Madison County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 6 of those read), 1897

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 6 of those read)

Immediately following the locating of the county scat preliminary steps were taken toward the erection of a court house and jail, and the record shows that a notice of the intention of the County Hoard to erect a court house was published in newspapers adjacent to the county with an invitation to builders and contractors to submit plans and specifications for the same. ()ue of these notices was inserted five times in a newspaper at Centerville, this State, published bv '' Septimus Smith, Esq.," for which he was allowed the sum of .^i.^o by the Board at the January term, 1829. At the following term it was ordered by the Board that " the agent of Madison county sell to the lowest bidder the building of a jail in Andersontown, according to the plan adopted at the present .session, to be finished within six months, recjuiring bond and securit}' for the performance of the building in a workmanlike manner."

At this time the Board of Justices, or County Board, consisted of the following named members: William Curtis, William S. Penn, Amasa Makepeace, John Busby, Thomas M. Pendleton, Daniel Hardesty, Jacob Hiday, William Nelson, Daniel Wise and Richard Kinnamon. William Curtis was president of the Board. lie had formerl)- resided at Pendleton, but had taken an active part in securing the re-location of the seat of justice at Andersontown. He subsequently moved to the county seat, and the first term of the circuit court was held in his house, after the seat of justice had been removed from Pendleton. His house stood on Main streef, about where the hardware store of J. P. Barnes now stands.

It seems that for some cause or other no action was taken with reference to the building of a court house for some time after the first notice was published, for at a session of the County Board in January, 1831, it was, " Ordered by the Board that the agent of the county of Madison, sell to the lowest bidder, the building of ;i court house, to be built on Lot No. 17, in the northeast siiuure, in Andersontown, to be built on the following plan, to-wit : One story high, thirt\--six feet long and twenty feet wide ; to be elevated one foot from the ground and underpinned with stone'; the story to be ten feet between floors ; the building to be well weather-boarded and covered with good joint shingles ; to have a good brick chimney in the west end, with a large fire place therein; ten feet of the end to be partitioned, so as to make two ten foot jurv-rooms : all the partitions to be made of good seasoned planks; each of said jurv-rooms to have a door to open into the large room; the said house to have three twelve-liglit windows in the south side and three in the north side; the windows to be so placed that the large room shall have four and each of the jury-rooms one ; the under floor to be laid in good, workmanlike manner, the upper floor to he laid of loose planks: hou-e lo have one door in front, to open near the partition ; the windows to be in. the outside door hung and the house inclosed on or before the second Monday in May next, and the whole work completed, according to the above plan, on or before the second Monday in November next. The sale to take place in Andersontown on the third Saturday in Januarv, inst., the said agent taking bond of the contractors in double the amount for which the work is taken, conditioned for the completion of the work against the loth day of November. 1831."

At the time designated in the foregoing order the contract for the court house was let to Daniel Harpold, but the building was not completed according to contract, as it appears from the proceedings of the Board at the January session, 1832, that John Drewry and Nathaniel Chapman were appointed a committee to examine the new court house and report if it had been built according to the contract. This committee reported to the Board that the contract had not been fully complied with, and recommended that " $30 be deducted from the amount of the original contract, which recommendation was adopted by the Board and the contractor discharged."

This building stood about where the Lovett block now stands, on East Eighth street, between Main and Central avenue, and answered the purpose for which it was built for a period of about six vears, when it was sold by order of the County Board, a new court house having been built in the puljlic s<|iuire in the meantime. Tlie Iniikliiii^ ^vas used as a residence until it was torn down in order to make way for the present business block that now occupies its site. The jail that was built in 1S;50 was situated about where the west steps of the present court house are situated. The structure was sixteen feet square, a story and a half high, and was made of hewed logs. The entrance to the jail was in the upper story, which was reached bj' a flight of stairs constructed on the outside of the building. There was a trapdoor in the ceiling of the lower room, through which prisoners were let down to the first floor by means of a ladder. After the prisoner was let down to the cell or room below the ladder was removed and the trap-door closed. With the sale of the old frame court house the Countv Board ordered the removal of the jail from the public square, as it was not only unsightlv but insecure. It was accordingly torn down, and from 1887 to 184:2 all prisoners that had to be confined for any length of time, or who were considered dangerous, were taken to Indianapolis for safe keeping. During the trial of prisoners they were guarded and securely ironed, which entailed no little expense to the county. The following is a copy of a claim that was allowed at the Afarch session, 1844, of the County Board for this purpose :

Order For A New Coirt House And Jail

The order for a new court house to take the place of the frame in which the county business had been transacted was made by the County Board at the September session 1828, but was afterwards revoked, and it was not until April. 1837, that the contract for the new building was let. The description of the building given in the contract is asfolfows : " Of brick, forty-four feet stpiare, two stories high.

all to be like tlie court house at Noblesville, except the court room, which is to be on the lower floor ; the tower to be hke that on the court house at Indianapolis, and the cupola which is to be like that on thecourt liouseat Indanapolis." The building was to be erected, according to the terms of the contract, in the public square of Andersontown, and was to to be inclosed previous to the 1st of November, 1887. The contract was awarded to Messrs. Crawford & Meek, of Hancock count}-, for the sum of .155, TTO. The building was completed "'on time,"' and according to the terms of the contract, and was fir^t occupied for judicial purposes at the October term of the Circuit Court, 1889. At this time the ofKceis of the court were Judge William W. Wick, who presided over the first court held in the county, Andrew Jackson, clerk, and Joseph Howard, sheriff. NV'ill^am Prigg and Abraham Thomas were the Associate Judges. This court house stood in the center of the public square until the morning of the 10th of December, 1880, when it was consumed by fire, and with it many interesting and valuable records. The lire was undoubteiUy of incendiary origin, but no steps were taken either bv the county commissioners or other authorities to apprehend the guilty party or parties.

^lany matters of interest could be written ab">ut the building, as it was for many jears the only public place of meeting in Anderson excepting perhaps the frame Methodist church which at an early day stood on the northeast corner of IMeridian and Eleventh streets. The record of the commissioners' court shows that one of the rooms was once used as the post office, as it is " ordered that Xinevah Berry pa)* !i!;5 per month rent for the room which he now occupies in the court house for the post office so long as lie remains in the same.'" Also at tlie March session, 184(5. it was " ordered that the southeast room of the court house, up stairs, be assigned to Mount Moriah Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and to l)e kept in good order by said lodge."' A lodge of the Sons of Temperance also met in one of the rooms '- up staiis " for a ni.mber of years. Other rooms were rented for law offices from time to time and also to Justices of the Peace up to I8C0, when the commissioners devoted the entire building to the exclusive use of the county.

Shortly after this building was erected notice was given by the board of commissioners that " sealed proposals would be received until the first Monday of December (1841) next for the erection of a jail in Andersontown." Tiie structure was to be built of hewed oaiv timber twelve inches square, two stories liit;h, !"> \ :22 scjuare ; stories to be eight feet high between the floors. "The jail to be built on the public scjuare west of the court house, the north side of the jail to be on a line with the north side of the court house," which was about the same site of the one previously removed. This jail was completed and accepted bj' the county commissioners Ji'ne, 1842. It cost but $149, and was not a very secure place in which to coifine a restive criminal possessed \vith ordinary ingenuity and a desire to be at libertv. In fact it soon became a burden to the county on this account, as rewards for escaped prisoners were frerjuently given, and this, with other expenses for its mairjtenance, determined the commissioners to provide a new jail. This was accordingl)- done, the Board at the March term (1852) appointing John Davis. George Millspaugh and William Roach to superintend the erection of a new jail, with full authority " to make contracts and estimates and order allowances, and do all other things in the premises they may see lit."'

These gentlemen at once entered upon their duties in the premises, and at the following December session of the board (1S.52) made a final report, showing that they had discharged their dutv as directed, the building being completed and fully adapted to the purpose for which it was erected. This building was a two-story brick, situated at the northwest corner of Jackson and Ninth streets. About this time a one-storv brick liuilding was erected in the southeast corner of the court house scjuare for the use of the county officers. The auditor, treasurer and recorder occupied this building until arrangements were made for the erection of the present handsome court house. The clerk and sheriff had their offices in the court house when it Inirned. Concerning the present court house and jail, it is thought best to make them the subjects for another chapter.

The pr ictice of " selling" that class of unfortunates who are compelled to depend upon charity for a subsistence, although quite common in the early historj- of the country-, never obtained to any great extent, if at all, in this county. The method of " selling paupers "' resulted too often in cruel and inhuman treatment of those "sold," and was considered, besides, too expensive. We find, therefore, that as early as

1834 the county commissioners determined upon a more humane method of takin<r care of the poor. The record of the May session of that year shows that '-Joseph Shannon reported that he had contracted with Jacob Shaul to build a poorhouse for .$20; that the same was completed according to contract, and that Shaul was allowed .i^lJO for the same." This poorhouse was constructed of logs, but just where it was situated is not known. It was probably located near Anderson, but the record is silent upon the subject. In 1840 ten acres of land were purchased by the county commissioners in the addition to Anderson now known as South Park. The tract was situated between Xineteenih and Twent3'-third streets, and extended from Main street to Pearl street. A new poorhouse was erected on this tract of land by John Jordan, to whom the contract was let by John Renshaw, who was county agent at that time. The record informs us that the building was 20x30 feet square, two stories high, with a stone chimney, and cost 1100. I'his poorhouse was enlarged and greatly improved from time to time, as necessity demanded, and was used up to 1868, when the commissioners disposed of it, together \vith the land upon which it was situated, and purchased a farm in Richland township of John Xelson, to which the paupers were removed. Bv the terms of the purchase and sale of the new poor farm Xelson became the superintendent, or keeper, of the poor, which position he held until the county Board decided to purchase a more desirable location and erect permanent buildings thereon that would aft'ord better accommodations for the poor.

The record of a special session of the county Board, held July 5, 1877, shows that the Board purchased of Berryman Shafer a tract of land, containing two hundred and twelve acres, situated about four miles east of Anderson, in Union township. There was a large brick residence on the land and the commissioners very properlv determined to use it exclusively as a residence for the superintendent of the poor, instead of converting it into an infirmary. They accordingly advertised for plans and specifications for an inhrmary building and on the 18th of July, among a number of plans that had been submitted, those of the late Edwin May. of Indianapolis, were accepted. Xotice for bids on the work were made and on the 8d of September, the contract was awarded to William B. Wright, of Anderson, he being considered the lowest bidder. The building cost $7,200 and was completed early in

January, 1878. It is made of brick, two stories liigii and is situated near to and a little southeast of the superintendent's residence. It Is considered admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is used, being well ventilated, commodious, and comfortable. As compared witli other infirmaries of other counties throughout the State, it is very creditable.

After the building had been completed and the poor transferred to their new home, ex-sheriff A. J. Ro-is was appointed superintendent and that gentleman, assisted bv his estimable wife, as matron, had charge of the friendless poor of the county for a number of vears, when he resigned. He was succeeded by W. A. .Swindell, who was succeeded by John Kinyoun, wlio has since had charge of the poor farm and infirmarv, and, like his predecessors, Mr. Kinyoun has given universal satisfaction. His etiiciency generally is conceded, as the poor under his charge ha\e not only been well provided for in every respect, but the county's interests have been carefully guarded. Mr. Kinyoun is a practical farmer and a man of sound judgment generally, and his administration of infirmary atTairs have thus far been not only creditable to himself, but the county.