LaPorte County, Indiana - Chapter 11: Development - the Smaller Centers Concluded, 1904

From the hills and woods of Galena we turn to the broad, level prairies of Clinton township, which has neither church nor saloon, though at a spot called Clinton there was once a church which was moved away. The people are re¬ ligious, but attend church elsewhere. On Janu¬ ary 29, 1863, the friends of Rev. J. M. Maxwell, pastor of the "Macedonian Church," gave him a donation at the residence of Mr. William Pinney in Clinton township. Here the soil is a rich, black, sandy loam, exceedingly productive.

In 1833, before Clinton was set off from New Durham township, Nathaniel Steel, R. Prather, Levi Reynolds, John Osborn, William Niles, Lemuel Maulsby, Richard Williams, Thomas Robinson, Stephen Jones, a Methodist preacher, William Snaveley, and R. R. Richardson came into the township and became residents. In 1834 came Charles G. and Samuel E. Eaton, Benjamin F. Fogle, Jacob Iseminger, John Rey¬ nolds, T. J. S. Hixon, Simeon Tuley, John Small, Matilda Tuley, James Haskell, Jonathan Osborn, John Warnock, Phineas Small, John and Charles Eaton, Hezekiah Robertson, Daniel Robertson, Wiljiam Eaton, Jacob Iseminger, William Wilson, John Small, James Reeves, Samuel Maulsby, Walter Livingston, L. Richardson, John Clark, John Lewis, Jesse Marshall, John Wilman, Orange Lemon, and Benjamin J. Bryant. In 1835 some of the arrivals are given as follows : W. C. Allen, John Iseminger, William T. Harding, Joseph Wright, Thomas Patterson, Richard Will¬ iams, Horace Pinney, Abijah Bigelow, David Congdon, Benjamin Maulsby, Luke Ashley, Dr. Philander Loomis, John Bailey, Mr. Heath (a deaf mute), and Dr. Whitcomb, the first resident physician.

The centers of Clinton township are Haskell Station, Alida Station, and Bigelow's Mills. Haskell Station is the junction of the Monon and Grand Trunk railroads. A. Culver, in the year

1854, thought that this was a good point for a village, but wisely concluded not to plat it until the number of settlers should warrant it. He gave to Samuel Brush an acre of ground, on condition that he open a store, which Mr. Brush did in

1855. Af this time the Grand Trunk Railroad had not been built through the place. The store passed successively through the possession of John Ferris, William D. Crothers, Mr. Sopris,and Thomas L. Hoadley, and was discontinued in 1870. At present there are only a postoffice and a grain elevator owned and operated by Daniel L. Crumpacker. For many years it has been a grain depot.

Bigelow's Mills, located on the southwest quarter of section twenty-one, received its name from the fact that in 1835 Mr. Abijah Bigelow located there and laid out a town and had it in¬ corporated. the streets running at regular angles and named. A finely gotten up map of the place was mailed to various portions of the country as an inducement to the people to settle there and help build up a flourishing city. The grist mills and afterward a sawmill were built by Mr. Bige¬ low, a raceway having been made nearly a mile in length, running parallel with the creek. In 1840 the frame dwelling house in which Mr. Bigelow lived was the only one within half a mile of the mill. Several log houses were scattered in the vicinity of that frame building, one of which used to be called "The Old Castle'' on account of its immense size and peculiar shape. Bigelow's Mills has an interesting history which would make a large volume if it could only be written. Per¬ haps some of the remaining old settlers can re¬ member the great "Fourth of March" demonstra¬ tion when "Old Tip" took the presidential chair. There were many Fourth of July celebrations when aspiring embryo statesmen and ludicrous military^ geniuses displayed their peculiar pro¬ pensities. On such occasions the scintillating Edward Bigelow, long since gone to the shades of the departed, with crutch in hand, would dazzle and charm his auditors. Seth and Darwin Patter¬ son would pour forth their impassioned elo¬ quence. "General" E. T. Harding, with sword in hand, would step forth on the stand with his best bow and command the attention of the crowd and show how to avert the great calamity of a rupture of This Union, which was, as he put it, "Divided we stand united we fall." And after the services at the stand were over the younger fry would enfilade under the command of a second Washington. Or, if there are none living who can remember these events, perhaps there are some who can remember the later and equally important Clinton Library Association meetings, which sometimes were so interesting and exciting that they were continued from "dark till dawn," because in the discussions Greek would meet Greek and then would come the tug of war.

In the autumn of 1861 Bigelow's Mills was a nice, cozy little village with many improvements. Its gain had been slow but substantial. Its grist mill was one of the best in the county. It had two dry-goods stores, a harness shop, a gunsmith's shop, and many other public buildings. There were a number of tastily arranged dwelling houses, some of them more than ordinarily fine, which assisted in making the village a place of beauty, in which it was desirable to live. Only one log house was to be seen in the vicinity, and that was some distance away. Large and flourish¬ ing farms had been opened and improved where twenty years before there grew only the tall marsh grass. The immense vacant lands in the vicinity had been thoroughly subdued and were all occu¬ pied by thrifty and enterprising farmers. Peace, plenty and good cheer pervaded all classes of people there, and hope and joy smiled benefi¬ cently on all their undertakings. Even in the sixties time had rung its changes upon many of the old settlers of the thirties and forties. But if so then, what must be the case now ? Honest, upright and cordial feelings still exist among the present inhabitants, but things are different from what they were in the "days of auld lang syne." The pioneers are gone, their places are occupied either by their descendants or by strangers, and even the place itself is no longer the thriving center of former years.

The place has had several stores and black¬ smith shops, a cabinet and jobbing shop, a harness shop, etc., etc. In the forties the postman used to call here on his route between Lafayette and LaPorte. But in 1848, on petition of the people, it legally ceased to be a village. The mill has not been running for many years, and there re¬ main only a schoolhouse and perhaps half a dozen dwellings.

William Bowes, a prosperous farmer, was the first German who settled in Clinton township. Benjamin T. Bryant, who married Alpha Maria Benedict, a daughter of the first family that set¬ tled in the county, when young attended school in a log schoolhouse with greased paper windows. A. E. Burner was a school teacher, but became a Clinton farmer. Edgar M. Hotchkiss became station agent at Alida. Russel Iseminger, Will¬ iam H. Livingston, Jonathan Osborn, and David Osborn all became prosperous farmers and pos¬ sessors of valuable estates. Alexander C. Patrick joined the ranks of Clinton farmers from the railroad shops which in the fifties were in La¬ Porte. Harvey W. Pinney, William Pinney, and Levi Reynolds also became prosperous farmers.

The settlers of Noble township after 1832 are given as follows : Obadiah Chambers, Thomas Layman, the McLanes, William, Samuel, Michael and Edward O'Hara, Admiral, Peter and Ira Burch, Wright and Silas Loving, Isaac Johnson, Warren Burch, Mr. Fowler, and Jere¬ miah Perkins came in 1833. Joseph Starrett, Richard Worrall, Samuel Mitchell, A. G. Webster, and A. Logan came into the township in 1834. In this year also Horace Wood and Elizabeth McLane were married ; it was the first marriage in the township. In 1835 Henderson Nickell, Dr. S. A. Everts, Timothy Everts, Gustavus Everts, Sidney S. Sabin, Theodore H. Wells, John Barclay, Israel Underwood, John Goldsmith, Richard Goldsmith, and Benjamin Shaw became settlers.

Noble township has one of the finest bodies of land in the county ; it is composed mostly of rich and productive upland prairie. It is thickly set¬ tled, the railroads which cross it and form a junc¬ tion at Union Mills and Wellsboro, give it ex¬ cellent market facilities. It is well watered by Mill Creek and smaller streams, and no township in the county is more prosperous.

In 1836 a village was started called Belmont, just a mile south of where Union Mills now is. It was platted by Ward Blake and Abram Charles, and contained a store, a blacksmith shop, etc. Jacob Early had a distillery there. It was a place of importance but when Union Mills began to develop the hamlet of Belmont ceased to exist.

The only considerable villages in Noble town¬ ship are Union Mills and Wellsboro. The first house was built on the site of Union Mills by Joseph Wheaton in 1832. The plat of the village .was filed for record December 7, 1849, by Robert Wrenn, George Butt, Charles Fessenden, Lewis Stevenson, Allen Cummings, Roswell N. Bennett, E. W. Fessenden, Michael O'Hara, B. Elliot, Eudorus Everts, and William J. Wheaton, pro¬ prietors. The first building of importance, as the name would indicate, was the grist mill, finished in 1838, when there were only five log cabins in the town. In 1862 it was sold by H. P. Lans to Charles M. Teeple of Bigelow's Mills. In 1839 the place had a store, and two others in 1840 ; and soon there were a cooper shop, a black¬ smith shop, a shoemaker's shop, a wagon shop, a tailor shop, and a Presbyterian church. Other stores and shops followed, an Adventist church was built in 1858, physicians located in the place, and LTnion Mills became quite a town and several additions were made to it, especially one on the east which joins it to Wellsboro and makes the two towns practically one. Union Mills is ad¬ vantageously situated on the Grand Trunk Rail¬ road, and but a short distance from Wellsboro. At present it contains about four hundred people, and has an excellent new schoolhouse, a modern Presbyterian church, an Adventist church under which is the town hall, a Methodist Episcopal church, a weekly paper, two general stores, a hardware store, two grocery stores, a boot and shoe store, a drug store, a harness shop, and other shops and businesses which usually go with such a town. The old grist mill is still in opera¬ tion.

Wellsboro has perhaps a hundred inhabitants, one store, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, etc. It was laid out bv Charles F. and Theodore H. Wells, whence its name, and the plat was re¬ corded on the 8th day of April, 1875. It is situ¬ ated at the junction of the Baltimore and Ohio, Grand Trunk, and Pere Marquette railroads. A few years ago there was much talk of factories locating in the place, and a row of stores was built; but the factories did not come, the stores remained empty for several years, and at last were consumed by fire. On account of present labor troubles and the fear of greater ones, man¬ ufacturers are moving their plants from the great cities to the smaller centers; and with such ex¬ cellent railroad facilities and plenty of room, there is no reason why Union Mills and Wellsboro should not become large and populous towns.

Among the names of the older citizens of Noble township we find those of Joseph Bailev, a boot and shoe dealer; Roswell N. Bennett, formerly a school teacher and latterly a black¬ smith of Union Mills; Enos L. Booth, a farmer; Charles J. Brown, who for many years and until recently has led a most useful life as a school teacher ; Edward Cox, a farmer ; Henry T. Croup, a farmer and local correspondent for several newspapers ; Daniel S. Crumpacker, physician, Indian fighter and traveler; Allen Cummings, who was both a carpenter and farmer; Joseph Deets, who was also a farmer; William Fred¬ rickson, who was a merchant at Union Mills; Allen Goff, a respected farmer ; Dr. Orlando Harran, physician in Rolling Prairie and druggist at Union Mills ; James Harsen, Thomas Hockney, William Hockney, his son, William Lawson and

John A. Lloyd, all farmers; Henry L. Loomis, grain buyer and farmer ; Nathan D. McCormick, hardware merchant at Union Mills and Wellsboro and afterward sheriff of the county ; and Timothy McLane, farmer, merchant and grain buyer.

George W. Meredith became carpenter, farm¬ er. school teacher, and then a physician at Union Mills with a large practice. George Mill followed the occupation of farmer. Sylvester Mill, his son, became a farmer but dealt much in machinery. James H. Miller from farming became hotelkeep at Union Mills. C.H.Nickell, Job H.Northam, Oliver A. Porter and J. T. Terry, all served the community as farmers. Nelson J. Titus, a carpenter by trade, became farmer and also hotel keeper. Orville Tryon was first a ship carpenter at Michigan City, then a sailor, and then a farmer in Noble township. Isaac Way and W. K. Well¬ man became farmers, and W. H. Worden served his day and generation as a blacksmith. These are only a few of the men, and only a few of the necessary uses which they performed, in the de¬ velopment of Noble township.

In a wooded country the early settlers do not meet and become acquainted so readily as on the prairie, and hence it is difficult to ascertain who first arrived. Each settler may claim to have preceded the others. Such is the case with Cool¬ spring township. Some state that Nathan John¬ son was the first settler, others that it was John or Isaac Luther, still others that it was Arba Heald, who first settled in Scipio. Probably all these settled not far from the Same time, which was about the year 1833. Heald built a sawmill not far from Beattys Corners, in the southwest part of the township. Johnson made his improve¬ ments at Waterford, in the northeast corner, and Luther settled nearer the center. There were few inhabitants in Coolspring prior to 1836, but for that year the names of the following settlers are given: Maj. Eliphalet Pattee, Thomas Forrester, John Jacobus, Thomas Sharp, George Smith, George Bentley, John F. Decker, Abram Langdon, Nathan Johnson, Arba Heald, John Van Meter. John Dysard, John Beatty, Purdy Smith, the Whittakers, Daniel Reed, John Glinn, and Ebenezer Palmer. The last named was the first justice of the peace in the township. Passing through the county to the Black Hawk war in 1832, he was led to settle here in 1833.

Coolspring township has a large population, being even more thickly settled than some parts of the prairie, as the farms are not so large. The Monon Railroad runs through the western part north and south, the Michigan Central and the Pere Marquette both cross the northwest comer, and the Lake Erie and Western cuts just about as much off the northeast comer. The township has good markets - Otis at the southwest, La- Porte at the southeast, and Michigan City at the north. The soil is productive and excellent for fruit, and there is much good land, though some parts are sandy, thrown up from Lake Michigan. The township is well watered by many small creeks. The farmers are generally successful and prosperous.

The centers in Coolspring township are Beat¬ ty's Corners and Waterford. The former was laid out as a town in 1842 by James Whittem. It had a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, and a hotel ; but only one lot was ever sold in the place and finally George Selkirk bought the entire towit and added it to his farm. The place has now only a schoolhouse and two or three resident families, with no indications of a town.

Waterford first had a sawmill, then a store, and then a distillery, which was in operation sev¬ eral years. A grist mill was built and run in connection with the distillery. The mill was burned in 1870, and Casper Kuhn erected another which has been running ever since. Casper Kuhn passed away in November, 1903, leaving his per¬ sonal and real estate property to his widow. Anna M. Kuhn, except the old mill, which he conveyed on the day the will was executed to bis children by a former wife. The mill is a historic land¬ mark. Waterford had a postoffice in 1838, which was moved to a hotel a mile south, and in 1865 was discontinued. It has now a grist mill, a Methodist Episcopal church, a German baptist, often called Dunkard, church, a schoolhouse, a saloon, and a few dwelling houses, which still indicate that the place was once quite a center.

Among the older citizens who have contrib¬ uted to the development of Coolspring township are the following: Hiram Blackman, A. L. Booth, Robert Curran, C. G. Dalgren, A. B. Hunt, Albert Mudge, Dennis Purvis, G. R. Sel¬ kirk, G. W. VanDusen, William Sohn and John Windland, all farmers ; N. W. Blackman, farmer and cooper; Ricard Cross and Amos Thorp, farmers and cider makers ; Reuben Chapin, fruit grower and farmer; John Dysard, Augustus C. and M. J. Hubner, William Lumbard, S. C. Perry, and John Zahm, farmers and stock-rais¬ ers ; Rev. L. Fogle, Christian preacher and farm¬ er; Joseph Eddy, tailor and farmer; John Ebert, mason and contractor; F. M. Taylor, proprietor of flouring mill ; James L. Monahan, farmer and dealer in fruit trees; B. N. Shreve, lumberman; and Jacob H. White, physician and surgeon at Waterford.

Among those mostly of a later day who have helped to develop the township are the following : Jeremiah W. Bevington, a carriage and wagon maker in Waterford; Christian Bull and August ClofT, both Prussians, who located in Coolspring and engaged in agricultural pursuits ; C. Cook, a railroad man in Michigan City, until he took up farming in this township ; John Cook, who worked seventeen years in the car shops at Mich¬ igan City, and then bought a farm in this town¬ ship and gradually added to his possessions; Paul J. Corbly, an Ohioan, who taught school in the south, went to West Point, thence into the southern army for a year, then came north and enlisted in the Union army, where he had five brothers, and was sent to the frontier, whence he returned in 1865 and taught school, finally settling in Coolspring, and then in Michigan City, where he has been justice of the peace for many years ; Robert Curran, a cooper in Michigan City, who made three long trips to California, but finally settled in this township ; William Forrester, simply and purely a farmer; Asa Harper, first a ship carpenter in Michigan City and then a fanner here; D. L. Jackson, farmer, fruit raiser and cooper ; Calvin G. Jcnks, a blacksmith in Waterford; George Kepper, who came from the Prussian army and located in this township as a farmer; John Kieffer, who came from Germany and became a farmer; Gustavus F. Lell, a tanner, locomotive engineer, butcher and then a farmer; Daniel Low, tanner and currier, who came to Michigan City in 1835, with a stock of general merchandise and began business, then became a successful farmer and land dealer, and a township trustee for twenty-six years ; Ziba W. Pal¬ mer, farmer and grain dealer; Eli C. Smith, Sr., engineer at Michigan City, cooper, farmer and importer of Jersey cattle and Clyde horses; A.

B. Wolf, farmer, stockraiser, and cooper; and Louis W. Zahm, who came from Germany, and became a Coolspring farmer. It would seem from the above that the personnel of this northern township was more rugged, varied and adventuresome than that of the prairie townships.

Hudson township joins the state of Michigan on the north and St. Joseph county on the east. In 1833 many settlers sought homes in this town¬ ship, and a village first known as Lakeport but afterward as Hudson, sprang up. This is situ¬ ated on the east shore of Hudson lake. It was once a formidable rival of LaPorte for the trade in the northeast part of the county. Its growth commenced in 1833. In that year the first school was built, other than the mission school, which was already in existence. Then came shops of various kinds, two taverns, a steam sawmill, frame buildings and a postoffice. In 1835 Hud¬ son was at the height of its prosperity, stages were arriving and leaving, the streets were thronged with eager, busy people come to do their trading and farmers come to dispose of their produce and buy goods, and it seemed that Hud¬ son was an assured success. But though the rail¬ road came through Hudson, it came first to New Carlisle in St. Joseph county, about three miles distant, and made its depot there. This killed Hudson. Her people built mills and shops, but no efforts could successfully resist the decline of the town. The railroads have rendered useless the stage routes; fires, removals, and decay have done their work, until now only a few building's mark the site of Hudson, among them a hotel for summer guests. But elements of prosperity still remain in the township, much of the soil is rich and productive, and the people are generally prosperous and intelligent.

C. Bean, James A. Davidson and Joseph Druliner, all farmers ; Moses Emery, wagon-maker, hotel-keeper, canal boatman, and farmer; Alex¬ ander Hicks, merchant and afterwards farmer ; T. M. Hicks, lumberman and then a farmer ; A. J. Holman, miller, insurance agent and farm¬ er; Charles J. Miller, a farmer; John F. Petre, canal laborer, and then a farmer till his death ; James Ray, carpenter, gunsmith and farmer ; Fleming Reynolds, a .farmer ; Colonel Edwin G.

Towers, dealer in sewing machines, and then a farmer; A. M. Warren, who erected the first blacksmith shop in the county ; Seth P. Whitney, carpenter, cooper, miller and finally farmer ; and John C. Williams, classically educated in Canada, a bookkeeper, and afterwards a farmer. These are some of the men and some of the varied oc¬ cupations with which they helped develop the township. Some of these men held high offices in the county.

As stated elsewhere, Thomas Stillwell was the first settler of Union township, locating away from his white neighbors because he preferred the society of the Indians. But in 1833 John Winchell and family, Henry Vail, Henry Mann, Henry Davis, Theodore Catlin, Daniel Finley, .Mr. Kingsbury, from whom the village derived its name, Curtis and Joshua Travis, and Joseph Callison, became settlers. In 1834 came William Callison, Charles W. and M. S. Henry, Harrison and Norris J. Winchell, Handy Davis, Joseph G. and Mead Catlin, the latter an Adventist preacher, Albert P. Lilley, David H. Norton, Nathaniel Thurber, Darius Sayles, John Win¬ chell, William Walbridge, Colonel Josiah Grover, Gustavus Everts, associate judge of the circuit court, Wesley and John Diggins, and two bache¬ lor brothers named Page. Some of these after¬ ward left the county. In the year 1835 there were too many arrivals to mention. Among them were Jacob Early, Dr. Svlvanus Everts, the first phy¬ sician in the township, Timothy Everts, and Eph¬ raim Barney. It was not long before the town¬ ship was dotted with mills, blacksmith and wagon shops, and other signs of civilization.

Aside from the little settlement of Union Cen¬ ter. where there are a good store, a grain elevator and several homes, the only village in Union township is Kingsbury. This place had a black¬ smith shop and a store before May, 1835. At that time George W. Reynolds, a carpenter, went there and put up the first frame buildings. Kings¬ bury was laid out in 1835 and the plat recorded February 6, 1836. The place soon had several stores, and a postoffice with a bi-weekly mail from La Porte. The postoffice was established in Sep¬ tember, 1839, with Ithream Taylor, Esq., post¬ master, which was declared to be a great advan¬ tage to the people, and the postmaster general was commended for "going ahead." The mail route was afterward extended to Union Mills, Bige¬ low's Mills, and Tassinong in Porter county. When the Bigelow postoffice was discontinued, the route was changed to Hanna, and discon¬ tinued when these towns were supplied with rail¬ roads. Kingsbury postoffice was discontinued in May, 1863, for the alleged reason that there was no postmaster; but it was re-established in July, of the same year, with John F. Page as post¬ master. The village had its tavern, its shops of various kinds and much more life than at present. The town is situated at the junction of the Grand Trunk and the Wabash railroads, but LaPorte and other places have taken precedence as centers of trade. Kingsbury now contains an excellent Baptist church, two general stores, a drug .store, a hotel, a postoffice, a blacksmith and wagon shop, a number of mechanics and some thirty-five or forty houses.

Three miles south and a little to the east of Kingsbury is Tracy Station, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Here there are a Lutheran church, a Methodist Protestant church, one gen¬ eral store, a schoolhouse, and several dwellings.

Only a few of those who have assisted to make Union township what it is can be mentioned, but among them are L. D. Brand, merchant, engineer, thresher and merchant again, who settled in Kingsbury, then left the state, but returned to Hudson township and then to Kingsbury ; James V. Cattron, printer, school teacher and dentist in Kingsbury ; Daniel B. Codings, farmer and stockraiser ; Robert D. Craft, Edwin S. Ellsworth, and G. W. Ewing, farmers ; Dr. H. M. Ellsworth, physician and surgeon at Kingsbury ; Hugh Glas¬ gow, farmer and stock-raiser; William Goodall, who followed farming and stockraising until his death ; Daniel P. Grover, farmer, county commis¬ sioner and present county assessor; H. P. Lans, proprietor of the Kingsbury mills ; Jacob, John and Michael Moyer, all prosperous farmers ; Dan¬ iel Shaw, who as early as 1838 put up several houses in Kingsbury and LaPorte ; William W. Travis, a farmer and a very strong and useful personality in the township; Dr. W. W. Wilcox, druggist and apothecary at Kingsbury; Norris J. Winchell and William H. Winchell, farmers and stock-raisers, Isaiah Atkins and Charles Hewson, both of whom have passed away, and John W. Hewson, who still lives, are also to be

On account of the very wet condition of Cass township, it was not until 1839-40 that any set¬ tlers made homes there. Abraham Eahart, James and Thomas Concannon, William Smith, William Batterson, John Wills and his sons Charles, John and David, all of whom came from Wills town¬ ship, Isham Campbell, Adam Leeper, Bishop Brockway, E. V. Waters, James and Richard Cannon, Augustus W. Vail, Hon. Edward Evans, L. M. Shurte and S. B. Rundlett were all early settlers.

Of course the centers could form only as the surrounding country was settled, but there sprang up Callao or Morgan Station, Joprice or South Wanatah, and Wanatah.

Callao, or Calloa as some have written it, is situated on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chi¬ cago Railroad. It was laid off and platted in 1859 by William A. Taylor, one of the first merchants and the first postmaster ; afterward A. W. Vail, and then Charles Scarborough, held the office. Callao was laid out and several houses were built in it before the railroad was completed, the citizens anticipating that the depot would certainly be located there. William A. Taylor and William McLane put up warehouses there and purchased considerable grain. An attempt was made to build a steam mill, but the proprietor died and the work was not completed, which was well, as the sequel showed. A Methodist church was erected there in 1858 or 1859. The place had a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a resident physician, and other signs of a town.

But to the great mortification of the citizens, the depot was located a half mile west, at Morgan Station, where a village soon sprang up. The postoffice was moved there in the spring of 1*86 1, building after building followed, the last to be removed being W. A. Taylor's store house, until by December, 1861, Callao was entirely vacated.

Morgan Station, however, began to flourish. At the beginning of 1862 it had two dry-goods stores, one hotel, several grocery stores, and other stores and shops which are usually connected with such a place, and a flourishing business was done there. To-day only a few houses remain ; the people preferred to go to Wanatah, which

In 1859 a village was started about a mile south of Wanatah called Rozelle. Joseph Unruh had a store there but moved both stock and build¬ ings to Wanatah, and nothing remains of the village. The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad crossed the Monon at this point, but the town of Wanatah had been started and it was too late to form a town a mile south of it. The place is now called Joprice.

Wanatah has had great promise from the first. It is situated in the open prairie, on Hog creek, at the junction of the Monon and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroads. When the latter road was completed Joseph Un¬ ruh moved his store to the place and used the building also as a dwelling, and even as a hotel. The town was laid out by T. A. E. Campbell, Ruel Starr and Joseph and William Unruh, and the plat was recorded September 7, 1865. It began to grow as soon as there was a prospect of the Pennsylvania Railroad crossing at that point. It soon had hotels, a flouring mill, drygoods and grocery stores, drug stores, boot and shoe shops, blacksmith and wagon repair shops, harness, butcher, millinery and tailor shops, hay presses, etc., etc. It has been a busy place from the first. Before other railroads came and made shipping stations at other points Wanatah was the shipping center of a very wide region of coun¬ try. Sometimes there would be a procession of wagons a mile long waiting there to unload their grain.

At present Wanatah has no elevator, grain and other articles are loaded directly into the car, and one of the former dealers says that he has loaded as many as nine cars of wheat in a day at Wanatah. The place has a weekly paper, the Wanatah Mirror , a good schoolhouse which does high school work including the twelfth grade ; five churches representing the Roman Catholics, the Episcopal Methodists, the Disciples, the Ger¬ man Methodists, and the German Lutherans ; four general stores, one drug store and grocery, two other groceries, two meat markets and a large roller-process flouring mill, which is one of the best in the state, turning out most excellent flour. Wanatah is a great market for hay. The surrounding prairie country produces immense quantities of hay, which is pressed and shipped away. The mere wire for bailing is sold there by the carload. Wanatah is one of the busiest centers in the county.

Among the moving spirits in the development of Cass township may be named the following: Peter Woodin, the first permanent settler in the township, who aided in its organization and laid out its first road, a familiar friend with the In¬ dians, a California gold-seeker, and who died in the township at the advanced age of ninetyone years. Henry Bowman, a farmer, well read in German literature, who came to Cass township from Otis and from Porter county. James O. Burner, dealer in drugs, medicines and agricul¬ tural implements at Wanatah. Robert Gillham, A. J. Shurte, William Smith and James Wilson, farmers. William Kimball, railroad section hand, conductor and then farmer. John N. McCurdy, grain dealer, now county recorder. Francis Mc¬ Curdy, Wanatah. Dr. John F. Tilden, physician, farmer, and first doctor to locate in the township. Nelson Ward, physician and surgeon at Wanatah, whose wife also graduated in medicine, and Jere¬ miah Willson, who came first to Hudson township in 1831, then to Clinton and latterly to Cass. He was a strong and rugged personality.

Dewey township was originally in great part flooded at every rise of the Kankakee river, on which account it did not settle as rapidly as some other townships. But there were some who ap¬ preciated its advantages as a grazing country, and among the early settlers were George P. Shimmel, Jacob Schauier, Lewis and Michael Besler, James Lougee, Elias Osborn and Patrick and Richard Huncheon.

The two centers of Dewey township are La- Crosse and Wilder's Station. The former is situated at the junction of five railroads : the Mononf Eastern Illinois, Pere Marquette, Pennsyl¬ vania and the Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville. Gne of the assets secured in the purchase of the Huncheon tract by the Illinois syndicate, as related in Chapter VIII, was the site on which the pres¬ ent town of LaCrosse is built. It is the plan of the gentlemen composing the syndicate to ulti¬ mately make this place one of consequence, but Mr. Tuesburg wisely says that it is the purpose to bring all of the farm lands to a perfect state of cultivation before the town is allowed to boom much. In this he is undoubtedly right, for when the vast territory now being opened and peopled with the best product of American homes is fully occupied there will be afforded a substantial trade in all legitimate lines, which will go a long way toward supporting a goodsized community. The village in its present condition has felt the influx ence of the wonderful work going on on all sides of it, and is rapidly improving. One of the first moves of the syndicate was to build a fine brick schoolhouse, for which half an acre of land was set apart. At present the Methodist Episcopal church worships in the upper hall of this build¬ ing. From this little town many farms are man¬ aged. Recently Bailey & Bunnel, grain dealers of Wanatah, at an expense of $16,000, have put up a first-class elevator with a capacity of sixtyfive thousand bushels of corn. Here, on the 31st of last December, a sad accident occurred. John Aigner, of Aigner Brothers, who were doing the mason work, had gone to the upper part of the building on the inside with one of the carpenters to see how the work was progressing. While the carpenter's back was turned he heard some one falling, and on going down to investigate he found Aigner lying on the bottom floor. Calling others they examined the body and found that life was extinct The fall had broken both arms and one leg besides otherwise bruising the body in a horrible manner. It is estimated that he fell about thirty-five feet. Besides the elevator, La¬ Crosse has about thirty-five dwellings, two gen¬ eral stores, one saloon, and a new hotel made of artificial stone, which presents a fine appearance. The hotel has many rooms and is furnished with modern conveniences. Plans have just been drawn for two or three new houses and two new stores. Physicians, druggists and others are lo¬ cating there, and it looks as though the place would grow even before the time comes for the land companies to boom it.

Among the most noted characters of Dewey township is Patrick Huncheon. He was educated for business ; he manufactured and repaired cars at Adrian, Michigan, until the Lake Shore road reached LaPorte, then engaged in the same busi¬ ness in the railroad shops there, then at Bloom¬ ington, Illinois, whence he returned and in con¬ nection with his brother became a large land-

Wilder Station is situated a little over three miles south of LaCrosse, at the junction of the Monon and the New York, Lake Erie and West¬ ern railroads. Here there are some ten or fifteen houses, a store, a saloon, and a school. The Standard Oil pipe line crosses the township a little to the south of Wilder, and across the Kan¬ kakee is a pumping station.

As to Hanna township, among the earliest settlers were Emanuel West and his two sons, Isaac and Joseph, Nimrod West, William West, Sr., Amsterdam Stewart, Andrew J. Chambers and his three sons, Preston, Obadiah and Andrew J., William Tyner, Charles Strong and Thomas Hunsley. These men settled on the uplands, away from the overflow of the Kankakee. The prospect was not inviting, but they had faith in the future of the township, and time has justified their wisdom. By means of ditching thousands of acres, which once were called the Kankakee marsh have been converted into fertile fields.

In time there sprang up the village of Hanna, situated on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chi¬ cago and the Pere Marquette railroads. The town was laid out and recorded in 1858. The usual stores, shops, religious societies, etc., followed and Hanna became a busy place. By 1862 it was quite an important point for business, large amounts of grain, pork and other articles were brought there by Mr. A. J. Chambers and others, it had a dry-goods store, a good schoolhouse, a harness shop, boot and shoe shop, blacksmith shop, postoflice, and several other public buildings and from twelve to twenty substantial dwellings. Mr. Young, chief engineer of the railroad, was there prospecting for a grist mill, and declaring that if the fall of the creek was insufficient steam would be used, and Mr. Bowers, telegraph oper¬ ator, said that Hanna would be a regular station for passengers. At the same time the people were alive to the utility of building a bridge at Cham¬ ber's landing, so that the people living across the Kankakee could come to Hanna to trade. With these promises and indications of success, Hanna began to grow and soon became a place where much business was transacted.

five general stores, blacksmith, barber and har¬ ness shops, etc., a Methodist church, a German Lutheran church, and a population of two or three hundred people. A new brick schoolhouse has recently been erected at a cost of $12,000. Hanna cannot fail to grow as the surrounding country becomes more and more developed. It has al¬ ways been a heavy grain market.

South of Hanna village, where the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad crosses the Pere Marquette, is Thomaston Station, which as yet has no appearance of a village, though recently a grain elevator has been erected and some busi¬ ness is transacted there.

Among those who have helped to develop the township may be named Noan S. Rowley and his sons, Charles H. and Samuel, John Lawrence, Charles David and John E. Wills, who came from Cass, and George Lawrence. C. J. Bunnell was township trustee. Thomas Mitchell, George Trimmingham, Erasmus Whitney, James Bellmore, William Wilson, Hiram N. Nelson, B. F. Moore, John Pratt, Clark R. Richards and E. F. Whitney became farmers and stock-raisers; Will¬ iam Brown, a farmer and stock dealer; Stephen Frechette, a boot and shoe maker ; Charles Frech¬ ette, a manufacturer of sleighs and agricultural implements ; David Wills, a mail carrier and then a dealer in agricultural implements; W. H. West, a farmer and carpenter; Charles Wills, a county commissioner; Z. T. Horine and E. D. Spahr, physicians ; George S. Dennison and Lucius Averv, merchants ; and Isaac Lloyd, express and freight agent, postmaster and telegrapher. J. A. Hyatt became tradesman, cooper and fanner ; Sidney P. Mills and J. W. Osborn came from New Durham township and became farmers in Hanna. Chandler Palmer became a valuable man as farmer and public officer. Other names might be given, and many interesting anecdotes related in connection with them, but this chapter, already too long, must be brought to a close.

As Prairie township has only recently been formed from Hanna, and as some of the names given above cover that township, we will not write of it except to mention Hoyville Station in section twenty-nine, and Willvale Station near the Kankakee, both on the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, as places where towns may spring up in the near future. And, indeed.

under the new ownership of the Kankakee valley and with the reclamation of that region to cultiva¬ tion it is very likely that Prairie as well as other townships will soon boast its towns and villages.

Willvale was named for the Wills broth¬ ers, Charles, David and John, referred to above, who came probably from Wills township, which was named after the same family.

As nearly as can be ascertained, the first set¬ tlers of Lincoln township were a man by the name of Mutz and Levi Little, who settled on the north side of Fish lake about the year 1834. John Yickory came at about the same time. George Sparrow^ entered land in 1835, and sold in 1840 to John Lingard. Among the early settlers appear the names of Smith, Dr. Losey, Carson Siddles, Saunders E. Arbergast and Robert V. Arm¬ strong. These came before 1836. Latercamejohn Davis, John Dare, Samuel Stevenson, Sharp, Bronson, Maple, Warren, Canada, Wrightman, George W. Woodbum, John Andrew, Peter and James Harness with their father, John Divine and John B. McDonald.

The only center in Lincoln township is Mill Creek, which has been platted as a village. It is situated on the Chicago and Grand Trunk Rail¬ road, in section nine. It contains some twenty buildings, among which are a warehouse, a gen¬ eral store and other stores, saloons, a schoolhouse, etc. It is a busy place, and a large ship¬ ping point especially for grain, hay and wood.

Among the names of those who have devel¬ oped the township are those of Benjamin Wing, James Waxham, E. Thompson, Frederick Stielo, Jacob Snyder, F. M. Rowell, Jacob S. V. Bunton, and James H. Davis, a blacksmith as well as a fanner. B. Burget, a canal boatman and farmer, raised large quantities of grain. William H. Collom and his brother, George W., opened a grocer)' and provision store at Fish lake, carried a large stock and did a large business. Newlove Layborn was one of the earliest settlers, arriving in Lincoln in 1832, when there were but four families in the township, and the Indians were as numerous as the whites are now. They had a dancing ground in the southern part of Wills township and their trail lay along the western line of Mr. Layborn's farm. They would us¬ ually return from the dancing ground at night intoxicated, and their hideous yells would arouse the settlers from their sleep. Carson Siddles and John H. Taylor may also be reckoned among those who have developed the township.

William Ake and Daniel Brown are prominent farmers of Lincoln, and James P. Siddles, James E. Gilchrist and August Schultz, also farmers, have done as much as any others if not more to develop the township during the last few years.

Johnson township lies mostly south of the Kankakee. Among the first settlers were Major John M. Lemon, John Dunn, Samuel Smith, Ed¬ ward Owens, Samuel Harminson, Martin Smith, William Mapes, Charles Palmer and Landon Car¬ lyle. Among the farmers and stock-raisers of the township may be named George W. Comer, Jr., William Robinson, Asa Jackson, George Henry and B. F. and Ira F. Place. P. Flaherty kept a resort for hunters.

The improvements which have been made in the Kankakee valley have brought Johnson town¬ ship more and more under cultivation and it is seen to be not a "marsh" as was once supposed, but one of the most fertile lowland prairies in the wQrld, adapted to the raising of corn, oats, tim¬ othy and the grains. There, one can take his stand and in all directions as far as the eye can reach, see fertile fields interspersed with groves, a most beautiful sight. Johnson is traversed by two railroads, the Lake Erie and Western, and the Baltimore and Ohio, and can have its ship¬ ping centers as soon as the development of the country requires it. It is now taking rapid strides forward.

We have now given a general idea of the de¬ velopment of all the townships, the formation of their centers, with the exception of Center and Michigan, in which are the sister cities which re¬ main to be considered. And after taking this general survey we are constrained to say that few counties have more favorable natural conditions, few a better personnel of settlers, and few greater promise for the future.