Hamilton County, Indiana - Chapter 16: Transportation, 1915

Chapter 16: Transportation

The first roads in Hamilton county were the Indian trails, narrow, wind¬ ing paths through the forests, beaten by many feet traveling in single file, not differing greatly from paths made by animals. If the systems of Indian trails could be drawn on a map, as they once crossed and criss-crossed, it would make a surprising network of paths. But at the present date we know only of the trails which later became the common roads of travel for the set¬ tlers, traders and trappers who came to the county. One of the earliest was the trail by which the first settlers came to Horseshoe Prairie from Connersville to Newcastle, Anderson, thence to the mouth of Stony creek, thence down White river, to William Conner's post. Emigrants going from other points to Lafayette and points north came over the same trail but continuing their way to Strawtown, thence across' the county, passing near the present site of Sheridan, and on to their destination. From 1818, for several years, this was the main thoroughfare through Hamilton county. Later, as various settlements were established, neighborhood roads were cut by the settlers for their own convenience. They took the easiest route, avoiding marshes and mud holes, in consequence of which many of these neighborhood roads had to be changed later, as they very often passed through a settler's land, but their readjustment all came about in due time.

The Blazed Trails

After the New Purchase, including Hamilton county, was purchased from the Indians in 1818, many state roads were proposed and surveyed into new lands. These were called state roads and were distinguished from the neighborhod roads by the different manner of blazing on the trees along the route - three marks on the tree indicating the former and one mark the latter. Oftentimes, in the early days, the only indication of a road of any kind was the blazed trail. In our county many of the surveyed state roads remained such till the settlers turned out and cleared the roads, which even then didn't become "good roads'* for many years. Through the swampy low lands and river bottoms the roads of our county were ballasted with corduroy up to the last forty or fifty years. The following is a description by one who traveled over these roads : "A corduroy road is made of unhewn boles or trees laid side by side on the earth. A slip is nailed across each end to keep them in their places; and the wheels, whether of carriage or wagons, fall from bole to bole with the regularity of the thumps and stops with which the wheels of a watch play into and arrest each other. Sometimes the hollow between pros¬ trate trunks of trees is partially filled up with earth; and then, of course, the jolts are less severe."

In the early days of our history roads were usually classified as township, county, and state roads. Cartways, for neighborhood convenience, were es¬ pecially local in character and hence were but eighteen feet# wide. Township roads, being of greater consequence, were from twenty-four, to thirty feet in width, while county roads of still more general use, were from thirty-three to forty feet wide. All the county roads were marked and cut under the direc¬ tion of the county board, while the state roads, as indicated by the name, were under state or national authority. Some of the main routes of travel were surveyed as early as 1827-28.

Old State Roads

By an act of the Legislature February 10, 1831, the sum of four hundred dollars, obtained from the fund known as the "three per cent, fund," was appropriated to each county in the state for the maintenance and improve¬ ment of state roads within their respective limits. According to the pro¬ visions of this act it was ordered that the "four hundred dollars be appro¬ priated in the county of Hamilton; one hundred and fifty dollars on the Lafayette state road, under the direction of the commissioners heretofore appointed thereon ; one hundred and fifty dollars on the Crawfordsville state road, to be appropriated under the direction of the commissioners heretofore appointed thereon ; and one hundred dollars on the Winchester state road, and Winburn Davis, commissioner, to appropriate the same."

The following are the principal state roads in Hamilton county : Strawtown and Lafayette state road, located in 1830; Peru state road, 1830; state road from Cumberland to Noblesville, located in 1839. In the same year a state road was opened from Boone county by way of Boxley to the Peru state road. The Indianapolis and Fort Wayne state road was improved and extended also in 1839 and Westfield and Strawtown were also connected to the Peru state road the same year, the Winchester and Indianapolis state road being located in 1824. In 1843 a road was authorized from Noblesville to Wabash. The Noblesville and Pendleton road also was an early state road. Mr. Z. Warren gives us the following account of the first roads through Carmel : "Somewhere about 1835 the state road, now Main street, was hacked out from Indianapolis to Kokomo, and the county road, now our Main Cross street, a little later. The bushes were cut and some trees most in the way. Big logs were in some places left to be gone around. A little north of L. J. Small's drug store was a large log lying across the road and they put first chunk on it, burning enough away for one on horseback or afoot to pass through, but a wagon had to go around it."

The Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway is to pass through Hamilton county on the range line passing through Westfield from Indianapolis to South Bend. The fol¬ lowing is an account of a meeting of the directors, published by the Nobles¬ ville Ledger in October, 1914: "At a meeting of the directors of the Central Indiana Lincoln Highway, Tuesday, October 27, 1914, was designated 'Good Roads Day' along the entire length of the route from Indianapolis to South Bend. It will be the duty of the Lincoln Highway organization in each county to get its forces organized and induce the fanners along the route to turn out that day in force and assist in repairing the road.

"The meeting was held in the business men's club room at the Y. M. C. A. Representatives were present from all the counties along the route - Marion, Tipton, Hamilton, Howard, Miami, Fulton, Marshall and St. Joseph. Hugh McCaffrey, of Peru, was elected permanent chairman of the organiza¬ tion. Eight vice-chairmen - one for each of the counties interested - were chosen. J. Frank Lindsey was made secretary and J. A. Kautz, treasurer.

"Action was taken making H. P. Loveland, of Peru, chairman of the Legislative committee, which contains sixteen members and is charged with the work of instructing the next General Assembly to pass an act creating a State Highway Commission. The committee has been instructed to get into touch with the tentative committee appointed by Governor Ralston, which is now serving.

"A motion was passed, instructing O. C. Smith and T. C. McReynolds to obtain from Fred Davenport, a Kokomo contractor, the specifications for the permanent construction of the Lincoln Highway, and also the specifica-

"The meeting was a busy one throughout. * It revealed that the men who are back of the Lincoln Highway projected in this section are in earnest. They believe the range line, through Westfield, has a cinch on the Indianapo¬ lis-South Bend branch, but they intend to make it an absolute certainty by putting the road in such fine condition that it will be out of the question for a State Highway Commission to consider any other route."

Passing Of The Toll Gates

From the early beginning of roads, Hamilton county has developed splendid roads connecting all points within her boundaries. In the early days, when a road or a section of it was a private enterprise and kept in repair by individuals, toll gates were established all over the county, where a small sum was exacted before the traveler could pass on. The first toll gate in the county was established in White River township. Across an especially difficult ford, a trapper and hunter built a bridge for the crossing of which he demanded toll. Later many toll gates dotted the roads of the county. Many of the old toll gate houses, built low and with an extending porch like a large arm reaching to the roadway, may still lie seen in the county, though most of them are remodeled and disguised so their original purpose is not always apparent. At present good roads and many of them, in all directions and connecting all points, are the pride of the county. In 1914 there were three hundred miles of gravel roads in Hamilton county, as shown by the County Highway Superintendent's report. Until 1914 the county commis¬ sioners looked after the work on the roads. Mr. Marvin Jessup is the first highway superintendent. During the year 1914 the sum of fifty-seven thou¬ sand dollars was spent upon the gravel roads of the county. Mr. Jessup says he has regraveled one hundred twenty-five miles of roads and graded and dragged more miles of highway than was ever known to be done in the county before in one year. Forty years ago there was not a free gravel road in the county ; now practically every point in the county may be reached on excellent gravel roads wjthout any toll being charged for the privilege.

The First Railroad

The first railroad through the county was known as the Peru and In¬ dianapolis Railroad. This was also one of the first railroads in the state. In

1846 a charter was granted authorizing the construction of the road between the two points named. W. J. Holman, of Miami county, is given much of the credit as the originator of the project. The scheme was considered a visionary one and by many was regarded as impossible of fulfillment. Sev¬ eral people in Hamilton county owned a small amount of stock in the new railroad and it was said each stockholder was given a free ride when the road was completed and that was all that ever was paid in dividends. Some of the objections raised to the construction of the railroad seem very odd now. Many thought the high freight rates would make it impracticable, except for the wealthy class, and that the road would be used only as a luxury. Others said, "It will ruin home industries. All the farmers and home people will go to Indianapolis or elsewhere to trade/' Others said, "It will destroy the business of the tavern keepers." But in spite of pessimistic prophecies the construction of the railroad went on, though through many difficulties. In March, 1851, the first train came to Noblesville, the road thus far being a flat bar road. The remainder was not completed until 1854.

A curious little incident is told in connection with the arrival of the first steam cars in the county. Mrs. Rebecca Maker, grandmother of Squire Hugh Maker, was in the midst of "maple sugar making." The boiling kettles of syrup had to be watched very closely to prevent boiling over. Mrs. Maker left the kettle of syrup a short time to attend to other duties when, all at once, she heard a sound so peculiar and alarming she immediately thought her precious maple syrup was boiling over and causing the strange sound. Not being free to look after the sugar-making herself, she dispatched one of her boys post haste to investigate the boiling pots. What was the boy's as¬ tonishment to find the syrup peacefully simmering with no prospects of boil¬ ing over. Later it was found the strange sound that so alarmed Mrs. Maker was the screaming of the first steam car whistle ever heard in Hamilton county.

The counties along the proposed route as well as individuals each took stock in the railroad project. The county commissioners of Hamilton county in June, 1848, "ordered that the sum of thirty cents on each one hundred dollars be levied for railroad purposes; also fifty cents on each poll for rail¬ road purposes ; also one and one-fourth cents on each acre of land for railroad purposes," all for the benefit of the Indianapolis and Peru Railroad.

At the September session Elijah Cottingham was authorized to vote the proxy of the board at the meeting for the annual election of officers for the road held at Dayton, Ohio, as the representative of four hundred shares of stock held by the county. The levy above ordered was made to create a fund to pay for the stock purchased. The board also ordered that the rail¬ road company be permitted to use the Indianapolis state road, provided they leave sufficient amount of said road in good repair for passage.

In December, 1848, the board petitioned the Legislature for authority to borrow money at a rate not exceding ten per cent., to purchase bonds of the company in unlimited amounts, running from one to fifteen years. The Legislature granted and confirmed the proposed action of the board, the county being authorized to borrow money not to exceed fifty thousand dollars, the interest not to exceed ten per cent, per annum, for railroad purposes. In June, 1848, it was reported that bonds to the total of one thousand four hun¬ dred seventy-five dollars had been sold and said amount paid over to the railroad company.

Mr. Shirts thus tells of the progress of the business of the county at the time of the construction of the railroad: "Prior to the organization of the railroad and subsequent to the general inflow of new settlers into the county, the price of grain had fallen to a very low figure. Corn sold as low as eighteen cents; wheat, as has already been shown, sold at the Ohio river as low as thirty-seven and one-half cents. The price of wheat and corn about the time this charter was granted began to go up. The price of wheat went up to one dollar, or nearly so, before the road was completed. Many of the friends of the road attributed the rise in price to the proposed rail¬ road. This was not true, for the reason that the price rose at the Ohio and Wabash rivers."

The Indianapolis and Peru road was the second railroad built in the state. It was extended to Peru in 1854 and later to Michigan City. The early name has been changed for many years and it is now known as the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In Hamilton county the railroad has station stops at Fishers, Noblesville, Cicero, Arcadia and Atlanta.

The auditor's report for 1913 showed the following valuation of the Lake Erie & Western railroad: Main track, $310,900; side, $21,875; rolling stock, $41,466; improvements on right-of-way, $1,420. Total, $375,655.

Central Indiana Railroad

What was at first known as the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis railroad was the next project of the kind in the county. The road was projected early in 1869, and the various townships through which the proposed road was expected to run began to consider the propriety of granting appropria¬ tions for the proposed railroad. Jackson township took the initiative by ask- ing the board "to order an election to determine whether they are in favor of levying a two per cent, tax for building the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis railroad. " At the June session, 1869, this step was taken, and the petition granted. Later, like requests from other townships were granted and elec¬ tions were held in compliance to the orders of the board. At these elections held August 23, 1871, there was a large majority in favor of appropriating two per cent, on the taxable value of the property in the several townships. Appropriations were accordingly made in June, 1872, and at a special session in August, 1874, "warrants were ordered to be issued on the treasurer, in exchange for the bonds of the said railroad, for the first installment, or fifty per cent, of the amount of subsidy voted by the townships respectively, to be taken in the stock of such road." The first spike was driven in the new road in Anderson in December, 1875. The road, as originally built, extended from Anderson to Montezuma, Parke county, distance of ninety-five and one-half miles. At first tl\e entire distance was covered, but later the route was shortened and at present extends only from Anderson to Lebanon. Two passenger trains make the trip each way daily. The road has been known now for a number of years as the Midland, or the Central Indiana, and is owned by the New York Central Lines. It makes flag stops at Durbin, Eagletown and Jolietville and regular station stops at Noblesville and Westfield, in Hamilton county. For many years this road was a "reproach and a bv-word" to every one who traveled on its slow, uncertain cars. It was said to be so slow that passengers could alight and hunt game or gather wild flowers while enroute from one place to another. Many stories were told illustrating its proneness to be from pne to twenty-four hours behind schedule time. The roadbed was in such bad condition that it made the journey a very rough one, almost like riding over rocks and rough roads in a springless big wagon. But the railroad company was financially embarrassed at that time and the owner, Harry Crawford, used to say, "Any fool can run a railroad with plenty of money, but it takes a smart man to run one without any cash." At this time the railroad hands would go on frequent strikes when their wages became long overdue. Many times when their demands for their pay was not complied with, they chained the engines and cars to the tracks and refused to let them be moved until their delinquent salaries were forthcoming. Upon payment of these wage claims the chains and locks would be removed and the trains run again till the "next time," which "time" came quite frequently. When the road changed hands, about ten years ago, the roadbed was regraded and improved until at the present time the Midland is no longer a reproach and a by-word, but a very accommodating and up-to-

The valuation of the Central Indiana railroad, as shown by the auditor's report for 1914, is as follows: "Main track, $142,380; side track, $8,440; rolling stock, $10,170; improvements on right-of-way, $1,045; personal prop¬ erty, $120; total, $162,155.

The Monon railroad passes through the western tier of townships of Hamilton county from Indianapolis to Chicago. Most of the trains stop at Carmel, Westfield and Sheridan. This road was laid through Hamilton county in September, 1882. The first train went through, laying the track as it went. The project for this road began as early as 1873 and was then called the Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago railroad. The first purpose of the road was to connect Chicago with Delphi and later to connect Indian¬ apolis and the intermediate points, which would include points in Hamilton county. The township began to take an interest in the new road on the strength of the latter connecting link and a petition was sent from Adams township asking for an election to vote an appropriation of two per cent, which petition was granted. An election held pursuant to the request of the petitioner in July, 1875, gave a decided majority in favor of the appropriation. A similar election was held in Washington township in the September follow¬ ing, but with opposite results, there being an adverse majority of ninety-four votes. However, the road gradually progressed and in 1882 went through the county and has since been in continuous operation. The road carries many passengers and has been a great aid in the prosperity of the towns through which it passes. The Monon road is in excellent condition and runs trains commodious and up-to-date in every way. It is one of the shortest and quickest routes between Chicago and Indianapolis. The valuation of the Monon railroad as shown by the auditor's report for 1914 was: Main track, $404,800; side track, $7,175; rolling stock, $40,480; improvements on right of way, $2,005 ; personal property, $240; total, $454,700.

The Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis railroad which runs its trains over the Lake Erie & Western tracks through Hamilton county has a valuation in this county of $20,730 on the rolling stock belonging to that railroad.

The Central Canal

About the year 1825 many of the states were building canals. These various artificial water ways were proposed so that in time there should be -direct connection by water with the Erie canal in New York. The success of the Erie canal and the consequent growth of the western territory in con¬ nection with it, stimulated the desire for a great system of canals in the states farther west, including Indiana. As a part of a general system many canals were proposed and much money expended thereon. Some legislation passed congress relative to Indiana canals in 1827. The canal which directly affected Hamilton county was called the Central canal. This canal was to open up Central Indiana and was to be run from Wabash via Anderson and Indianapolis to Evansville. It was begun in 1837 and a great deal of work and vast sums of money were expended on it, but though the survey passed through Hamilton county, running across the county from the northeast to southwest, very little, if any digging was done here. The canal was com¬ pleted only to Broad Ripple, north of Indianapolis, and only sixteen miles south of Hamilton county's capital city. By order of the legislature the canal was later sold to some New York people and is now the property of the Indi¬ anapolis Water Company.

Thus ended in failure the grand canal project. Many people in Hamil¬ ton county invested heavily in the canal scheme, and, instead of becoming vastly wealthy, as they had hoped, lost their whole fortunes. Some investors eventually recovered from their losses but many were not so fortunate, and losing all they possessed lived the remainder of their lives in discomfort and died poor men.

Indiana Union Traction Railroad

The building of the interurban electric railroad through Hamilton county marked a great advancement in the means of traveling in this county. A general system of interurban railroads had been the dream of many men but it seemed at times it always would exist only in the minds of some enter¬ prising dreamers. Years ago such a scheme was projected in Hamilton county and it went so far toward completion as to have a considerable amount of grading done in the county, but for lack of funds the great project came to naught. In the year 1901 it seemed that the plan of an electric road was about to materialize. The various towns through which the proposed road was to run granted the right of way through certain streets and farmers along proposed route sold the right of way through their land to the Union Trac¬ tion company. Gangs of foreigners, mostly Italians, were put to work on the roadbed for months and finally on the first of November, 1903, the first cars carrying passengers went through the county. Beside many country stops, for the local cars only, the cars all stop at Carmel, Noblesville, Cicero,

Arcadia and Atlanta in Hamilton county. The cars run every hour in the day from five-thirty in the morning to twelve-thirty, midnight. This rail¬ road has proved a great advantage to Hamilton county, especially to the country people. Many citizens of Noblesville and vicinity opposed its con¬ struction, fearing it would distract from home industries. They seemed to forget that while it would carry some trade to the city it would also bring new business to Noblesville.

The Indiana Union Traction Company has the following valuation on its property through the county; Main track, $219,780; side track, fifteen miles, $1,500; rolling stock, $19,535; personal property, $3,390; total, $244,205.