Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 9, 1897

Chapter 9

Tilt' laving of the corner stone of Madison county's present court house took place on the 17th day of August, 1882, and in many respects is the greatest event in the county's history. No civic demonstration bsfore or since has equalled it in the " pomp and circumstance '" that render such occasions memorable. Extensive preparations were made for the occasion, not onlv by the Board of Commissioners, but hv the city authorities of Anderson, the fraternal societies and citizens generallv. At a session of the Commissioners' court it was orderetl that the honor of laying the corner stone be tendered to Mount Moriali Lodge F. anil A. j\L, of Anderson. Invitations were extended to the different social and benevolent orders throughout the countv, and also to the Masonic lodges in adjoining counties to be present and participate in the exercises. In tine, nothing was left undone that would contribute to the interest of the occasion. Anticipation ran high, the pride of the people was aroused, and when the day came for the imposing cerenunies, the city presented a holiday appearance. The d.iy was propitious for such an event, being delightfuUv sunnv, yet cool for the season of the year. The early morning trains brought a number of Masonic lodges, several commandaries of Knights Templar, and large delegations of citizens, and bv the time the procession was formed and ready to move, which was not until two o'clock in the afternoon, the streets around the square were almost impassable on account of the throngs of people. The parade was a grand spectacle and was witnessed bv thousands of citizens who crowded the sidewalks along the line of march. The music of the liands was inspiring and the courtly Knights and Patria'chs in their handsome miiforms rendered the scene and occasion not onlv interesting but impressive. Maior John T. Wildman was Grand Marshal. His aids were J. P. Barnes, C. K. McCullough and L. I. Burr on tiie part of the Masons,

Rkcei'Tjon Committees

For F. and A. M . J. P. Barnes, J. M. Dickson, T. J. Stephens, Col. N. Berry, C. K. McCullough. For I. O. (). F., W. R. Myers, M. H. Chipman, Jos. Fulton, W. W. Williams, Samuel Myers, W. S. Diven. For Red Men, C. D. Thompson, Jas. Mohan, Peter Fromlet. J. S. Carr and Thos. Gee.

Laving The Stone

It was three o clock when the ceremony of placing the stone in its proper place hegan. Messrs. McCormack cS: Sweene)', the contractors, anticipating the needs of the occasion, had erected a lar>^e stand over the northeast corner of the court house foundation for tlie accommodation of the speakers, officers of the day, invited guests and band. The stand was crowded and a dense throng of people extended across the streets on the north and east sides, while hundreds of people occupied the roofs of buildings and every other " coign of vantage '' in the vicinits'. After music by the band and an invocation by J. K. Prye, G. C. F. and A. M., Grand Marshal Wildman introduced Hon. T. B. Orr, who delivered tlie following address of welcome on behalf of the city.

It is a pleasing thought to know that the people, irrespective of party, caste or creed, have met together for a common purpose. And it is a source of great congratulation that you are the actors under the benign iniluences of this day. The clamoring voice of political passion and prejudice is hushed ; the venomous tongue of hatred and malice is stilled ; and the withering breath of sectarian bigotry and intolerance is calmed. To-day friend greets friend and stranger welcomes stranger, as worthy members of a great community, each for himself assuming the responsibilities and performing the duties of intelligent, useful and honored citizenship. Your mission here is a noble one ; as visitors, as taxpayers, you come to celebrate with us the beginning of a work that, in time, shall stand an enduring monument of the prosperity, liberality and progress of our county. None are more welcome iiere to-chiv tli;iii tlie pioneer citi/.ens of this county, \vliolia\e battled :ind o\ercome poverty and adversity and are now, witii their chiklren, enjoying the possessions and comforts of home acfjuired by the reijuited toil of busy and useful lives.

We salute vou who have come with music and banners and statelv bearing. The patriotic spirit and splendid discipline nf this dav give assurance that, in the mid^t of iiulustrial pursuits and prosperity, with all of the arts of peace crowned triumphant, our noble state will not be without protectors in the hour of peril. May your mission ever be to serve your state best by encouraging obedience to law ; by promoting industry, sobiiety, morality, sociability, intelligence, and all the \irtues that combine in true and noble manhood. Words of welcome shall be the city's message to the ladies, you who have l.'indly graced this occasion with your presence and influence. Vou shall be numbered among the joint owners of the noble edilice that we are now building. And you are this day, by your piesence, demanding that within its completed halls the rights of the people shall be respected and asserted, the wrongs redressed and violations of law made odious by an enlightened public sentiment and merited pirnishment : that the administration of justice shall be such at all times as to command the reverence and respect of officer and citizen, lawyer and client, judge and juror.

Many of our sister cities and counties of Indiana have honored us and honored themselves by their representatives here to-day. It has long been a custom for the people to assemble and celebrate with appropriate ceremony and solemnity the erection of buildings designed for the public use. But it is not alone the force of an established custom that has prompted the city of Anderson to invite your presence here upon this occasion. Above and bej-ond mere custom, she recognizes that the commingling of sects, orders, societies and peoples gives a new life to commercial intercourse and promotes a broader and higher development of the social and political relation. The period of non-intercourse among enlightened people has passed away and forever. The freedom of an American city has always meant more than the triumphal entrance of a conqueror with his captives and his loot. With us the masses come and go, inspired with the hope of material, social, or intellectual advancement. It is the modern freedom of the city that has stimulated the inventive genius of the age ; it has set the white sails of commerce upon every sea and founded her masts in every land; it lias unfolded new principles of busineps ; it has swept away narrow bigotry and given broad liberalitj- ; it has broken down the barriers of seclusion and selfishness and opened the pathways of progress, prosperity and philanthropy. Before the grand and steady march of the modern freedom the doubted opinions of yesterday become the fixed principks of to-day ; and to-morrow, as it were, we behold them ingrafted into the laws of the State by which we shall all be governed.

In the name of the city of ^Vnderson I extend to vou all a cordial welcome to our city to commemorate with us the founding of Madison county's stateliest temple.

At the conclusion of Mr. Orr's address. Hon. Bruce Carr, grand master of the Masonic fraternity of the State, took charge of the exercises. The corner-stone, which weighs five tons, was lifted to its place in the foundation wall by means of an immense derrick amid the profoundest silence of the multitude. A copper box containing a variety of things, data, records, etc., was placed in the receptacle which had been cut in the center of the stone. The Grand Master then proceeded with the further ceremonies, at the conclusion of which he delivered an appropriate addres*. He was followed by Miss Ola Cooper, ^vho read a very beautiful and interesting address which had been prepared by Miss Violette Swearinger in behalf of the women tax-payers of the county. Miss Swearringer was unable to be present on account of severe illness, and it was but a short time after this event that she was called hence. This young lady was a member of the graduating class of 1879 of the Anderson high school, and was greatly esteemed by all who knew her.

The address of Miss Swearinger was followed by one prepared by the late Colonel Xinevah Berry and read bv Hon. John W. Lovett. The venerable Colonel occupied a seat on the speaker's stand, but was too infirm to speak for any length of time. The following is

Fellow Citizens: As the oldest living inhabitant of Madison county, and the oldest living native born Iloosier, I have been invited by your committee on arrangements to say something to you to-day relating to the earlj- days of the county. And as I look back over the long line of years that have come

Sixty-one years ago the 4th of March, last, a ^-oung and beardless strippling, I came to Anderson with my father from another and older part of the State. At that time there was no county of Madison. The land throughout this part of the State was almost uninhabited except by the Indians. The surveyor's chain had never marked its boundaries, and the large tract of unbroken forests now composing this and adjoining counties was the hunting grounds of the Delawares.

In those days life on the frontier meant a life of hardships and privations. Railroads had not been dreamed of and the only roads were the Indian trail and the ways blazed through the forest. In these days of steam machinery and appliances for the saving of labor, it is hard for the man now in active life to appreciate what it was for their fathers to make a farm in '- ye olden time," and how difficult it was to wring from the stubborn earth a sustenance for themselves and their families. The forests were to be cut down and the logs hewed, rails were to be made and log cabins built, with nothing but an ax and a broad-ax for tools. The implements of the farm were of the rudest kind - the old bar-share plow, the sickle and the flail. NVheat was sown broadcast among the stumps, cut with a sickle and cleaned with a flail and sheet. And I remember how fast we thought our progress when the sickle gave way to the cradle, and how wecongratulated ourselves that we had reached the summit of human invention, when the okl fanmill came into use for cleaning our grain. In those days the mothers and daughters spun the wool and flax and made all the clothing worn by both sexes. Theie was not a store within thirty miles. The nearest mill was at Connersville, fiftvfive miles distant, and a long and weary way it was to the mill, over the wretched road that was then our only way.

But in speaking of the privations and hardships of our early life, I would not forget its pleasures and enjoyments. The early settlers and pioneers, cut loose from former associations and kindred ties, braving the dangers and enduring the pri\ations and hardships of a concjuest of the forest, were bound together with the bond of steadfast friendship and \varm sympathy'. If the neighbors were few and far between, they were hospitable and kind, and when they gave themselves up to enjoyments and pleasures they did it with a zeal that would be wondered at by the people of to-day. A house was not then built after the well-considered design of a skilled architect and let outhv contract to the builder or mechanic, but the neighbors, for miles around would come with their axes and handspikes, and work with a hearty good will unt'l the cabin was raised, and would receive nothing but the good will of the owner and his assistance when help was needed in their own aiTairs. At night, though tired with the labors of the day, the frolic and dance would begin. All night the cabin in the clearing would resound with the sound of merriment and innocent mirth, which would only cease when the gray light in the east shut out the twinkle of the stars. If the cabin home was rude and homely, yet the latch-string was alwajs out, and within was warmth and good cheer.

The county was then filled with Indians of the Delaware tribe, and our relations with them were of the friendliest character. I recall now with pleasure the noble traits of character of such chiefs of the tribe as KiUlnick, White Eyes and Nanticoke.

I wish also to mention at this point some of the honored names of my pioneer associates, most of whom haye been gathered to their fathers. Frederick Bronnenberg. Sr., the ancestor of the large and honored family of that name, ^vas among the first settlers of this county, having come here in 1(S1U. Eli Harrison, Robert Stockton, Zenas Beckwith, Conrad Crossley, William Diltz, Charles Fisher, Elias Hollingsworth and James, his son, Amasa Makepeace, Nathaniel Richmond, William Marshall, William Williams, Samuel llolliday, lohn Suman and William Curtis were all men of this early period, who did mucli by their labors to advance the interests of this county and state. Madison county was surveyed in the summer of 1821, and the next year the sale of lands commenced. At that sale my father purchased the old home farm at !iil.25 per acre. Looking around me to-day, I see upon that ground large and expensive buildings, and lots valued at much more than the whole half-section cost on that day, for upon the old home farm stands to-day the greater part of the beautiful city of Andeison, and the grand and imposing structure now being reared as the court house of our prosperous county, stands upon a part of the same land. Time will not permit me further remarks upon the early days of the county. It is not my purpose to follow it from the primitive times to the present age of culture and advancement. I leave that for younger and abler men. Fellow- citizens, the young man loolts into the future gilded with bright hopes and hulen with joyous prospects, but it is the province and pleasure of the old man whose active life is over, whose ambition is quenched, and whose race is nearly run, to look backward over the past, drawn by the golden cord of memory, to the days of youth and early manhood. I assure you it has given me no little pleasure to speak to you as I have of the early days of Madison county, live again in memory times long gone by, and summon from their graves the ghosts of past events, and I thank your committee for the privilege of so doing.

Governor Porter and ex Governor Thomas A. Hendricks had been invited bj* the Commissioners to be present and deliver addresses, but owing to the official duties of the former and previous engagements of the latter they were comjieiled to decline the honor. When it was learned that they could not be present the Commissioners, through Auditor John L. Forkner, extended an invitation to Col. James B. Maynard, at that time editor of the Indianapolis Daily Sentinel, to deliver an oration at the laying of the corner-stone. Portions of the able and eloquent address are as follows :

It has been my good fortune to hear much of Madison countv, and of Anderson, its beautiful capital city, and, still bettei*, to know personally a number of her large-souled citizens, who, whether at hoine or abroad, in public or private life, contribute their full share in giving Madison county an enviable prominence, not only in the aft'airs of the State, but in the affairs of the Republic. * * * "Pq ]^y {[^g cornerstone of a school house is an event which invites thinking inen to survey the educational field, to note the advancing steps of learning, the development of the mind forces of the communities of the state and of the countrj-. The intimate relation existing between mental culture and the virtues that adorn our civilization is continually furnishing themes for thinkers, and the field broadens as the discussion proceeds. Hence we hail with expressions of pleasure and pride an announcement that a corner-stone of a church edifice summons communities to a reverent thankfulness that another monument to man's fidelity to God is to be created ; that the voice of prayer and praise is still to be heard in the land; that another wayside inn is to stand with open doors and free seats.

where the weary pilgrim may eat of the life, drink of the water of salvation, be refreshed and go on his way rejoicing. Thus it has been in the past. So it is now, and so it will be in the future of our great state. When a corner-stone of a benevolent institution is laid humanitv expands to still grander proportions. Is it for the blind, for the deaf and dumb, for the sick, for the poor, or for the most unfortunate classes of all, the insane.' It does not matter. Heart and soul and Iirain respond, Amen.

All the good there is within us comes to the front with expressions of approval and gratitude. Such institutions are the snug harbors found everywhere on life's storm beaten coasts, if the people who inhabit the country' are governed by the precept to do unto others as they would have others do unto them.

And may we not contemplate with feelings of generous pride, the commanding position occupied by Indiana in all matters pertaining to education, religion and benevolence.' What State has marched on the highways of progress with steps more stately, strides more gigantic' What land kissed by the sun in his journey, has been truer to all the demands of our boasted civilization? School houses and colleges everywhere ; more churches than are filled ; houses and farms for the poor and infirm; asylumns for the sick and unfortunate, dot all her hills and vallej-s and plains. To keep their machinery in motion requires money every year, with a ceaseless demand for more, and j'et the money comes, not grudgingly, but it comes with a princely liberality that gives a fresher hue to the emerald-back bill, makes the dollar of the daddies glow with the brightness of the silver moon ; or, if it comes in single, double, half or quarter eagles, adds dignitvto the tax-payer, as well as nobility to the bird of Jove, our own proud bird, whose seawaid flight symbolizes the march and majesty of our country.

It is not her Hrst court house, nor will it be her last. The Hrst court house for M idison countv was built more than fifty years ago, when the county was in its swaddling clothes wlien the sun of the State \vas scarcely above the horizon ; when as our Governor would sav, " Indiana was in lier down." But even then, the people of Madison county were ready to put their hands into their pockets and pay $5,700 for a court liouse. The people, then, as now, were law-abiding. A court house then had a significance, which, I fear, has undergone, in some regards, serious modifications. Court houses, in early times, however rude their architecture, were regarded as Temples of Justice, not more in name than in fact. Many of us can remember when courts where iield in Indiana sometimes in log houses. An incident is related of the days when Hon. E. M. Huntington was circuit judge in the lower Wabash country-. A log cabin had to be improvised for a court house. During the session of the court, a staUvart Hoosier driving an o.x team halted directly in front of the building and became boisterous - so much so as to disturb the proceedings. The sheriff was ordered to bring the man into court. He walked in with a ten-foot sappling o.x-goad in hand, and bringing it down in front of him, awaited events. The judge said to him, " You have been disturbing the court, sir. by your loud talk. What have you to say why vou should not be punished for contempt?" The o.x-driver replied : "Is this a court house, judge?" " Yes, sir," said the judge. "Beg pardon, judge," replied the astonished Hoosier, '- I am sorry, jutlge. Bv smacks, I thought it was a grocery." But th.e days of log cabin court houses in Indiana have passed away forever, and with them has gone much of the primitive simplicity of manners which distinguished our pioneer population, and possibly some of the reverence for law, the decisions of courts, and the verdicts of juries, which were grand factors in moulding society and giving direction to thought a half century ago.

Indiana is now taking front rank for the beauty of her architecture, as displayed in her court houses and other public buildings. I have seen court houses in a number of states, east, and west, and south. I remember nowhere to have seen the equal of the Madison county court house for beauty of design. And it is remarked by those who are familiar with public affairs in Indiana that the counties are vieing with each other in building public edifices, including court houses, to an extent indicative, not only of wealth and liberality, but of an exact appreciation of architectural elegance, and in this regard I am warranted in saying that Madison countv. when the court hojse is completed, the corner-stone laid to-day, will be able to point to it with great complacency as an edifice which in the highest degree illustrates the culture and the high appreciation of the beautiful which distinguish her citizens - a building which will stand as a monument to the commission-" ers whose comprehensive minds were abre;)st of the demands of the age, and who grasp with equal facilitj- the wants of the future. There are men here to-day, doubtless, whose lives include the whole history of Madison county ; men who have known it from the days of its wilderness to its present wealth of farm and field, orchard and meadow ; from the days of its cabins to the present of palatial mansions ; from the dav when the corner-stone of the old court house was laid in 18H1, till to-day, when the corner-stone is laid of a more pretentious building to be dedicated to law and justice. Witiiin the periods named wonderful changes have occurred. The march of events is a fitting theme for orators and poets. Imagination could scarcely exceed the realities, nor fancy with the freest rein, eclipse by its freaks the magnificence of prosaic facts. The wilderness blooms ; the waste places are fruitful ; the Indian trail has given place to the macadamized highways. The iron rail has taken the place of the corduroy road. The bridge is where the ford used to be. The old. stage coach is superceded by the palace car. The lightning is man's errand boy, and the conversations by telephone are as free and easy as they were in the olden time at a quilting, an apple bee, or a corn shucking. How grandly old tilings are passing away! * * *

Indiana is a proud commonwealth. She now has ^,(J00.OU0 of people, and may have, before the noble structure the people of Madison county contemplate building here, shall give place to another still more stately, 10,000,000 of inhabitants. * * *

For the old court house of Madison county, though I never saw it, I shall always cherish pleasant recollections. From one of its rafters, owing to the kindness of a valued friend, a staff was made and I am its fortunate possessor. When the new court house, so soon to be completed, fidfills its mission and takes its place among the things that \vere,no rafter from its roof will be carved into a walking stick for me or for you. We shall require no staff to help our infirmities. We shall have passed on to a country where corner stones are not laid and where the buildings never decay. We read of judge and judgments, of rewards and penalties in that seemingl)- far away land. We read, too, of infinite wisdom which never errs, and of decisions from wliicli there is no appeals saj' what we may, we liave all got to stand trial. I would not mar the felicities of this occasion by a surmise that any one in this audience will lose his case. I prefer rather to blend with these ceremonies the devout wish that the foundation upon which we have built our hopes is the rock wiiich witiistands the storms and floods, so that when the corner-stones of court houses, and of the solid earth itself, wive way, we shall find that in our cases justice has been so glorified by mercy that the fruitions of pardon have forever obliterated recollections of error, and that we shall walk out of court realizing tiiat the costs have all been paid bv our Elder Brother.

Other Interesting Matters

Tlie corner-stone is of Berea sand-stone and was taken from the cjuarries near Cleveland, Ohio. Its dimensions are 0 ft. 8A in. X 3 ft. 11 in. x 2 ft. G in. The face of the stone is neatly dressed and carved, the mouldings forming a panel on which is inscribed :

Deposited In The Stone

Copies of the Cincinnati papers of August 10, 1882 - Gazette, Eutjiiircr, Com mere! al ; Indianapolis papers - yoiiriial. Sentinel, IVezcs and Chicago Times.

The work on the court house was prosecuted without serious interference or delay notwithstanding certain objections raised by the local superintendent, Mr. J^IcCullough, who could not agree witii the contractors as to certain details in the plans and specifications. His objections to the manner in which the building was being erected were not given the consideration by the Commissioners which in his judgment their importance demanded, and he resigned. He was succeeded by John W. Pence, Esq., who was appointed local superintendent on the i)d of Maj', 1883. It appears of record that Mr. Pence, also, could not agree with the contractors upon many matters contained in the specifications and filed his objections with the Commissioners, but the record is silent as to the action taken by the Board. It was not until 1885 that the building was ready for occupancy, and then only a portion of it as is indicated by the following order made at a special session of the Board of Commissioners in February of that year : possession of such rooms and paits of the court house as thev may desire, and such possession is not to be an acceptance of the building or work thereon. And the Board orders that the Madison Circuit Court hold its sessions in the new court house and that the Auditor, Clerk, Treasurer, Recorder and Sheriff be instructed to remove their offices and all records and papers thereto belonging into the proper rooms in said court house by Saturday evening, February 21, 1885."'

The offices were removed to the rooms designated by the Commissioners in compliance with the abo\e order and from that time to the present the county business has been transacted within the walls of " said court house." The building was subsequently received by the Commissioners and with the exception of the raised roof which now covers it, stands to-day in its symmetrical proportions just as it did when it was accepted by the County Board. And while some portions of the \vork of its construction may have been slighted, it is generally conceded that it is not only ample for the needs of Madison county for years to come, but one of the most stately buildings of its class in Indiana.