Huntington County, Indiana - Chapter 7, 1914

Polk Township Cut Off from Lancaster - Fight with a Bear - Rock Creek Township - A Nervous Justice of the Peace - Salamonie One of the First Townships to Be Settled - Union - Story of a Tramp Who Became a Useful Citizen - Warren - Wayne - An Abolitionist - Location5, Boundaries and Physical Character¬ istics of Each Township - First Settlers - Early Births, Mar¬ riages, Deaths and Industries - Education - Highways and Rail¬ roads - Towns and Villages - Population and Wealth.

The Township of Polk was cut off from Lancaster and erected as a separate jurisdiction by order of the county commissioners at their March term in 1846. It was named in honor of James K. Polk, at that time President of the United States. It forms one of the western tier of townships; it is bounded on the north by the Township of Dallas; on the east by Lancaster; on the south by Wayne, and on the west by Wabash County. Polk embraces the eastern two-thirds of Congres¬ sional Township 27, Range 8, being four miles in extent from east to west and six miles from north to south, with an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres.

The principal stream is the Salamonie River, which enters near the southeast corner and flows in a northwesterly direction, crossing the western boundary of the county near the center of Polk Township. It has several small tributaries. Along the Salamonie the surface is some¬ what broken, but more than 80 per cent of the township is compara* tively level, with a soil that in depth and fertility is equal to any in the county. Originally the entire surface was covered wdth a dense growth of timber, with thickets of undergrowth that afforded excellent haunts for the wild animals that infested the region. Much of the valuable timber was wantonly destroyed in early days, but the loss has been more than offset by the agricultural development, some of the finest farms in the county being located within the borders of this township.

In September, 1836, Jacob Fisher came with bis family of nine per¬ sons from Wilmington, Ohio, and settled on the northwest quarter of Section 24, near the eastern boundary. For nearly half a century he remained a resident of the township, his death occurring in 1885. The sound of his ax was the first to break the deep stillness of the primeval forest, which up to the time of his coming had been the retreat of the wild beast and the hunting ground of the uncivilized Indian. A little later he was joined by his brother, Nathan Fisher, who settled near by, and some of the descendants of these two pioneers still reside in the township.

Shortly after the Fishers came Willis Jeffrey, from Randolph County, Indiana. He was accompanied by John D. Campbell and both settled in the eastern part of the township. Not long afterward Rich¬ ard Cummings joined the little colony.

In 1837 a number of immigrants to Huntington County established homes in Polk Township. Among them were Daniel Webb and his sonin-law, Leonard Parrott, Aaron R. Sayres, Oliver Jones, John AA7atson, Lorenzo D. Belt, AVilliam Mahoney and a few others.

During the next two years the population was increased by the arrival of Greenbury Martin, Jacob and Henry Fullhart, Daniel James, Samuel Jennings, Jacob Branson, Thomas Webb, Allen Dowell, John and Joseph Wagoner, George and Elias Fisher, Robert Thomas, Benjamin B. Hart, John D. Fisher, Martin McFarland, James Parrott, Matthew Taylor, Samuel Fisher, Henry Andrews, Isaac Heffner, Hamilton Giltner, George Smith, Charles and William Watson, the Leedy and Hilde¬ brand families, Alexander Brannon, David Ridgeway and a number of others.

A few Miami Indians continued to live in this township until the tribe was removed to Kansas in 1847, and after that date it was visited at intervals by small bands of these Indians for several years. Near the present village of Monument City was a small Indian village, ruled over by a minor chief called Tuck-a-ming-wa, who was always friendly to the early settlers.

Of the first settlers in Polk Township nearly all were expert in the use of the rifle, but perhaps the most noted hunters were Greenbury Martin and Daniel James, who frequently broke the monotony of farm work by hunting excursions. Deer, wild turkey and an occasional bear were brought home by these intrepid sportsmen. Deer were so plentiful that a good marksman, skilled in woodcraft, had no trouble in killing a half a dozen or more in a day 's hunt, while squirrels, quail,

In Brant & Fuller's "History of Huntington County," published in 1887, is the following account of an encounter between James Parrott and a bear near the western border of Polk Township: "Mr. Parrott while hunting suddenly ran upon two cubs that were playing near a thicket, and, before taking time to look for the mother bear, that was concealed near by, shot and killed one of the young ones. No sooner was the gun discharged than the old bear rushed from her hiding place, and before the hunter had time to reload his piece or escape she was close upon him, and he was compelled to fight for his life with a large club which he found lying near. The bear, rendered furious by the death of her young, made a desperate effort to clasp the hunter in her powerful embrace, and he, being a perfect giant in strength, wielded his club so vigorously as to keep her at a safe distance. The struggle continued some time with doubtful result, but the hunter following up every advantage, finally succeeded in putting the savage beast hors de combat. He was severely wounded in the struggle, and his clothing literally torn to shreds."

Early Events - The first white child born within the present limits of Polk Township was Silas Fisher, son of Nathan Fisher, the date of his birth having been December 11, 1836. The first death was also in Nathan Fisher's family, his daughter Susannah departing this life soon after the family settled in Huntington County. The first log-rolling was on the farm of Willis Jeffrey. The first marriage occurred in November, 1837, Charles Morgan and Elizabeth Fisher being the con¬ tracting parties. This marriage occurred while Polk was still a part of Lancaster Township. The first school was taught by Hugh Anderson in 1838, in a log cabin located in the northeast corner of Section 25. The first public highway through the township was the one "surveyed and located along the Salamonie River, from Lagro, Wabash County, to Warren, Huntington County." In the spring of 1837 John D. Campbell built a sawmill on the Little Majenica Creek, in the western part, and it is credited with having been the first institution of the kind in Polk Township. Subsequently Mr. Campbell added a small set of corn bulirs and on certain days did custom grinding. On these occasions the settlers would come from far and near with their "turns of corn," and while waiting for their grist would exchange gossip or pass away the time in shooting at a mark or pitching horseshoes. After the Hildebrand mill was built near the present Village of Mount Etna, Mr. Campbell's patronage decreased, and he ultimately abandoned his mill. The Hildebrand mill was burned in the '70s, but was rebuilt by David Myers and operated until it was again destroyed by fire in 1885. The first frame house was probably that of Henry Hildebrand, and the first frame barn was built by Henry Fullhart, about 1840. Allen Dowell was the first carpenter and William Watson the first cab¬ inet-maker. The first religious meeting is said to have been held in Jacob Fullhart 's barn in June, 1840, Rev. Mr. Moss, a minister of the German Baptist Church, conducting the services. The first church was built by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1856. It was located in Section 16, near the western boundary.

Polk Township was a little in advance of some of the others in the county in establishing free schools. The first public school of this character was opened in 1844. Under the system then in vogue the school fund was rather meager, and to supply the deficiency the citi¬ zens "went down into their pockets." After the constitution of 1852 went into effect there was a marked improvement in the public schools all over the state. Polk was divided into districts and schoolhouses of a better type were erected. T. J. Jeffrey was one of the pioneer teach¬ ers, and his son and two daughters were likewise engaged in the work for several years. At the close of the school year in 1914 thirteen pupils were graduated. The estimated value of the school property was then twenty-five thousand dollars. Nine teachers were employed during the school year of 1912-13, two of whom were in the certified high school at Monument City, and the amount paid in teachers' salaries was $2,455.80.

Monument City and Harlansburgh are the only villages in the town¬ ship. Their history will be found in Chapter IX. Polk Township is without transportation facilities, hence it has no manufacturing inter¬ ests of any kind, and agriculture is practically the only occupation of the people. In 1910 the population was 787, and in 1913 the property was assessed at $631,130 for tax purposes.

This township is one of the eastern tier and embraces Congressional Township 27 north, Range 10 east. On the north it is bounded by Union Township; on the east by Wells County; on the south by Salamonie Township, and on the west by the Township of Lancaster. It is six miles square and contains an area of 23,040 acres, nearly all of which is capable of being cultivated. The Wabash River flows across the northeast corner. Its principal tributary is Rock Creek, the stream from which the township derives its name. It enters the township from Wells County about midway of the eastern boundary and follows a northwesterly course until it empties into the Wabash about a mile west of Markle. Loon Creek rises in Section 28, in the southern part, flows in a northwesterly direction and crosses the western boundary about a mile from the northwest corner. These streams afford good natural drainage to the greater part of the township. The surface is slightly rolling and the soil is above the average in this part of the state in fertility.

When the first white men came to this part of the county they found here a great forest of the finest timber, with here and there thickets of undergrowth so dense that it was almost impossible to pass through them. Gradually the forest and thicket disappeared before the ax of the sturdy pioneer, and today some of the finest farms in the Wabash Yalley are in Rock Creek Township.

mile below where Markle now stands, and it was upon this reservation that the first settler erected his cabin. That man was Albert Draper, who came to the township in 1832. He was industrious and accumulated considerable property as the years rolled by, was one of the first jus¬ tices of the peace after the township was organized, and was otherwise identified with local affairs. After a residence of several years he sold his farm and removed to Illinois. While living in Huntington County he built the Indian mills for the United States Government.

a North Carolinian, located a short distance southwest of Markle, where he entered land and developed a farm. His brother Isaac also settled in the locality about the same time and their father located just across the line in Wells County. A man named Adams also came in this year and settled not far from the Sparks brothers. His son-in-law, John Schoolcraft, lived with him for awhile and then went to the Town of Huntington, where he continued to reside for many years.

It appears that settlement was slow for the next two or three years. In 1837 Jacob Souers, of Wayne County, Indiana, visited the township and entered a tract of land in Section 33, near the southern border, to which he moved his family a year or two later. His brother, Reason Souers, came with him and selected land in Section 32. Others who came about this time and located in the southern and western parts of the township were John Sheets and his son-in-law, George Poff, Israel First, Gideon Lantis, Jacob Shively, Samuel Wolf and William Poulson. Mr. Poff soon afterward entered land in the eastern part of the township.

During the next three years a number of immigrants sought homes in this part of the county. Among them were Peter and Abraham Becker, the five Smiths - Daniel, Solomon, William, John and Nathan - who settled in different parts of the township ; John Becker, in Section 34; Benjamin Sheets, near his brother John; Burdine Bonham, in Sec¬ tion 35 ; Edward Roberts, Sidney Crandall, Daniel Cupp and one or two others, in the northeastern part; Hiram Sale, near the north line of the township; John J. Scotton, on Rock Creek; Samuel Mills and the Miner, Cline, Detroe, Johnson, Alspaeh, Kelsey and Scott families were likewise among the Rock Creek pioneers.

Some time in the spring or early summer of 1842 a movement was started for the organization of a new township. The question was pre sented to the county commissioners when they met in September of that year, and after due consideration it was ordered "That all that part of Lancaster township situated east of the line dividing Ranges 9 and 10 east shall hereafter be known by the name of Rock Creek town¬ ship." No election for township officers until April, 1843. The vot¬ ing place was at the house of George Poff, and William Clark was the inspector. In the absence of a ballot-box a hat was used as a receptacle for the ballots. Twelve votes were cast and the election resulted in the choice of John Sheets, Jacob Souers and N. Poulson, trustees; Albert Draper, justice of the peace, and William Clark, clerk.

According to one account, "Squire" Draper was not called upon to act in his official capacity until about two years later, when two young couples presented themselves to be united in marriage. The

"Squire" is said to have been somewhat "flustered," but he managed to get through with the ceremony, and it is supposed that the young people "lived happily ever after."

Early Events - It is not certain who were the first pair to be married in the township. Albert Draper was a single man when he came to the county in 1832, and one authority states that he was married in Rock Creek Township in 1835, but fails to give the maiden name of his wife. The first white child born within the limits of the township was Riley, son of Albert and Rachel Draper, who was born in 1836. Mrs. Adams died in 1838, and it is believed that this was the first death. Israel first's wife, Eliza, died the same year. The first sawmill was built in the fall of 1832 by the United States Government for the use of the Miami Indians. The work of building it was done by Albert Draper, the first white settler. The first grist mill was built near the saw¬ mill in 1835. It was also erected by the Government for the convenience of the Indians, though it was patronized by the white people for a number of years. The first log-rolling was on the farm of Moses Sparks. The first school was taught in 1839 by Thomas 0 'Thigh, in a log cabin in Section 3, near the west line of the Richardville reserve. The first schoolhouse was erected the following year in Section 31, in the south¬ west corner of the township. The first religious meetings were held by itinerant ministers of the Methodist Episcopal faith, but the date when the first meeting was held cannot be ascertained. The first church build¬ ing was erected by the Missionary Baptists in 1861. Robert Allen, Sam¬ uel Wolf, and William Poulson were the first blacksmiths, and Dr. Joseph Scott the first resident physician. The first orchard was planted by Rea¬ son Souers soon after he came to the county. He and his brother Jacob built the first frame houses, and George Souers built the first brick house.

The first school districts were established in 1842. From the humble beginning made at that time the present excellent public school system has been gradually evolved. In the school year of 1913-14 eighteen pupils in the township schools completed the course and received their diplomas. The school property has an estimated value of $20,000, exclu¬ sive of the building in the incorporated Town of Markle, and in 1912-13 twelve teachers were employed, receiving in salaries the sum of $4,475. Three of the teachers taught in the certified high school of the township. Eight additional teachers are employed in the Markle schools, making a total of twenty in the township.

Rock Creek is well supplied with gravel roads, but the only rail¬ roads are the Chicago & Erie, and the Cincinnati, Bluffton & Chicago, both of which pass through Markle, in the extreme northeastern corner. The southern portion of the township finds it more convenient to go to

Most of the industries, aside from the farming interests, are now centered at Markle, an incorporated town on the Wabash River. Before Markle was laid out and the Erie Railroad built, sawmills were located at several places in the township. John J. Scotton built a sawmill on Rock Creek at an early date. It was first operated by water power, but a steam engine was later installed and the mill was in successful opera¬ tion for a number of years. Since his mill, there have been several steam sawmills in the township, but with the disappearance of the native forests the mills found themselves without raw material, and the only one doing a successful business at the present time is situated at Markle. Tile mills and lime kilns have been operated at several points, and a few of these concerns are still in existence.

Besides Markle, the only towns or villages in the township are Brown's Corners or Toledo, about four miles west of Markle; Rock Creek Center, in the exact geographical center, and Plum Tree, on the southern boundary. Quite a number of families living in the western part do their trading at Kelso, which is just across the line in Lancas¬ ter Township. A history of the towns and villages may be found in Chapter IX.

Of the several townships in Huntington County, Rock Creek stands third in population and sixth in the assessed valuation of property. In 1910 the population was 1,992, and the tax duplicate for 1913 shows the value of taxable property to be $1,244,690.

This township occupies the southeast corner of the county. It is six miles square, with an area of 23,040 acres, and is identical with Congressional Township 26, Range 10 east. When it was first created, in February, 1835, it was six miles wide from north to south and sixteen miles in extent from east to west, including all the present townships of Jefferson and Wayne. It was reduced to its present dimensions at the March term in 1843. The Salamonie, from which the township takes its name, flows across the southwest corner and is the only watercourse of any consequence. Along the river the surface is broken in places, but the greater part of the township is a gently undulating plain, with a reasonably fertile soil, and is well adapted to all the crops grown in this section of the state.

Mr. Jones had visited the county the preceding spring and entered the land, after which he returned to Ohio for his wife and children. He is credited with being the first settler in the township. His cabin was built near the old Fort Wayne and Indianapolis state road, which was then one of the leading thoroughfares from the older states to the West, over which traveled a large number of immigrants, homeseekers and specu¬ lators. With a view to accommodating these travelers, and at the same time adding to his income, Mr. Jones built his house large enough to fur¬ nish lodging and meals for a few guests, and "Jones' Place" soon came to be widely known as hospitable tavern, providing entertainment for both man and beast. Mr. Jones was born in Pennsylvania in 1790 and passed through the Wabash Valley while serving as a soldier under Gen¬ eral Harrison in the War of 1812. The impressions he then gained of the country were responsible for his becoming a permanent resident some twenty years later. After locating in the county he took an active part in local political affairs ; introduced the first schools in the southern part of the county by employing a private tutor for his own sons and daugh¬ ters, and in 1848 represented the district composed of Huntington and Whitley counties in the state legislature.

At least four other families settled in Salamonie in the year 1833. Fleming Mitchell came not long after Mr. Jones, and, like him, had vis¬ ited the county the spring before and selected land. He built his cabin about a mile above Jones, on the Salamonie River and not far from the line of the Fort AVayne and Indianapolis state road. A little later James Morrison settled near Mitchell, and Noah McGrew settled about three miles down the Salamonie from AYarren. Late in the year Lewis Rich¬ ards came with his family and lived in the house with Fleming Mitchell until he could erect a cabin of his own.

In 1834 L. W. Purviance, Ezekiel , Fleming, Leander Morrison, Ezra C. Thompson, Andrew Beard and Peter AVire located within the limits of Salamonie. Air. Wire was a survivor of General St. Clair's defeat. After a short residence he removed to Jefferson Township. Not more than a dozen log .cabins had been erected prior to the erection of the township by the county commissioners in February, 1835, but after that the settle¬ ment was more rapid. Ezekiel Jones, Abel Irwin, William Coolman, Peter Rittenhouse, Simeon Swain, G. 0. Blair, John Baker and one or two others settled in the township during the year 1835.

The next two years witnessed a marked increase in the population. Among those who came during this period were George Beard, Abner Leonard, Enoch Jones, Michael Reveal, John Frazier, Aaron Back, Wil¬ liam Gill, Thomas Alcllwain, John Dillon, Jacob Zent, James Lynn, John and George Thompson, Daniel Stroup and the Roberts and Eubanks families. Close behind them came the Priddys, Gepharts, Bilbees, Fousts, Wrights, Coffields, Hamiltons, Smiths, Johnsons, Beckers and Suttons, and a number of others, so that by 1840 there was quite a populous settlement in the southeast corner of the county.

Samuel J ones ' first neighbors were Miami Indians, a number of whom lived along the Salamonie River. They were friendly, however, and gave him no trouble, except through their disposition to beg for small favors. As the white population increased, the Indians retired to their reservations, the sound of the woodman's ax became more and more fre¬ quently heard, log-rollings were greatly facilitated, and within ten years after the first pioneer came, there were a number of fairly well improved farms in Salamonie Township. In addition to this development, the Town of Warren had been laid out by Samuel Jones and had become a trading point of some consequence.

Early Events - On April 5, 1834, Mary Jane, daughter of Noah and Elizabeth McGrew, was born, the first white child born in the township. The first marriage occurred on February 26, 1835, the contracting parties having been Leander Morrison and Matilda Jones. Michael Reveal was the first of the settlers to die, his death occurring on January 20, 1835, and his remains were the first to be interred in what was afterward known as the ' 'Jones Cemetery. " The first school teacher was John McGrew, who was employed in 1833 by Samuel Jones as a private tutor for the junior members of his family. The first schoolhouse was built a little later, near the mounds south of Warren. The first religious services were held in 1838, at the house of Samuel Jones, by a Baptist minister named Jacob Layman. Later in the same year services were held in James Mor¬ rison 's barn by Rev. Elza Lank, a Methodist minister from Wayne County. The first regular church was organized at Warren in 1841 by the Baptists. Fleming Mitchell built the first sawmill soon after settling in the township. It was located near his residence, about a mile above Warren, and in 1835 he put in a set of buhrs for grinding corn. John Reid soon after purchased the property and in 1837 added bolting machinery for making wheat flour. This mill continued in successful operation for a number of years. The first frame house and barn were built by Samuel Jones, and the first brick dwelling was erected by Jona¬ than Foust, on the southeast quarter of Section 35, not far from the Wells County line.

As an illustration of some of the hardships the pioneers of Salamonie were compelled to undergo, it may be mentioned that salt was very hard to obtain, and as it was considered a necessity the frontier settler would make almost any sacrifice to obtain it. In the fall of 1839 Jonathan Foust and Simeon Swaim hit upon the following plan to obtain a supply. Foust furnished the team and wagon and Swaim 's son acted as driver on a trip to Huntington for salt. Upon arriving there young Swaim found but two barrels for sale in the town, and for these the dealer, a man named Gant, asked $14.00 each. There was nothing else to be done, so the salt was bought and the next day the young man returned home. Besides the $28.00 actual money paid for the salt, the trip consumed two days with a man and team. No roads were yet opened through that part of the county and the young man had to pick his way among the trees as best he could. It is safe to say that the salt was not wasted under such circumstances.

After the introduction of the free school system, the township was divided into districts, in accordance with the provisions of the law, and the first schoolhouse erected by public funds was located on the north¬ east corner of Section 33. The first brick schoolhouse was built at War¬ ren in 1866. In 1914 there were eight schools in the township, exclusive of those in the incorporated Town of Warren, and the eight teachers received in salaries the sum of $3,386.60. The school property was then valued at $19,000, but the county superintendent informed the writer that a movement was on foot to replace some of the old schoolhouses with new ones. Eighteen students were graduated at the close of the school year of 1913-14.

From the time of the first settlement in 1833 to the present time Sala¬ monie has gone steadily forward and now stands second in population and third in the value of taxable property. According to the United

States census for 1910 the number of inhabitants was then 2,665, and the tax duplicate for 1913 shows $1,487,880 worth of taxable property, being exceeded in the latter respect only by the townships of Huntington and Union. If the value of taxable property in the Town of Warren should be added, Salamonie would be exceeded only by the Township of Huntington. During the closing years of the nineteenth and opening years of the present century, Salamonie Township enjoyed quite an era of prosperity through the discovery of oil. A number of producing wells were drilled in the township, and in 1900 the census showed the greatest population at any time in history, the number of inhabitants then being 3,152. With the decline of the oil industry many men engaged in this line of activity sought other fields of endeavor, which caused a decrease of about five hun¬ dred during the following decade.

The Clover Leaf Railroad crosses the township from east to west a little south of the center, passing through the Town of Warren. East of Warren are two small stations called Buckeye and Boehmer, and on the northern boundary is the little hamlet of Plum Tree. These are the only villages in the township. The railroad was built late in the '70s and has added to the township's prosperity. In 1906 an electric line, called the Marion, Bluffton & Eastern, was built through Huntington County parallel to the Clover Leaf, and these two roads furnish the people of Salamonie Township with reasonably good shipping and trans¬ portation facilities. And as the entire township is traversed by a network of good gravel roads, the farmers experience little difficulty in getting their products to market.

When this township was first erected by order of the county commis¬ sioners, at the September term in 1842, it was designated by the name of Monroe, in honor of James Monroe, President of the United States from 1817 to 1825. In June, 1845, for reasons not set forth in the records, it was reorganized and given the name of "Union."

The township is six miles square, embracing Congressional Township 28, of Range 10 east, and contains 23,040 acres of exceedingly fertile land, with the exception of small tracts along the streams, where the surface is somewhat broken. Originally the southern part was wet, sev¬ eral sections near the southwest corner being considered "too marshy for any use." But by means of artificial drainage all these swamp lands have been reclaimed and are now under successful cultivation. The Wabash River flows through this portion of the township, affording a good natural outlet for the ditches, and the Little Wabash flows in a southwesterly direction across the northwest corner.. A little stream called Mud Run rises near the center and Hows northwest into the Little River.

In common with other sections of the county, Union Township was covered with a heavy forest growth when the first settlers came, and these pioneers, when not engaged in the work of raising their crops, derived a considerable income by cutting and rafting timber to the saw¬ mills along the Little and Wabash rivers.

In the spring of 1835 John Lewis, who had made a tour of the Wabash Valley the year before, entered a large tract of land in the northwest corner of the township and built there a comfortable log cabin in Section 5. He then returned East for his family and brought them to his new possessions in the fall. Mr. Lewis had formerly been engaged in busi¬ ness in New York City, but had met with some reverses and decided to try rebuilding his fortunes in the West. He was the first white settler in Union, but after a residence there of several years removed to Hunt¬ ington, where he was prominently identified for a number of years with the city 's active business men. When he came to Huntington County he was accompanied by his son, William H. Lewis, who for some time was an active factor in shaping the destinies of Union Township. His closing years were passed as a retired citizen of the City of Huntington.

Not far behind the Lewis family came Jeremiah Barcus, who settled on a tract of land that had been entered by a Mr. Hanna of Fort Wayne. After a few years here he removed to another part of the township and entered land of his own. The farm where he first located afterward became the property of Col. Cyrus E. Briant. In 1836 John McEwen set¬ tled in Section 32, not far from the Wabash River, and some 'authorities give him the credit of being the first settler. The records of the land office show, however, that John Lewis entered his land more than a year before McEwen came to the township.

Other settlers who came in 1836 were Joel Seeley, Cyrus Adams and a man named Barnhart. Mr. Seeley came from Michigan and settled west of the Lewis place in Section 6. Mr. Adams received 100 acres of land from Mr. Lewis for building a barn, and Mr. Barnhart also set¬ tled in the northwestern part. A little later John Freel entered land and erected his cabin in Section 29, a short distance from the present railroad station of Simpson. At that time the woods were full of wolves, whose howling so frightened Mrs. Freel that the family removed to the Town of Huntington until 1837, by which time the work of clear¬ ing farms had scared some of the wolves away and Mr. Freel returned to his cabin. He was a resident of the township for many years.

Rev. William Stevens settled near the Lewis place in 1837, but soon afterward, finding a better opportunity for employment as preacher and teacher near Fort Wayne, he removed to Allen County. Frederick Yahne located in Section 5, upon coming from Ohio, and purchased land from Mr. Lewis, but a little later went to Jackson Township.

Charles H. and Tomkins D. Lewis, brothers of the original pioneer, came into Union in 1838 or 1839 and settled near their brother. Hugh, Stephen, Murray and Richard Freel also came about the same time and settled in the southern part of the township. Joseph Seibert, James and William Whitestine and Alfred Harris located in the northern part, near the Little River and the Wabash & Erie Canal. Still others who came prior to 1840 were Andrew Branstrator, James Thompson, Benja¬ min Brown, Rufus Sanders and the Barnes family.

About the time the Wabash & Erie Canal was built the land lying between it and the Little River was entered or purchased by speculators, and no settlements were made in that portion of the township until about 1842 or 1843. For a few years this strip was the hunting ground of the settlers. The dense, undisturbed forest proved a safe retreat for the game driven out by the clearing of farms, and when the stock of meat ran low in the household, the head of the family would take his trusty rifle and set out for the "forbidden land" to replenish the supply. But in time even this portion of the township was brought under cultivation and the game driven out. All the speculator had to do was to hold on, and as population increased the demand for good land correspondingly increased, until "the man who got there first" could ask and receive his price.

Among those who located in the township in the early '40s, some of them upon the lands mentioned in the preceding paragraph, were Aaron Hill, John and Samuel Kline, John S. Young, Daniel Feightner, Alexander Aaron, Seth and Austin T. Smith, John C. Guthrie, Jesse R. Haney, Henry Kline, Daniel M. Shank, Martin Call, John Herron, Wil¬ liam 0. Jones, Samuel Hayes, Benjamin Hill, Atchison Smith, John Silver and John Anson.

Adam Young was the first German to settle in the township. The manner in which he came to locate there reads almost like fiction. In that day the common tramp, or hobo, as he is sometimes called, was very rare, yet Mr. Young made his appearance at the kitchen door of John Lewis' dwelling one morning and asked for something to eat, promising to do enough work to pay for his breakfast. After being provided with a "good square meal," he was given a hoe and set to work in a potato patch near the house. He worked faithfully until noon, ate his dinner and returned to the potato field, evidently having no intention of quit- ting his task until it was finished. Mr. Lewis, noticing the careful man¬ ner in which the young German did his work, his persistent industry and his gentlemanly deportment, approached him along in the afternoon with a proposition to remain as a steady employee upon the farm. A bargain was struck and for seven years he worked for Mr. Lewis for $12.00 a month. He then purchased a tract of land in Section 27 and became one of the prosperous farmers of the township. Through his influence a number of Germans settled in Union, and he even sent money to friends in the Fatherland to assist them to come to America. Mr. Young never married and old settlers remember him as a somewhat eccentric, but extremely honest and harmless old bachelor, who went through life with many warm friends and no enemies.

Early Events - The first birth of a white child in Union Township was that of Oscar L., son of John and Miriam Lewis, August 8, 1836. Charles Prime, a colored man, who came from New York with Mr. Lewis, died in the early part of 1837, which was the first death. The first white person to die in Union Township was Christian Wolf. The first marriage was that of Cyrus Adams to Jane Seeley, some time in 1836, soon after they became residents of the township. The first public highway was the road leading from Lafayette to Fort Wayne. This route was first followed by United States troops in the War of 1812, and was afterward opened from the Tippecanoe River to Fort Meigs, on the Maumee, as a sort of military thoroughfare, several years before any attempt had been made to estab¬ lish a white settlement in Huntington County. John Lewis planted the first orchard in 1835, having brought the young trees with him from New York. The first hewed log house was built by Joel Seeley, and the first frame house by Andrew Branstrator, who also built the first saw¬ mill. It was not much of a mill, as compared with some of those of after years, but it manufactured much of the lumber used by the early settlers, and was still in operation as late as 1868. The first religious meeting was conducted by Rev. William Stevens, in 1837, in a "canal shanty," where Air. Stevens taught the first school the same year.

About 1856 John Souers built a steam sawmill near the center of the township, where he carried on a good business for several years. It was then removed to a point near the Huntington Township line and operated by a man named Nave for some time. In later years portable sawmills were brought in and moved from place to place as their services were demanded. After the completion of the AV abash Railroad through the township, considerable lumber was shipped.

Across the northwest corner of the township run the Wabash Rail¬ road and the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana traction line, while the Chicago & Erie Railroad enters near the middle of the western boundary and follows a southeasterly direction until it crosses the southern boundary near Markle. Mardenis, on the Wabash, and Simpson, on the Chicago & Erie, are the only railroad stations in the township. Both are small places, but grain, hay and live stock are shipped from them in considerable quantities. Spencer Wheeler once operated a lime kiln near Mardenis and shipped a great deal of lime from Mardenis, but in later years the business was absorbed by the Western Lime Company of Huntington. The only other business industries of any importance were the tile factories founded by George Bailey and Walker & McCoy.

Union is as well supplied with educational facilities as any town¬ ship in the county. After the school taught by Mr. Stevens in 1837, a schoolhouse was built in Section 32, in the southern part of the town¬ ship, near the Wabash River, but the name of the first teacher there has been lost. Jacob Good is credited by some authorities as having taught the first school, but his school, which was taught in a small log cabin located in Section 30, did not begin until some time after Mr. Stevens' school near the canal was opened. The free public school system was established in 1847, after which the township was divided into districts and teachers paid from the public school fund, as far as it would go, the patrons frequently making up a purse by subscription to secure a longer term. In 1914 the public school property of the township was valued at $22,000. Thirteen teachers were employed during the school year of 1912-13, three of them in the certified high school, and the amount paid in salaries was $5,378.24. Nineteen students completed the common school course and received their diplomas at the close of the school year in 1914.

In the value of taxable property Union stands second in the county, being exceeded in this particular only by the Township of Huntington. According to the tax duplicate for 1913 the property was listed for taxes at $1,679,210. Although second in wealth, the township was eighth in population in 1910, when the United States census reported the num¬ ber of inhabitants as being 1,314. With this showing, the per capita wealth of the township is the greatest of any in the county.

Situated in the northwest corner of the county is Warren Township, four miles wide from east to west and six miles in extent from north to south, and containing an area of 15,360 acres. On the north it is bounded by Whitley County ; on the east by Clear Creek Township ; on the south by Dallas, and on the west by the County of Wabash. The surface is generally quite level and before the introduction of artificial drainage a large portion of the township was too wet for successful cultivation. It is estimated that Warren Township has more tile drain than any other township in the county. The soil is a deep black loam, very fertile, and since its reclamation by drains and ditches yields large crops. Some of the finest timber in Huntington once grew in Warren, but the clearing of farms and the sawmills have about exhausted the supply. After the completion of the Chicago & Erie Railroad, large quantities of lumber was shipped to various cities.

In the spring of 1836 George Zellers came from Stark County, Ohio, and located in Section 11. He was a widower, but with him came his three sons and four daughters and the family lived in a covered wagon until a log cabin could be erected. Within two weeks, by hard and per¬ sistent labor, the father and sons had the new home ready for occupancy, and Warren Township had its first permanent resident. Mr. Zellers was a man of some means, a thrifty German, and purchased other tracts of land in the township. His investments in this direction enabled him to accumulate considerable property in later years.

In the fall of 1836 Thomas Staley came from Ohio and settled on a tract of land in Section 2. not far from the Whitley County line. After living there for several years he disposed of his property and left the county. He was the second white man to establish a home in Warren Township. During the year 1837 there w'ere a few newcomers. George Slusser settled in the eastern part ; Henry Kuntz located a short distance east of the present Town of Bippus; Hiram Westover settled in

John Funk, a native of the Buckeye State, came to Huntington County in 1838, and either in that year or the year following located upon a tract of land previously entered by his father in Section 15, about half way between Claysville and Bippus. He cleared a small part of the land and in 1842 set out an orchard, but his residence in the township was not constant until about 1851.

Among those who came during the years 1839-40 were Michael Smith, who rented land in Section 14 and carried on shoemaking in con¬ nection with his farming; John Altman, who settled in Section 14, near Smith, and Christian Dailey, who had formerly settled in Clear Creek Township, came to Warren and settled where the Town of Bippus is now located. In 1841 Peter Kitt built his cabin in the northeast corner; William Guffin and Jacob Shull entered land in Section 2, and Ezra Thorne settled in the southern part.

Other pioneers were George France, Daniel Dishong, John T. Cook, Jacob Myers, David Shoemaker, George Brugh, John Byers, Samuel Funk, Peter Gressley, James White, the McEnderfers family and a man named Noyer, who was killed by a falling tree soon after coming into the township.

These settlements were made while Warren was a part of Clear Creek Township. At the June term in 1843 the county commissioners ordered: "That all that part of Clear Creek township situated west of the line dividing Ranges 8 and 9, be, and hereby is, erected into a new township, to be known as Warren township." The first election for township officers was held a few weeks later, with Jacob Shull as in¬ spector. It resulted in the choice of Christian Dailey, John T. Cook and George France, trustees; John Altman, justice of the peace; William T. Guffin, clerk; James White, treasurer, and John Funk, constable.

Early Events - The first white child born in the township was Thomas Staley, Jr., whose birth occurred soon after his parents settled in Section 2. The first marriage solemnized was that of William Delvin and Susan Zellers, in 1837. The first death was that of Mr. Noyer, above mentioned, in 1841. He was buried on George Slusser's farm, where the first grave¬ yard was established, but the bodies there were afterward removed to the cemetery at the Lutheran Church, about a mile west of Bippus. George Slusser sowed the first wheat, and the first log-rolling was on the farm of George Zellers. The first religious meeting was conducted by a young Methodist minister at the house of George Zellers, in 1839. The first church was built by the Lutherans, in 1855, in Section 21, a short distance west of Bippus. The first school was taught in 1841 by

John Funk, in a little log house in Section 14, and the same year the first schoolhouse was built at "Altman's Corners." It was in this schoolhouse that the first township election was held two years later.

About 1855 or 1856, Joseph Miller built a sawmill, the first in the township, on his land in Section 22, a little northeast of Bippus. About two years later he added machinery for grinding both wheat and corn, which relieved the settlers from the necessitj^ of making long jour¬ neys to distant mills to procure their breadstuff s. Miller's mill did a successful business for seven or eight years, when it was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and later was removed to Bippus and converted into a tile factory.

Sometime in the latter '50s a man named Bolinger erected a steam sawmill at Claysville. It manufactured most of the lumber used for several years in the northern part of the township. After changing owners a few times it was finally removed from the township, leaving that section without a mill of any kind. Cole's steam sawmill was built in the southeastern part a little later. Bradley Howenstine, Reuben Bentz, Mossman & Smith and Mossman & Company all operated saw¬ mills in the township at some period in its history, while the timber was plentiful.

The schoolhouse erected at Altman's Corners in 1841 was the only schoolhouse in the township for several years. John Funk was the first teacher at this place. He was succeeded by a Mr. Anderson, who taught two winter terms and one summer term. In the winter of 1842-43 this school was attended by nearly fifty pupils, some of whom came a distance of four or five miles from Clear Creek Township and the southern part of Whitley County. The teacher received $13.00 per month for his services. The first schoolhouse erected by the township and paid for from the public funds, stood on Section 13. It was a hewed log struc¬ ture, somewhat better than the schoolhouses built by the cooperation of the citizens, and marked the beginning of the free school system in Warren. During the school year of 1912-13 ten teachers were employed in the public schools of the township, three of them in the certified high school, and the amount paid in teachers' salaries was $4,259.50. The school property has an estimated value of $13,500, but a new township graded school building at Bippus is in contemplation, which, when built will add materially to the value. Twelve students were graduated in the common school branches at the close of the school year in 1914.

The Huntington & Goshen Road was cut out through the township in 1838 and for a number of years was the only public highway of any consequence. John Funk cleared the logs from a section of this road in 1839. As the natural resources of the country were developed and the population increased, new roads were opened and improved, until at the present time Warren has a splendid system of gravel roads, constructed at a cost of nearly $40,000. The amount of gravel road bonds outstand¬ ing in the spring of 1914 was $28,222.

With the completion of the Chicago & Erie Railroad through the northwestern part of the county in the early '80s, an era of prosperity set in in Warren Township and has continued almost without interrup¬ tion to the present time. A station was established at Bippus and from this point large shipments of farm products are made every year. Three miles north of Bippus is the little hamlet of Claysville. These, are the only two villages in the township. In 1910 the population of Warren Township was even 1,100, an increase of 16 over the census of 1900. The value of taxable property, according to the tax duplicate for 1913, was then $1,117,200, an average of more than $100 for each man, woman and child living in the township.

The Township of Wayne is situated in the southwest corner of the county and embraces the eastern two-thirds of Congressional Township 26, Range 8 east. It is four miles wide from east to west and six miles long from north to south, with an area of twenty-four square miles, or 15,360 acres. It is watered by several small streams that flow in a north¬ erly direction and unite with the Salamonie River in Lancaster and Polk townships. Foremost among these are Richland, Prairie, Logan and Rush creeks, which afford good natural drainage to all parts of the township. Along these streams the surface is undulating, slightly hilly in places, but back from them the country is generally level, with a fertile soil, well adapted to all the crops grown in this latitude.

When the first white men came to this region they found great forests of poplar, oak, ash, elm, hickory, maple and some other varieties of trees, hence the manufacture of lumber by means of the primitive saw¬ mill, operated by water power, was one of the lucrative industries in early days. Attracted by the valuable timber, the fertile soil and the prospective water power, some of the earliest land entries in the county were made in what is now WAyne Township. During the years 1834-3o land entries were made as follows : Isaac Branson, Moses Kelly and Asher Fisher, in Section 1; Miles Gray and William Richey, Section 2; Samuel Bullock, Smith Grant and Joseph Anthony, Section 3; Moses Herrell, James Starbuck, Jacob Wister and Rinard Rinearson, Section 4; John Scott, Jacob Snyder and Caleb Satterthwaite, Section 9; James Hildreth, Section 10; Thomas Fisher, John Moffatt, John Ruggles and one or two others, Section 11 ; John Buzzard and James Brelsford, Section 12 ; Thomas G. Runnells, Section 13 ; William McBride, Section 14; Elias Stowe, Jacob Coon and John D. Lindsey, Section 15; John Reicker, Aggrippa Henderson and Robert A. Robertson, Section 21 ; Jackson L. Stevens, Ephraim Johnson and Robert McKnight, Section 22; James Campbell, Section 23; Joseph McGarrough and John Blackledge, Section 24; John Crest and Asbury Steele, Section 25; John V. Deacon and Anderson Meheffv, Section 26 ; Jefferson Helm, William Read and John Teavis, Section 27; James Dearth, Henry Klum and John Hawkins, Section 28 ; J. P. Thompson, John Robb and Abraham Hackleman, Section 33; John Thomas, Section 35; Charles Morgan and Charles Ginley, Section 36, and perhaps half a dozen others in different sections.

Had all these persons settled at once upon the lands they entered, AVayne would have been the most densely populated township in the county at the beginning of the year 1836. But a number of them never became residents of the township, having taken the lands purely for speculative purposes.

The first actual settlers were John Buzzard and John Ruggles, who located upon their lands in the spring of 1835. They were both natives of Ohio, brothers-in-law, and afterward became prominently identified with township affairs. Mr. Ruggles was at one time trustee. In the fall of 1835 Anderson Leverton came from AVayne County, Indiana, and entered the northwest quarter of Section 12, adjoining the Buzzard place. Asher Fisher also came from Wayne County about the same time and settled upon the southwest quarter of Section 1, which he had previously entered. His brother Thomas came a little later and located his cabin on Prairie Creek, near the northwest corner of Section 12.

During the years 1836 and 1837 the population was increased by the arrival of Jacob Coon, the Rinearsons, Jacob Snyder, David Clingenpeel, William C. Parker, James Price, Thomas Hollowell, George and Joseph Weaver (father and son), Henry Klum, Joel Chenowith, Thomas and Richard Stevens, and a few others. Following them, during the next two years, came George Klum, Moses Herrell, Ebenezer Thompson, James Ruggles, James Campbell, John Deacon, James Pattison, Benjamin Price, Charles Morgan, J. P. Thompson, John Sparks, Joseph Hall, James and William Bain, Ephraim Johnson, Watson Sparks, and the Cecil, Starbuck, Reicker, McDaniel and Hawkins families, so that by 1840 Wayne began to wear the appearance of a civilized community.

One of these pioneers, James Campbell, was an avowed abolitionist and never hesitated to speak his opinions upon the subject of chattel slavery - a subject upon which he delivered a number of public addresses in Huntington and adjoining counties. By his blunt way of expressing his views he incurred the enmity of some of his neighbors, who looked upon slavery as a " divine institution. ' ' It was rumored that Mr. Camp¬ bell was connected with the "underground railroad," which aided fugi¬ tive slaves to reach Canada, where their masters could not follow, and it is quite probable that more than one negro found a secure hiding place upon his premises until he could be forwarded with safety.

Wayne Township was a part of Salamonie until June, 1844, when the commissioners, in response to a petition signed by a number of people living in the territory, ordered : ' ' That all that part of Sala¬ monie township being and lying west of the line dividing Ranges 8 and 9, is hereby declared to be a separate and distinct township, to be hereafter known and designated by the name of 'Wayne.' "

Some people believe that the township received its name in honor of Gen. Anthony Wayne, a hero of the Revolution, the builder of the fort from which the City of Fort Wayne derives its name, and the officer who conquered the Indians in the Maumee and upper Wabash valleys in the closing years of the eighteenth century. Indirectly this is true, but the name of "Wayne" was conferred upon the new township at the suggestion of Asher and Thomas Fisher, who had come from Wayne County, Indiana, a few years before the organization of the township.

The first election was held in the fall of 1844 at the house of Joseph Weaver, Henry Kline acting as inspector, but the result of that election cannot be ascertained. Ebenezer Thompson, James Campbell and Asher Fisher constituted one of the early boards of trustees, but it is not definitely known that they were the first to serve in this capacity.

Early Events - The first white child born in Wayne Township was Wesley, son of John and Rachel Buzzard, whose birth occurred on April 15, 1835, about a month after the family settled in the township. The first marriage was that of Oliver W. Sanger and Catherine A. Snyder, in 1837. This marriage was solemnized by one of the associate judges of the county and it was afterward discovered that the associate judges had no authority to perform the marriage ceremony. To remedy the error the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sanger was legalized by a special act of the legislature at the succeeding session. The first death was that of Ary Cecil, April 8, 1839. John Ruggles built the first house and the first log-rolling occurred on his farm. The first frame house was built by John Buzzard, and the first brick house by Jacob Snyder. Thomas Fisher established the first nursery, from which came the trees that were used in setting out a number of the eaily orchards. The first religious meeting was held at the house of Anderson Level ton in

1836, by an itinerant Methodist Episcopal minister, whose name cannot now be learned. The first church building was erected by the Baptists in 1860, on Section 34, near the Grant County line. The first school was taught by Nancy Hildebrand on John Buzzard's place, and the first schoolhouse was built on Anderson Leverton's farm in 1839. Wil¬ liam C. Parker taught the first school at that place.

The first sawmill was built by John Sparks, near the southwest corner of the township, but the exact date when it was erected is not definitely known. Subsequently several mills were built at various points and for a number of years all did a successful business. As Wayne is without a railroad, agriculture is practically the only occupa¬ tion of the inhabitants. A few tile mills have been operated from time to time, manufacturing drain tile for local use. Among those who were among the first to engage in this line of business were Riley Stephens, James Campbell and a man named Minnich. During the oil boom a number of producing wells were drilled, but the lack of transportation facilities kept the industry from becoming prosperous. Natural gas was also found in this township and used to some extent for local consumption.

The early schools mentioned above, taught by Nancy Hildebrand and William C. Parker, were subscription schools. In 1851 the free public school system was first introduced in the township. After that date better schoolhouses were built and the schools regularly maintained, though the people often made up by subscription an addition to the public fund, in order to have longer terms of school. In 1914 there were seven districts, with buildings valued at $26,000. This includes the building at Mount Etna, the schools there being under the Wayne Township jurisdiction. Seven teachers were employed in the district schools and two in the commissioned high school at Mount Etna, and the amount paid in salaries to these teachers was $3,726.40. Eleven students were graduated at the close of the school year in 1914.

In 1910 the population of Wayne Township was 955, an increase of 55 over the census of 1900. The value of taxable property in 1913 was $795,920, or about $83 per capita.