Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 5, 1917

Chapter 5

The first mention of Fayette county by name is to be found in the lejfislative act of December 28, i8t8, which defined its Hmits and provided for its formal organization on the 1st of the following- month, that is, fonr days later. The fact that such a short time was to elapse Ijetween the passage of the act creating the county and the time for its actual organization would seem to indicate that the politicians of the proposed coimt\- had their plans well in hand for the disposal of the few offices which it would be necessary to establish in order to get the countv started. Most of tlie first officials had had some connection witli bVanklin county aft'airs antl some of them Iiail held i>ositions in that county. Jonathan jMcCart\- and John Conner were undouI)tedly the men most responsible for the creation of the new count)-. Conner Ijeing a member of the Senate at the time the act was passed creating the county.

Nearly one hundred years have passed since I'ayette county came into existence and it is impossilile at this date to determine the motives of the men who were I^ehind the movement which resulted in the organization of the county with the limits as defined in the act of 18 18. W'lien I'ranklin and Wayne counties were organized in 1810, llie dividing line between tliese two counties was an extension of the ))re.sent boundary line lietween the townships of Connersville and Harrison in Fayette county. There can 1ie no question but that it was the original intention (that is, when Wavne and Franklin were created in 1810) to organize one county - and only one - at some future date from parts of these two counties. The best evidence pointing to this conclusion is the fact that tlie village of Waterloo was laid out with a public square, the proprietor \ery evidently having the idea that when the new county was created liis town w oidd Ik? in a geographical ])osition to l>e considered as the county seat.

However, for some reason lost in tlie ninety-eight years which have elapsed since the Legislatureof i8i8-iq created I'^ayette county, the original idea of one count\- made frf)n-i parts of Wayne and Franklin counties was set aside and, instead, there appearetl two - Fayette and I'nion. The first limits of Fayette count}- did, nevertheless, inckule a part of the present Union count)- - that part between the Indian treaty line of 1795 and the present eastern boundary line of Waterloo and Jennings townships. The boundary of the original Fayette county as defined by the act of December 28, 1818, was set forth in the following language :

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that from and after the First dav of January next ( lanuarv i. 1810) all that tract or jwrcel of c<iuntr\- wliicli is enclosed within the tollowin.t; Ixmndaries shall constitute and torni a new county to he known and designated hy the name and style of I'ayette, to-wit. he.ijinnino- at tlie southeast corner of section ,^3, township 13. ran^e 13: thence north three miles; thetice east three miles to the old boundary line ( the Creenville Indian treaty line of 1795) ; thence north (really east of north, that is. following- the above mentioned treaty line) to fractions 28 and 33 (rather the line between these two sections), in township 15. range 14, east of the second principal meridian; thence west on said line to a line dividing sections 27 and 28 (that is, to the northwest corner of section 34). in townshi]) 15. range 12, east of the second principal meridian; thence north on said line to a line dividing townships 15 and i6 (the present line): thence west six miles; thence sotith eighteen miles; thence east so far as to intersect the line dividing townships 12 and 13: thence along said line to the place of beginning."

The above description is not clear in all its particulars and has l>een emended parentheticall}' to make the limits more definite. However, there is one line described which baflles explanation. It will l>e noticed that the next to the last line descril)ed above reads, "thence east so far as to intersect the line dividing townships T2 and 13." The ]ire\ious line - "thence south ei.ghteen miles" - clearly debnes the present eighteen-mile line dividing the counties of Rush and b'ayette, beginning as it does at the northwest corner of section 3 in Pose}- townshi]) and continuing due south to the southwest corner of section 34 in ("olumbia township, that is, to the "line dividing townships 12 and 13." Hence there is no apparent reason why the framers of the act should have inserted the description "thence east so far as to intersect the line dividing township 12 anfl 13," since the eighteen-mile line reaches the point thus defined.

As will be seen from the map. the six sections {22. 2^:1,. 26, 2y. 34 and 35) in the southeastern ])art of Jackson township were not included in the limits of the county in 1818, being left a part of Franklin county until an act of the Legislature. January 16, 1826. attached them to Fayette county. The part of Fayette l}ing between the treaty line of i7<)5 and the present eastern boundary line of Waterlof) and Jennings townships remained a part of Fayette county until 1/nion county was created on January 5. 1821. at which time the territory in (|uestion was detached from I'"a\ette and nride a part of the newly created l^nion.

.\s has been stated, the act creating l'"a_\ette county pro\ ided that it should be formally organized on January i. 1819. four da\s after the passage of the act. Howexer, it was not until Februarv 8. 1810. that the countv commissioners held their first meeting and divided the county into townships, so, as a matter of fact, the coimty cannot be said to have been a separate poHtical entity until that date. It is not known just where the commissioners met for this first meeting, but it was evidently at one of the half dozen houses in Connersville. Conner's hotel, the present Buckley House, was not yet erected, although it was built in the summer of 1819. Since the commissioners appointed by the Legislature to select the county seat were to meet at the house of John McCormick, it may be supposed that the county commissioners convened at the same place for their first meeting. The location of McCormick's house is not definitely known, 1iut it must have been either within or near the present limits of the county seat.

County Government And Early Proceedings

The first commissioners of the county of Fayette were Basil Roberts, Herod Newland and John Tyner. Their first meeting was held in Connersville, on Monday, February 8, 181Q, at which the above named commissioners were present. However, no business was transacted, for "it appearing to the board that no clerk had Iseen appointed for the county, and there being a probability of the clerk elected for the county being- commissioned shortly, it is ordered that this board adjourn until tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."'

In pursuance to the above the board again assembled on the following da\- with all of the members present and also Jonathan McCarty, who proiluced his commission, dated February 2, 1819, as clerk of the Fayette county circuit court, and the following business was transacted : On motion it was ordered that the county of Fayette be divided into five townships, namely : Columbia, Connersville, Harrison, Brownsville and Jennings.

It was ordered that the following named persons be appointed inspectors of elections in and for the different townships : Connersville township, Marks Crume : Columbia, Morgan Vardiman; Harrison, Joseph Dale; Brownsville, Richard George Paris: Jennings, Hugh Bell.

It was next ordered that there should be two justices of the peace alloted to each township, to l>e elected in the respective townships on the first Monday in March ; the sheriff to give notice of the same. It was also ordered that the following persons be apiwinted constables in their respective townships: Abraham Bays, Columbia township, one year: Joel White, Jennings township: John McCormick, Connersville township one year: Reason Davis. Harrison township; Joseph Gassett, Brownsville township. With these appointments the business of the day was complete.

The board Iiaviiii^' conxened the foUowiiif^ da)-, Adariah Morgan was appointed Hster of the county tdr tlie \ear 1819, he being required to give bond to the amount of one thousand Ine himdred dollars. Newton Claypool was appointed treasurer of the comity and required to give a bond of two thousand dollars, with two good freeholders as security. John McCorniick, Sr., and John Tyner were a])p(jinted overseers of the poor in Harrison township for one year: .\l)iather Hathaway and Nicholas Reagen, for Connersville township: Noah runiphrey and John Conner, for Columbia township; James Haughan and Athariel .Sims, for Brownsville township; Joseph V'anmeter and Sannicl P>cil. .Sr., for Jennings township. Jonathan McCarty was authorized to contract for .uul jirocure a .seal, to lie made of copper or bronze, with the following w urds .uul letters engraved thereon : "Indiana, Fayette County, B. C.", which was to be known and used as the common seal of the board of commissioners.

At the May session of the board of commissioners Adariah Morgan was allowed sixty dollars for his services as lister of the county for the year. \Villiam W. \Mck was allowed twenty dollars, the sum granted him by the circuit court for his serxices as ])rosecuting attorney.

In these latter days there is a great deal of talk about the high cost of living: in fact, the expression has 1)een used so frequently that manv of the

])resent ne\vspa]jers simply refer to it as the H. C. L., an abl^reviation which is instantly recognized by ever}'one who reads the papers. Flowever, it seems that the same state of affairs existed, or, at least, was threatening, a half century ago. Tn an address which Dr. Philip Mason delivered at the first annual fair of Fa>ette county, September 3, 1862, he took occasion to warn his hearers against heedless and needless extravagance.

"It has been fully realized within the last two years, especially at the county^ seat, that the great increase in the way of fine buildings, dress and equipages indicates extravagance in the future; but it is to be hoped that our people will take timely warning and a\ oid the breakers of luxury, extravagance and licentiousness by which so many nations have been wrecked and become desolate."'

:\lthough Fayette county might lie charged with extravagance in 1862, certainly such an indictment could not have been sustained in the first two decades of the count_\-'s history. .\n examination of the records in the county treasurer's office discloses some \er}' interesting facts regarding the amovmt of money it took to run the county in the twenties, and when a comparison is made with the expenditiu'es in the county for 1916 it will be seen that our forefathers could hardly ha\ e "been charged with extravagance.

At the :\Ia\-, 18 19, term of the county commissioners the assessor or lister, as he was called, made his report of the assessment of taxable property for the year, but no amount is given in the record, nor is the assessor's book or tax duplicate for that year, or any year up to 1831, to be found. Adariah Morgan was the lister and recei\-ed sixty dollars for his year's services. It is to be regretted that there is practically no way by which to determine the kind or amount of taxable property there was in the county during this peritid (iSig-31). At this session (Maw i8ic)) the commissioners levied the following ta.x for that }-ear : For each horse, mare, colt, mule or ass over three years of age, the sum of thirty-seven and a half cents; for every town lot, fifty cents on ever}- one hundred dollars' valuation ; for first-rate land, fifty cents for every one hundred acres; for second-rate land, fortythree and three- fourths cents for every one hundred acres; for third-rate land, thirty-one and one-fourth cents for e\ery one hundred acres; for every stud horse, the rate they stand for the season.

The tax for 1820 was the same as that levied for 18 19, with the addition of a tax on carriages ami watches. Neither the amount nor kind of ])ropert\- is mentioned on the record. Benjamin McCarty was the lister and received sixty-four dollars for his services for the year 1820. The same tax was continued in 182 1, with the addition of a poll tax of fifty cents, and also a tax on work-oxen. It might be mentioned in this connection that Jonathan McCarty, later congressman from this district, and then serving as clerk of the county, was allowed fifty dollars for his services in 1819, while John Conner, the first sheriff, received the same munificent sum for his services in i8ig. James C. Rea, who was appointed in June, i8jo, to take the census of the county, received two dollars for each one hundred names listed. The associate judges, two in number, received two dollars a day for the time the\- actually sat on the bench hearing cases.

B\- a settlement made on November 9, 1819, by the county commissioners with Newton Claypool, the first county treasurer and the incumbent of the office for many successive years, there came into the liands of the treasurer, on account of tax duplicates and tavern licenses, the sum of one thousand eighty-nine dollars and three cents, exclusive of the donation fund.

Donation Fund

-\ word should be said of this "donation fund'", a fund which was to be found in every newly organized county in the state. The act of the Legislature providing for the organization of a county always named five men, called "locating commissioners", residents of counties adjoining the proposed county, wlio were to meet in the new county at a date specified in the act and select a site for tiie count\- seat. In the case of Fayette county these men were as follows: William liradley, of Switzerland; James Dill and John Watts, of Dearliorn : Williamson Dunn, of Jefferson; and John Ross, of Clark. These men were directed to meet on the third Monday of February, 1819, at the house of John McCormick, in Fayette county, to perform the duty assigned them by the Legislature. They met at the appointed place on Februan*- 16, i8ig, and on the following day they selected the present site for the seat of justice. Their full report follows:

"We proceeded to fi.x anfl establish the permanent seat of justice in and for Fayette county, to be in the public square laid oft' and recorded by Joshua Harlan, in the town of (dniiersville, county of Fayette and state of Indiana, on the northwest corner of section 25, in township 14, range 12, east of second meridian, in the district of lands oft'ered for sale ;it Cincinnati. Said S(|uare is bounded on the northeast by Monroe street, as laid oft' and recorded by John Conner and Joshua Harlan, and as by the plat of said town. Permanent seat of justice declared as above, and fixed, b^bruary 17, 1819." (11)

This report was submitted to the county commissioners at a special session, convening on March 2, t8iq, and promptly accq^ted. The commissioners next proceeded to appoint Nicholas Reagan as county agent, his duties being to manage the "donation fund,'" which had been made by sundry citizens for and in consideration of the locating of the county seat at Connersville. Part of the donations were in the form of cash, part in land and part in town lots. The total amount of these donations has not been found, but it seems to have been amply sufficient to pay for the building of the first court house and jail, the purpose for which the fuixl was intended.

The second year of the county's history found a substantial increase in the amount of money raised by taxation. On November 15, 1820, the commissioners settled with the county treasurer and the following report gives the first itemized report of the county's money :

The settlement of the commissioners with the county treasurer in 1821 is given in such a manner that it is impossible to tell what was the amount of the tax list, but for the year 1822 it is given at $889.76^2. It appears that there have been delinf|uent taxpayers since the begini|ing of the county's history. John M. Wilson, the sheriff of the county in 1822. was allowed, on June 18 of that year, the sum of ^So.gqy^ for the delinquencies in the payment of taxes for 1819; $90.20 for 1820, and $56.02 for 1821. The county trea,surer was ordered to credit these three sums on his books. The lister (or assessor, as now known) was allowed $60.00 for 1819; $64.00 for 1820: $40.00 for 1821 ; $60.00 for 1822.

The treasurer of the county was allowed five per cent, on all moneys received and paid ottt of the county funds. On this basis he was allowed $45 at the November, 1820, settlement, and $66.05 for 1821. The .sheriff.

who was charfjed witli tlie duty of collcctinj^- the taxes in those early days, was also <;;^iven a percentaj^e of the money actually collected as his comi>ensation. Records have not heen found to show what he received, Init he undouhtedly received- alx)ut the same as the county treasurer.

As has been stated, the first complete tax duplicate which lias l>een found, is that of 1 8,^1. In view of the fact that it is practically inaccessible to the citizens of the county it is here jiresented in full.

Tax Assessmknt For Thk Ykar 1 83 1

The next financial statenienl of particular interest is the one of i<Sf)i and is here given in full in order to show the condition of the county at the opening of the Civil War. The nunilier of voters had increased only two hundred and fortv-nine since iSa.

Tax List And Assessment For The Year 1 86 1

In 1866, just half a century a,^o, the total value of taxable property amounted to the sum of $6,779,775.00, the total county and state ta.x for that year being $120,752.41. Fifty years have brought abotit a large increase in the amount of taxable property, and a corresponding increase in the amount of taxes. There are many sources of taxation in use at the present time which were unknown fifty years ago, and likewise many more uses for the money so collected.

The handling of the money of the county at the present time is done by the county auditor and county treasurer. During the year 19 16 these two officials handled $466,265.30, paying out on orders the sum of $409,- 495.59, leaving a lialance in county treasury of $56,769.71. The finances of the county are in excellent shape, the county's debt being onlv $38,000, in the shape of bonds, against which there stands the balance above shown.

It must lie understood that some of the townships have individual debts, largely in the shape of road bonds, but the countv itself is not charged with tJiis indebtedness. The townships of Connersville. Jackson. Orange. Posey and Fairview have a total bonded debt for roads amounting to $149,805.50, but of tliis amount Connersville township alone is charged with $74,444.00. Fortunately, this indebtedness is stretched over a period of years, and thus does not work a hardship on the taxpayers. The levy for gravel road bonds in 1016 netted the county the sum of $15,857.27.

One of the latest methods of raising; revenue is l)y means of the inheritance tax, and this source of revenue brought .$2,1^12.20 into the county treasury in 1916. Docket fees added $172; liquor license fees, $5,000; while manv other minor items added varying amounts, all of which added to the amount derived from direct taxation l)rouglit tlie total u]> to nearly half a million dollars.

A stud\- of the itemized list of expenditures shows that the county's monev goes (lut in a wide variety of ways. For instance, the burial of old soldiers, the maintenance of the free county fair, and the county sanitarium called for a joint expenditure of ,$^^,400, of which amount $700 was used for the burial of old soldiers. The taking of cases to other counties, changes of venue, necessitated an appropriation of $381.10. The county shared the ex])ense of a number of bridges, appropriating $7,0,^2.28 for this item alone.

Everv taxjjayer should be interested in the m;inner in which tiie money of his county is expended, and to this end he should study the .mnual joint report of the audited' and treasurer, which is always publislied in tlie local papers. The f|uestion of taxes is always a live (piestion and in order to discuss it intelligentlv the taxpayer must know just how they are levied, and once collected, how they are expended. The average citizen does not object to paving taxes if he believes that he gets the worth of his money, and he cannot possilily know whether he is getting full value, unless he studies the question from the annual reports of the county officers who handle the taxes.

A mere financial statement does not have the qualities of a romance, Imt one inmdrcd years from now - in 2017 - the reader who picks u]) this vohinie will read with a great deal of interest tlic re])ort which follows, giving in detail how the money of the taxpayers of the count\- was raised and expended in 1916. The report follows:

Oitstanuino Townshh

Glen Zell, Auditor Fayette County, Indiana. B. W. Cole, Treasurer Fayette County, Indiana. Examined and approved by the Board of Fayette County Commissioners, in open court, this, the 1st day of January, 1917.

The first marria.g^e license recorded in the county was that of Stephen Philpott to Rebecca Hawkins. The date of the issue of the Hcense was February g, 1819. The marriage was solemnized by Rev. Adam Banks.

The first deed recorded in the county was an indenture raadf. January 31, 1819, by Paul Davis and his wife, Margaret, of Connersville township, Fayette county, Indiana, on the one part, and James Davis of the same township, county and state, on the other part. It was the conveyance of the south half of the northeast quarter of section 21, township 14, range 12 east, and the consideration was eighty dollars. The transaction was acknowledged before John Perin, a justice of the peace. January 31, 1819, and recorded March 23. 1819, by J. C. Reed.

The first will recorded was that of the last will and testament of George Kirschman. deceased, of which recurd was made in the court house, August 26, 1819.

Thf, Fjwst Coitkt House

During the first year of the county's existence the affairs of government were transacted in private homes, but before the end of this period the necessity of a court house A\as (|uite evident and, with public sentiment fa\'orable, plans were made at the Xo\-ember session of the county commissioners for a com-t house. P>>- this time the donation fund had reached sufficient proportions to begin the erection of the public liuildings for which this fund had been established. The ])lan of the building as first outlined was as follows: The building was to be con.structed of brick, and to \ye fortv feet .square and two stories high - the first story eighteen feet high, the second, fourteen feet high. The front half of the lower floor was to be constructed of l>rick, and the other half of Oak or ash ]>]ank, one inch and a quarter thick, and not more than eight inches in width. The second floor was to be laid with oak or ash plank of the same description as the rear half of the lt)\ver floor. In the fust st(ir\- there were to l)e tliree windows in each side and end, except in front, where in tlie center of tlie Iniilchnf^- there were to be folding doors, with a window on either side. The windows were each to contain twenty- four li.i,dits, eiirht hy ten inches in size, and the window which was to he inimeihately lK.'hind tiie judge's bench was to be two and one-half feet hioher than the other windows. On each side of the second story there were to lie three windows of the same size and description as those given aI)o\ e. There were to l)e two fire]>laces below, in the southwest and northwest corners of the builcHng. and three fireplaces in the second story. Two girders, fourteen liy twel\e feet, were to extend through the center of the house (one above and one below) from side to side, equidistant from either sitle of the house, each to be supported by two columns, which were to l)e well turned and round, thirteen inches in diameter at the bottom and pro])urtionately small a! the lo]). The roof was to Ik? ]>itched from either side to the center, from whence was to be raised a cupol;i, eight feet in diameter and thirty-two feet in height from the i)e<lestal; from the to|) of the cu|Kila was lo extend a spire ten feet liigh. .\ handsome gilded ball, fifteen incites in diameter, and a neat \-ane were to ornament the spire: above the \';me was to be extended across the spire a bar with a gilt ball on each side, and ;i neat cap was to be ])laced on the to]) of the spire.

Through the center of the house and on the inside, on the ground floor and along the edge of the wooden floor, were to be a hand rail and banisters, and immediately under the middle window in the rear side of the house was to be a raised bench for the judges of the court. The bench was to be two and one-half feet from the floor, the bench to lie lianistered, and the stairway t(j ascend thereto was also to be banistered. This room was to be pro- \-itled with jury boxes, a criminal box and other re(|uisites. On the second floor there was to be a ]);u-tition across the house from north to south, the west portion of which was to be di\-ide(l into two rooms and the east half of that floor was also to be di\ided by a jiartition. The walls were to lie painted and penciled, the roof to be painted Si>anish brown color, the cu]iola white, and the whole of the interior of the building of the same color, excepting the judge's l)ench, jtiry boxes ruid banisters, which were to be painted blue.

The contract for the building was let on the last Saturday in Xoveml)er, i8t(). Jonathan b)bn was evidentb- the contractor, as the building was accejited b\- the count)' conmiissioners from him in .\ugust, 1822. The total cf)St to the county was one thous,-md two hundred sixt\'-twi) dollars ;iud tiftv cents. Ilii.s building' was one among- the early Ijrick structures in the county and stood on the center front of the public square fronting to the east, the square having been donated by Joshua Harlan.

Within three years after the first court house was completed it was found that it was not sufficiently large to accommodate all of the county officials. Consequently, the l)oard of justices- - who were at that time performing the duties of the county commissioners - authorized Jonathan McCarty to erect a separate building of two rooms for the use of the clerk and recorder. The contract was evidently let soon after the September, 1825, session of the board, but who secured it or when it was finalh- completed the official records fail to state. In ^larch, 1827, AlcCart}- was allowed three hundred twenty dollars and forty and one-half cents for work done on the building, and the inference is that AicCarty had the contract and that this amount was the total cost of the structure. The building was a frame structure and was located on the northwest corner of the public S(|uare. It was evidentlv in use until replaced by a second building which was ordered constructed in 1833. This second building-, also for the use of the clerk and recorder, was a one-story two-rO(im brick structure, thirtv b\- twenty feet, and stood on the southeast corner of the pul:)lic square. It was built b}- Sherman Schofield under the supervision of Gabriel Ginn, the latter being- appointed bv the county comraissionefs. This building was used for the po.stoffice after the new court house was built in 1849.

Present Court House

The present court house has had a curious history - a history which has had few parallels in the state. Jt is the usual custom in most counties to tear down a court house when it has outlived its usefulness, but the thrifty people of Fayette count)-' have not been so prodigal of their public money. When the first court house of 1822 and the subsequent two small county buildings were replaced by a substantial brick Iniilding in 18.1.9, the county had a court house which was one of the finest then in the state. This second court house, like a majority of the court houses of that also contained the jail as well as the sherilT's residence. The contract for its erection was let to John Elder, of Indianapolis, in the amount of $20,000, and he agreed to have it readx' for occupancy by October 12, 1840. It was a handsome structure, with a wing on either side of the main l)ody of the building. The front was adorned with six large columns, which were set on an extended front of the first storv and extended to the gable of the Iniilding. Fron-i an artistic viewl>i)iiit tlie 1841) structure was a uKn-e liandsonK' l)uil(lin^- tlian the ])rcsciU mie.

Tliis secoiul courl hduse was oi sufficient size to meet all the ileinaiuls of the county for several years without any additions or alterations. However. ])y the latter part of the sexenlies the local newspapers hetjan to make fui;^iti\e references to the need of a new jail and cnurt Iiouse. (ir at least a new jail. The agfitation fur increased i|uarter> for county pur])i)ses finally resulted in the Cdunty CdUiniissicnerN (irderins; the cunstructii m of a jail and the remodeling- i)f the court house. The jail was comi)leted in the sprin.t,'- of iSSi and as soon as the ]iri^oners were transferred from the cells in the court house to the new jail, the ])art of the court house formerlx used for jail and residence purposes was remodeled into offices. There were a few other minor changes made in the interior part of the court house, while its external ap|)earance remained as originalh' constructed.

Xineteen }-ears later the court house was com])letely o\erliauled and given its present apjiearance. It was at lirst ])roposed to tear down the old 1840 structure .and erect a new l)uildin_g;. hut it was found possible to utilize the old buildings in its entirety - excepting; the senn-( iothic spire--;uul this plan was finally adopted. The present court house therefore is nothing hut the 1849 huilding with a few additions and the whole faced with new hrick. An examination of the two photographs will show the difference between the 1849 building- and the same after it was remodeled in 1890.

-\ granite block imbedded in the northeast corner of the court house informs the passerby when the building- was given its present appearance, who was the architect and contractor, and who constituted the board of countv commissioners. This tablet reads :

At a meeting of the county commissioners, held March 6, 1819, the question of tlie erection of a county jail was favorably discussed and it was ordered that such a building- should be built according to the following plans :

There shiill be a jail built aiul erected on the public square ou which the seat of .justice is established, in the town of Connersville. in and for the county of Fayette, and on the west side of an alley running through the public square, nearly in a north and south direction, at or next to where the school house now stands; which said jail shall lie built on the foUowiug plan: To be l)uilt with logs thirty feet long by sixteen, hewn to ;i square twelve inches thiclc; two partition walls of logs of the same size; floor ami loft to be laid of logs the same size aforesaid, the middle room to be twelve feet in the clear, the othei- two "rooms seven feet each in the clear; the logs out of which said jail is to be built to be of good sound oak, cherry, red elm, houey locust, or ash timber ; the logs when said jail is raised, to be let in b.v a half dove-tail in such a manner as to let the logs as near together as conveniently can Ije; the upper and lower floor to be laid so as the timbers will touch from end to end; to be under-framed with good stone, one foot under ground and one foot above the surface of the ground; each room of said jail to be ceiled inside, except the under part of the upper floor, with oak plank an inch and a half in thickness, well seasoned, and not to exceed twelve inches in width, and to be well spiketl with iron spikes at least four inches in length and not less than eleven in each plank; said jail to be at least nine feet between the floors, and one round of logs above the upper floor, as before mentioned, on which upper round of logs the rafters shall so far be projected as to give an eave twelve inches clear of the wall; said jail to be covered with poplar joint shingles not exceeding eighteen inches in length ; two outside doors to be made of oak plant, one inch and a half in thickness, well doubled and spikeil with spikes at least four inches in length, to be placed not to exceed four inches apart and clinched in the inside of each door; each door to be two feet in width, two iron li.irs to be fixed to each outside door, which bars to be one-half inch by two inches, one end of each bar to be fa.stened to the logs ou each side of the door by a staple, and the other end to lie locked to a stajile on the opposite side of the door; one window to be in each ro(un. twelve inches by eighteen in size, iron grates, of an inch and a quarter in size, fixed in each window, two inches apart, said grates to be well plastered in at least three inches on the u|iper ,ind lower part of each of said windows; said jail doors to be well bung with gdiid and suttic-ient strap hinges; the whole of the work on said jail to be done in a workmanlike nianncr.

The building of this jail is to be set up and ottered at public sale and outcry to the lowest biddei- at the public stpiare in the town of Connersville on the 1.5th of this instant I March lit, ismi to be <-om|ileted by the first of September next at the expense of the <-omity.

Tht sheriff was commissioned to represent the county in the letting of the contract. Jonathan John was the successful bidder and the building was completed within the time specified. The jail was duly examined and accepted hv the coimt\- commissioners in August, 181Q. and the contractor was allowed seven hundred and sixt\-four dollars for its construction.

Second Jail

The first jail serveil well its purpose for a few years, but, with the general trend of progress, a more substantial building was needed. The agitation for such a structure began in the spring of 1834 and in May of that year the county commissioners offered a prize of ten dollars to the person submitting the best plans for a jail of three rooms. John Sample, Jr., was awarded the prize. There seems tu ha\e been a difference of oj^inion concerning the erection of a new jail, because at the fall term of the circuit court the, judges recommended the rehtting of the old jail according to plans submitted by Elijah C<jrbin. However, this recommendation was not heeded, for in November. 1834, ("jeorgc Frybarger and Gabriel Ginn were ai^jjointed superintendents to supervise the Iniilding of a brick jail, to be a story and a half high, and to have three apartments, two below and one above. The building stood on the south side of the public sfpiare and was erected by Philip Mason at a cost of eight hundred dollars.

Third Jail And First Sheriff'S Residence

In January, 184^, the court house and the clerk and recorder's otffce (second) were sold to A. B. Conwell for five hundred and seventv-five dollars and the jail to Sherman Scofield for ninety-six dollars. The old court house bell was sold to the Presb\terian church for one hundred and seventeen dollars.

The second court house, the third jail and the lirst jailer's residence were all combined in the one l)uiKling erected in the summer of 1841) bv bihn Klder, of Marion county, Indiana, at a cost of twenty thousand dolI;irs. The center apartment was occupied b\- the jail and the jailer's residence. There were six cells for prisoners, who could be taken to and from the court through a rear passage by a door entering immediatel}- into the court room.

In 18S1, improxements were ni;i(le upon the interior (if the court house and the space that had been utilized for the jail was converted into rooms for the use of the county officials. But previous to the remodeling, w-ork had l)een started on the new jail located on Fourth street, directly opposite the court house, llie building, erected by J. W. I'erkinson, of Indianapolis, was completed in the spring of 1881 at a total co^t of fourteen thousand nine iuindred clfillnrs. The rear of the building- forms the jail; underground is the dungeon, consisting of a cell about ten feet square. The jail contains ten cells, four on the lower floor and si.x on the upper, two of which are for women.

Kenevolent In.Stitutions

One (if the most striking evidences of our Christian civilization is the care and protection which is extended to those who, for one reason or another, are unable, to care for themselves. 1"he state of Indiana provides schools for its blind, its deaf and dumb, its feeble-minded and the orphans of its soldiers and sailors; it proxides institutions for the insane, for the epileptic, and for tln)se whose deeds ha\e temjiorarily placed them in such a iX)sition that the demands of societ}' necessitate their incarceration for definite periods of time.

While the state thus cares for its dependents, defectives and delincjuents, each county of the state has its particular institutions of this character maintained at the e.xpense of the countv. From the beginning of the history of Fayette county it has had its share of dependent people and one of the first acts of the county commissioners was to appoint overseers of the poor and provitle means for taking care of the indigent. This relief was a matter largely of townshi]) supervision at first, the county not having an asylum of any kind to house these unfortimates.

In 1824 the (leneral .Assembly ]iassed an act which provided for a more uniform system of taking care of the poor. This act of January 30, 1824, set forth the following provisions:

Seetion 1. That the commissioners of the several comities shall, at their first or .second session in each and every year, nominate and appoint two substantial inhabitants of every township within their respective comities to be overseers of the poor of such townishlp.

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the overseer of the poor every year to cause all poor persons who have or shall hereafter become a public charge to be farmed out. on contracts to be made on the fir.st Holiday in Alay annually, in such manner as the said overseers of the poor shall deem liest calculated to promote the general good.

Favette county followed this law in all particulars for the following decade, l>ut the experience of the various counties of the state - and Fayette was one of them - showed that the "farming out" system, as it was generally called, was not conducive to the best interests of society. This method of caring for the poor was a development of the old indenture system, with modifications of the apprentice system. This system actually jo/d the poor to the highest bidder and left the poor creatures to the mercy of their owner.

The whole s\stein of poor rehef was chant^ed in the early lliirties, l-'ayette county changiii"- its s\ stem as the result of the legislative act of January 23, 1834, entitled, "An Asylum for the Poor of the Counties of Franklin, I'ayette and Union." This act did away forever with the idea of selling the services of a poor man and made provisions for a central home where the ])oor should live together at public e.\])ense. that is, the county as a whole l)ecame responsible for its poor and not some few individuals who might exploit the unfortunates in some such manner as the slave owner in the South.

On December 26, 1S34, the commissioners of the three counties named met at Fairfield, in Franklin county, for the ])uri)ose of jointly erecting an asylum for the poor of the three counties. (/)n January 25, 1835, a farm of two hundred and eight acres located in township 13, range 13, Jackson township, Fayette county, was pmchased of Thomas Clark for two thousand and fifty-three dollars. The commissioners met thereon, August 10, 1835, and agreed to build an as\ lum which w.is to be in readiness by May, jS,t,(\ The building, which was of brick, was completed in the specified time and the farm let to the highest bidder.

On May q, 1836. Isaac (iardner, of Unirm count}, was chosen as the sui>erintendent of the institution at a salary of five hundred dollars a year. The first board of directors was composed of Josejih D. Thompson. Martin Williams and Zachariah Ferguson. The paupers of Fayette county were ordered removed from the several townships to the asykmi in Mav, 1836. The maintenance of the asylum was ])rorated among the three counties in proportion to their \oting po]julation. The first year of o]ieration ( 1836) Franklin had 1,800 voters, b'ayette had 1.555, <'i"*' Cnion had i,27cj. The total expense of keeping up the as\lum for the year 1836, and u]) until I<"ebruary 9, 1837. amounted to one thousand seven hundred and nine dollars and forty-one cents. From February 9, 1837. until March 6. 1838. the total expense of the asylum was one thousand fort\- dollars and sixteen cents, of which amount Fayette county's ap]X)rtionment was three hundred and fortvnine dollars and three cents. The su]ierintendents of the asylum while controllefl by the three counties, and in the order given, were Isaac Gardner, 1836-40; W^illiam Rigg.sbee, 1840-44; ^^'illiam P.arnard, 1844-55: Thomas Curry, 1855-56; Samuel Henderson, 1856.

This joint institution remained in operation fr)r t\vent\- \ears ( 1836-56), but by the latter year it was felt that better results could l)e obtained bv a separate asylum for each countv. Of course, during these two decades each county still extended relief to many ])oor within their re.spective counties who

The report of the board of directors of the asylum to the county commissioners of the three counties on March 3, 1856, the last report of the joint asylum, gives the following interesting .facts (the record from which this was taken is in the Franklin county court house at Brookville ) :

During the winter and early spring of 1855-56 the commissioners of the three counties reached an agreement to dissolve the contract under which they had ijeen maintaining the joint asylum for the previous twenty years. The final settlement of the matter was made on June 12, 1856, the counties then entering into an agreement whereby they were to sell the entire property and prorate the proceeds, the land and liuildings being disposed of to private ]>arties. The counties were, howe\-er, to retain possession of the propert\- until March 10, 1857, at which time the agreement was to go into efifect.

In September, 1856, the commissioners of Fayette county purchased a portion of the present infirmary farm adjoining Connersville on the west and tit once contracted with Sherman .Scholield for the erection of a building to cost seven thousand dollars. It was a two-story brick building and was ready for occupancy in ,\ugust, 1857. The sixty years which have elapsed since the present site was chosen have seen the farm increased from time to time until it comprised one hundred and se\ent)--twc) acres, but some of it was later sold and at the present time it contains only one hundred and fortyacres. The building erected in 1856-57 continued in u.se until 1916, when the present beautiful structure was erected. The contract for the building was let June 16, IQT5, to S. F. Miller, a contractor of Connersville, for the sum of $2 1, 90)2.33. A bond issue of $22,200 was authorized to cover the cost of construction. The building was completed and occupied for the first time in January, 1916.

There have Ijeen only nine superintendents of the asylum between 1857 and 1917. the present incumbent of the office being Harry Smith, who was appointed by the county commissioners in 1914 for a term of four years at an auiuial salarv ui nine hundred dollars. The previous eight supcriiUendents served in tiic tulKiwini; order, the dates of tenure of the hrst five not heing given: William Custer, I'eter Reed, William Morse, Jacob Ridge, John B. Salver. J-".. .M. .McCreadx ii8S7-()7), J, M. .Sanders (1897-1906), and George .\. ( )stheinKT ( j<)o(>-i4). The salary in 1897 was fixed at six hundred dollars; in ujoh it was increased to seven hundred dollars; in 1914 it was raised to nine hundred dollars. In ever\- instance the wife of the superintendent has served as matron.

The last financial statement shtnved thai the receipts for i<>i6 were $i,046;6f), while the county still owed $17,2,^3.23 on the new building and its ecjuipment. The inmates vary in number from year to year, but there is usually a sufficient number of able-bodied men to take care of the farm. The last report (January 24. 1917) of the superintendent t;ives the number of inmates as follow: Six males, nine females and si.\ children. The children are held in tiic institution until they ma\' be placed in homes.

b'ayette county has never maintained a separate home for its dependent children. When the I^egislature passed the law in 1901 forbidding the keeping of children in the poor as\lnm, Fayette county decided to place its dependent cliildren in homes in other counties rather than erect a separate building for their housing. The law made ])rovision for such a procedure, it lieing very evident that many counties would not ba\e a sufficient number of dependent children to warrant the erection of a s])ecial building for their care. Vov a number of years the county contracted with .Mrs. .Marv -\. Cotton to keep the poor children in her own home. The general superxision of tlie children is placed in the hands of a count}' board of charities, ajipointed by the circuit judge. At the present time i 11)17) the county has contracts with the boards of charities in Delaware. .Miann' and Marion counties for the care of the dependent children of the county. The home in .Miami countv is located at Mexico, the homes in the other two counties l)eing at the county seats.

F.Wette Centennial Memorial Hospital

The historx- of the present city hospital of Connersville may be traced back more than eighteen years and during all of these years there has been some kind of an institution in the city that might be called a sanitarium which also did hospital work. In the nineties there came to Connersville Dr. D. D. McDougall, who o]iened a sanitarium on Central avenue l)etween (12)

Fourth Street and Fifth street. He was not a regular practicing physician, but had been trained in a Battle Creek (Michigan) sanitarium and seemed to have been well qualified to conduct such an institution as he proposed. He made free use of electricity, massaging, baths and such treatments as are now associated with mechano-therapy. He installed electric machines as soon as their efficacy was demonstrated, and, if statements of persons treated by him are to be credited, he was well worthy of the extensive patronage he enjoyed.

Doctor McDougall continued in charge of his private sanitarium until about 1903, when he associated himself with a group of Seventh-Day Adventists, most of whom were non-residents of Connersville, in an association for the purpose of establishing a permanent sanitarium. A board of directors was constituted to manage the institution, five of whom were members of the religious denomination, while the two remaining members were B. F. Thiebaud and E. D. Johnson, the idea of the promoters of the sanitarium being to establish an institution not only for members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, but also for the public at large. Shortly after this second institution was put into operation the members of the church conceived the idea of making it the state Sanitarium for their church.

With the idea of enlarging the institution and increasing its usefulness the directors jilanned to secure the present home of the Elmhurst School for Girls, when that buildino- was jjlaced on the market in [905. This effort. however, proved luisuccessful, tlie l)uilding finally lieing bid off by George B. Markle, and the Adventists at once gave up the idea of trying to make Connersville the home of their proposed state sanitarium. They abandoned the sanitarium in Connersville and selected Lafayette as the site for their institution, and the second chapter in the Fayette sanitarium project thus came to an end. Soon after this change came. Doctor McDougall, who had l>een prominently identified with the sanitarium work in Conners\-ille for more than ten years, located in Cincinnati, where he is still engaged in sanitarium work.

Movement For Public Hospital

When the Seventh-Day Adventists left the city the local organization came to an abrupt end, but it was felt by the citizens that some provision must be made at once to provide some kind of a public hospital. Interested citizens took up the matter and the Commercial Club and others were induced to ask some one who was competent to manage such an institution to locate at Connersville. After considering the offers of several persons, arrange- ments were finally concluded with W. P. Schuster, a reputed sanitarium e.xpert, to superintend and conduct a sanitarium and iiospital in the former residence of E. W. Ansted. This building was rented from the owner by Mr. Schuster for the nominal sum of twenty-five dollars a month and the manufacturers of the city and the city council agreed to give five hundred dollars each, annuallw for charity purposes toward the maintenance of this institution. Schuster remained in charge only two years, disposing of his interests to the Sahli sisters, both of whom had lieen trained in sanitarium methods at Battle Creek.

The Sahli sisters managed the instituticjii until March i, 1912, When they assumed control in 1907 the Commercial Club appointed an advisory board to assist in supervising the affairs of the hospital, the manufacturers and city, at the same time, agreeing to continue their annual appropriations of five hundred dollars each. During their regime the institution enjoyed a reasonably prosperous career and maintained a reputable standing for the character of its work. When the Sahli sisters decided to give up the work in the spring of kh-' the citizens of the city, under tlie leadershii) of the late Alvin E. Barrows, raised ;ibout one tliousand dollars liy snbscri])li()n to purchase their interest in sanitarium and hospital ap])aratus. The investment included the amount the\- had paid Schuster, together with such eritiipment as they had installed during their five years of cx-cupancy. The home of the hos])itai was still in the old .\nsted home, where it had been established in 1905. Erom the time the .Seventh-Day .Adventists abandoned the sanitarium ]jroject in Conners\-ille until the citizens jiurchased tlie entire sanitariniii and hospital outfit from the Sahli .Sifters in 1912, the institution was ;i ])ri\ate affair aided and ;!ssisteil liy tlie city council, tlie Commercial Club and the manufacturers of the city.

Fayette Sanitarium A.Ssociation

G. L. Brown, the present superintendent of the hospital, assumed charge on .March i, !()ij. He was appointed by representatives of the Commercial Club, the city council and the manufacturers, after making a thorough investigation as to his fitness for the position. Mr. Brown received his training in sanitarium and hospital methods in an Eastern institution where the Battle Creek sanitarium methods were employed. He had had extensive ex]3erience in managing hospitals and superintending nurses I)efore he took charge of the local instittuion in h)I_'.

passage of which was largely due to the efforts of the citizens of Richmond, who were interested in securing aid for the maintenance of the Reid Memorial Hospital. This act provided that city councils and county commissioners might make appropriations for charitable purposes to a hospital coming under this provision, the appropriation so granted to be used for the maintenance of any hospital in a county which might apply for aid. In compliance with this act the city council of Connersville appropriated five hundred dollars and the county commissioners fifteen hundred dollars annually for the support of the institution.

The association is known as the Fayette Sanitarium Association. The directorate consisted originally of seven trustees, made up of a representative of each of the following organizations ; The Commercial Club, the I'^ayette Covmty Medical Society, the Masons, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the city council and the county commissioners. Improvements were necessary for the buildings and E. W. Ansted proposed to deed the building and grounds to this association and accept five per cent, first-mortgage bonds for the consideration of the transfer. Mr. Ansted's proposition was accepted and the grounds and buildings became the property of the Fayette Sanitarium Association on November lo, 1914.

I'Voni the time Mr. Brown took charge of the Fayette sanitarium it bid fair to liecome a popular and helpful instituti(jn for Connersville. At the end of two years of his management it was felt that a larger and more complete hospital must lie provided for the needs of Connersville, and in the latter part of 19 15 and early in 19 16 the demands became so pronounced tliat committees were ap])ointed to formulate plans to provide for more commodious and up-to-date quarters for Connersville's sick and unfortunate. Appeals were made to the county commissioners for appropriations for the building of a county hospital. Init owing to the large expenditure then being made for the new county infirmar}- this body felt they could not make such an appronriation. Not to lie daunted by the decision of the commissioners to assist the project, the hospital soliciting committee at once laid plans for a campaign to raise the necessary funds by public subscription. The campaign opened in Jime, 1916, but it was not until the latter part of that month that an event occurred which really put the campaign forcefulK- before the people of the county.

Mr. Ansted Starts Kai

Ohiiinuiiii Hospital I'oniuiittee, City. You perliaps kuow I have long been interested in our present hospital and sanitarium. In connection with the movement to appropriate funds for the erection of a new hospital 1 beg to advise that 1 will donate to the good of the cause all of the mortgage bonds that I hold on the Fayette sanit;iriuni. These bonds represent the full valuation of all buildings and two himdred tifty feet of ground on Virginia avenue. The only stipulation that I ask is that the citizens of Payette county raise in subscription the sum of thirty-six tliousand dollars. I feel that this is tJie least amount of money that you should have to carry the pro.1eot through in a creditJible way. This offer holds good until August 15. 1016.

'{"he announcement of this mnnificenl i>;\h of tweKe thousand dollars' wortli of property by Mr. Ansted to the people of Fayette county so inspired the soliciting committees that on July 5. the closing day of the centennial celebration of Indiana's statehood, the committee had pledges to the hospital fund to the amount of more than twenty thousand dollars and were ready to guarantee the fulfillment of the recpiirements of Mr. Ansted in the announcement of his gift. It was at eleven o'clock on July 5. 1916, that appropriate dedicatory services were held on the ground of the old Ansted homestead announcing the certainty of a splendid hospital for Connersville and Fayette county and naming it the Fayette Centennial Memorial Hospital.

It was at the above-mentioned time and place that a large number of Fayette county's citizens gathered to witness the brief but l>eautiful ceremonies attending the dedication of the hospital. E. P. Hawkins spoke of the magnitude of the gift and F. B. Ansted, son of E. W. Ansted, delivered to the hospital committee the bonds delivering the property free of debt. C. C. Hull, as chairman of the hospital committee, accepted the gift; B. F. Thiebaud accepting as chairman of the lx)ard of trustees for the hospital association, and Mrs. W. E. Ochiltree accepting in behalf of the women's associations of the city. The donor, E. W. Ansted, was present

After the dedicatory services had been completed and Mr. Ansted had returned to his palatial home on Central avenue he was given an ovation by his neighbors and friends, who were so filled with gratitude toward him for his part in so great an enterprise that their feeling had to be manifested in outward expressions.

From the time the hospital project assumed definite form to this time (February i, 1917) the subscription fund has steadily grown until it is now about forty thousand dollars. The centennial celebration committee donated nearly one thousand dollars to the fund, the amount left after all the expenses of the celebration were paid. The building committee has aiccepted plans and the work of constructing a magnificent hospital that will care for forty patients will soon be realized. This work was all made possible by the greatness of one man's soul and the ready response of the good people of Fayette county, for in this movement there is no community in all the county that has not liad a definite part in this benevolent enterprise.

Tt is in trutli and in deed the people's hospital - which is as Mr. .\nsted would have it. The man in the factory, the farmer, the merchant, the banker, the manufacturer, the man and woman of every walk and vocatipn f>f life, all ha\e done nobly in lending substantial aid to tiiis much needed institution.

The main structure will cost forty thousand dollars; the interior fixtures and equipment, seven thousand five hundred dollars. The women of the city and county, through their various organizations, propose to raise the means for the greater part of the interior fixtures and ec[uipment. The building is to be made of brick, trimmed with Bedford stone, and will have every advantage in the way of appointments shared by our most elaborate and up-to-date hospitals. Every foot of space will be utilized for some practical purpose, and the people of Connersville and Fayette county will have, in October, 1917, one of the most beautiful, useful and complete hospitals in the Hoosier state.

Population Statistics

I'axette county was organized about a year before the 1820 federal census was taken and consequently figured for the first time in the returns for that decade. There was a rapid influx of people into the territory now

The first censiis available which made returns by townships was in 1850. At that time Fairview township was not yet organized, its territory still being a part of Orange and Harrison townships. It first appears in the census of i860, and its org-anization out of Orange and Harrison partly explains the sharp decline in the population of Orange and Harrison townships in i860. .\ comparison of the population of the nine townships between 1850 and 1910 reveals the fact that every one but one, Harrison, has suffered a decline. The small increase in Harrison is fully explained by the fact that the city of Connersville has extended its limits into it. In 1850 the rural ix>pulation (that is, the total outside of Connersville city) was 8,921 ; in 1910 it was only 6,677, ^ decrease of 2,244. It is said that some of the townships in the county actually had a larger population in 1830 than they do today, but in the absence of .statistics this fact cannot be proved. The following talile exhibits the poi)ulation by townsliips from 1830 to 1880 :

Popui.Atiox By Decvdes, I85O-1880

Of the total population of 14,415 in igio, 7,130 were white males and 6,824 white females; 210 colored males and 230 colored females; and one Chinese. Practically all were native-born citizens, only 363 being returned as foreign-born. The total population was made up of 3,761 families, occupying 3,647 dwellings.

The population of Fayette county includes very few citizens of foreign birth. The extensive manufacturing interests of Conuet^4He have not attracted the foreign element as has been the case in so many other cities of the state, the owners preferring native Americans to the illiterate workman from foreign shores. The few foreigners in the county are a good, substantial class of citizens and make a valuable acquisition to the citizenry of the countv. A sttidy of the naturalization records of the county discloses the fact that since 1904 there have been only twenty-four citizens who have become naturalized, and most of these were in presidential election years. In 1904 there were eight and there were no more until 1908. In the laitter