouse), and was commanded by Col. William 1-lelni, who resided six miles below tlie present town of Connersville."

Second - In a local paper, of about fifty \ears ago, a short sketch contains the following: ".Aliout that time ( iSu) Rew John Strange, * * * preached in a block-house, at this point, at another near Laurel and still another on the present site of Cambridge.'" This person represented the Methodist denomination, and when the latter erected a building of their own, in 1825, it was put on the present site of tlie German church.

Third - Hawkins Hackleman. who first saw the block-house, as a boy, in 1815, has left behind descriptions of its location. The neighborhood had been built up with other houses during jiis young manhood, and consequently reconciling- the changed conditions with the (M-iginal aspect of things was difficult, especially as the names of the streets were changed in his later years. He described the location of the block-house, usually, however, as "not far from the road now coming up the hill, from East Connersville."

Fourth - In the sale of lots by John Conner, after 1813, lot No. 8 was first sold jointly with two other lots, and lirought a price which clearly indicates that one of them had a building upon it. Lot No. 8 carries this apparent feature again in a sale in 1833 and in 1844. In 1849 David Jennings boug-ht the rear of lot No. 8 and the rear of lot No. 7, which luade his purchase front on Fourtli street: and he paid a ])rice in adxance of what lots alone sold for at that time. A niece of Mr. Jennings, Mrs. Macey, who still lives there, knows that a large log house stood in the rear i)art of the purchase. The location of this house consequently would be the rear part of lot No. 8, which had maintained an enhanced valuation in tlie previous transactions.

The position of this log house in the rear of the lot, one door facing the present alley, says plainly that it was built liefore Connersville was platted in

1813, and tliat when it was put u]) it was made tti trout nu the rei)r,i,ranizcd liighway of that day. viz. : Tlie 'IVail leadiiis: down to tiie toi'd at tlie foot of Water street.

Fifth - In the traditions left l)ehind with tiie descendants of the pioneer family of .Alexander Saxon, it would seem the location gi\-en above is aliout correct. The traditions are to tlie effect tiiat among- their earliest experiences, after settling on their land in 1812, east side of the river, south of the present hall park, were the occasional visits of soldiers from "the fort." .\lso that they maintained a ferry boat at the ford, which was used by the soldiers.

Sixth - Samuel Merriheld, who still li\es near C<inners\ille, is of the opinion that in his youth it \\as a generally accei)ted \iew of the matter, that the block-house built when the Indian disturbances were active was on the high ground on the north side of Fourth street, betweeti l'"astern a\enue and Water street.

Seventh - In conclusion, it should be stated that Col. William Helm, who commanded the force of soldiers in this neighborhood, became an early associate judge of l-'ayette county, and he bought lot Xo. 7, which touches the block-hou.se site on the south side: and lot Xo. <), I)ordering on the north side. was donated by lolin I'onner to the county for the ftnifl to procure the couutv seat for Connersville. These facts, in connection with the other one, that the "public Sfpiare" denominated in the first plat by b'bn Conner touches the block-house site on the west side, gives the immediate vicinity an air of civic importance, hardly e(|ualed else\\here.

That no open liostilities are recorded, that no blood)- deeds mark the period that brought us these military fortifications, is surely a better heritage to all who now look out upon the beautiful scene of hills and \-alleys, and count it a part of home, than would be any number of heroic encounters whose measure could l)e taken onl\- in .sanguinary acts and in human misery and death. Viewed from the stand])oint of forestalling possible attack or as a harbor for fleeing refugees, the block houses of our pioneer history amply justify their erection: and the two which have been mentioned were certainly placed with wisdom and with reference to ready access. l'"s])eciallv is this quality to be noted in the case of the Connersville fort. The trading l)ost of John Conner, in its position on the best einineiice to be found w'hen first coming down The Trail frorn the northwest, con-imanded a full \iew- of the river channel about Fightb street. It served xery well at that ])oint as a haven of safety; and the other structure, the one built in 1812 as a blockliouse for the soldiers near Fourth street, had an equally fine sweep of the portion of the river bank which led down to the ford at the foot of Water street. A seemingly conclusive proof that a path passed over the described district will be found in the fact, that, when the town was founded the next year, the tirst store to find a home for itself was on the south side of the alley between Fifth and Sixth streets and on the west side of Eastern avenue. It was conducted by Joshua Harlan, who came up from Brookville that year. In this early trading place will be found a true index of what The Trail stood for in its inner history. The military phase of our history is happily a minor incident. But with Harlan's store, as a beginning in the new town's activities. The Trail again asserts itself as the one main artery opening out upon tlie world; for the Harlan store is midway down from the post toward the site i>f the blockhouse. This neighborhood constitutes the incipient town of Connersville.

Harlan (who had been a territorial judge before locating here) was destined to fill a large place in the affairs of Connersville during the period now entering. Fie was a man past middle life, of large stature and of wide experience, beside antecedents and ancestry and early training that peculiarly fitted him to hel]) bring about a safe fruition of the new venture imdertaken at this point. His services were of much \alue to John Conner, and they seem to have been used freely by tlie latter. Harlan oversees the erection of a brick building for Conner which was the largest, if indeed not also the first, to grace Connersville's streets. It is located also on the old route of The Trail, and can still he seen in the older part of the hotel building on the northeast corner of l'"ifth street and Eastern avenue. Harlan took over from Conner the land lying west of the plat of 1813, and opened up Harlan's Addition, in 18U). .\s the organization of the county, in the early months of that year, transferred "the seat of justice" to the present site of the court house, which is in Harlan's Addition, the older section, of which Eastern avenue was "Main street" in reality, as well as in name, found a strong rival for the business and honors of the village.

In glancing back tf) the period which represents the formative stages of Connersville's life, it is ])lain that the first enterprises group themselves about The Trail. Before the creation of Fayette county and the resultant growth whicJi came to Connersxille. the original part of the town and the route of

Fayette Coijnty. Indiana. I4I

The Trail just ahtnT il containeil all there was of inii)rt)vement ami pros^ress. The improvements may have been inconsiderable at first. In fact, only four separate buildings can be vouched for as belongings to the second year of its existence. These were: the post, the block-house, Harlan's store, and probably a log house on the site of the present old Heinemann corner. The duration of this state of civic development may ha\e been \ery l)rief, but it was snfticient to show by its associations the priority of an earlier condition in which 'i'he Trail was paramoiuU. It is The Trail that brings the travel which resulted in John Coimer's coming. And the central position of his post, on the route, is the explanation of its selection for the purpose of a main station. "Conner's Post" is a name that came to it by easy process, in the language of the first settlers. It was Fort Conner in the brief period of militancy, although posterity will know it as Connersville. There are many other developments that trace their origin directly to the commerce which followed this ]5rimitive path. And yet. with all the supremacy of The Trail, measured by the valuations of those da\s, it is soon to be replaced by other distinctions tt^ which the locality aspires. The town spirit fully possesses itself of the community's ambitions when Connersville is made the county seat. .\nd man\ new ventures are planned, which soon change the w'hole tenor of things. It is well established in the early history of Connersville that an old house existed on the southwest corner of Fifth street and Eastern avenue. John Sample owned it from 1820 to 1S24, and conducted an inn there, which has received frequent mention in the early traditions. As Sample was village postmaster in 1822, and for several years thereafter, it is a safe inference that this site \vas also Cnnnersx-illc's ]>ostoffice during that period. [nsliua Harlan had been postmaster in the years i8i8-r8_'j, at his place of business. one-half block further up "Main street." I'revious to t8jo, the corner site was owned by .Misaloni lUu-kiiam and in some statements of the historv of the corner, it is .said tb.at TUirkham built up the ])lace. But this probablv means that he added to it: for it is known, also, that Arthur Dickson was merchandising there at a somewhat earlier day than Burkham. Later on, Dickson, jointly with another ])ers<ni. liought the adjoining lot to the south, and set up a store there.

The descendants of William Sparks, who entered land in r8i_>. below Fast Connersville, have preserxed the tradition that in the earliest ciations of their family with Connersville. John Conner's trading place the corner spoken of above. Becau.se of the well known custom of Conner to use the ser\'ices of other persons to attend to the details of his business, it is easy to conclude that Conner used this site for his headquarters, after the town was platted in 1813, .with Arthur Dickson as a helper. It would be natural enough for Conner to establish himself at this location. From a business standpoint it would serve his interests very much to do so; it puts him in a position which is across the street from the "public square," and one that is central between Harlan's store and the blockhouse. So far as public meetings entered into the plan of village life, in the beginning, the block-house must have been used for that purpose. There are no known records of any form of town government before the organization of the county in 18 19; and during all of this peritxl John Conner was the guiding power of the settlement. It is plain that his activities in the promotion of his venture, the starting of Conners\'ille. could be best directed from the location described, and doubtlessly it was so used by him.

It is not surprising to find, consec|uently, that changes creep into the renow n which The Trail liad enjoyed up to this time. Glory is ever fleeting, and the high estate of the path made by the Indians, in coming down from the northwest and continuing on down the valley, has seen the limitation of its honors. There was a period of usefulness for it, and even fame, but it now enters into a term of recession. Its doom is not long delayed.

What helped the mcjst to its efYacement was the changed character of the po]julation. .\nother race of people, with other equipments in life, have been attracted by the abundant wealth in nature's storehouse. In point of time, the Indians were the first to enjoy the largesses Divine Providence scattered with a lavish hand up and down the valley ; they were alone and were in the midst of plenty, and in their prosperity they left a trace. It was a humble means of disbursement and of travel. But civilization learns of it, and comes in ; and the coming of the latter brings changes. It alters the primal complexion of the whole country. \\'here trackless forests once were, and where a dense undergrowth held sway, now there are soon to be open patches of soil for husbandry, and there are to be known points where settlements are forming. The white race rearranges things, and, in doing so, follows a new standard. As a result, cultivated fields, section roads, established homes, village and town life abound! Our history truly begins. But with the beginning of history, alas, The Trail ends - it vanishes. It is too elusive to be held in perfect metes and bounds, it is too transitory to leave a 'deep' impress; unless, perchance, ; as a.jmemory, and,, at .that, only a memory of a long past.

There is considerable oljscurity surroiiiiding tlie career of Joliii C'diiiier. the founder of the city wliich bears liis name. As far as is known, tiiere is no contemporary account of his career, the best account l>eing- tliat of O. H. Smith in his "luirly Indiana Trials and Sketches." Smith knew Conner personally and what he has to say about him may be taken as the words of a man who knew him intimately, and for that reason his narrative possesses more value than any of the other accounts of the old pioneer.

In 1916 Mrs. Sarah Conner Christian, of Indianapolis, a j;;randdaughter of John Conner, prepared a sketch of the pioneer's life which is given in the succeeding pages. Her biography, as she explains, was written from information handed down by members of the family and for this reason is particularly interesting to the readers of b'ayette county.

Proliabl)- tlie liest lixing aiitliority on the life of John L'onner is j. L. Heineniann, of L'onner>\ illc. who has lieen collecting historical data concerning Conner and the early histor\- of l'"ayette count}- for a number of years. In the course of his investigations he has unearthed the diary of David Zeisberger, a Moravian missionary, who was acfjuainted with the Conner family while they lived in Ohio, and after they reached Detroit, following their capture by Indians. Such parts of this diary as pertain particularly to the Conner family have been translated and preserved 1)\- Mr. Heincmann, who also has. added the result of some of his investigations in the life of C"onner.sville's founder.

Still another view of John Conner is presented b}- ISaxnard R. Hall in his interesting volume. "The Xew r'urchase. or Seven and a Half ^'ears in the Far West."

It is n(jt known whether John Conner married his Indian wife in ( )hio or Indiana, nor is the date of their marriage known. It is certain, however, that Conner married his Indian wife before he became of age. .She died in 1814, leaving two sons. John and James. John seems to have been enamored of Indian life and after his mother's death was reared In the Dela- ware Indians and when they were taken to Missouri he went with them. He communicated with his half-brother, Wilham Winship Conner, in 1862 from Missouri, where he was then Hving. At that time he was a wealthy landowner, with a large estate along the Missouri river. He died sometime the sixties. James Conner, the other son of John Conner by his Indian wife, remained with his father, who often remarked that James was the best boy he ever saw. The boy died of typhoid fever while still a youth.

After the death of his Indian wife, John Conner married Lavinia Winship, a daughter of Judge Winship of Franklin county. There were three children by the second marriage, two sons and a daughter, the latter dying in early childhood. The two sons were Henry I. and William Winship. Henry Conner became a lawyer and formed a partnership with James B. Ray for the practice of his profession, but died while still a young man. The career of William Winship Conner, the father of Sarah Conner Christian, is related elsewhere in this volume.

It is not generally known that John Conner was one of the best educated men of his day, but such is a fact. He was a great student and had a fine library in his home. He was the righthand man of Governor Harrison for many years and was invaluable to the governor because of his ability to speak twenty-two different Indian dialects. He could also speak and write in the French language. In his service in the state Legislature, as a member of the commission to select the site of the ]jresent State Capital, and as an interpreter at the signing of various Indian treaties, John Conner proved himself to be a man of unusual ability.

A Sketch Of Conner By O. H. Smith

John Conner, the proprietor of Connersville, was one of nature's strong men. Taken by the Shawnee Indians when a mere )'outh, he was raised and educated in Indian life, language, and manners. When dressed in their costume, and painted, it was difificult to distinguish him from a real savage. On one occasion, as he told me, he came to Andersontown, then the lodge of a large band of Indians under Chief Anderson. He was dressed and painted as a Shawnee, and pretended to be a representative of Tecumseh. As is usual with the Indians, he took his seat on a log barely in sight of the Indian encampment, quietly smoked his pipe, waiting the action of Anderson and his chiefs. After an hour he saw approaching the old chief himself, in full dress, smoking his pipe. I give his language: "As the old chief walked up to me I rose from my seat, looked him in the eyes; we exchanged pipes, and walked down to the lodge smoking, without a word. I was pointed to a bearskin - took my seat, with my back to the chiefs. A few minutes after, L noticed an Indian by the name of Gillaway, who knevf me well, eyeing me closely. I tried to evade his glances, when he bawled out in the Indian language, at the top of his voice (interpreted) 'You great Shawnee Indian, you John Conner.' The next moment the camp was in a perfect roar of laughter. Chief Anderson ran up to me, throwing off his dignity. 'You great representative of Tecumseh,' and burst out in a loud laugh." ]\Ir. Conner was an active, prominent, honest man; represented his county in the Senate, and gave the casting vote in favor of the ballot system of voting. He was father of William \Y. Conner, of Hamilton county. He long since departed this life.

I deem it a very great honor to have the privilege of preparing this brief sketch of my grandfather, the man who founded the city of Connersville. What I shall have to say has very little of the traditionary in it. I shall give the plain facts gleaned from historical accounts and records, or related by my father, who was but six years old at the time of the death of his father, John Conner. In his (my father's) childhood memories were manv pleasing incidents, but his mother who lived until he was twenty-one years of age was his reliable informant. I shall not endeavor to go back of Richard Conner, the father of the subject of this sketch, but shall begin with his sojourn at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in fur trading. In this capacity he often came into contact with the Indians, among whom he met Margarita Bovoir, a French girl, who at the time of the massacre of her family, was stolen by the Indians, she being about six years old at the time. She was sixteen years of age when Richard Conner married her.

A couple of years later, Richard Conner pushed his way westward into Ohio. The Reverend Simpson in his history says that Richard Conner came to Coshocton county, Ohio, about 1770, bringing with him a small colony of friends for the purjiose of engaging with him in the fur trade. They built their cabins close together and the little group was known as Connertown. James, the eldest of the tliree sons liorn tliere, was, according to the Reverend Simpson, the first white child born in what is now the state of Ohio. William w-as born in 1775 at the same place, and in 1786 or 1787, John Conner, the founder of Connersville. Indiana, first opened his eyes (10)

In 1789 occurred the massacre from which the Williams family escaped, while the Conners were taken into captivity by a band of Delaware Indians under the leadership of Simon Girty, a renegade, and one Elliott, also a renegade. The Conners were taken to Detroit, making the journey on foot. Upon arriving there they were thoroughly exhausted and almost dead. They were held for ransom by the Indians under the British. Their ransom was accomplished by Rev. James Heckwelder, a man of noble birth and a devoted Moravian missionary at Detroit. The ransom price paid for the Conners was four hundred dollars in cash, two kegs of powder, fifty pounds of lead and one keg of brandy. The Elliott who assisted in their capture was also instrumental in procuring their release.

The family, with two exceptions, settled at Detroit, where some of their posterity still reside, but the older members are sleeping in the cemetery at Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where the cross above their resting place attest the faith that was their anchor throughout their tragic and romantic career. At the time of the massacre John Conner was between two and three years of age, with blue eyes and light hair. It was the custom of the Indians to kill the light-haired children, and the mother, knowing this, procured a piece of lead and rubbed little John's head and eyebrows. When morning came he was the black-headed one of the family.

As the captors journeyed on, footsore and weary, William, who was about fourteen years of age, took little John from his mother's arms to rest her. No sooner was this done than one of the Indians' snatched the boys up, put them on a horse, and galloped through the forest to central Indiana, the hunting ground of the Delawares. The father and mother gave the children up for dead, supposing the Indians would kill them.

I have no record of how William cared for little John, holding his hand while his delicate feet stumbled over the ground; how he quieted his cries, relieved his hunger, of protected him from the cold and rain ; who made his moccasins or provided them with clothing to keep them warm. Perhaps the squaws of the tribe gave them the help they required.

When John was old enough the boys made the trip to DetrdTt-on horseback in quest of their people. They were fortunate enough to find them in that city, and it is understood that their father, Richard, put the boys in a Moravian mission school, where they acquired what education they received. The boys returned to Indiana some time before 1800 for the purpose of carrying on fur trading and establishing trading posts. They were among the first, if not the very first white traders in the White Water valley.

John Conner had a supply store and trading post at Cedar Grove, in Franklin county, as early as 1804 - and he was not more than seventeen years of age at the time. This post, in his absence, was carried on by a Frenchman in his employ known as Pilkey. In 1808 John Conner made his first appearance on the present site of Connersville, and there is little doubt tliat the trading post he established here that year was the first white man's cabin in Connersville.

Connersville was platted March 4, 181 3. He is on record as having entered the northwest quarter of section 27 (range 12, east, township 13, north). In 1808 he became of age and as he came to, Connersville in that year, it is natural to suppose that the entry was where he built the post. [This \aries slightly from tlie Cdunty record of entries, for which see page 227,. - Editor.] Fayette county at that time was a part of Franklin county, not being organized until January i, 1819. In the first Legislature that met at Corydon (after the state was admitted to the Union in 1816) there were only ten members of the Senate and John Conner was one of the ten, being a member from Franklin county, and he was still a member of the Senate when Fayette county was organized in 1819. It is said that he cast the deciding vote for the ballot system of voting.

John Conner was married on March 13, 1813, to Louisa Winship, a daughter of Jabez Winship, of Cedar Grove. It is unnecessary for me to speak of his life at Connersville for of that you know more than I do. The exidence of liis labors and ami)ition is here. The site of one of the first mills in the White Water valley is here, and it was John Conner who built it.

My father, William Winship Conner, was born at Connersville, May 27, 1820. In 1822 John Conner moved to Hamilton county, Indiana, where he purchased one thousand acres of land on the west fork of White river about two miles south of the present site of Noblesville. There was a small millsite on the river on his land, and he at once built a large flouring mill and woolen factory at the same place. He built a large and comfortable residence there and lived in it until the day of his death. He died in 1826 at the age of forty.

Throughout his life he was the trusted friend of the Indians, never defrauding nor betraying their interests. At the outbreak of the Indian war in Indiana (War of 1812), he used all of his influence to avert trouble between the Indians and whites; always telling his Indian friends that in case of trouble he would stand by the United States government and the settlers. . .

Early in 1808 Governor Harrison addressed a speech to the chief of the Shawnees. This speech was delivered by John Conner, the messenger and interpreter, before an assemblage of Shawnee chiefs. The Prophet dictated an answer which Conner put in writing and delivered to Governor Harrison. The reply was a denial of the charges, and affirmed good will and faith toward the whites. The growing dissatisfaction of the Indians and their increasing hostility began to alarm the people, and John Conner was chosen, as being the most influential man, to bear the governor's message to the Indians, assuring them of the friendship of the United States and to use his influence to promote harmony and peace.

On November 25, 1812, Governor Harrison placed Colonel Campbell in command of a detachment of six hundred men, and in giving him instructions, said : "Inform yourself from Conner of the locality, of the place and situation of the Indians." John and WiUiam Conner acted as guides to Colonel Campbell's expedition to the Mississinewa (Grant county, Indiana). They knew the country well and were conversant with Indian methods of warfare. Both brothers could speak twenty-two different Indian dialects.

John and William were two of the commissioners appointed by the General Assembly to locate tlie capital of the state. The commissioners were instructed by Governor Jennings to meet May 22, 1820, at the home of William Conner, on the west fork of White river (in what is now Hamilton county).

John Conner was a scout and carried the dispatches from Ft. Washington, now Cincinnati, to Ft. Wayne. He was a member of the state militia and fought under Governor Harrison at Tippecanoe. He was a non-commissioned aide to Harrison in that battle.

Oliver H. Smith, in his "Early Indiana Trials and Sketches." in speaking of John Conner, said: "John Conner, the founder of Connersville, was one of nature's strong men, active in the interest of the people, prominent in aiifairs of state, a man of integrity and honor, of dauntless courage and indomitable energy."

John Conner now sleeps in Greenlawn cemetery at Indianapolis, and the Indian trail, the pack horse and canoe are replaced by the nation's race tracks, automobiles, locomotives and interurbans. The dear old mill that gladdened the settlers has given way to the high-class manufactories that help to make your city. When I see the magnificent residence.^, the extensive factories, the schools and churches - when I see the faith the i)eople of Connersville have in their city and their ambition for it, I know that the spirit of John Conner is marching- on.

On John Conner's gra\estone is the folldwing inscription: "Blessed are the dead from henceforth : yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." Originally there were other lines on the stone, but exposure to tlie elements has effaced them, the above lines l)ein.g preser\e(l through the' fact that for m?ny years they were covered with soil.

Further Light On The Pioneer

The article of Mrs. Christian was submitted to Mr. Heinemann in order fur him to compare the facts stated therein with the result of his investigations. He does not hesitate to pronounce her sketch a good statement of the Cornier family traditions; however, Mr. Heinemann is of the opinion that additional light on the life of Conner can be gleaned from the diary of David Zeisberger, who kept a day-by-day account from 1781 to 1798. As has been stated, Zeisberger was accjuainted with the Conners in Ohio, knew of their capture by the Indians and was evidently well acquainted with them after the family lived in Detroit. Mr. Heinemann's extracts from the diary of the Moravian missionary, together with his comments on the diary, are given in the succeeding paragraphs.

Diary Of David Zeisberger

June 14, 1782 - Today and for several days all sorts of rumors have been flying about; and many preparations made for war. In the ship "Sandusky," the Conners came here [Detroit] with their children. They had to come on account of the unrest caused by war.

July II, 1782 - We did not fail to give our Indian brethren news of us, as often as we have had a chance; and a week before, by some white prisoners who went there, we had again sent them word ; and yesterday Conner also was dispatched there on business by the commandant.

April 25, 1783 - Brother Conner arrived [at Clinton river] from the fort [Detroit] to build himself a house, and soon to bring his family. For the sake of his maintenance he has had to stay there till now.

to row against them. But the Indians had to lie still. Both of their canoes were filled by the waves. We brought us in our boat Brother Conner and his wife, with provisions which now they get as we do, but which before they did not draw, so long as they were in Detroit.

July 22, 1783 - Brother Conner came back from Detroit, where he got supplies, when we last got provisions there, and he at the same time went with us. Colonel De Peyster refused to let him have them longer, and so he had to provide himself with them by buying them.

April 2, 1786 - . . . none of us remained behind, save Conner's family, who himself knew not whither to go, or what to do. In the evening we camped at the mouth of the River Huron. . . . It is just four years today that we landed in Detroit and in truth we could not do otherwise than give the Savior to recognize our thankful hearts for all the kindnesses He had shown us and that He has done everything so well with us. We left Conners' family behind.

August 14, 1788 - Four Chippewas came visiting here [Canada], remaining a couple of days. One of them was from the Huron river, and told us, for he spoke very good Delaware, that he lived in Brother Zeisberger's house, that the houses were all occupied by Chippewas; and that no white people lived there except Conner, to whom they had given leave [to stay there].

It will be seen from these entries that the Moravians, with whom the original Conner family was in touch, moved from American territory into Canada in 1786; consecjuently that there was no opportunity for Richard Conner to put his son John into Moravian mission schools at Detroit.

That John Conner had the benefit of school training is evident from his career - his public services have left many evidences of it - but there are several good reasons for holding that his education was in fact received in the school attached to the old Catholic church built by the French in 170T, which school, about the time in question, was rejuvenated by the new church authorities from Baltimore. This was just after the War of Independence, the Baltimore priests superseding the French and English priests from Quebec.