Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 20, 1917 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 20

The annals of Indiana are rich in stories recounting the settlement and development of many industrial and civic centers within its domain, but ncme eclipse in interest the marvelous growth of the city of Connersxille, cmintyseat of Fayette county.

Connersville is picturesquely situated on the west bank of the west fork of White Water river, occupying what forms a natural terrace to the streams and river bottoms. Its western and southwestern boundaries are dotted with a range of hills, rising about one hundred feet above the valley, and whose summits are crowned, at irregular distances, with antique and more modern suburban homes, from which is obtained a pleasing view of the city and surrounding country. The city is located near the center of Fayette county, and by rail is distant 67.2 miles, a Httle south of east from Indianapolis and 57.1 miles northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio, lying in latitude 39 degrees 36 minutes north, and longitude 7 degrees 54 minutes west.

The Original Plat

John Conner, the proprietor of the original plat of the town, some time between the years 1804 and 1808, had established an Indian trading ixjst at this point. Hence the name Connersville. On March 4, 1813, the city was laid out by John Conner, though the original proprietor of the land on which the original plat was made, as shown by the original entry book, was A. Tharp, who entered the northeast quarter of section 25, township 14, range 12 east, April 4, 1812. The original plat comprised only sixty-two lots, which were bounded on the west by Monroe street (now Central avenue), on the east by Water street, and extending from a little beyond Head street (now Sixth street), on the north to a little beyond High street (now Third street) on the south. The place was laid out in Franklin county and the plat there recorded, which it seems from the records was not transcribed on the records of Fayette county until October, 1841. .\ttached to the plat is the following descriptive heading and certificate :

Part of town of Couuersville first laid off by John Conner. Laid out on the west brancli of Wliite Water, on the north side nf the river, on part of the northeast quarter of section 25, township 14. ran^e lii cast, second principal meridian; course of street running up and down the river and udrth iTr east, commencing at the lower end of the town, and the other north 65° west, extending from the river, and all of them four poles wide ; the alleys are one pole wide. The public grounds contain two blocks or four lots. The lots are five poles front and two poles back, each containing fifty square perches of ground, and laid down by a scale of ten poles to the inch by nie, Enoch McCarty. - ' March 4, 1813.

On the 1st day of October, 1813, personally came before me, Benjamin Smith, a Justice of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid, John Conner, and saith on oath that the within plat is a true representation of the within described town of Connersville, and further saith not.

In 1817 Joshua Harlan made additions embracing lots extending above Boundary (now Second) street, east of Market and south of the alley above Head (now Sixth) street. The same Joshua Harlan in 1818 made further additions embracing lots west of Market street to Tanner, south of Madison, and to one street further west north of Madison, extending from Boundaiy along Market to an alley between Harrison and Head streets, the northern boundary of these lots consisting of a line from said alley on the south to an alley on the north between INIadison and Harrison streets; and again in 1819 by the same, embracing lots south of Boundary street. In 1818 by Dale; in 1 8 19 by Jonathan McCarty ; in 1819 by John Conner. The ground comprising the public square, on which are now located the city hall and court house, bounded by Central avenue, Market Court, and Fourth streets, was a part of the Harlan plat of additions to the town.

On February 17, 1819, Connersville was selected as county seat by the locating commissioners designated by the legislatve act of December 28, 1818.

The Early Village

I came to the valley of the White Water in the Spring of 1816. and early in the summer of that year I visited Connersville. A small tract of land had been laid off by John Conner into town lots, which lay along the river bank on Water street and along Slain street, and a few log cabins had been erected. The most of the land which coiiiiirises the present site of tlie town was then a dense forest. In traveliii); up the river to the phice there was now and then a small oiieuing to he seen, with an inhahited log cabin on it. John Conner, after whom the town is named, and who owned the land on which it stands, had hnilt a mill .iust above the town, and not far above the site of the iire.sent mill now owned b.v A. I*.. Conwell. The town had bnt one small retail store.

The keeping of the first store at Connersville has Ijeen credited to Joshua Harlan. This, of course, is excepting Conner's trading post, where he had been bartering with the Indians for several years. The first business house built on the town plat is said to have been a log building which stood on the west side of Main street (now Eastern avenue), on or near the corner of the alley on the site of the dwelling house formerly occupied by the widow of William Bunnell. He is known to have kept a store at that point in 1815. Mr. Harlan, who had been a judge under the Territorial Government, was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, born in 1763. He lived for some years in Kentucky and Brookville, and in 181 3 came to Connersville. He has been described as a tall man, fully six feet two inches, and of strong and clear mind. About 1820 he built a brick house on the northeast corner of what is now Eastern avenue and Fifth street. Here Judge Harlan kept one of "ye olden time inn,s" for a number of years. He died at Connersville on September 15, 1827.

An Attorney Without Money

Xewton and Solomon Claypool. young unmarried men, came to the village in 181 7 and for a time carried on a bartering trade with the Indians and the few white settlers. Newton emlsarked in the tavern business, and Solomon engaged in farming. The Hon. Oliver H. Smith, a United States senator from Indiana, in alluding to Mr. Claypool as a landlord, said : "When I arrived at Connersville in May, 1820, I stopped at the hotel of Xewton Claypool. He was about my age. I had been licensed to practice in March before, and was looking for a location. My last dollar had escaped from the top of my pocket. Breakfast over, I met Claypool in the l)ar-ruom ; as we met I remarked : 'Look me over and see whether you will risk me for my board for a year.' 'Who are you? Where did you come from? What is'your trade and how do you expect to pay for your board ?' '^ly name is Smith ; I am from Lawrenceburg ; I- am a young lawyer, and I expect to pay you from my practice." 'Rather a bad chance, Init I will risk you.' " The board bill was paid.

It appears from an inscription on a tombstone at Connersville tliat the Claypools were Virginians ; that, with their father, Abraham Claypool, they migrated to Scioto Valley, Ohio, in 1798, thence to Clermont county, same state, in 1808, and then to Connersville in 181 7.

Silas Ford, a wheelwright, came to the village from Virginia in 1817. Here he followed his trade, and for a time he also kept a house of entertainment. A 3-oung man from Pennsjlvania, by name Joseph Nelson, and by trade a saddler, settled in Connersville in 18 19, and at once opened the first saddlery in the place.

In 1819 Austin Bishop opened a store on the northwest corner of Eastern avenue and Fifth street. The building was erected by Benjamin Berry. Absalom Burkham built the Heinemann corner. The same year were built the hotel of Joshua Harlan, a house for Charles MoiTut, the old United States Hotel, which stood on Central avenue opposite the court house, and a house for George Reed.

Tavern License Granted

Jonathan John, from Kentucky, settled in 1816 on the site of the McFarlan residence, on the western border of the city. The father of Amos R. Edwards, from Pennsylvania, settled in Connersville in 18 17, and in 18 19 came Douglas Burton and family from Kentucky, though previously migrating from South Carolina. At this period those engaged in keeping tavern or merchandising were required to make application for a license for same. In 1819 the county commissioners granted-a tavern license to Newton Claypool and George Reed, and in 1820 to Joshua Harlan and Archibald Reed. The rate charged per annum was ten dollars.

The following business interests were represented in Connersville in 1821 : Arthur Dixon kept a dry-good store; Austin Bishop conducted a grocery; Joshua Harlan was running a tavern; John Sample, Sr., had an inn; Newton Claypool kept a house of entertainment; Archibald Reed carried on a similar house ; Absalom Burkham also vended spirituous compounds ; Silas Ford conducted a hotel; Bartholomew McCleary carried on a general store; Barnet and Jonas Levi had a jewelry establishment ; a Mr. Bouton had a cooperage ; Joseph Nelson was the only saddler; Martin Remington was the village blacksmith; one Rankin sold hats to suit all heads; the United States tavern was in the hands of William W. Wick, and David Beck was sartorial outfitter to the community ; William Burnett and Julius Whitmer were carpenters ; John D. Stewart sold shoes ; Stebbins & Ball ran a pottery works ; William W. Wick and Oliver H. Smith were the resident attorneys; Dr. Joseph Mofifit was the only physician ; John Conner had in full blast a saw- and grist-mill and distillery ; A. B. Conwell owned a tannery, as also did a Mr. Rees ; Asher Cox, Edmund I. Kidd and Hervey Bates had in operation a carding and fulling machine. At this time there was no church building or school house in the village, yet the circuit preacher.s of the Methodist Episcopal church visited the place occasionally. \\". Wick, above referred to, was the first attorney in Connersville: he was later a judge and congressman, and also served as postmaster at Indianapolis for four years.

Licenses to keep tavern in the village from i8ji to 1830 were granted to the following: Thomas Murphy and Moses Cox, in 182 1 ; Archibald Reed, Joshua Harlan, Newton Claypool, Abraham W. Harris, Andrew Wallace, John Mcintosh, John Sample. Martin M. Ray and John Allen, Jr., in 1824; Abraham Bays, in 1826: Abner Smith and Benjamin Johns, in 1829. Licenses to vend merchandise during the same period were granted to : W. & S. Walton and George Frybargei". in 1824; Joshua Mcintosh, in 1825; A. Clark & Company, Robert Swift, Andrew Wallace, Hugh Wooster, Samuel Walton and Meredith Helm, in 1S26; William Walton. 1827: Amzi Clark and Theodore R. Lewis, and Daniel Hankins and James Mount, in 1828; Meredith Helm, Robert Cox, Amos Conklin, Charles Shipley and John Picket, in 1829.

Other business interests in Connersville up to 1830 were the tin, sheet-iron and copper factory, owned by J. Dawson ; Hull & Fearis, saddlers ; John Willey, meat market: Merrifiekl & Miller, hatters: Christian Beck, gunsmith: H. Goodlander, jeweler: A, Van Vleet and Hiram Bundy, weavers; John Perin and L)-man Carpenter, oil millers: A. Conklin and \\'. H. Coombs, chair factory; Thomas Rutter was a hatter; Frisbee, tannery; George W.

Parks, blacksmith; George W. Reed, tailoring; Nicholas Baker, shoemaking; J. Hart, tinner ; Silas Ford, spinning-wheels ; Robert Griffis, saddlery ; John McCoy, hatter, and Isaac Wood, spinning-wheels.

The First Newspaper

The first newspaper, the Indiana Statesman, was started in 1824 by Abraham \'an Vleet, and was followed in 1826 by the Fayette Observer. under the proprietorship of Van Vleet and Daniel Rench. The Methodists erected a house of worship in 1824: this was the onlv church in the village up to 1830. A seminary building was erected in 1828, and was the first regular school building in Connersville.

In 1826 John Sample was postmaster; he requested "all letters and packages to be sent in the mail to be in the office half an hour before the mails closed." That summer the arrival and departure of the mails from the postoffice in Connersville were : "Eastern mail arrives on Thursdays 1 1 o'clock a. m. and departs west in half an hour, ^^'estern mail arrives on Tuesdavs

The First Library

As early as 1820 there was a circulating library in the village, and in November, 1825, the Fayette county library was opened to the public. One year later it contained one hundred and fifty-one select volumes, and this number was later augmented by one hundred and twenty-five volumes. The library was under the management of a board of trustees, of which Daniel Rench was secretary. The library was open every Saturday afternoon from one to six o'clock. An announcement in the Observer reads:

There are volumes in tlie library to suit the tastes and inquiries of all. The citizens, we hope, will not be slow in availing themselves of Its great advantages, which may be had for fifty cents a year. All citizens over sixteen years may draw books, by (riving bond and security for d;nnil^'es, etc. The rules governing drawers are public in the librai-y room.

Wool Carding. - The undersigned return their grateful acknowledgments for the lilieral support they have heretofore received, and now inform the public that their machines are in complete operation, and ready to receive wool, which they will card in the best manner and on the shortest notice. Every exertion will be made to accommodate persons living at a distance. The following articles of produce will be received in payment - wool, sugar, linen, beeswax, flax, wheat, tallow, etc.

In the Observer of February, 1830, J. M. Ray, as agent, advertised that On Jlay 26 would be offered for sale Conner's grist-mill, saw-mill, distillei'}- and mill farm adjoining Connersville. the farm below town, the tavern- and store-stands opposite the court house in said town and some out-lots in the vicinity. Mill farm about eighty acres cleared land under good fence. The mills and distillery are in fine operation, and the tavern-stand occuiiied l)y Captain Sample, and the store room by Messrs. Hankins and Mount. The whole property is now under rent at $600 per annum, cash.

Captains comijianding companies in the Eleventh Regiment of the Indiana Militia, are hereby ordered to attend the following musters with subaltern otficers. first sergeants and musicians at th6 following time and places, to wit: Drill muster, at the town of Connersville, on the 26th and 27th of May next; battalion muster, at the house of N. McClure, on the 2Sth day of May next ; at the house of Amos G. Pumphrey, on the 29th of May next, and regimental muster at Connersville, on the 2d day of October next.

aiuied aiul equipiied as the law iliivi-ts. at !> o'clock on each day. ('mirl of .\sscssiiiciil iu Couuersville on the first Monday of Xoveiiiber, and Court of .Vpiioals im the lii-si Monday of next Decenilier, al llir house of Archibald Held.

Some Notable Connersville Men

The preceding pages, in a general way, give a summary of the conditions up to 1830, and before returning to the beginning of the decade, when it may be said that Connersville began to grow, the point may be made that its first step towards development and prosperity, which have followed it for almost a century, was coincident with its selection as the county seat. A brief reference to some of the men who pioneered the development, is worthy of record. Among them were Joshua Harlan, Arthur Dixon, Newton Clay-, pool, John Sample, Jonathan- McCarty, James M. Ray, Oliver H. Smith, William W. Wick, Jonathan John, Samuel C. Sample, George Frybarger, A. B. Conwell, and later, Marks Crume, Martin M. Ray, Samuel W. Parker, Caleb B. Smith and Daniel Hankins - future legislators, judges, members of Congress, a United States senator, a cabinet officer, and business men of great capacity. In the hands of such men it is no wonder that the village became progressive and interesting. An anecdote will serve to illustrate the peculiar talents of the taverns heretofore referred to. An old Englishman by the name of John Knipe was asked by a traveler who kept the best hotel. "\\e"el. hif thee wants good grub, go to Samples; hif thee wants thy 'oss well cared, go to Claypool's, and hif thee wants gude whisky, thee will iietter stop at 'Arlan"s."

It will not be amiss here to chronicle a few particulars of the early men who figured conspicuously in the greater business interests of Connersville, and whose advent into her business circles marked an era in her history. Of the men referred to, Newton Claypool was native of Virginia, where he was born in 1795, though at an early day with his father removed to Ohio, and in 1817 settled in Connersville. In 1818 he returned temporarily tf) Ohio and was married to Mary Kerns, of Ross county. Claypool was a tavernkeeper until 1836, when he purchased and removed to the fami just north of the citv limits, where his son, Austin B. Claypool, later resided. Newton Claypool was elected to the Legislature first in 1825, and to the Senate first in 1828, and subsequently served a number of years in each branch. Oliver H. Smith writes of him in this connection : "He was one of the most efficient men in the Legislature for many years. His greatest forte was in his prac- tical knowledge applied to the subject by his strong common sense. For many years he was closely identified with the banking business of this community." Another writer thus alludes to him : "Luck was not one of Newton Claypool's words; it was not in his lexicon. He did but little on faith, either - had his own philosophy, both of church and state. He fought all of his enemies with the same weapon. He was a consistent enemy of the Democratic party, through a life longer than is usually allotted to a man. It can be said of him that he was eminently successful as a financier, in earlier life as an economist and producer, and in after life as a banker. In this latter ca])acity his reputation was brilliant and enviable throughout the state." Claypool died at Indianai^olis on May 14, 1866.

Honesty Personified

George Frybarger came to Connersville from Dayton, Ohio, in 182 1 and opened a dry-goods store. A writer speaks of him thus: "Like most of the early settlers he was fearless and self-reliant, and entered upon the duties of his calling with decided purposes of usefulness and accumulation. His industry and energy gave him success, and for many years he ranked among the foremost merchants and traders of the White Water valley. It has been said that, perhaps, there never was a man in Connersville who knew the business as well as Frybarger, none at least who did so much business as he. There can be no doubt but the ruling trait and the carefully guarded ambition of George Frybarger was honesty. Even to the minutest details of ever raging trade throughout a long life of successful mercantile pursuits, he adhered in theory and practice to his passion - honesty. The charity of Frybarger was in business, that is, he was charitable to those that deserved it. He loaned to the unfortunate honest ; he gave, too, and encouraged with his advice and credit and means, stimulating them to all the demands of success. He had an unbounded credit at home and abroad. He always kept safely stored in his vaults coin to put against his credit. He is said to have been the first man in the West in a crisis, well remembered in the commercial world, to promptly pay his Eastern debts with coin stored for the purpose of adversity." An inscription on his tombstone indicates that he was born in 1797 and died in 1853.

A. B. Conwell was born in Delaware in 1796, and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to a tanner, with whom he served five years. In 181 7 he, with a brother, walked from Washington, D. C, to Pittsburgh, where they separated, A. B. going to Kentucky, and in 1821 he located in Connersville, and began his successful career on an acre of ground whicli he purchased of John Conner. Here he put in operation a tannery, which business lie sul^sec|uently abandoned and engaged in mercantile pursuits. For many years he was engaged in the milling business, and erected and carried on one of the most extensive fiouring-mills in this section of the state. The large mill on what is now north Eastern avenue, was a monument to his enterprise. Porkpacking for a number of years claimed his attention, and this business he successfully conducted on a large scale. He was a man of nuich natural intellect and judgment, and had ever been known for his wise forecast of events, as well as for his sustained success in his Inisiness ventures and speculations.

Daniel Hankins settled in Conners\ille in 1827 - six years later than Frybarger and Conwell, \-et he figured in the latter years of that decade. Colonel Hankins, as for some unexplained reason he was known, was a native of New Jersey state, born in 1795 and died in i860. He began as a dry-goods merchant in Connersville and so continued throughout his business career. He was possessed of great activity and energy. A writer has gi\en as his chief qualities, "untiring industry, coupled v.ith worthy ambition; a restless, eager spirit, he was a fretful business man. Dull times only conquered him." He engaged extensively in speculation, pork and grain receiving his attention in large investments. His influence is said to have been great, because his trade was great. In 1830 he, with Marks Crume, represented the county in the Legislature. In writing of his death the Conncrsznllc Times said : "He accumulated a vast property ; he had a farm of fourteen hundred acres north of Connersville, which he superintended, though his attention was largely engrossed with the extensive mercantile trade and speculations in pork and flour. Perhaps no man of one county has ever managed as much business, and managed it as correctly and successfully, as has Colonel Hankins."

The "Indiana Gazetteer" of 1833 gives the village of Connersville as having a population of five hundred inhabitants. In that year the village comprised seven mercantile stores, one drug store, four taverns, four physicians, four lawyers and two printing offices, besides mechanics engaged in various occupations.

as any others hi the great West, and complete marks of tlieir persevering habits are displayed on every street. New houses are in successive building, and the hum and buzz of business are made to resound in the distant valley, and to the approaching traveler bespeaks the industry of mechanics. Our merchants are daily receiving thousands of dollars worth of goods. The spring sales progress with much vigor, which makes the active salesman skip the counter with a business-like spirit. Our physicians (poor fellows) have but little to do; they droop their heads beneath the influence of general good health. Our streets present a lively picture of enterprise and industry. While other presses are falling out with their subscribers and placing their names on the "black list," the ticiitincl still holds an undiminished patronage, and its conductors continue, daily, to place good names on their "white list." All this prosperity we owe, in a great measure, to the farmers of Indiana - "the staff of life." But a few years of such prosiierity and Connersville will become the most flourishing village in the Western country.

The Succeeding Decade, 1833-43

Connersville kept on in the even tenor of its way during the following ten years, making no notable advance in the way of industries, yet increasing gradually in numbers and business and quietly laying the foundation upon which was to be built the city that now occupies a prominent place in the sisterhood of eastern Indiana cities.

A noteworthy event of the decade was the passage of the great Internal Improvement bill for the state of Indiana, at the head of which stood the White Water Valley Canal bill, and it was this canal that was to mark an era in the history of all villages and towns along its proposed path. The bill was passed on January i6, 1836, and the news was received at Connersville on the 18th. When twilight came on the houses and buildings in the village, with few exceptions, were in a brilliant blaze of illumination. The court house was lighted up from the basement to the steeple. About sundown the one cannon of the village was hauled out to the canal line and six guns fired - one in honor of the governor, one to the senator and one to each of the representatives of the county in the General Assembly and one to the White Water Valley canal.

In the evening a meeting was held at the court house, which was addressed by Oliver H. Smith and Samuel W. Parker. A number of toasts were drunk, after which the whole assembly repaired to the river bank east of the village, which was still brilliantly lighted up with a number of bonfires, and under the illumination of the buildings. A sad accident, resulting" in one death, occurred during the progress of the celebration, owing to the premature explosion of a piece of artillery by which four young men were maimed and wounded. Alexander Saxon had one arm torn off and the other so badly injured that both were amputated above the elbow. His eyes were blown completely out of his head and his death resulted next uKirnini,'-. Joseph Clark had his right arm blown off, and Abiather Williams and William Worster were severely burned.

The canal was completed to Connersville in June, 1845, ^^^ the first boat to reach the village was the "Patriot," commanded by Captain Gayle Ford, which arrived in the fall of the year. The imports and exports on the canal for the week ending November 20, 1845, (from the village) were as follow:

The canal ceased to be used for through traffic in 1849, but was operated between local points up to 1862. The last boat to pass over it was the "Union," owned by David McCarty. Subsequently the railroad company (now the Big Four) purchased the undertaking and laid their rail lines over the towpath.

Connersville Directory In 1 858-59

Fortunately there has been preserved a complete directory of all the business and professional interests of Connersville in 1858-59. Many of the older citizens of the city hving in 191 7 will recognize many of the men below listed, a large number of whom were in business for many years after the Civil War. Since this directory is not generally accessible to the people of the county at the present time it is given in this connection as it was published in 1859:

Apert, A., wagon-maker; Applegate, W. P. & A., carriage manufacturers; Bailey, J. L., dry goods; Barnard & Hall, carpenters and joiners; Bateman & Gates, staple and fancy dry goods; Beck & Brothers, merchant tailors; Brown, J., clothier: Bunnell. J., livery stable; Bunnell, W., livery stable; Burk, X. H., dry goods and grocery: Burton, T., merchant tailor; Durham, R., proprietor Bates House ; Conwell, A. B. & Sons, proprietors Conwell mills : Clark. J. H., town officer; Campbell, G. W. merchant tailor; Cassady, J., saddler and harness maker (town officer) ; Claypool, A. J. & Company, dry goods, etc. ; Claypool, B. F., attorney; Collins, E.. dentist; Compton, Lizzie, milliner; Dawson, D. H., county coroner: Cooley, cabinet warerooms; Erwin, , civil maker ; Felton & Smith, groceiy ; Frybarger, W. W. & Company, staple and fancy dry goods; Gregg, V. H., physician and surgeon; Green, William H., publisher of Connersz'illc Times; Gates, Bateman, dry goods; Greer, W. H., proprietor Scofield House; Goodlander, H., jeweler; Huston, J. & W., millers; Hack, Anthony, meat market: Henry, R. B., clergyman; Hawkins & Griffis, dry goods and groceries; Hall, D. D., physician and surgeon; Hall, D. H.,

& Company, agricultural implements; Justice, J., druggist; James, W. W., marble worker; Kunphlon, Augiistus. merchant tailor; Lewis, Josephine, milliner; Line, A. J., blacksmith; McLain, John, justice of peace; Marks, Robert, blacksmith; MuUikin, J., town officer; Minor, A. S., saddler and harnessmaker; Morrow & Mason, hat and cap dealers; McFarlan, J. B., carriage manufacturer; Morehouse & Youse, manufacturers of wagons, buggies, etc.; Mullikin, J. & E., manufacturers of agricultural implements; Mcintosh, James C, attorney; McCleary, WilHam, sheriff; Morris, Harry, county surveyor; Marshall, Joseph, attorney; Morris, B. F., clergyman; Newkirk, W. & Company, hardware; Parry, L. D., town officer; Powell, L, auctioneer; Pelan, William, clergyman; Parker, Samuel W., attorney; Pumphrey, N. R., proprietor Connersville Hotel; W. J. Pepper, physician and surgeon; Rawls & Morrison, druggists; Roots, P. H. & F. M., manufacturers of woolen goods; Rhodes, J. K., county recorder; Scott, James, livery stable; Stewart, William, clergyman; Shumate, H., dry goods and groceries; Smith, W. M., town officer; Smith, J. W., paper-hanger and painter; Reid, John S., judge court common pleas; Tate, W. A. H., justice of peace; Tate, J. F., county treasurer; Thislewait, , saddler and harness-maker; Thomas, S. B., furniture; Taylor,

W. W., physician and surgeon; Trusler, Nelson, attorney; Vance, Elisha, attorney; Vance, Samuel W., physician and surgeon; Victor, J., grocer; Wallace, R. J., carriage-maker; White, T. J., editor Connerszille Telegraph; Wilson & Co., grocery, bakery and confectionery; Wilson, J. S., blacksmith; Wood, John, blacksmith; Youse, J. F. & Company, stoves and tinware; Zellar, Ignatius, jeweler.

Two years after the directory of 1858-59 was issued a larger and more complete directory of the city and county was published. This second directory not only gave a complete list of all the business and professional interests of the city, but also preceded it with a brief historical sketch of the town. There is also a directory of Brownsville and Liberty, towns in Union county. This brochure of sixty pages is in the collection of Theodore Heinemann, of

Palace Hotel, Coxnersville

Connersville. It contains a two-page history of the cit_\', a "Review of the Business of Connersville," a complete list of all the county and town officers of 1861, a list of lodges, churches, libraries (three in Connersville alone), schools (three in number - Connersville Female Institute, English and German school and Connersville Seminary), and finally, an alphabetical list of all the business interests of the town of Connersville. Not the least of the valuable features of the 1861 directory is the assortment of advertisements scattered through it.

A study of the advertisements reveals some very interesting industries. Caldwell, McCollem & Company, pork packers and wholesale and retail grocers, state that they have a pork house with a capacity of twenty-five thousand, while they are killing on an average of one thousand hogs a day. E. Collins, dentist, says that "my operations upon the living organs shall always be the most thorough." Henry Holland conducts what he calls a "Hair Dressing and Shaving Saloon," and from the quaint cut which features his advertisement, it appears that he was an ordinary barber. Wilson & Company, wholesale and retail grocers and confectioners, give notice to the public that they "have a fine oyster and eating saloon attached to our business to feed the hungry," and that "warm meals are served up at all hours." There were at this time six regular saloons: Anthony Apert, Frank Doll, John H. Fattig, John Muller, Adam Pfister and Daniel Scotton. A man of the name of Davies informs the public that he deals in "Ambrotypes and Melaineotypes" and that he gives "lessons in the art on reasonable terms," while at the bottom of his advertisement he adds : "P. S. - Pictures of sick or dead persons at a distance promptly attended to."

Summary Of Business Houses

It would not be ])rofitable to gi\e in detail a complete list of the business interests of Connersville as set forth in the directory of 1S61. It may be interesting, however, to give the number of men or firms engaged in the various lines of activities which are listed. They follow : Agricultural implements, two; attorneys, eight: bakers and confectioners, two: banks, one (called the Branch Bank of the Bank of the State) : barbers, two (both colored - Henry Holland and A. H. Turner) : blacksmiths, three; books and stationery, two; boots and shoes, three; brewers, one (Willman & Billau); butchers, two; cabinet-makers and furniture dealers, three ; carpets, one ; carpenters and builders, five; carriage makers, three: clothiers, three: coopers, three; daguer- (34) reotypists, two; dentists, two; druggists, four; dry goods, seven; express company, one (American Express Company); flour mills, three; foundry, one; general stores, eight ; grocers, seven ; gunsmith, one ; hardware, one ; hats and caps, one; hotels, four (Cone House, Connersville Hotel, Durnan House and Scofiield House) ; iron and steel, one; livery, two; marble dealers, two; merchant tailors, three; milliners, four (Miss M. A. Blake, Mrs. Brown, Miss E. Compton and Mrs. Talbert) ; news agent, one; newspapers, two {Connersiillc Telegraph, J. M. Higgs, and Coiniersville Jl'eekly Times, \V. H. Green) ; notaries public, five; physicians, nine (G. W. Barber, G. R. Chitwood, Joshua Chitwood, V. H. Gregg, D. D. Hall, S. W. Hughes, James M. Justice, W. J. Pepper and S. W. Vance) ; pork packers, two; saddlers, three; saloons, six; sa.sh, doors and blinds, two ; stoves and tinware, two ; tailors, two ; tanner, one ; undertakers, three; wagons and plows, three; watches and jewelry, four; woolen factory, one (P. H. Roots and F. M. Roots).

The brief sketch of the. town's history in 1861 - it was not a city until 1869 - may be summed as follows: Population, twenty-five hundred; a seminary with two hundred pupils; seven churches - First Presbyterian (Old School), Second Presbyterian (New School), Methodist Episcopal, Christian, Episcopal, Colored Baptist and Catholic; no railroads, but the Junction Railroad (now the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western) "is expected to be in running order by the first of July, 1861" ; three libraries - McClure Workingmen's Institute, Fayette county library and Connersville township library ; teachers - J. W. Stewart in Female Institute, George Held in basement of Catholic church,

Miss Millikin and Miss Talbert in the seminary; Masonic, Odd Fellow, Sons of Temperance and Good Templars lodges ; John B. Tate, postmaster.

This 1861 account of Connersville may very fittingly be concluded by adding the closing paragraph in the sketch of the town : "Thus the future prospects of Connersville are flattering. With a steady increase it will soon become a place of importance. If there be a speedy impulse given to its manufacturing interests by the attraction of capital from abroad, it must eventually become a large inland point, and if it does not surpass, it may become equal to any city in the state."

Some Interesting Statistics

It seems fitting to digress at this point to take a survey of the population of the city during the sixties. The population of the county in 1850 was. 10,217, which had, by i860, increased to only 10,225. Connersville had a population of 1,396 in 1850 and 2,1 19 in i860. Doctor Mason in his invaluable volume gives some interesting statistics on Connersville as the city stood in 1867. The table follows:

At the time the above census was compiled, in September, 1867, there, were 772 children of school age ; 379 males and y)^ females. Tiie total amount of personal property and real estate placed on the tax duplicate at that time was $1,360,364.

Renaming The Streets Of Connersville

In JMay, 1866, the names of the streets of Connersville were changed as follows: Main to Eastern a\-enue ; Monroe to Central a\enue; Tanner to Western avenue ; Short to First ; Baltimore and Boundary to Second ; High, to Third: Madison to l-"ourth ; Harrison to Fifth: Head to Sixth: Maple to Seventh: Mill to F.ighth.

Connersville Created A City

Hidden away in the recesses of the city clerk's office in the town hall is a must}' old documen.t, yellow with age, which is responsible for the advancement of the village of Connersville to the city of the same name. It is about four feet long, of the usual legal cap paper size in width, and contains the names of three hundred and eleven citizens of the village of Comiersville who signed the petition which was presented to the town board asking that steps be taken to apply for a city charter. The document is headed as follows:

We, the undersigned city voters in said i<ir|inration. do lioreliy rfs|icitfiilly petition your honorable body to take such action as shall in your wisdom seem iirojicr to enal)le said corporation to secure a city charter pursuant to the laws of said state. And for your welfare your petitioners will ever pray.

The first signer to this petition was Daniel Rench and the last was William Newkirk. It may be said that practically every prominent citizen of the village signed the document. The result of this petition on the part of the voters was the ordering of an election by the village council.

The election was held on June i6, 1869, at which three hundred of the voters out of three hundred sixty-five expressed themselves in favor of a city charter. The city charter was procured and adopted, the city ordered divided into three wards, and July 5 appointed as the day for the election of city officers.

The election resulted in the choice of William H. Beck as mayor; C. D. Smith, marshal; Henry F. Kane, clerk; John Uhl, treasurer; A. H. Wood, assessor; council for the First Ward, Train Caldwell and F. Martin; for the Second Ward, John R. McCabe and Lee Thalheimer ; Third Ward, E. F. Claypool and John S. Wilson. The mayors since have been : John P. Kerr, 1871 ; W. C. Forrey, 1872; Gilbert Trusler, 1876; W. C. Forrey, 1877; Charles Roehl, 1880: Charles Murray, 1884: James M. Mcintosh, 1886-88; William F. Downs, 1890-9-'; Hyatt L. Frost, 1894-96; Thomas J. Clark, 1899-1904; Finly H. Gray.' 1904-06; Frederic I. Barrows, 1906-10; Finly H. Gray, 1910-11; John S. Hankins, 1911-14; Philip Braun, 1914.

In 1917 the city officials were; Philip Braun, mayor; Charles E. Hudson, treasurer; W. L. Schaefer, clerk; R. J. Greenwood, engineer; G. Edwin Johnston, attorney. Councilmen: First ward, W. J. Walsh; second ward, Charles Rieder; third ward, A. T. Pigman; fourth ward, John G. Krasser. Councilmen-at-large ; James A. Chrismer and John J. Peters. The police department has J. R. Gillespie as chief and six patrolmen ; the fire department has two stations, with G. W. Woolley, fire chief, and nine men. Board of health: Dr. J. M. Sample, Dr. Frank Chitwood and Dr. Y. D. Ludwick. Superintendent of cemetery, Charles A. Rieman.

The Town Hall

In 1848 the commissioners of Fayette county granted the trustees of the town of Connersville permission to erect on the west part of the public square a public building for the use of the town officials. The first story was to be utilized for a town hall and engine house ; the second and third stories by any moral or philanthropic association of the city or county that was then, or would thereafter be, recognized by the laws of the state, provided that the consent of the president and trustees of the town was first obtained.

perance and the Masonic order each paying one-third of the cost. Sherman Scofield undertook the erection of the building for four thousand eight hundred dollars. Each of the three parties was to finish their respective portions. The first floor contains the city offices; the second was used by the Sons of Temperance, and the third by the Masonic order. After the Sons of Temperance dropped their organization the Masons took over the second floor. In 1906, and again in ic;i4, the town hall was remodeled and enlarged and new offices for the efficient conduct of the city's business erected. The building provides accommodations for mayor's office, clerk's and treasurer's office, city engineer's office, and court room.

Public Utilities

A city is in a peculiar sense a l>usiness corporation. It must light and water itself; carry away its waste products; provide means of protecting itself against fires; guard the lives and property of its citizens; build sidewalks and streets for them ; and as in the case of some cities, means are even provided for a place to bury citizens after death. In many cities part of these various functions are in the hands of private persons, while in others the cities themselves own and operate them. Every city has its own police and fire departments, and in the case of Connersville the city owns the waterworks. Naturally the city installed its own sewerage system, and has built all of its own streets and sidewalks. The telephone system in Connersville, as in all other cities in Indiana, is in the hands of a private corporation.

The oldest cemetery of the city is under municipal management, and a part is set aside for those who are unable to purchase a burying lot. The city hospital does not belong to the city, but to the county as a whole. The following pages are devoted to a detailed discussion of the \'arious public and semi-public utilities of Connersville.

Fire Department

Up to the decade between 1830 and 1840 the villagers protected property against fire as best they could without the aid of a fire engine, the old bucketline system being then in vogue. Toward the latter part of the decade the first fire engine of the village was purchased of a Mr. Wadley, of Oxford, Ohio, and was called "Pluto." The "Pluto" was a small engine and consisted of a rude device for throwing water placed in a box or bed, the whole being mounted on four small wheels. The water was thrown into the box by a line of men

The second fire engine introduced into the village was the "Ocean," which was contracted for on June 7, 1848, between the board of trustees of Connersville, and D. L. P'arnham & Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The "Ocean" was what was known as "Farnham's patent horiontal engine,'' having a row-boat movement, working horizontally without levers. It was a two-stream suction engine, worked by men occupying a sitting posture as oarsmen in a boat. The cost of it was twelve hundred dollars. These two engines were the property of the city authorities up to 1870. On the purchase of the "Pluto" and the "Ocean," volunteer companies were organized and kept up during the use of the engines.

On the organization of a city government in 1869, and the installation of the first waterworks, steps were taken looking to a better system of protecting property from fire. On January 3, 1870, an ordinance to this end was established pro\-iding for a fire department, to consist of sixty able-bodied male citizens, to be divided into four divisions of fifteen members each - three divisions of hose and one division of hooks and ladders, each to be located in a suitable place in the city. In accordance therewith the fire department was re-organized on" January 19, 1870. It consisted of forty-eight men divided into four sections, a division of twelve men each - one hook and ladder division, and the others, hose divisions, located as follows: One hose division on Se\-enth street, just west of the canal; another on Eastern avenue, south of the railroad, and the remaining hose division and the hook and ladder division at the' city hall building. There was located at each of the hose divisions one hose reel, and at the hook and ladder division one wagon with the necessary equipments. The department had about eighteen hundred feet of serviceable hose on the reels and about one hundred feet of ladders with the general accompaniments. By an ordinance established in 1875 each member of the department was to receive annually ten dollars, which was increased by another ordinance established in iS8t, to twelve dollars and a half. The number composing the department was reduced in the latter year to fortyeight. The whole department was under the super\'ision and management of an officer styled the chief of the fire department, whose salary was fifty dollars a year. Since the completion of the waterworks the system has been in successful operation.

No radical changes were made in the management of the department between 1881 and 1894. On June 20, 1894, an ordinance provided that additional hook and ladder wagons be accjuired and stationed at convenient points over the city. About the same time a change was made in the composition of the fire department ; six men were employed on full time, that is, the city for the first time had a regular department. However, twenty-four volunteer firemen were retained. The chief's salary was fixed at five hundred dollars. An interesting feature of the department at this' stage of the cit\'s history is the fact that the city council ordered that the first volunteer fireman present to have the fire hose out on a call should be given a prize of two dollars and a half. How long this was continued the records fail to state. In this same year (1894) fire-alarm boxes were stationed at various points over the city, and as the city has grown new ones have been added, the total in 1916 being thirty-three.

The retention of some of the volunteers in 1894 and their work in connection with the six regularly employed firemen does not seem to have been a complete success. Complaints were made that the volunteers were not on hand at all times and the result of these increasing complaints was an order on the part of the city council which abolished forever the old system of volunteer firemen. This occurred in 1899 and since then the city has had a regular body of firemen on full time. At this time a central hose house was established on the north side of the city at Sixth street between Central and Grand avenues.

The next chapter in the history of the department was the establishment of fire station Xo. i, iii 1906, in the city hall. Fire station No. 2 was opened in 1908 at the corner of Eighteenth street and the canal. The first fire chief under the new regime in 1906 was Ezra B. Brown, F. I. Barrows being ma_\-or, during which administration the fire department was kept on a nonpartisan basis.

The use of horses by the department was continued up to 1914. In July, 1914, the city, on the recommendation of Chief Hassett, passed an ordinance abolishing horses and provided for the. introduction of motor trucks. On November 30, 1914, the first motor wagon was purchased at a cost of thirtyfive hundred dollars for station No. i. It was built by the AIcFarlan Motor Company, of Connersville. On March 8, 191 5, a motor hook-and-ladder wagon was added at a cost of three thousand dollars, also built by the local company. On April 5, 191 5, a motor truck for station No. 2 was provided at a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars. The present value of the entire equipment is sixteen thousand one hundred and twenty-one dollars.

Chief Hassett died in the early part of 191 5 and the present chief, George W. Woolley, was appointed to succeed him. Chief Woolley was connected with the old volunteer department in the early eighties, and in those days received the munificent sum of twelve dollars and a half a y^ar for his services.

At station No. i, in the town hall, are located the chief and five men; at station No. 2, Assistant Chief C. C. Hibbs and three men. The salary of the chief is nine hundred dollars annually; the assistant receives eight hundred and fifty dollars; the firemen are paid sixteen dollars and fifty cents a week.

In 1916 the department responded to sixty-three calls, seven of which were false alarms, leaving fifty-six fires to fight. None of these were serious, the estimated damage being about six thousand dollars. One of the fires, in December, was supposed to be of an incendiary character and a reward of one hundred dollars was offered for such information as would lead to the arrest and conviction of the incendiary.

One of the most serious fires in the history of Conner sville occurred on the night of May 19, 1880. The coffin factory, located in the northwestern part of the city limits, was totally destroyed causing a loss of seventy thousand dollars. As a result more than one hundred men were thrown out of employment. In 1905 the Central Manufacturing Company's plant at Seventh street was burned, with a loss of one hundred thousand dollars; a part of their new plant was burned in 191 7, with a loss of two hundred thousand dollars.

Waterworks Erected

The council of Connersville, in September, 1869, entered into a contract with the Holly Manufacturing Company, of Lockporf, New York, for the erection of a waterworks for the city, which was intended to furnish a more efficient and reliable fire protection, rather than with a view to revenue therefrom for water supplied for domestic purposes. The waterworks plant was completed in January, 1870, at a cost of forty-seven thousand dollars. The plant was situated about one mile from the center of the city, built on ground bought from Wanee & Martin for five hundred dollars.

The machinery of the waterworks was propelled by power from the Connersville hydraulic (formerly White Water) canal. The power was so regulated that a pressure of from forty to sixty pounds was always kept up in the mains, which was sufficient for all purposes except in case of fire; and in case of an alarm of fire the power was immediately increased to give a pressure of seventy-five to one hundred pounds. The mains were the property of the city, the pumping station being on leased grounds. The annual cost of operating the plant ranged from three to five thousand dollars a year, with a gross return of from two or three times this amount. The plant which was established in 1870 was in operation for forty years and was enlarged from year to year to meet the growing needs of the city. For several years the city paid the Hydraulic Company one thousand eight hun-

Fayette Cottnty, Indiana

For some years prior to 19 lo there was continual agitation on the part of some of the citizens for a purer water supply. When the canal was cleaned out there were occasionally found dead animals in it, particularly about election times, and these occurrences were sufficient to arouse the public to the need of pro\-iding water from another source. In 1910 affairs came to a climax on the waterworks situation ; the desire of the hydraulic company for more rent was the last straw on the camel's back. The result of years of agitation and discussion was a decision on the part of the city to build a new plant. This was done in the year 1910, the new plant being in the eastern part of town at Eighth and Fayette streets.

It would be a long story to tell of the building of the new plant, but it is sufficient to state that it was finally erected, although its cost considerably exceeded the original estimate of thirty thousand dollars. This amount was found insufficient to complete the plant and by the time the plant was complete the city had expended about ninety thousand dollars. In 1914 the city expended ten thousand dollars on improvements. The water is derived from wells sunk in the immediate vicinity of the plant and thus the city always has the assurance of a plentiful supply of clear water.

At the close of the fiscal year 19 16 the plant was found to be self sustaining, that is, if the interest on investment and the amount of depreciation are not taken into consideration. Operations for the year showed that there was a surplus of eight hundred dollars over and above bare operating expenses. Since this is a municipally-owned utility it is operated with a view to service and not for profit. The plant is in charge of James O. Massey, as superintendent. He has a force of eight men under his charge. The clerk of the waterworks department is W. F. Michael.

The charge for domestic water service is a flat rate per opening, averaging eleven dollars and fifty cents per annum. For manufacturing purposes the rate by meter is as follows :

Public Lighting

The early records of Connersville shed no Hght as to whether an}^ means existed to dispel the outdoor gloom which comes with night-fall. It is certain, however, that the old-fashioned and much-used oil lamp was the first illuminant to cast its rays on the streets of the town, and that mode of lighting continued until 1875.

Following the granting of the charter of 1869, which gave Connersville the status of a city, a gradual development of civic enterprise ensued, one of the results being the organization of the Connersville Gas-Light Company in 1875. Ground was purchased at the south end of the city and a brick building erected, and Connersville appeared for the first time lighted by gas on Christmas night, 1875. As the city progressed additional lights were provided from time to time, and, finally, the municipal authorities decided to supersede the gas light by a system of electric light.

Early in 1887 it became evident that there was a growing desire on the part of the public to have a more modern lighting service inaugurated. To this end the city council passed the following ordinance on March 7, 1887:

The Tliouisoii-Houstou Electric Light Comirany, or their assigns, shall have the privilege of erecting poles, stringing wires and providing the , necessary appliances in and over the streets and alleys of said city for the purpose of supplying the citizens of said city with electric light. Said poles, appliances and wires to be so erected and strung at such places and in such manner as will least interfere with the free use and en,ioyment of stiid streets and alle.vs, under the direction of the coniuiittee on the streets and alleys of said city. Provided, Iwiccver, That such poles, appliances and wires shall be so erected and strung as not to interfere with the use and management of the telegraph and teleiihone poles and wires already erected and maintained in said streets and alleys.

However, nothing definite was done in the electric lighting matter until May 5, 1890, when the plat of the location of lights was submitted to and approved by the council. The Connersville Electric Light Company, of which James N. Huston was president, proceeded rapidly with constructive work, and on August i, 1890, Connersville was electrically lighted. The cost of the public lighting for the first month after installation was two hundred and sixty-two dollars. For December, 1916, the light cost the city seven hundred and eighty dollars and eighty-seven cents.

On July i8. 1892, an order was niacle to llie effect llial (Hi ami after tiiat date the city should he lis.;hted throuy,hout the niyht ; said order is still in force.

In January, 1917. the city was supplied by the following; service: 140 six hundred candle-power arc lights; 129 pedestal lights, and 20 sixty candlepower arc lights. The Hydro-I'dectric Light Company is the ])resent contractor.

Gas And Electricity Ix Coxneksville

The gas and electric plants of Connersville have always been in the hands of private parties, the city never having owned either its own gas or electric plant. The history of the gas company in the city dates back more than forty years, gas having been the means of street lighting from .1875 to 1890. The Connersville Natural Gas Company was incorporated in 1889 and supplied natural gas to the city until 19 13, when the pressure became so low, that the company began to make artiticial gas at the plant on Sixteenth street near White Water canal. In 1914 their plant was enlarged and the latest gas-making machiner\- installed. On Deceinber 24, 1914, natural gas was entirelv discontinued. The company, now known as the People's Service Company, has quarters in the McFarlan building on Sixth street. There were a few wells being drilled in the vicinity of the city, but n(^ne of them proved successful, the natural gas used in the city being piped in from other fields. It might be mentioned in this connection that there were a few gas wells in the western part of the county, in Fairview. and Posey township, but the suppK- was only sufficient for the farmers who were interested in drilling the wells. Very little, if any, gas has been piped from the county.

Gas lighting was seen for the first time in Connersville on Christmas night, 1875, and for fifteen years it was the only means of public lighting. The first attempt to introduce electricity was made in 1887, when the Thomson-Houston Electric Light Company, a foreign corporation, was granted a franchise by the city council. The ordinance of March 7. 1887. granted this company the privilege of putting in the poles and installing the wiring and other apparatus for "the purpose of supplying the citizens of said city with electric lights." This company was not to install the plant proper, but only the poles and wiring. A local company was to equip the plant. The company, however, did not proceed with its plans, and it was not until three years later that definite steps were taken to install a plant.

The Electric Light Plant

On May 5, 1890, the city council granted a franchise to supply electric service to the Connersville Electric Light Company, organized by James Huston, and by the first of the following August the plant was ready for operation. The first plant was situated at the southern edge of the city and continued in full operation until January i, 191 7, when it became the property of the Hydro-Electric Light and Power Company. However, in the meantime it had passed out of the hands of the original owner. The plant struggled along for the first five years of its existence and then went into the hands of a receiver. In the early part of 1895 George M. Sinks became the receiver of the company and on March 9 of that year the entire plant was sold at a receiver's sale. The purchaser was George B. Markle of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, who paid twenty-six thousand dollars for the plant.

The new owner had the entire field to himself for the following fifteen years and during that time extended the system to meet the growing needs of the city. The next chapter in the history of electricity in Connersville came about as the result of the city deciding to install a new waterworks system in 1910. At the time the old waterworks plant was discontinued, the Hydro-Electric Light and Power Company, the successor of the Connersville Hydraulic Company, and the owner of the building and part of the equipment of the old waterworks system was organized and at once installed an electric light plant in the building which had been the home of the waterworks plant. The first meter was installed on November 2-], 191 1, and within four years the cornpany had installed more than one thousand meters in the city.

The two electric light companies divided the field between themselves and as a result neither company was able to make much money. It was evident that it would be for the best interests of the owners to have but one electric light-plant, but it was not until January i, 191 7, that the two systems were consolidated. On that date the Hydro-Electric Light and Power Company took over the other plant and at the time this volume went to press the old plant was being dismantled. The Hydro-Electric plant uses both water and steam power, deriving its waterpower from the old White Water canal. The Hydro-Electric plant entered into a ten-year contract with the city for lighting the streets, the contract beginning February 5, 1916.

Sewerage System

Tile present sewerage system dates from 1894 and each year since that time there have Ijeen additions to the system. It is known as the comhined storm and sanitary system and with the extensions which are already projKtsed for 1917 it will be extended to reach practically every lot in the city. The first sanitary sewer in the city was constructed from Seventh street south to the river in 1894 and from it laterals were extended to other parts of the city. In 1904 a comliined storm and sanitary sewer was extended from Seventh street to Twenty-secniul street, and by ]i)\(-> this was extended to remainder of the city. The system has cost the city in the neighborhood of $160,000. .\11 the city sewage is em])tietl into the old mill race at the foot of Seventh street and eventually finds its way into White Water.

Street Paving

The city of Connersville had nothing but graveled or macadamized streets from the beginning of its history down to 1902. In that year the first paving was done in the city. Central avenue being paved with brick from First to Seventh streets. A few other streets were paved for short distances between that time and 1912 when the first concrete paving was started. Since that year all new street paving has been concrete, the alleys being uniformly paved with brick.

Connersville now claims to have more paved streets than any other city of its size in the state and is adding new streets each year. This work has been of such an unusual character that it seems pertinent to list the work done year by year since the inauguration of concrete paving in 1912. The figures have been furnished by Robert J. Greenwood, the present city engineer, and an incumbent of the ofiice eight of the last ten years. He has had general charge of all the paving while in oftice. The year-by-year summary of paving follows, including the streets paved, the distance improved and the number of square yards of improvement :

1912 - Grand avenue. Seventh to Eleventh, 6,733.03 square yards; Washington avenue, Seventh to Fifth, 1,615; Milton pike. Eighth to Eighteenth, 10,500; Ninth street, Milton pike to Eastern, 4,365.12; Seventh street, Western to Eastern, 4,400.

1913 - Grand avenue, Eleventh to Seventeenth, 8,459.46; Central avenue, South I'^irst to Fourth and Seventh to \^irginia, 17,265 ; Eastern avenue, South

1916 - Grand avenue, Seventeenth to Twenty-second, 9,742.69; Indiana avenue. Thirteenth to Twenty-first, 12,079.08; Virginia avenue. Fifteenth to Twenty-first, 11,020.8; alley between Eleventh and Twelfth, 1,517.18.

The city now (T917) has 1,300,000 square feet of cement sidewalks, practically every sidewalk in the city being so improved. The curbing and guttering totals 200,000 lineal feet.

Police Department

Tlie present police department of the city of Connersville dates from Alay 21, 1888. During the mayoralty of James JMcIntosh the question was first agitated and the council finally passed an ordinance establishing a regular police department. The first marshal under the ordinance was William Cotton. The ordinance gave the mayor power to appoint a marshal and one or more policemen, and the mayor still exercises this power. At the present time the department consists of a chief and six patrolmen.

City prisoners are kept in a cell in the town hall pending a trial, but if a jail sentence is given the prisoners are incarcerated in the county jail. The mayor presides over all police-court proceedings. There is no regular time for sessions of the mayor's court, the sessions being held as cases may arise. The prosecution in the city court is in the hands of the circuit prosecutor, James A. Clifton, and his deputy, Frank M. Edwards. In 1916 there were two himdred and five cases tried by the mayor. The amount received in fines amounted to seven hundred and seventy-eight dollars and fifty cents.

J. R. Gillespie has been chief of the department since 1914. The annual salary of the ofifice is eight hundred dollars. The patrolmen receive sixteen dollars and fifty cents a week. The headquarters of the department is in the town hall. The city has no patrol wagon, motorcj'cle men or mounted police of any kind, although there is considerable agitation at the present time to add a patrol wagon.

To move apace with the industrial and civic development of Connersville; to provide ready means of communication other than In- mail, hecamc a problem which could only be solved by the installation of telephone service.

In 1882, James H. Fearis, of Connersville, started the Bell telephone exchange, which was the one hundred and eighth station opened in the United States up to the }ear mentioned. Fearis continued to operate the exchange for two and one-half years, at the end of which time it was sold to the Central Union Telephone Company of Chicago. At the time of the transfer eighty subscribers were using the telephone service. The rates in those days were, for business lines, three and one-half dollars a month, and residence service was fixed at two and one-half dollars. Following the change in ownership. \\ . Everett Lowe was in charge of the local station for some years.

In T805, L. -Andrew Frazee, of Conners\ille, organized tlie Connersville Telephone Companv, which has since been in continue ms ojjerat'ion, and has no local competitors. The rates are. for luisiness serxicc, iwn and one-half dollars per month, lor residence, two dollars, and party-wire service one and onequarter dollars per month. The company provides facilities for long-distance service, and three toll lines are also in operation. The entire plant is owned and managed by Mr. Frazee. who, in 1917, installed new equipment costing thirty thousand dollars and acquired a new location on Sixth street. .\t the end of 1916 the compau}' had one thousand six hundred subscribers. In December, 1916, the public service commission of Indiana was asked by certain subscribers of the company to review its existing rates, their complaint being that the present charges were excessive. The commission ordered a reduction of the rates, which the owner either had to accept or appeal to the courts. Feeling that the decision of the commission was unfair, Frazee applied to the courts for relief. The decision of the court resulted in tlie matter being referred back to the public service commission, whose further action had not been reported when this work went to press.

As old as Connersville itself was the first place of burial, which was located on the river bank ojjposite Third street, and extending a1)Ove and lielow. For burial purposes this place was not used much after r8j8, tlie encroachments of the river making it necessary to remove the graves and abandon the grounds. The water now passes through what was the first city of the dead.

The second grave-yard was laid out on Western avenue, now the site of the Methodist Episcopal parsonage, and was used until the growth of the town necessitated anotiier change. The third site, a part of the present beautiful cemetery, was located in 185 1. It comprises about fourteen acres of land laid out and dotted over with choice evergreens, shade trees and many elegant and costly monuments of marble and granite.

On October 8, 185 1, ten acres of the cemetery were purchased by the corporation of Silas Pumphrey, Sr, and laid out into lots the following December - it being the north part of the present grounds. The greater number of the bodies interred in the other grave-yards were removed to this cemetery. The latter has been under the care and management of the town and city authorities from the beginning. A former superintendent, R. C. Bratten, held the position for twenty years. Owing to this ground offering no further space for interment, it became necessary to acquire a new site.

In 1916 Manford E. Dale donated sixty-six acres, fifty-five acres of which is laid out for cemetery purposes; the value of the land was $7,500. Following Dale's benefaction, Daniel Hankins built a chapel, known as Hankins chapel, in memory of his father and mother, and his son provided the interior furnishings. The present cemetery, known as "Daleview," is located one mile west of Connersville. The association is called the Dale Cemetery Association and consists of twenty of the most prominent citizens, chosen by the lot owners. More than twenty thousand dollars has been expended by the association and much by private parties, the Ansted mausoleum alone costing ten thousand dollars. M. E. Dale is president; E. W. Ansted, vice-president; R. N. Elliott, secretary and treasurer, and W. M. Gregg, superintendent. A beautiful stone road leads to this cemetery.

Industries Of Connersville

Anv eft'ort to paint a picture of Connersville and Fa}^ette county as it appears at the present time in\-olves the artist in difficulty. Simplicity seems to have disappeared. The thousand and one things which we demand in our daily life of today were not known a hundred years ago. The farmer of the early days of Fayette county, were he to return to one of the well improved farms in h'ayette county in 191 7, would hardly be able to recog- nize any of tlie iniplemeiits used liv hi.s graiulsdn. He wduIiI see the simple eoni knife replaced by a corn harvester: his cradle by a binder: liis flail by a threshing machine. His wife would likewise see in the kitchen of her granddaughter a score of utensils which would provoke her curiosity : she would hardly see any relation between the fireless cooker and the old fireplace in which she cooked her corn pone.

Truly the times have changed, Init we would not go liack to the simple days of our forefathers if we could. We would not exchange the electric lights for the old tallow dip: nor would we trade our automobiles for the old ox cart. In another chapter the stor\- has been told of the life of the people of the county as they lived in other days. There are certain aspects of life which cannot be expressed in words. It is possible to set forth the material life of the county - its schools, churches and industrial life are matters of record : the civil life of the county with all its ramifications is easy to express. There are some things which resolve themselves into figures, while there are others which cannot be measured with a foot rule. It is easy to set forth the number of churches and school houses in the county, but it is a much more difficult thing to express the religious life of the people or show the concrete results flowing from the public school. In other words, there is such a thing as the morale of the people which is difficult of definition and it is only by the use of most general terms that this can l:)e expressed.

The Romance Of Figure.S.

Material progress, as has been stated, may be given more definite expression. The story of one phase of Fayette county's life as it appeared in IQ16 is revealed in the annual report of the county recorder to the state statistician. The person who can invest figures with a degree of imagination should be able to glance through this report and see in it definite facts concerning the people of the county. Here, for instance, is a page covered with figures and yet on this one page is a hint of the thriftiness of the people. It tells of the liquidation or the reduction of mortgages on farm loans and when the reader sees the figures $286,099, he will understand that this amount has been applied to the indebtedness incurred by people of the county in former years: in other words, these figures in a measure indicate the thriftiness of the people. Bank deposits are another indication of thrift.

The annual report of the recorder gives, in a general manner, an idea of how the {people of Fayette county are running their business, what they have made during the year, what thev ha\e spent, the debts thev have paid (35) off, and the amount of money they have spent for education, for roads, for bridges, for a thousand and one things. Tliere are other official reports of the county which set forth the number of cases tried in the courts of the county and their disposition and from this the careful student of social conditions may draw his conclusions as to whether the county is getting better or worse. There are reports giving the number of marriages, the number of divorces, the number of children born and there may be traced something of the home lives of the people of the county.

Other unofficial reports help to explain how the county lives. The many churches of the county issue annual statistical statements to their various national organizations. A study of these reports will show how many people belong to the church and just how many united with it during the previous year; they will also show the number enrolled in the Sunday school and the other auxiliary church organizations. Thus if the "goodness" of a people can be expressed in figures, it is possible to draw certain definite deductions by a study of these church statistics.

In other words a study of the statistics of the county will reveal the life of its people in a striking manner. Even so prosaic a statement as a delinquent tax list tells an interesting story. But the people of today arc so much concerned with their daily efforts to provide for themselves and those depending upon them that they do not have the time to take a retrospective view of the life about them. As someone has stated, we keep our nose so close to the grindstone that the dust gets in our eyes and obscures our vision, thereby rendering us unable to see what is going on around us. There is certainlv more than a modicum of truth in this statement.

A .Half-Mili.Ton-Dollar Story

The following brief summary, compiled from the county recorder's annual report to the state statistician for 191 6, shows in a concise manner a number of interesting facts pertaining to the county. It might be called a half-million-dollar story.

Deeds to the total value of eight hundred and fort3^-eight thousand one hundred and twenty dollars were taken and entered of record throughout the county.

During 1916 those residing outside the city gave mortgages on farms to the amount of $337,043 and in the city and towns, mortgages amounting to $397,371- To the casual observer this would look as though but little progress was made, the debts incurred nearly equaling the amount of property acquired.

Rut this is tlie item that coiiiits: "Satisfactions," tliat is, the li(|uiclation or reduction of mortgages on farm loans amounted (hiring the year to $-'86,099. Oil city or town property the .satisfactions amounted to $212,517, a net liquidation of .$537,403. Subtract tliis from the total amount of mortgages for tlie year vvliich inchides cliattel mortgages and sciiool fund and liens totaling $Si_',_'_'o and the net indebtedness of the county is $274,817.

On the other side i^f the ledger, howe\er, loans represented in deeds up to $848,120 were taken. Deducting the net indebtedness from this shows a net gain in real estate wealth of well above half a million dollars.

As showing that the people have traveled far since the days when the state school fund, in the hands of the county auditor, was the main source from whence farmers and .some others could obtain loans, the 19 16 report shows that during all of 1916, but $8,225 was borrowed from that fund! When it is added, as the report shows, that "satisfaction" of more than the amount borrowed, or $9,400 was made to that fund, it is difiicult to see how the state school fund can be a revenue producer for prosperous counties like Fayette.

The filing of liens, on buildings principally, swelled the total amount of the mortgage total by $11,450. Nearly half of this, or $5,348, had been satisfied. Another item increased that total by $57,331, of which $29,039, or more than half, has been paid. This is chattel mortgages, largely on horses and household furniture, and in no way has to do with real estate property or transactions.

The report indicates many deals in real estate during the past year. The giving of mortgages on real property is not an indication of stringency but the reverse. Men venture only, as a rule, when the\- are hopeful and see inducements for venturing in the near future.

This report of the recorder includes, of course, the city of Connersville which is an integral part of the financial history of the county, but it is necessary to treat more of the city in detail.

If John Conner could return in 1917 to the city wliere he had his little trading post in 181 7 he would be more surprised at the transformation which one hundred years had wrought than Rip Van Winkle was when he awoke from his long slumber. His saw-mill and grist-mill have long since disappeared; the old blockhou.se has met a similar fate: the Indian has long since been gathered to the Happy Hunting Ground. The Connersville of today has but a landmark or two to link it with the Connersville of Conner's time ; probably the old Buckley house and a part of Heineniann's grocery store are the only two buildings in the city in 19 17 ttpon which the eyes of the founder of the city ever rested.

As has been said in another chapter John Conner arrived about 1808 or 1809 on the site of the city which now bears his name. It has been said that there were only three houses in the village in 1816 and there certainly were not more than eight or ten at the time the little village was selected as the county seat in the early spring of 1819. The village grew slowly until the forties and then with the promise of the canal it increased by leaps and hounds. The story of its growth has been told elsewhere, but as it is a part of this particular story to tell why it has become the city it is today it is necessary to say a word in this connection about its history within the past few decades.

The size of any urban community depends on a number of factors, chief of which is its location. A New York or a Chicago cannot come into existence at any place - not even in Fayette county. Proximity to the sea or to a navigable lake or river is always a large contributing factor in the growth of a city. A central, inland location, such as is enjoyed by Indianapolis, contributes to a healthy growth. And there are other factors which enter into the development of a city.

The question naturally arises in this connection - What are the peculiar qualifications possessed by Connersville which has made it the city it is in 1917? It is not on the sea, neither on a lake nor on a navigable river - - even the old canal is gone. There does not appear any good geographical reason to account for its prosperity. True, it is in the center of the county, and a county-seat town ; and it is also true that it has excellent railroad connections, but these facts, contributory though they may be to the city's growth, do not sufficiently explain its prominence. Some cities seem to possess every natural advantage which a city ought to have, and then they do not grow; while, on the other hand, other places seem to lack these same essentials to urban growth and yet prosper without them.

And such a place is Connersville. Possessing few pf the essentials which go to make a city, yet it has grown to a thriving municipality of ten thousand. Some one has said that God made the country and man made the town. Thus it is with Connersville. The questioner who seeks after the underlying causes of the present prosperity of the city is told that the credit belongs to a very few men. A study of other municipalities reveals the fact that a half dozen wideawake and progressive men can overcome

Fayettf. County, Indiana Early Indij.Stries Of The City

The founder of the city of Connersville was a good business man and it is to such men as Conner that the city owes its present condition. For many \ears prior to the Civil War, and even for some time after that struggle, the main industries of the town were milling, pork-packing and woolen manufacturing. Today two of these industries ha\e disappeared entirely and the other, milling, is only a minor industiy. The milling industry is the only one which has been in continuous operation since before the Civil War, the manufacture of blowers dating from i860. Of the score of industrial plants now in operation practically all of them ha\'e come into existence within the past thirt\' years. Until the nineties the manufacture of vehicles and furniture constituted the chief industries in addition to the milling and blower industries. The three largest industries of the Civil W'ar period - milling, pork -packing and woolen manufacturing - gave way to the manufacture of buggies and carriages and furniture in the eighties. The woolen-mill burned in the seventies and was never rebuilt.

The extensive flour-mill of A. B. Conwell on Eastern avenue was erected in 1846, shortly after the completion of the canal, and had a capacity of manufacturing up to two hundred barrels of flour a day. It continued to operate until 1866, when its waterpower was destroyed by the great freshet of that year. Later the Triple Sign Company occupied the building until it burned. A part of the foundation of Conwell's mill is still standing.

Pork-packing engaged the attention of a number of citizens of Connersville for about twenty-fi\-e years following the construction of the canal. Sexeral extensive factories for the carrying on of that industry in its various branches were erected, and hog-slaughtering and pork-packing ranked with the leading industries. A. B. Conwell & Sons, George W. Frybarger, Daniel Hankins, Holton. Simpson & Company, Caldwell, McCollem & Company and the Fayette County Hog-slaughtering & Pork-packing Association, were among the firms engaged in the industry. The killing in 1846 amounted to 6,000 hogs: in 1856 about 11,000 were slaughtered and packed by the firms of A. B. Conwell & Sons and J. Holton & Company. The price paid was $6 a hundred. In 1852 Conwell & Sons killed for Daniel Hankins, and by all firms there were over 25,000 hogs slaughtered in the town. In 1863 the tirm of Caldwell & Company slaughtered upward of 13,000 hogs, the average being 242 pounds each.

S50 Fayette County, Indiana

The Fayette County Hog-slaughtering & Pork-packing Association was organized in February, 1862, the capital being $18,000. Bezaled Beeson was president and James Heron secretary of the association. They took over the old Frybarger building, where the industry was carried on while they remained in business. Pork-packing ceased in 1874, Caldwell & Company being the last firm engaged in the lousiness, killing in 1872-3 upwards of 28,000 hogs.

The pork-packing houses and large flour-mills required thousands of barrels, most of which were manufactured in the town, thus creating another industry of considerable importance. This branch of trade was begun in 1845 by Valentine Michael between Fifth and Sixth streets and carried it on until 1864, when John Uhl succeeded him, the latter doing an extensive business up to 1870, when he was followed by Henry Weitsel. Uhl, while in the business, turned out about 18,000 barrels a year. Florentine Michael, a son of Valentine, started barrel-making in 1865, in the southern part of the city and produced some 12.000 barrels a year.

The tanning business was active from the very beginning of the village of Connersville. Conwell, Reese and others were engaged in the industry for many years. In the early forties Brown & Burdrant operated a tannery. Later, the yard passed into the hands of John L. Gilchrist, who continued the industry for some years. About 1883 Myer Brothers started a tanyard on a small scale, but the business soon became unprofitable and was discontinued.

Beginning Of The Blower Plant

William F. Gephart, of Dayton. Ohio, came to Connersville about 1846 and erected a large brick building in which he installed a stove foundiy. The building later became a part of the Roots blower plant. Gephart continued to manufacture stoves for about ten years and then sold out to William J. Hankins. Prior to selling out, however, Gephart had leased a part of the building to John Ensley, of Richmond, who began the manufacture of threshing-machines, steam-engines and other kinds of machinery. Ensley built up a profitable business and about 1855 associated himself with James Mount and Josiah Mullikin, and the firm at once erected a large brick building which is still standing on Eastern avenue near the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western Railroad station. The new firm continued in the manufacture of machinery, but shortly afterward Ensley retired and the firm became Erwin, Mount & Mullikin. The new owners disposed of the business about 1866 to Wetherald & Sons, although prior to the disposition of the plant in that year Afullikin, about i860, had rented the foundry l)uil(hn);, huilt in 1846 by Gephart, which had later been sold to Hankins. Mullikin continued to manufacture machinery for a short time, disposin,^- of tlie plant to the firm of E. & E. L. Mullikin. The latter firm continued tlie Imsiness until the close of 1863, when it was discontinued.

The building was sold in January, 1864, to P. II. & 1-". M. Roots, who at once began the manufacture of a rotar_\- force blast blower. The ihin has continued under this name down to the present time, although the brothers, Philander H. and Francis M., have long since passed away. The blower was patented by the Roots brothers in 1859 ^"^1 ^^'^s manufactured in machine shops in the city on a small scale until 1864 when they went into the building before mentioned. The brothers took out several patents on the blower, being granted not less than fifteen between i860 and 1870. Since tliat time a great many more patents have been taken out.

It should be stated that the Roots blower was the first blower in the world and that all blowers which have been made since i860 have been based upon patents and models developed by this company. The products of the company are shipped to all parts of the world. They are found in Canada. ^Mexico and South America : throughout Europe, South Africa, the continent of Asia and in the islands of Japan and Australia. Roots blowers are found wherever manufacturing on a large scale is to be found. The products of the company are catalogued under a wide variety of names, but tliey may all be summed up under the general title of rotary positive-pressure machinery. They include blowers for foundries, smelters, oil furnaces, mine \entilation, pneumatic service, steel converters and the like; gas e.xhausts for foul gas pumping service, high-pressure boo.ster service, corrosive gas handling, etc. ; water pumps for cooling towers, condensors, irrigation, etc. : vacuum pumps for heating systems, condensers, sugar-mills, paper-mills, vacuum cleaning, etc. ; Acme blowers for oil furnaces, forges, tuyere irons, laundries, gas appliances, fire beds. etc. ; Acme vacuum pumps for hotels, clubs and private homes; flexible couplings for power transmission; governors, valves for wing gates, gas \alves, by-pass valves, c|uick opening blast gates, etc., etc.

The otificers of the company are as follow: E. I). Johnston, i)resident and general manager; George C. Hicks, Jr., vice-president and engineer; J. AI. Shade, secretary and treasurer; ^^'illiam C. Basse, superintendent. The company employs an average of two hundred and fifty men. practically all of whom are skilled mechanics.

Other Blower Concerns

In 1893 ^ group of business men of the city organized the Connersville Blower Company, and from a very small beginning it has grown steadily until it is now producing blowers for all parts of the world. The company has several large buildings equipped with the latest improved machinery and is in a position to manufacture all kinds of water, air, gas and vacuum pumps.

The United Vacuum Appliance Company was organized in 1910 for the manufacture and sale of vacuum cleaners. The company makes exclusive use of the blowers of the Connersville Blower Company and has built up an extensive business during the six years it has been in operation. It manufactures a number of sizes and designs, which find a ready market for use in factories, public buildings, business blocks, theatres, residences, etc.

The Connersville Woolen Mill, a veiy important industry between 1847 and 1875, was established in the former year by A. & H. P. Roots. The senior partner, A. Roots, retired in 1852 and was succeeded by P. H. & F. M. Roots, who ran the business until 1871, when the name of the firm was changed to P. H. Roots & Company. Early in 1875 P. H. Roots withdrew all his interests in the business and Ciiarles P. Roots, his son, became owner and business manager and the firm was then styled Roots & Company. The products of the factory - flannels, robes, hosiery, jeans, waterproofs and Avorsted bagging - had a market throughout the United States. Forty persons on an average were employed the year around. It waS' estimated that for twenty -eight years an annual average of 150,000 pounds of wool was consumed, and the products during the same period were valued at $4,500,000. Fire destroyed the factory on June 13, 1875.

Another Departed Industry

In 1873 the ^^"estern Hosiery Mill was established by Leonard Brothers, with W. H.. Caswell as superintendent. In the beginning two machines were used, which were operated at the superintendent's house. In 1881 Superintendent Caswell obtained a patent for driving knitting and other machinery by power and applied the same to the Lamb machines then in use. From June, 1882, to October, 1883, the firm was Chenoweth & Ralph. In the latter month Ralph purchased the interest of his partner and a joint-stock company was org-anized. witli J. X. Huston as president; Melvin Ellis, secictary: A. J. Ralph, manager and W. fi. Caswell, superintendent. A. J. Ralph sold his interest to Hub Thomas and retired from the mill in 1S84. The mill foimd employment for upwards of one hundred female operatives. The concern finally failed and its building is a part of the Connersville Ice Company's plant.

In ]\la\'. i8()5, Connersville witnessetl the inception of the manufacturing of furniture - an industry which has since become so extensive as to commanti a market in all the principal cities of the United States. In the year mentioned. Warren Wanee, a carpenter, and A. C. Cooley, a cabinetmaker, joinetl their business interests and begali the manufacture of furniture, but in the fall of the same year the partnership was dissolved. Shortly afterwards A. C. Cooley, George W. Gregg and William Newkirk formed a company for the manufacture of furniture and continued together until iS6(). In addition to the factory they had a retail business in the town. When they dissolved Newkirk had possession of the factory building and machinery and Cooley and Gregg had the retail property. . Some six months later Gregg sold his interest to Alexander Morrison, and in 1870 Cooley, Morrison & Company began operations as a furniture manufacturing cimccrn on Eastern avenue, where they continued until July of the same year, then moving to Central avenue and there continued until 1874, when the c(incern was merged into a stock compan}^

The Cooley-Morrison furniture factory was on the corner of Seventh and Mason streets and was a substantial four-story brick building. Curtis Wright was president of the company and J. T. Rittenhouse acted as secretary and treasurer. They employed aliout one hundred hands and manufactured all kinds of household furniture.

In 1869 \\'illiam Xewkirk formed a partnerslu'i) with Herman Munk in the manufacture of furniture. In 1874 Xewkirk sold to James E. Roberts and the firm became Munk & Roberts. The factory was located in the northwestern outskirts of the city, along the track of the White Water Valley railroad. The company employed, on an average, one hundred and fifty workmen. Xewkirk, on selling his interests to James E. Roberts in 1874, formed the Indiana P'urniture Company, with the following named incorporators: William Xewkirk, J. B. McEarlan. John W. Ross, J. M. Wilson, B. F. Clayixjol, G. C. and F. A. Hanson. The officers were J»\'. Xewkirk, president ; W. H. Wherett. secretary and treasurer. The original stock of $50,000 was later increased to $100,000. The factory was located at the south end of Eastern avenue. A second building was erected in 1876 and a further addition made in 1878. The manufactured articles were confined exclusively to ash, walnut and cherry sets.

The Indiana Furniture Company continued in business until 1908, although for some time prior to that date it had not been doing much business. In 1908 the Krell Auto Grand Piano Company accjuired the entire plant of the Indiana Furniture Company and has been engaged in the manufacture of pianos and piano players since that year.

In 1869 John Wanee started a coffin factory on the site of the present Connersville Furniture Company. Subsequently J. T. Parry was associated with him in the enterprise. In October, 1874, J. H. Bailey and Samuel Beck acquired an interest in the business, and early in 1875 a stock company was formed with a capital of $57,000. The new firm at once constructed a five-story brick building, forty by eighty feet, at a cost of $13,700. In May, 1879, part of the factory was destroyed by fire and as a consequence about ninety employees were thrown out of employment. The estimated loss was in the neighborhood of $70,000, the company having 7,000 coffins in stock at the time. The firm went out of business with the fire and three years later the Connersville Furniture Company was organized and occupied the site.

The Connersville Furniture Company was organized as a joint-stock company in February, 1882, with the following officers: Francis M. Roots, president; Charles Mount, vice-president; N. W. Wright, secretary; E. V. Hawkins, factory superintendent. The first factory was six stories high, and In the early days gave employment to one hundred and fifty workmen. On January 30, 1884, a fire occurred which did considerable damage. The insurance adjustment resulted in the payment of $14,500.