Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 33: Andkusox Townsllll- I-I!om Its Earliest Settlement, 1897

Much li;is iu-ces=nrilv been saitl in previous pai^es concernint^ thi^ townsiiip, as it contains \\ itliin its boundaries tile seat of justice of the county. Bui it is our purpose to give here, and in tlie histories of the various townsiiips tliat follow, the lietails of sucii local matters as projierlv beloni;' to the townships alone.

Anderson township has an area of 8(1 square miles, an acreage of 28,017, and lies a little south of the geographical center of the county. It is well watereci, and in the early history of the townsiiip was heavily timbered. ^^'hite river passes through the township, entering at about the center on the east, flowing in a north-westerly course through the county. Killbuck creek enters the tow'iiship on the northeast and empties into White river at Anderson. Green's branch also flows through a jjortion of the township. It rises three miles south-west of Anderson and empties into White river on the north-west, passing through the \vest part of the city. The surface of the township is generally level and fairly fertile, although in tlie latter respect it has no advantage over the other townships in the county. The history of the township is essentiallj- the history of Anderson, as it was at this place and in its immediate vicinity that the first settlers located, forming the nucleus of the present population.

The tirst settlers made their appearance in the township in the year 1820. and the best information obtainable indicates that John Kerry and family were the lirst to locate at Anderson. William Allen settled in the township two miles east of what was to become the seat of justice of the county, about the time that John Berry located here. Others soon followed, among whom were William Stogdon, John and Christopher Davis, Colonel William Young and his brother Isaac, William Curtis, Daniel Harpold, Samuel Kinnamon, David Williams. These pioneers were the lirst to locate in

Anderson and in its xicinity. A few years later jjcob Stover. Epliraim Ilughel. Jolm Rensiiaw, David Harris. Pliilip Siiinkle. Benjamin Sumpter ami Benjamin 1? idsjuiv settled in the township. -

The site upmi \\ hich Anderson is situated was originally entereil by William Conner, who subse<|uently sold it to John Berrv. Sometime during the year l!si>;!. Mr. Berrv sur\eved and laid out the original plat of the town and afterward. a> stated elsewhere in this work, donated a considerable portKin of it to the coimty in consideration of " -\ndersontown ' being made the se;it of justice, which at that time was at Pendleton. The permanent seat of justice was located at the town of Anderson, anil public buildings were erected as we have seen, but it was iKjt until 182,s that the business of the county was transactetl here. From that vear until 1837 the town improved slowlv, the population at that time not exceeding :.'()() people. ]?ut from the smnmer of lSii7 the same spirit of enterprise that had manifested itself throughout the State on account of the internal improvements that were being j^rojected. aroused the peojjle of .\nderson to a realization of the possibilities of the place, and nothing was left luidone by them that would promote its welfare. The construction of the Central canal - a branch of the \\ abash iV Erie canal - an account of ^vhich is given elsewhere in these pages, not onlv increased the population of Anderson greatlv, but gave l)usiness an impulse and quickened the energies of the pcopk- to a greater extent than had ever been experienced before. In fact, the town at this time enjoyed its first boom."' Steps were taken to organize a town government in order that the general prosjierity might be better conserved and the peace and quiet of the communitv better maintained. The proposition to incorporate the town met with consideralile opposition but at the session of the Legislature of l^i{f^-!50 an act was passed for incorporating the " town of Andersontown, in Madison county, containing S^A) inhabitants." The Countv Connnissioners at their January session, l^iiO. made tlu: following order in regard to the matter: "Ordered, that an election be iield at the court house in .^aid town, bv the citizens of said town, on Monday, the 21st of January, instant, for the purpose of electing trustees and appointing ofticers to govern the town, and upon the citizens complying with tins

This order was complied with and a town government was established antl maintained until some time after work on the canal had been abandoned. When that enterprise was dropped by the State, the population diminished and business generally suffered in consequence. Following the collapse of the canal "boom" the town corporation as an organization lost its vitality in sympathy with the general decadence of enterprise, and finally became inoperative.

As time passed on it became more apparent to the leading citizens of the town that there should be some modification of the name as the " Town of Andersontown" was redundant and did not sound well. Accordingly Robert N. Williams and James Ilazlett, two of the most prominent citizens of the town and coimty, the former Auditor and the latter Clerk of tlie county at the time, petitioned the legislature of 1844-5 for a change of the name. The petition asked that the name of " Andersontown "' be changed to Anderson, which was granted, and from that time on the name of " Andersontown "' does not appear of record although the old-timers for years afterwards seemed to prefer the name to that of Anderson.

Shortly after midnight on the 12th of No\ ember, 1851, Anderson was visited by its first disastrous fire. At that time nearly all the workshops, offices and stores in the town were situated around the public square. They were few in number, but fully ade<iuate to the necessities of the times. The south side of the square contained more business rooms than any of the others, perhaps. Situated on that side and on the southeast corner was the frame fan-mill shop of Thomas L. Sherman and Adam Wolf; just by its side stood a little frame cottage, formerlv the residence of Alfred Makepeace, but unoccupied at the time ; the next building was a threestory frame, in the lower room of which was a clothing store owned by Joseph Fulton ; one of the upper rooms was occupied by Seth Smith and William R. ONeil as a law office, another by James Kindle, as a shoe shop ; Adam Reed, a hatter occupied the next building, where he manufactured hats and dealt extensively in peltries, which in that day constituted no small portion of the exports from the township frame building occupied by Dr. Townsend Ryan, with a stock of general merchandise. The next building was the Myers " tavern," a two-story log house owned and occupied by " Uncle Billy " and " Aunt Julia " Myers of happy memory. This hostelry stood about where the L. M. Cox building is now situated, and just south of it, facing on what is now Meridian street, was a large barn or livery stable run in connection with the tavern. These were the only buildings on that side of the square and they were ent'rely consumed.

The fire originated in the fan-mill shop, and was supposed to have been the work of an incendiary. The flames spread so rapidly that witii the meagre facilities for figiiting them were soon communicated with the other buildings along the " row.'" The entire population of the town gatiiered at the scene of the fire, and rendered all the assistance possible in removing the contents of the buildings on that side of the square. Considerable property was destroved besides the buildings, and as tliere were no insurance companies in those days doing business in Anderson, the loss was total. Besides the property destroyed tiiis fire was the cause of three deaths, as it is claimed that Setii Smith, William R. O'Xeil and James Kindle, each of whom died shortlv afterward, and within a few weeks of each other, in attempting to save tiieir property inhaled the flames or hot air to sucii an extent that they could not survive its effects. Mr. Smith was a gentleman of fine scholastic attainments, and the father of Thomas E. Smith, the well known commission merchant of Anderson. Mr. 0"Neil was also a man of aljility and a fine lawyer. Mr. Kindle was a kindly hearted gentleman, whose untimely demise was mourned, not only by a numerous relationship, but bv a large circle of friends.

With the completion of the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine railroad to Anderson, business was again revived, new enterprises were started, and tiie town began to grow rapidly. The necessitv for a town government once more began to manifest itself, and on the evening of the 25th of April, 1858, a public meeting was held at the court house for tlie purpose of taking steps to that end. The late Samuel Myers presiiled at the meeting, and P. H. Lemon officiated as secretary. John Davis explained the object of the meeting and stated the advantages of a corporate government. Dr. Townsend Ryan offered a resolution in favor of incorporation, which was adopted, and on motion of M. S. Robinson a committee, consisting of John Davis, Townsend Ryan and Col. Ninevah Berry, was appointed to fix the boundaries of the corporation. Armstrong Taylor was also appointed to take a census of the town.

Following this meeting a petition was presented to the County Commissioners, asking that an election be held " to determine whether Anderson should be incorporated as a town under the laws of the State of Indiana, or not." The petition was granted, and the records show that an election was held on the 28th of June, 182i5, at whicli thirty-six votes were cast in favor of, and one against incorporation. James \V. Sansberry, Burket Eads and S. B. Mattox acted as inspectors of the election. This corporation, or town government, lasted until 1805, when citizens of the town .began to agitate the question of a city government. After the matter had been thoroughly canvassed, and very generally received with favor, an election was held on the 28th of August, 18(55, within the limits prescribed for the new corporation for the purpose of determining the question. There were 217 votes cast at this election, 207 of which were in favor of a city government, and 10 against the proposition. After conforming to the necessary formalities of the law with reference to the organization of cities, the citv government of Anderson was organized by the selection of the following otlicers : Mayor, R. X. Williams ; clerk, C. D. Thompson ; treasurer, Joseph Fulton; marshal, M. X. Harriman ; city prosecutor, E. V. Long; councilmen - first ward, John D. Mershon and Stephen Xoland ; second ward. E. B. Goodykoontz and George Xichol; third ward. Wineburn R. Pierse and Benjamin Sebrel.

Xot withstanding the fact that party lines were drawn very closelv in Madison county at that time, politics cut no figure in the election of Anderson's first city officers. R. N. Williams was elected to the office of Mayor without opposition, he being one of the oldest and best known citizens of the citv, and besides amply qualified for the ofiice. It is noted here that these officers were the first and last elected in the city of Anderson without reference to political predilectioiis.

Marshals, M. N. Ilarriinan, from 1865-7; J. A. Thompson, from 1867-8 (appointed vice Harriman resigned); Cornelius Daugherty. from 1868-70 ; John Flahaven, from 1870- 2; David T. Thompson, from 1872-3; O. P. Stone, from 1878-4 (vice Thompson resigned); Cornelius Daugherty, from 1874-8; Alfred Coburn, from 1878-82; Augustus Heagy, from 1882-3 ; Amos Coburn, from 1888-4 ( vice Heagy resigned); Theodore Zion, from 1884 - 5; Patrick O'Mara, fyom 1885-6 (vice Zion resigned) ; Edward Downey, from 1886-8 ; Warren Copper, from 1888-93. During Mr. Copper's second term the office of marshal was legislated out of existence by the legislature and the present police law adopted.

The policing of the city is now in charge of a Board of Commissioners composed of three members appointed by the Governor as follows: George T. Beebe, D. F. Mustard and R. P. Grimes. Mr. Beebe is president of the Board and Charles L. Sherman is secretary. The first secretary was J. L. C rouse.

The Anderson police force is composed of one captain, one sergeant, and six patrolmen. The first captain of the force was George Welker, who resigned in 1895. He was succeeded by Amos Coburn. who is the present head of the department.

Anderson is divided into three wards or councilinanic districts, each of which is entitled to two representatives in the city council. The ward boundaries as originally established have been changed but once since the orgnization of the city goveriinient. Up to the discovery of natural gas in 1887, the corporate lines had not been changed, but since that time owing to the rapid growth of the city, several changes have been made. The ward boundaries were changed for the first time in 1893. The following in their order are the names of those who have served in the common council :