Marshall County, Indiana - Chapter 1: Alexander C. Thompson, 1890 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 1: Alexander C. Thompson

ORGANIZATION - ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE FOR THAT PURPOSE - BOUNDARY LINES - CHARACTER OF THE SOIL AND TIMBERFIRST BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR WORK - HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP - NATURAL FEATURES - LAKE MAXINKUCKEE - ITS EXTENT, QUALITY OF WATER AND NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS - THE COUNTY SEAT AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS - COURT HOUSE, JAILS, ETC. - INDIAN RELICS AND HISTORY - FOSSIL REMAINS - LIST -OF COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

HE ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the western territory, of which Indiana was then a part, was passed by congress May 20, 1785. It provided for geographers and surveyors, and described minutely the modus operandi to be observed, which will be found in the general history of the state, accompanying the history of Marshall county. The act passed by the legislature for the organization of the county was approved February 4, 1836. By whom it was introduced and the preliminaries connected with its passage, nothing is now known. At that time, what is now Marshall county, was designated as "unorganized territory," and of course the inhabitants had no representative in the legislature of the state. St. Joseph and La Porte counties had been organized six years previous, and it is probable the representatives from those counties secured the passage of the bill. The act is as follows:

Section i . Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana: That, from and after the ist day of April next, the county of Marshall shall enjoy all the rights and jurisdiction which belong to separate and independent counties. 2 - B.

Is History Of Indiana

Sec. 2. That Hiram Wheeler and Griffin Treadway, of La Porte county, and Samuel C. Sample and Peter Johnson, of St. Joseph county, and John Rohrer, of Elkhart county, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners for the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Marshall, agreeably to the provisions of "an act to establish the seats of justice in new counties," approved January 14, 1S24. The commissioners above named, or a majority of them, shall convene at the house of Grove Pomeroy, in said county, on the second Monday of June next, or as soon thereafter as a majority of them shall agree upon.

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of St. Joseph county to notify the commiissioners above named, either by person or in writing, of their appointment, and place appointed for them to convene; and the board doing county business shall allow said sheriff reasonable compensation for said services out of any moneys in the treasury in said county of Marshall.

Sec. 4. Circuit and other courts of said county shall be held at the house of Grove Pomeroy, or at any other place in said county where said courts may adjourn to, until suitabl-' accommodations can be furnished at the seat of justice thereof, after which the courts shall be holden at the county seat.

Sec. 5. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sale of lots at the county seat of said county of Marshall, shall reserve ten per cent, out of all donations to said county, and shall pay the same over to such person or persons as shall be authorized to receive the same for the use of a library for said county.

Sec. 6. The board doing county business of Marshall county, when elected and qualified, may hold special sessions, not exceeding three days, the first year after the organization of said count}'-, and shall appoint a lister, and make all other necessary appointments, and do and perform all other business which might have been necessary' to be performed at any regular session, and take all necessary steps to collect the state and county revenue.

Sec. 8. The northern boundary line of the county of Marshall shall be extended to an east and west line through the center of township 35 north.

On the 20th day of July, 1836, the county seat was located at Plymouth by three of the commissioners named by the legislature for that purpose. This was done at a special session of the board of commissioners. Their report was as follows:

July Special Session, iSj6, of Commissioners Court. - Now comes Peter Johnson, Griffin Treadway and Samuel C. Sample, three of the commissioners appointed by the act entitled, "An act to organize the county of Marshall, approved the 4th of Februar}^" and make the following report of their doings as locating commissioners of the permanent seat of justice of said count}'-, to-wit: To the Honorable, the Board of Commissioners of the Countvof

The undersigned, three of the commissioners appointed by an act of the general assembly of the stat"^ of Indiana, entitled, " An act to organize thecount}- of Marshall, approved February 4, 1836," respectfully report to your honors, that by an agreement entered into, by a majority of the commissioners appointed by said act, the meeting of said commissioners was agreed to be held at the house of Grove Pomeroy, in said county, on Monday, the iSth day of July, A. D. 1836, to discharge the duties assigned them by said act.

Whereupon, the undersigned, Peter Johnson, Griffin Treadway and Samuel C. Sample, three of said commissioners (Hiram Wheeler and John Rohrer, two of the commissioners, having failed to attend), having met at the house of Grove Pomeroy, on the said iSth day of July, 1S36, for the purpose of permanently fixing the seat of justice for the said county of Marshall, they personally examined all the sites proposed to them, in said county, for said seat of justice, and received propositions for donations for the same from the different proprietors of lands naming and proposing sites, and we, after such examination, and seeing and inspecting said propositions, have concluded and determined to fix, and by these presents do permanentl}' locate, fix and establish the seat of justice of said county of Marshall, at Plymouth. The site for the public buildings for said county is designated on a plat of said town as made by James Blair, John Bering and William Polk, proprietors of said town, the names being recorded in the county of St. Joseph, Indiana, the said site for said public buildings being, by said proprietors donated, among other things, to said county.

And the undersigned do further report that the said Blair, Sering and Polk, in consideration of the location of said seat of justice at the place aforesaid, have donated to said county, money and lands as follows: $1,000 in cash, payable as follows: $350 down in hand, paid to Peter Schroeder, county agent, in our presence; $350 payable in one 3-ear from date, and $350 paj'able two years from date, for the pa3'ment of which, said proprietors have executed their notes, bearing date herewith, and the said proprietors have also donated to said county, the following lots in said town, to wit: Lots number i, 6, 10, 18^ 22, 28, 33, 2)7 ^ 45. 48, 52, 57, 60, 63, 65, 70, 74, 78, 81, 86, QO, 93, 96, 99, 102, loS, 112, 117, no, 123, 136,129,132, 136, 141, 144, 147, 153, 156 and 159, being corner lots, and forty-two in number, and also lots number 5, 14,

And also the said proprietors have donated to said county, one acre and four-fifths of an acre of land for a public burying ground, lying in the southwest corner of the northwest quarter of section thirteen (13), of Michigan road lands, the same lying west and south of Plum street, in said town; also two acres, more or less, of land for a site for a county seminary, bounded as follows: Beginning at the southwest corner of Adams and Plum streets, in said towns, thence southwardly with Plum street 264 feet, to the northwest corner of Washington and Plum streets, thence west on a line on the south with Washington street, and on a line on the north with Adams street, to the west line of said section thirteen (13) ; the said seminary lot to maintain a width of 264 feet from east to west, and for which lots said proprietors have executed their deed to the county agent of said county, and for which lands for a burial ground and seminary, they have executed their deed to 3'our honors, for the uses aforesaid.

And the said proprietors have further agreed to build a temporary court house, not less than 30x20 feet, one story high, on lot num.ber thirtj'-two, in said town; the county of Marshall to have the use of the same for the term of four years from the completion thereof, the same to be ready for the use of the county by the spring term of the circuit court of 1837; and for the completion of which house, and for the use thereof, as aforesaid, the proprietors have executed their bonds, payable to the board of commissioners, in the penal sum of $1,000, and the said proprietors have also agreed to defray the expenses of the location of said site, being $45, and which sum they have paid to the undersigned. All of which deeds and bonds and notes, the undersigned herewith produce to your honors.

The county having been organized, the board of commissioners, consisting of Robert Blair, Abraham Johnson and Charles Ousterhout, ordered the clerk of the board, Jeremiah Muncy, to file among the papers of the court, the deeds for the lands donated, and have the same duly transferred and recorded in the deed records of the county, which was accordingly done.

Marshall county is bounded on the north by St. Joseph, on the east by Elkhart and Kosciusko, on the south by Fulton and Kosciusko, and on the west by Stark and St. Joseph counties. It is twenty-one miles square, according to the government surveys, which overrun on the east side of the range lines and on the south side of the "congressional township" lines, so that Marshall county is really about twenty-one and three-quarter common or statute miles east and west, and also about twenty-one miles and ten rods north and south. The fraction, or more properly speaking, the overplus, is given to the north side of sections i, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and to the west side of sections 6, 7, 18, 19, 30 and 31, of each "congressional township." It includes townships 32, 7,7,, 34, and the south half of township 35, north; and, ranges i, 2, 3, and the west half of range 4 east, of the second principal meridian. Townships and ranges are ascertained by what are known as the " meridian" and "base" lines. These are lines established by the government for the purpose of accurately dividing and describing the public lands. The second principal meridian line in Indiana passes from south to north through the counties of Perry, Crawford, Orange, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Clinton, Carroll, Cass, between Fulton and Pulaski and between Marshall and Stark, and through St. Joseph, so that the west line of Marshall county is the second meridian line. The base line passes through the southern portion of the state from west to east, through the counties of Knox, Gibson, Pike, Du Bois, Orange, Washington and Clarke. A base line is first established on a true parallel of latitude. From this line, townships which are generally six miles square, are measured north and south. At the distance of twenty-four miles, or every fourth township, north of the principal meridian base, and at every thirty miles, or five townships, south, standard or correction parallels are established, which in truth become bases for surveys immediately north or south of them. The first correction line is just north of Indianapolis and the second about six miles north of Logansport. The reason these correction lines are established is that, "since the meridians are not parallel to each other, because they would all meet at the poles, it follows that the townships, though said to be square, are not exactly so, but are longer on their southern boundaries than on their northern ones. If this were not corrected, the successive townships in any range would be larger and larger south of the base line, and smaller and smaller north of it. Even with these correction lines, absolutely correct measurements cannot be made, and hence, in almost every deed of conveyance, for the purpose of curing any defects in this respect, the term " more or less" is inserted. North of the base line, we have division of parallel lines six miles apart running east and west, called township lines. We have the principal meridian established by government, which runs at right angles with base and township lines. East and west from the principal meridian, parallel lines are drawn north and south at the distance of six miles, which are called ranges, and number east and west from the meridian. Tliese lines measure land into six-mile squares, which are called congressional townships. These in turn are subdivided into thirty-six squares or sections, containing 640 acres. The numbering of sections begins always at the northeast corner of the township and proceeds from right to left until six sections are numbered and the northwest corner of the township is reached, then dropping down or south one tier or mile, and then numbering each from left to right, so continuing the operation till the entire thirty-six sections are numbered.

Marshall county was named in honor of Chief Justice Marshall. It was part of the territory belonging to the Menomonee tribe of Pottawatamie Indians, and included in the government purchase under the treaty of Tippecanoe river, made in 1832. It was, at the time of its organization, a timbered region, interspersed with prairies which were formerly regarded as worthless marsh lands, but they are now looked upon as being the most valuable lands in the county since they have been reclaimed by drainage. The timbered lands lie in the shape of a reversed letter 3, the open part to the west, the upright body of the letter represented by a tract fifteen by twenty-one miles on the west side of the county; the cross line by a tract six to eight miles wide across the south end, with some smaller tracts in the center of the west side, representing the cross in the middle of the letter. The remainder is made up of the prairies above spoken of, and "barrens"; not barren land but light timbered and prairie lands, some of these tracts being the most productive and desirable lands to be found in the state of Indiana; for instance, the burr oak barrens that lie from two to three miles north of Marmont, in Union township.

The heavy timbered consisted of all the hard and soft timbers, except the resinous oak, ash, hickory, maple, beech, elm, walnut, butternut, linn, poplar, etc. The "barrens," or more open lands, are variously timbered with white burr, yellow and black oak, and also hickory. The face of the land is gently undulating, with no abrupt elevations or declivities. These " barrens " are made up of every variety of soil, the greater portion, however, being the deep, rich, black loam of the heavy timbered lands. The burr oak barrens have rich, sand}^ loam. The white oak barrens, clay and sand. The black and yellow oak, light sand soil with clay bottom. The marshes, the richest and finest of alluvium, producing heavy growths of the best hay and also other crops. All kinds of farm products are raised in abundance - crops are certain and the yield remunerative.

Yellow river rises north and east of the northeastern portion of the county - the north branch in St. Joseph and the central and southern branches in Kosciusko county, and flows in a southwesterly course through the county.

From fifteen to eighteen miles from the county seat, through the southeast corner of Tippecanoe township, flows the Tippecanoe river, entering about four miles north, and passing out about the same distance west of the southeast corner of the county.

W. H.Thompson, assistant state geologist, in the geological report of the state for the years 1885-86, pays the following handsome compliment to our county, and coming from the able, scientific and reliable source it does, the compiler hereof cannot do better than insert it here, so it will become a permanent record of Marshall county, as to her topography and natural resources at the time the legal and scientific investigations were made and published:

Marshall county is one of the most interesting of all the counties of Indiana, especially as regards its topography, its surface geology, and its agricultural importance. It is extremely well situated with regard to all the facilities for production and shipment, having excellent and varied soil, good public roads, superior drainage, and railroads running to almost every point of the compass.

Marshall county is bounded on the north by St. Joseph county, east by Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, west by Stark and St. Joseph counties, and south by Fulton and Kosciusko counties. It is about twenty-one miles square, and was named in honor of Chief Justice Marshall.

In order that the reader may fix in his mind the relative geographical position of this county, let it be remembered that it lies a little more than forty miles southeast from Lake Michigan, and holds in its extreme southwestern corner that loveliest of lakelets, the far-famed Maxinkuckee.

The county was first permanently settled by the whites in the spring of the year T832; but it was not until the year 1835 that a great movement began by a public sale of the lands at the land office in La Porte, from which time to the present there has been a remarkable growth in wealth and population, and a corresponding increase of energy, education and culture.

No county in Indiana, all the circumstances considered, has excelled Marshall in matter of educational progress. Her public schools are of the best, and her citizens have taken the highest pride in advancing every literar}' and scientific impulse or enterprise brought to their attention. As might be expected of such a population, business in all its branches has flourished in this county from the start, and Plymouth, the beautiful county seat, has long been one of the most enterprising and wealthy little cities of northern Indiana - a center of culture and social refinements, charming to all who come within its influence. Plymouth was made the county seat in 1S36, and the organization of the county into townships, for civil purposes, was begun in the spring of the same year.

In the early part of its history, Marshall county, in common with most of Indiana, was troubled with malaria, but an excellent system of drainage, the cultivation of soil and cleaning of the forests, have obviated this difiiculty so that now it is a remarkably healthful part of our commonwealth; indeed, its beautiful, clear lakes have become summer resorts for invalids and those seeking recreation and refreshment.

Plymouth is situated very near the center of the county, on both banks of Yellow river (a beautiful stream which flows across the county from northeast to southwest) and is a city peculiarly attractive to the visitor on account of its well-kept streets, its handsome public buildings, and its many picturesque and home-like residences. From all points the views are lovely, embracing bright glimpses of fertile countr^^ and. shaded city lawns, with the river shining between.

The natural drainage of Marshall county is excellent, and it has been supplemented bj' a great deal of intelligent labor in the direction of systematic ditching. Lands which were noted formerly for their impassable bogs are now under a high order of cultivation, and are extremely fertile. I have seen no finer farm lands in Indiana than a large part of this county, which was once far too wet for the plow.

As has been said already. Yellow river is the principal stream, flowing midway through the county with a brisk current, and a clear, bright volume, receiving, during its course, a great number of tributaries, large and small, the majority of them east or northeast of Plymouth.

The Tippecanoe river flows in a short " elbow" across the extreme southeastern corner of the county, receiving Deep creek as its principal tributary, a stream flowing southeast across Walnut township, and a part of Tippecanoe.

Forge creek, rising among some small lakes three miles southwest of Plymouth, runs into Stark county, as does Pine creek, in the extreme northwestern corner of the county.

These streams afford the basis of ample drainage, while at the same time they furnish water power of a high value. Extensive ditches have been constructed in various parts of the county, and farmers have exhibited great enterprise and intelligence in the use of underground tiles, but the work of artificial drainage is yet in its incipiency as compared with possible results, or even with what will probably be accomplished before many years have passed.

Parts of Marshall county, even now, after 3'ears of most destructive abuse of economy, are well and heavily timbered with hard woods. Saw mills have been doing a thriving business, however, and, as is the case over most of our state's area, the glory of the forests is in the past. Much of the county is prairie, and there are large tracts of what is called " barren land"; but this phrase does not signify a thin soil, for the " barrens " often are choice land for tilling and grazing purposes. Indeed, with the exception of that covered by the many small lakes, there is scarcely any waste land in Marshall county, though much of it needs further ditching to make it properly tillable.

Geology. - The entire area of Marshall county is covered, to a great depth, with the deposits of the Drift period. No stratified rocks are outcropping, nor have they been reached by any of the many borings. The surface is, for the most part, a dark or black sandy loam, varying from a muck to a very light, warm soil. Underlying this are gravels, sands and bowlder clays.

The beds of the streams are usually in the grey or bluish till common to our glacial deposits, and are covered with a stratum of washed gravel, sand and bowlders. The terraces of the Yellow river are very interesting in this county and Stark, especially those composed of a fine yellowish sand which appears to be identical with that of Lake Michigan. This sand is most prevalent in the southwestern part of Marshall county, while it runs in great waves and ridges entirely across Stark to the bank of the Kankakee.

Between the Yellow river and the Tippecanoe there is a low divide in the form of a heavy swell of the Drift deposits. From near the southern line of Bourbon township the drainage is into the Yellow, while from that line southward it goes into the Tippecanoe. Again, in the townships of North and Polk, Pine Creek and Yellowbank river flow northwestward, while in the southern part of Polk township the drainage is southward into the Yellow river. The above conditions are due to the undulations in the grand mass of the Drift, probably caused by recessions of the glacier, or whatever power was urging southward this vast silicious conglomeration known as bowlder till. Nowhere in Indiana is this slow, as it were, and jerking process of recession better exemplified. The valley of the Yellow river is simply a great furrow between well-defined waves of this glacial mass in which the immediate bed of the stream is cut, and from side to side of which it has shifted through the long series of years since the melting of the ice. Whenever the fine sand of which I have spoken prevails, it rests as a rule, immediately upon the blue or gray bowlder till, no soil or sedimentary deposit intervening. I gave careful attention to all the features of the

Drift in this county, and have submitted my oljservations in the form of a classified statement of facts to the chief of the department to be used in his studies of the glacial deposits of Indiana. It may be well to remark just here, however, that very little red clay, saving certain ferruginous deposits, is found in this county.

In many parts of the county the surface of the ground is thickly strewn with bowlders of various kinds, chiefly granite, gneiss and other metamorphic rocks, fragmentary, and often worn into symmetrical shapes, or fancifully truncated and grooved, cumbering the fertile fields with their indestructible bulks. Upon these interesting but unprofitable relics of glacial power the farmers have waged relentless war, bursting them with fire and with dynamite, and hauling them into heaps or using them for building rough stone fences. This superficial deposit of bowlders appears to be the result of some agency acting subsequent to the force which urged the great mass of glacial matter down upon Indiana. No doubt this post-glacial, or rather this secondary agency, was dual, being a combination of water currents and floating ice-bergs; for water currents, unaided by the transporting agency of floating ice, could not move bowlders weighing many tons each, without also washing away at the same time, the whole drift deposit down to the stratified rocks. Action of water alone, if of sufficient power to drive along before it these immense fragments, would be equaled by nothing short of a sea under the influence of a long-continued hurricane blowing steadily in one direction.

The wells and borings in Indiana, and especially in the ilbrthern half of the state, support the assumption that bowlderS are much more numerous upon the surface of the Drift than throughout its mass. I have seen wells dug forty feet through Drift clay without encountering a bowlder in a region where the surface was literally cumbered with immense ones. My studies, soundings and surveys of the lakes of the county are to be incorporated in a separate paper under an appropriate head, but it is well to say here that all the ponds and lakes that I have examined in northern Indiana are mere basins, more or less symmetrical, scooped in the clays of the Drift. Many of them have huge bowlders scattered over their bottoms, and some of them have rims of whitish lime marl. This lime marl is reported upon in another paper in detail, and it is sufficient to remark that very considerable deposits of it are found in Marshall county in the beds of old ponds, or in marshy tracts favorable to its precipitation from the water bearing it in solution. To soils poor in lime this marl would prove an excellent fertilizer. When burned it makes a crude lime suitable for domestic purposes, but not of marketable quality. No doubt the time will come when these

Iron Ores. - The only iron-ore I observed in Marshall county is a rather inferior bog ore. Many years ago in West township, at the lower end of Twin lakes, an iron furnace was erected and the ore found near there was mined and manufactured, but of course the experiment failed after a time and the old forge is no more to be seen. Indeed scarcely a vestige of it remains.

The Lakes. - By far the most interesting geological features of Marshall county are its lake basins. The consideration of these will appear in detail in another paper. What is given here must be merely a description of the most important ones from a topographical point of view. Lake of the Woods, or Wood lake. Pretty lake. Twin lakes, and Maxinkuckee may be taken as the four most interesting.

Wood lake is about one and three-fourths miles long by an average of a half mile in width, and is situated on the dividing line between German and North townships, about six miles northeast of Plymouth, and some four miles southwest of Bremen.

Pretty lake is nearly three miles southwest of Plymouth, and is all its name implies - a beautiful, silvery clear lakelet and is a great resort for pleasure parties.

Maxinkuckee, a lake three miles long by nearly two miles wide, in places, lies in nearly the extreme southwestern corner of the county, distant from Plymouth about nine miles. Nowhere in the United States is there a lovelier body of pure cold water. It has become a famous summer resort, and deserves all the great praise it has received. In their main topographical features all these lakes are alike, being set in bowls sunk in almost impervious bowlder clay and partly surrounded by more or less abrupt shore lines. They are well stocked with pan-fish of various kinds, but the bass are becoming scarce.

SpriJio;s. Borings and F/ozi'ino; JFe//s. - The mineral springs and flowing wells of Marshall county must be studied in connection with the rivers and lakes, especially the latter. Impervious blue clay alwa3's overlies the mass of gravel or sand out of which these springs rise and these wells flow. This same impervious clay underlies the water of the lakes. It will not follow from this, however, that the water of the lakes will rise as high as that of the flowing wells, for the lakes are controlled by their possible or actual outlets, or they may be supplied from a different reservoir. But it is true, nevertheless, that all the deep, clear lakes of this county are fed chiefly from springs rising out of the bottom clay or flowing from the strata of sand in the sides of the basin. The water of the flowing wells comes from the same or similar sources, that is, it rises from beneath an impervious stratum of bowlder clay. These wells have been successfully operated in many parts of the county, but the most notable example is the famous one at Plymouth, which sends up a constant stream of water thirteen inches in diameter to the height of fifteen feet above low water mark of Yellow river. At most places in the county wells, when properl}' tubed, will either flow above the surface of the ground or the water will rise to within a few feet of the top of the bore.

It is difficult to over-estimate the value to farmers, manufacturers and to a community in general, of flowing wells that are easily made as those of Marshall county. How infinitely superior to a hand-pump or a wind-pump is a gushing fountain, that never ceases or tires, but day and night pours out its wealth of pure water for man and beast !

Borings in this county have not reached the stratified rock, nor have they disclosed any new feature of the Drift mass into which they have been projected. As is nearly always the case elsewhere, the waters from these bores are often more or less impregnated with the salts of iron and are called "sulphur" waters and " magnetic" waters. No doubt the iron renders them valuable as a tonic in certain cases. Many beautiful springs rise in the county and some of these, too, are sufiiciently charged with iron salts to color with brown or reddish oxide whatever the water flows over. No doubt this feature is due to its rising through ferruginous sand or other iron-bearing deposits.

We now return to the first meeting of the board of county commissioners, the adoption of a county seal and the dividing of the county into three districts and also three townships, the three districts and the three townships being identical when they were first formed.

"The first meeting of the board of commissioners was held at the house of Grove Pomeroy, on the 2d day of I\Iay, 1S36. Mr. Pomeroy was then a resident of Plymouth, and resided in a log house situated on lot No. 42, corner of La Porte and Michigan streets, or what is now known as 'Corbin's corner.' "

The commissioners were Robert Blair, Abraham Johnson and Charles Ousterhout. INIr. Ousterhout was perhaps the best known to the people of the count}' at that time, of any who participated in the preliminary organization. He resided on the farm known as the "Orr farm," one mile south of the now city of Plymouth. He was a robust, athletic man, a Canadian by birth, and had seen a great deal of the world in his time. He spoke fluently the languages of the Pottawattamie and Miami

He was a sort of dare-devil, and was never satisfied unless he was at the "head of the procession." He figured extensively in the politics of his time, and was partially successful. He died many years ago of gangrene.

Abraham Johnson served two terms as commissioner, and was a resident of what is now Polk township during his citizenship in the county. He died on his farm about two miles southeast of Tjmer City, some thirty years ago. He was a robust type of the pioneers of the then northwest. He was a man of more than average scholarship for those days - a man who did his own thinking, and in politics was an uncompromising whig. He raised a large family of boys, many of whom are prominent citizens of the county.

The writer of this knows nothing of the life and characteristics of Robert Blair, nor where or when he died, but, for the fact that he was chosen as county commissioner, it is fair to presume that he was a representative man of those days, and one in whom his neighbors and acquaintances had confidence.

After appointing Jeremiah Muncy clerk during the term, the board adjourned to meet at the house of Charles Ousterhout, at I o'clock P. M. of the same day. The first business transacted was:

"Ordered by the board, that the seal of said commissioners shall be a wafer with a paper placed on it in the shape of a diamond, sealed with a seal in the shape of a heart."

" Beginning at the northwest corner of said county and running a due south course with the county line seven miles to the corner of sections iq and 30, in congressional township No. 34 north; thence east with said line to the eastern boundary of said county. Said district to be known as District No. i.

"Ordered, that District No. 2 begin on the western boundary line of said county, at the corner of District No. i, and running with the said county line seven miles to the corner of sections 30 and 31, in congressional township No. 33 'north; thence east on the line of said section twenty-one miles to the eastern boundary line of said county. Said district to be known as District No. 2.

" Ordered, that District No. 3 begin at the western boundary line of said county, commencing at the south corner of District No. 2, thence south with said county line seven miles to the southern boundary' line of said county, thence east with the line of said county twenty-one miles to the eastern boundary line of said county. Said district to be known as District No. 3."

The elections in said townships were ordered to be held at the house of Adam Vinnedge, in North township; at the house of Charles Ousterhout, in Center township; and at the house of Sidney Williams, in Green township.

It will be observed, by reference to the county map, that the territory embraced in North township was what is now German, North and Polk townships; Center embraces what is now Bourbon, Center and West; and Green township embraced what is now Tippecanoe, Walnut, Green and Union.

The residence of Adam Vinnedge, the place designated for holding the elections in North township, was on the Michigan road, about six miles north of Plymouth. Mr. Vinnedge was the father of Adam Vinnedge, now residing in Plymouth. He was a man of energy, and took an active part in the affairs of the county in the early days.

The first election after the organization of the county, was held on the fifth day, first Monday of August, 1836, for the purpose of electing a senator, representative, sheriff, probate judge, county commissioner, school commissioner, coroner, and justices of the peace. In the North township there were thirty-seven votes cast. John Johnson, James Palmer and Adam Snider were judges of said election, and James Jones and Abraham Johnson, clerks. Thomas Packard and Robert Johnson were elected justices of the peace for North township.

In Center township there were eighty-three votes cast. Of these, so far as is known, but John Greer, Joseph Evans, Gilson S Cleaveland, David R. Voreis and James Voreis, are living at this writing (1S90). John Greer resides three and a half miles southeasterly on the farm he has owned for over fifty years. Mr. Greer, although over eighty years of age, recognizes his old time friends especially, and enjoys a visit with them as much as he used to in years long gone by, and he will, from all appearances, live several years yet. Uncle Joseph Evans still resides two miles west of Plymouth. He is about eighty-five years of age, and although he had the misfortune to have one of his arms amputated some two years ago, on account of cancer in his hand, he is still in good health and spirits and did not miss a meal even the day that his arm was amputated, and as was said of him ten years ago, in a work similar to this, he " is the same polite gentleman" he has- been ever since his residence in this county, which has been over fifty years. Mr. Gilson S. Cleaveland, at about eighty years of age, is still enjoying good health and bids fair to yet live many years. He came to Marshall county in 1S35, and

David R. Voreis came to Marshall county in 1836, and first lived about four and a half miles south of Plymouth, but in a few years took up his residence in Union township, about one mile north of Maxinkuckee village, where he still lives. He is hale and hearty, although about eighty years old. He has witnessed and helped to make as great changes around him as any man now living in the county. He has ever been an honest, upright and esteemed citizen, and it is meet, right and proper that he should be permitted to live long to enjoy the fruits of the home he has so well earned.

James Voreis is an older brother of David R. Voreis, and came to the county, also, in 1836. He has resided in Green township, one mile south of Wolf Creek Mills, constantly since his arrival in Marshall county. He has raised a large family of respected and influential sons and daughters, most of whom live near him, but some have passed awaj'. A more honest man and a better neighbor and friend has never lived in the county, than he. He is yet enjoying good health and will doubtless live many years more, although he is now over eighty-five years of age. Of such material were the pioneers of Marshall county made.

At the election held in Center township, Samuel D. Tabor was inspector, John Ray and William Bishop, judges, and Harrison Metcalf and John Blair were clerks. At the same election held in Green township, there were nineteen votes cast. Ewel Kendall was inspector, Fielden Bowles and Samuel B. Patterson were judges, and Jeremiah Muncy and John A. Boots were clerks.

As has already been stated, the first election after the organization of the county, was held on the ist day of August, 1836, that being the "first Monday in August," as was provided by the statutes of the state. At this election 138 votes were cast. The voting precincts and names of inspectors, judges and clerks are given above. The result of the election was as follows: The candidates for senator were Jonathan A. Liston and Lot Day. Liston received 68 votes and Day 65. The candidates for representative were Stephen Marsters and "Joll" Long, and in Marshall county Marsters received 102, and Long 32. The candidates for sheriff were H. Blakel}^ Jesse Roberts, A. Caldwell and D. Hill. Blakely received 34; Roberts, 47; Caldwell, 49, and D. Hill, 5 votes. The candidates for commissioner for the second district, which was then Center township, but now comprises Bourbon, Center and West townships, were Charles Ousterhout, M. Coe and John Gibson. Ousterhout received 66; M. Coe, 28, and John Gibson, 36 votes. The candidates for school commissioner - an office long since obsolete - were John

Houghton, A. C. Hickman and A. W. Roberts. Houghton received 56; Hickman 30, and Roberts, 2,7 votes. The candidates for probate judge were Grove Pomeroy and OHver Rose. Pomeroy received 92, and Rose, 46 votes. The candidates for coroner were John Johnson and John WilHamson. Johnson received 49, and Williamson, 2,2, votes.

The senatorial and representative district was then composed of Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph counties, and although Mr. Marsters went out of Marshall county with a handsome majority, he was defeated by the vote in the other counties constituting the district. In politics he was a whig, and although deficient in book learning, was a shrewd and wil}^ politician. He was one of the pioneer preachers. At that time party lines were closely drawn between the democrats and the whigs, and then, as now, a man's religious pretensions did not prevent him from taking part in politics, in all its phases. At the election held August 6, 1838, there were 236 votes cast; of these, 157 were cast at the county seat, thirty-five in Green township, eighteen in North, eight in Union and eighteen in German.

The election in Union township was held at the house of William Thompson, and the following is a list of the names of those who voted at that election:

Eleazor Thompson, T. (Theophilus) Jones, P. B. Dickson, Lewis Thompson, Ephraim Moore, James Houghton, John Morris, John Thompson. Union had been organized May i, 1838.

The election in German township, which had been organized May II, 183S, was held at the house of George Metcalf. The following is a list of the voters: Samuel D. Tabor, Peter Schroeder, George Metcalf, Robinson W. Hughes, Edward M. Page, John Ringle, Charles Rhodes, John Coil, Francis Bashford, John Gibson, John Steel, William Hughes, Henry Augustine, Henry Yockey, Jacob Kuns, Jacob Yockey, John A. Lashbaugh, George Beiler.

The election in North township was held at the house of James Sherland. The following were the voters: Seymour Stilson, Robert Johnson, Isaac B. Pierson, David Vinnedge, James Sherland, Garrison B. Packard, Nathaniel Palmer, James Jones, John P. Benson, George Vinnedge, Robert Schroeder, Adam Snyder, G. Pomeroy, John Johnson, Timothy' Garrigus, Charles Thompson, James Palmer, S. N. Champlin, James M. Collester, Thomas B. Owen, Pleasant Owen, Jcfhn Thompson, Alfred Vinnedge, Asa St. John.

The election in Green township was held at the house of Sidney Williams, and the following is the list of those who voted: S. Williams, Williamson Owen, Isaac Williamson, John A. Boots, William Boots, Edwin Partridge, George Deferd, D. A. Moore, John Scot, Tarlton Caldwell, E. Noe, Jacob Boots,

The election in Center township was held at the court house in Ptymouth. The list of voters is partly gone. The following are all that can be found: Joseph Griffith, Sr., Ephraim Goble, Abner Caldwell, Joel James, Asahel H. Mathews, William Bishop, E. G. Collins, Amzi L. Wheeler, Charles Ousterhout, William G. Pomeroy, Harbert Blakely, Nathan McLaughlin, James S. Milner, James Cummins, William Blakely, Patrick Logan, Timothy Barber, Benjamin Cruzan, John Gibson, David W. Bates, Warren Brewster, Adam Vinnedge, Oliver Rose, Jacob Case, Lyman Griffin, Seth Baily, John Thompson,

But few of those whose names appear above are still living, James O. Parks, of Bourbon; James S. Milner, and William C. Edwards, of Plymouth, and William N. Bailey, now of Florida, are all that are now known to be living.

Tozcnship Histories. - Under this caption will be compiled and written a brief history of the respective townships in Marshall county, as they are now named, numbered and bounded, beginning with

Union Township, No. i, was organized May i, 1838. It was taken from the west part of what was originally Green township. It is six miles wide from east to west, and seven miles long from north to south. It is bounded on the north by West township, on the east by Green township, on the south by Fulton county, and on the west by Stark county.

two were, however, the only ones now known, who were there in that year. In the spring and summer of 1836, in the vicinity of Maxinkuckee lake and farther north and east in the direction of Plymouth, the Voreises, Morrises, Thompsons, McDonalds, Dicksons, Brownlees, Houghtons, Blakel^'s and others arrived and made a permanent settlement. From this on the settlement of this region was rapid.

Except that portion of the township known as the " Burr Oak Flats " and the wet prairies or marshes, the land was thickly timbered and full of undergrowth. Cabins of the roughest of logs were, for many years, built and covered with clapboards " rived" out of oak timber, and were held to their place by " weight-poles " lain on and fastened over the lap of the boards. The chimneys were generally built out of sticks riven out similar to the manner of riving the clapboards, but the sticks were more narrow and thicker than the boards. The cracks between these sticks were daubed with mud, as were also the cracks between the logs that made the walls of the house, after they were properly "chincked" with short blocks of wood of proper size. If it was desirable to have a window, part of a log in the wall was cut out and a rough frame covered with greased paper, would be put in. The furniture, except such articles as had been transported by wagons when the emigrants came, was of the most primitive workmanship. At this time there were no white people nearer than the Michigan road, and few of these. The Indians outnumbered the whites two to one, and it was uncertain at that time whether or not the treaty entered into between them and the government, by which they w(^e to leave the country, could be carried out. The average Indian that inhabited this region could hardly be made to see the justice of being forced to leave his hunting grounds for the accommodation of what he looked upon as being a few white adventurers, and, until they were driven away, two years later, they were imaginary terror of timid men and women and children, generally. They remained peaceable, however, and the anticipations of danger were never, in a single instance, realized, and no disturbances of any kind ever occurred.

There were no regularly laid out roads, nor any bridges, in those days, and he who did the. milling for the neighborhood often " blazed his way as he went," and if he succeeded in making the trip to Logansport or to Delphi (the nearest grist-mill) and returned in two weeks he was applauded as having accomplished a great feat. Sometimes he would break his wagon, sometimes get "stuck" in a mud hole and have to unload - pry and pull out, or wait until some fellow traveler in distress would come along and "double teams" with him, " put his shoulder to the wheel" and lift him up and out of his present troubles. In case of delay the rations would run short and those dependent upon his return would have to crack corn with such appliances as were at hand, live on lye hominy and such wild game as the hunters of the neighborhood could procure.

If the tire was not properly " covered up " and went out at night, which was not an infrequent occurrence, then the fleetest boy in the family would be stirred out of bed and sent on the " double quick " to the nearest neighbor for a " chunk" of fire, or a sun glass, or a jackknife and a piece of "punk " attached to a flint, had to be brought into requisition. In those days these articles were considered essential in every well regulated family, for there were no friction matches in those da^^s; nor did they enjoy the luxury of the kinds of tea, coffee, sugar, molasses, etc., that are in general use now-a-days, but the only tea that could be afforded was made of spice wood or sassafras roots - the coffee of roasted rye and all the sugar and molasses was made from the sugar trees that were quite plentiful .in many parts of the timbered lands. There were no churches then, no schoolhouses, no country stores, no shoe shops, no blacksmith shops, no wagon shops, in fact nothing that the people needed. Homespun flax pants and shirts of a little finer material, the sleeves and collars being fastened with a needle and thread, a homemade straw hat, and boots or shoes of an inferior quality, generally badly worn, constituted the average Sunday outfit for many years after the organization of the township. The habit our mothers had of fastening our sleeves and collars with needle and thread induced every boy of average tact to have his needle and thread properly secreted near his usual swimming place. By the aid of these and the proper drying of your hair when you had come out the " last time," you could go home and face the " frowning world," or your suspecting and inquisitive mother. The country was full of swamps and wet places, and the malaria that arose therefrom in the spring and summer was sufticient to prostrate more than half the population annually. Then there were no driven wells and but few wells that were dug deep enough to get good or pure water, and the water used from surface springs and shallow wells undoubtedly added much to the sickness of the early settlers of this entire region. Such a time as was experienced with bilious fever, ague and all other bilious diseases will doubtless never again aftlict any people on " God's footstool." The proper medical remedies could not be prescribed, and many died for want of care and medical attention.

Dr. Thomas Logan, who came with those who arrived in 1836, was the first doctor who practiced the profession in this region. He rode on horse-back, far and near, often " sleeping in the saddle " from overwork and want of sleep, but was, at times, unable to attend to half the calls made upon him. He saved manj' lives and did much to alleviate the suffering that was everywhere prevalent. Later on, Drs. Crum, Hard, Bennett and White came and practiced the " healing art" in the county generally, for many years. But these doctors, too, had to suc- .cumb to the fell destroyer, and all have since passed away.

The first school-house, or rather the first house where school was taught, was located nearly exactly in the center of the southwest quarter of section ii, in township 32, north of range i This tract of land was then owned and occupied byX^in- Brownlee, later by Jeremiah Mosher, and at this writing by Elsworth Thompson, a grandson and heir of Mr. Mosher, Mr. Mosher having died several years ago, on the farm. The school was taught by Thomas McDonald in the winter of 1836-37. He taught during the day, and at night, by the light of a " turnip" lamp, mended and made boots and shoes for his family and his neighbors. This school was afterward taught by "Uncle" Ed. Thompson, and then a new " hewed log" school-house was built about eighty rods east of the old or hrst one. The new one was a pretentious building, being of hewn logs, an extra "puncheon " floor, two long windows - one in the south and the other in the north side - made by cutting out a log and fastening in greased paper, the seats were benches made by boring holes in split and hewn slabs of wood, with long and short legs in them, to suit the size of the "scholars," and in the east end there was a brick chimney and fire place, made from the first kiln of brick -ever burnt in the county. The bricks were made by the Dickson brothers - Elias B., John B., Bayless L. and Hugh B. Dickson, and the chimney and fire place were built by "Uncle Sam. McDonald." All of the last named parties have passed away except Hugh B. Dickson, who, at the age of " three score and ten," is still hale and hearty - "walks as straight as an Injun," and bids fair to live yet many years to run a very successful business he has engaged in, in Indianapolis, within the last three years. In this new school-house, schools were taught by Theophilus Jones, Hugh B.Dickson, Lois H. Leland, James M. Wickizer and Hugh Brownlee, all of whom are still living except Theophilus Jones, who died some forty years ago.

Among the first religious services in the township were those held at the house of Grandfather William Thompson, who conducted the services and preached the gospel to the original sinners in that neighborhood, " without money and without price." Uncle Henry Logan and Grandfather Voreis, also preached there and at other places in the vicinity.

The petitioners for the organization of the township were: Vincent Brownlee, William Thompson, John A. Shirley, Lewis Thompson, John (B.) Dickson, William Hornady, John AI. Morris, James Houghton, Elihu Morris, D. C. Hults, Thomas Mc-

Donald, John Morris, John H. Voreis, Piatt B. Dickson, Elias Dickson, John McDonald, Eleazer Thompson. No change has been made in this township, as to its boundary lines, since its organization.

The following notice appeared in the Marshall County Republican of February 15, 1858, and indicates that the people of this part of the county were alive, even at that early date, to the importance of preserving for future generations the early history of the county:

"Notice - ist. That a meeting will be held at the schoolhouse in Union Town on the evening of March 4, 185S, to take into consideration the propriety of forming a society to be known as the "Antiquarian and Historical society," for the purpose of collecting as many of the circumstances and incidents relative to the settlement of this region of country from the first settlement by the white man to the present time, that it may be read by posterity, which we believe will be of great interest.

Who the movers in the matter were, or whether the organization was effected, nothing can be ascertained. Bayless L. Dickson, who was founder of Union Town, and one of the earliest settlers in that region, was, probably, at the head of it. Isaac N. Morris, who was something of a historian and a great reader, and who lived near by, was, undoubtedly of those who were interested in preserving the history of that locality, but these early pioneers, and many others who resided here then, have passed away, leaving no record to perpetuate the history they helped to make.

Early Settlers. - Among the early settlers, those who came prior to the year 1840, are the following: Jacob Bickel, Vincent Brownlee, Amos Brown, Joseph Conklin, Elias B. Dickson, Piatt B. Dickson, Hugh B. Dickson, Bayless L. Dickson, John B. Dickson, George Francis, Daniel C. Hults, Joseph L. Hults, Uriah S. Hults, James Houghton, Emery Hallet, George Jessup, Theophilus Jones, Noah S. Lawson, George C. Lawson, John Lindsey, William F. Lewis, James Logan, Ephraim Moore, Levi Moore, Elihu Morris, Samuel McDonald, Thomas McDonald, fames Moore, David C. Morris, William McMillen, Ransom H. Norris, George M. Osborne, Tivis Porter, Robert S Piper, Daniel Romig, John A. Shirle}', Samuel Shirley', Reuben P". Shirley, George S. Stone, Eleazer Thompson, William Thompson, William E. Thompson, Lewis Thompson, John Thompson, John H. Voreis, Abraham Voreis, David R. Voreis, Ezra Willard, George W. Wilson. Of these, all have passed away, except Hugh B. Dickson, who resides in Indianapolis; George C. Lawson, who was recently known to be living in Missouri; Reuben F. Shirley, near Sterling, 111.; William E. Thompson, near Lincoln, Neb., and

The first cemetery in this township was on the land owned by Samuel McDonald, afterward for many years, by Alfred Bucklew and at this time by Harvey Thornburg, and is situated about three-fourths of a mile southwest from Rutland, a station and postoffice on the " Nickel Plate" railroad. A large number of those who came, in an early day, are there buried, and as the years go by, those who fall by the waj^side, are laid there, and this "silent city of the dead" is now one of the largest in the county, outside of the city of Plymouth and the towns.

Lake Maxinkuckee and its beautiful surroundings, its flowing wells and other peculiarities, makes Union township the most noted and interesting township, undoubtedly, in the county. This is evidenced by the fact that the state geologist thought it of sufficient importance to incorporate in his report for the years 1885-86, the following concerning the lake, its surroundings, etc.:

Maxinkjtckcc* - " In many respects this is the most beautiful of the multitude of small lakes with which northern and northeastern Indiana are studded. Its shores are high, beautifully rounded, and clothed with the native forest. The waters are clear and cold. Hundreds of springs flow out from the banks, and many more rise from the bottom of the lake. Very few weeds grow in the water, and there is far less of moss and peaty formation than is common to our Indiana lakes. Here, to a large extent, sand gives place to gravel, and the beach is firm and clean Though it is one of the deepest of our small lakes, it scarcely merits the name of "bottomless," given it by many of the people who reside on its shores and allow their imagination to fill the blue depths with wonders.

"We were gravely told by one that every attempt to find bottom was a failure; by another that he knew that the water was more than 300 feet deep, and by another that he had seen 180 feet of line let down only 100 yards off shore and no bottom was found. When we informed them that we did not expect to find any water 100 feet deep they smiled contemptuousl}'.

" The result of our soundings gave seventy-six feet as the maximum depth. This was found at a point almost in the center of the lake, being very slightly to the west of the middle on an east and west line drawn through Rochester Point and a little to the north of that line. There is, however, a large area of this deep water, perhaps 1,000 acres, which will average a depth of fifty feet. The bottom of the lake is very compact bowlder clay, cov- -ered in places with gravel, at others with sand, and at a few places, notably along the northwest shore, with heavy black muck. In many places a deposit of marl was found. A cross section taken by a line of soundings from Rochester Point on the west shore, in a direction about thirty degrees north of east, to West Point on the east shore, gave the following depths: 6 feet, 7 feet, 34 feet, 72 feet, 68 feet, 66 feet, 76 feet, 62 feet, 60 feet, 41 feet, 31 feet, 17 feet. These soundings were taken at intervals of about 120 yards. The lake abounds in excellent fish. The big-mouthed black bass {Microptcros salinoidcs) was at one time very plentiful, but has either been too largely fished out or has become so wary that only the skilled and patient fisherman can succeed in sticking him with his hook. The perch are very abundant, and fine strings of croppies are taken early in the spring. The fish are now being protected from the seine, the net and spear, and it is hoped that the lake may again become as noted for fine fish as it was a dozen years ago.

"The springs which feed Maxinkuckee are very abundant, not only from the shores, but they may be seen in the clear water at a depth of ten feet gushing up from the bottom, and from the deepest parts of the lake rise columns of cold water, chilling the bather like an ice bath. These springs suggested the probability of obtaining successful flowing wells, and now so many have been found that all along the east shore one can scarcely get beyond the sound of the spouting waters. The water from these wells is ver}^ clear and cold, and more or less ferruginous, a few of the wells being so highly impregnated with iron as to render the water slightly unpleasant to the taste until one gets used to it.

" Mr. Vajen dug a well several years ago, which, on reaching a depth of eight feet, began to flow a milk-white water of about the consistency of cream, and which deposited a silicious, limelike marl, and whitened the water of the lake for a distance of thirty feet from the water's edge. In the back part of Mr. Vajen's lot was a low, wet spot, which began to sink when the well began to flow, and continued to sink until the white flow changed to clear, pure water. Mr. Vajen has utilized the pressure of water from his well, the stream running a ram which supplies his premises with water, and also furnishes the power which revolves the beautiful colored light at the landing pier before his gate. High upon the hill beside the Plymouth road, about 100 yards from the lake, and fully thirty feet above it, gushes out the ' Original Spring,' as it is known, which pointed the index finger toward the first flowing well. This spring pour^- out a four-inch stream, and the boring of wells has never diminished the flow."

"Uniontown is pleasantly situated in the southwest quarter of section 16, town 32, range i east. It is laid out in such a manner that it presents to the eye a view of Lake Maxinkuckee, and is surrounded with as good a country as can be found in northern Indiana. It has the advantage of three state and two countyroads running through it. The lots are all 66 feet in width by 82 >^ in breadth. The streets are all 66 feet in width and the alleys are i6><. Bavles Dickson, Proprietor.

Be it remembered that on the 28th day of June in the year eighteen hundred and forty-four, personally came before me the undersigned, recorder within and for said count}-, Bayles L. Dickson, known to me to be the person who executed the within town plat and acknowledged that he did sign, seal and give the same as his free and voluntary act for the purposes within mentioned.

"Uniontown is situated in the 'S. E.' (should be S. W.) corner of section 16, T. 32 North, Range i East, Marshall County, Indiana, the S. E. (S. W.) corner of said section is the commencing point of this town plat, the streets are all of a width, being 66 feet, the alleys is 16H feet, the lots are 66 feet in front and 99 feet back. So planned, by the original survey, all lines running North and South bare No ° 10' E., and those that run East and West bare S. 89° E. The magnetic variation at this date is 5° 10' East.

On this 6th day of May, 1857, personally appeared before me Thomas K. Houghton, and acknowledged that the within survey locating and laying off said town of Union was done by his order, and directed for the purpose of locating a town by that name, and as therein specified by the surveyor thereof. That said survey and plat is intended to supply the place of the old survey made by H. B. Pushing, that being inaccurate.

I herewith file for record the annexed plat as an addition to the town of Uniontown, Marshall County, Indiana, known as the Vandalia Addition to said Uniontown. Said addition being laid out of the south forty acres of the West Half of the West Half of Section Sixteen, Township Thirty-two North, Range One East; except Thomas K. Houghton's corrected and amended plat of said Uniontown, also except three acres known as the Bowles Lot, and also except three acres adjoining immediately on the south of said Bowles Lot. Said addition being divided in twenty-four lots, and numbered from one to twciify-four inclusive, also five out lots, and numbered from one to five inclusive. The length and breadth of said lots being indicated by figures on said plat, also the width of all the streets and alleys.

Before me, S. L. McKelvey, a Notary Public in and for said county, this 13th day of Feby., 18S4, Peter Allerding personally appeared and acknowledged the execution of the annexed Plat.

On the 2ist day of December, 1886, the following explanation and acknowledgment were filed for record in the recorder's office of Marshall county:

"I herewith file for record the annexed p^at as an addition to the Vandalia addition to the town of Uniontown, Marshall county, Indiana, known as A. D. Toner's addition to said Vandalia addition to the town of Uniontown aforesaid, said addition being laid out of lots No. 3, 4 and 5 of school subdivision of section 16, township 32, range one (i) east, commencing at _ the northwest corner of said lot No. 3, said additions being divided as shown on plat, in thirteen lots, and numbered from one to thirteen inclusive, and also eleven out lots numbered from one to eleven inclusive. The length and breadth of said lots being indicated by figures on said plat; also the width of all streets and alleys are so indicated, except from this plat out lots No. 2, 7, 8 10 and 1 1.

On the 20th day of March, 1S90, the following affidavit concerning the correction of Thomas K. Houghton's corrected and amended plat was filed for record in the recorder's office of Marshall county:

"I, J. B. T. Klinger, ex-surveyor in and for Marshall county, state of Indiana, swear upon the request of Thomas K. Houghton, then owner and proprietor of the town of Uniontown, in said county, employed me as county surveyor of said county, April 24th, 1S51, to re-survey and plat said Uniontown in setting out the location. I made a clerical error locating in the southeast corner of section No. 16, township 32 north, range i east, when it should read southwest corner of said section No. 16, township 32 north, range i east, and the same was part of record, the error being overlooked, further the deponent sayeth not.

Since Maxinkuckee lake has become such a famous summer resort and the \'andalia railroad has been completed, Uniontown, now called Marmont, has grown greatly in wealth and importance, as is evidenced by the laying out of the above named additions thereto; and, at this writing, August i, 1890, the preliminary papers are being circulated to have it declared an incorporated t;own, and this will probably be done at the approaching September term of commissioners' court.

Maxinkuckee is a small village one-half mile east of the east central part of the lake, but has never been regularly laid out as a town, as it should have been, but, like Uniontown, as the merits of the lake as a summer resort have become better known, it is growing into more importance, but owing to the lay of the country and the location of the public highways it will never rival Uniontown, at least not until it gets a railroad, but should the " east side " get one, what is now rough, rugged and inconvenient would at once become romantic and desirable and the village would move down to the lake in a hurry.

Burr Oak Station and Addition. - On the 15th day of December, 1882, the following description of the situation or location of Burr Oak station, was filed, together with the plat of said Burr Oak station, in the recorder's office of Marshall county, for record: range one (i) east, commencing twelve hundred and fifty-five (1,255) feet south of north quarter section corner of section four (4), township thirty-two (32), north of range one (i) east, at the north Hne of right of way of N. Y. C. & St. L. R. R., thence north with center section Hne, five hundred and seventeen (517) feet, thence west at right angles with center section line, three hundred and thirty-two (332) feet, thence south parallel with center section line four hundred and twenty-two (422) feet, thence east, parallel with north line three hundred and two (302) feet, thence south " ninety" three (93) feet to north line of right of way of railroad, thence southeastwardly with said line thirty (30) feet to place of beginning.

Before me, the undersigned, a justice of the peace, in and for said county, this loth day of November, 1S82, Michael Burn acknowledged the execution of the plat.

J. W. Houghton, J. P. The above named plat referred to contains eighteen (18) lots, being numbered from i to 18 consecutively. The streets are fifty feet and the alleys twelve feet wide, and the lots are forty feet wide by 120 feet in length.

On the 8th day of October, 18S5, Franklin Overmeyer filed the plat of Overmeyer's addition to Burr Oak station, properly described and acknowledged. This addition lies immediately east of the original plat of Burr Oak station and contains lots numbering from one to eight inclusive, the lots being the same size as those in the original plat. This village is nearly in the center of what is known as the " Burr Oak Flats," which is as beautiful and productive a region " as the sun e'er shone on."

Daiitc. - The following is the description of Dante, which was filed in the recorder's ofiice November ist, 1S83, by John Listenberger, proprietor:

" Dante is situated on west line of section number two (2), township thirty-two (32), north of range one (i) east, in the southwest corner of the northwest quarter of said section, and is bounded as follows: Commencing at a point 140 ft. north of the center of the track of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis railway, where it crosses the west line of said section No. 2, township 32, range i east, thence north along said section line 630 feet, thence east at right angles with said section line 480 ft., thence south parallel with said west section line until it intersects the north line of the right of way of the " Y" or switch connecting the Terre Haute & Logansport R. R. with the N. Y., C. &

St. Louis R. R., thence southwesterly along the north line of the right of way of said " Y" or switch until it intersects with said west section line, thence north along said line to place of beginning."

The plat contains lots numbering from one to twenty-four. They are sixty feet wide by 120 in length. The streets are sixty and the alleys fifteen feet wide. Lots one, seventeen and eighteen are fractional where they join on the railroad ground north of the " Y."

The station and postoffice are called Hibbard by the railroad and the postal service. These same corners used to be called " Helltown," and when laid out the village was named in honor of Dante, who had such vivid dreams or visions of the infernal regions, but now, by common consent of the more enlightened and civilized citizens, the less suggestive name of " Hibbard" is adopted by all. Although situated at the junction of the two railroads, owing to the uninviting surroundings, and the nearness of other trading places more convenient and inviting, it will undoubtedly never amount to much in the way of business. Center Toiviiship No. 2. - Almost everything in relation to Center township, so far as its organization, name and numbering is concerned, has been already given in this chapter. When it was first organized, which was at the first meeting of the board of commissioners after the organization of the county began, held and continued on the 20th day of July, 1836, Center township embraced what is now Bourbon and West townships. Some time afterward, as will be seen by reference to the history of these townships, seven miles were taken off the east end of Center and called Bourbon township, and still later on, six miles were taken off the west end of what was then Center, and was called West township. This left Center township eight miles east and west by seven miles north and south. A few years after, on petition of citizens, all of sections 19 and 20, in township 34, north of range 3 east, and the south half of sections 23 and 24, in township 34, north of range 2 east, were added to the northeastern portion of Center township and remains so attached at this writing. This makes the township contain fifty-nine square miles. The eastern three-fourths of the township was originall}' heavily timbered and is of the richest and best of soil, the western portion being barrens, but most of the land being very productive and most desirable for farming: The county seat was located in the northwestern portion of the township at the date of the organization of the county, and hence, much that pertains to the county in general, pertains also to Center township. In beginning the history of Center township it is fitting that a list should be given of the early settlers of Center township.

Mrs. Prudy Elliot has, perhaps, lived in this township longer than any other person now here. She became a resident of Plymouth, wath her father. Grove Pomeroy, in 1834, and has resided here, with the exception of a short time, on her father's farm, three miles west of Plymouth, ever since. She attended one term of school, taught in the old court house in 1837. Time has dealt gently with her and she is yet an honored citizen of our city. Joseph Evans is another resident still remaining who came in 1835-36.

William C. Edwards, Ahijah Hawley, Charles Palmer, Johnson Brownlee, N. S. Woodward, Thomas K. Houghton, David How, David L. Gibson, Peter Gibson, Joseph Westevelt and perhaps a few others whose names are not now recalled, who came in 1836, and a few 3-ears later, are still here.

Cemeteries. - The first cemetery in this township was probably what is known as the " Stringer grave-yard," although its real name now is Lake cemetery. It is northeast of the present residence of David How, a mile and a half southwest of Plymouth. A large number of the early settlers have been interred there and it is still generally used as a burial ground for their posterity and for those who came in later days. Aside from the fact that Center township contains the county seat and the public buildings of the county, it does not excel several of the other townships of the count}' in importance, and is only a fair sample of the land throughout the county.

Pearsonvillc, mnc Iixuncooe/. - On the 2Qth day of December, 1854, Ezra G. Pearson, platted the village of Pearsonville and acknowledged the execution of the same. Accompanying said plat was the following description of the location of said village:

" This indenture witnesseth that Ezra G. Pearson, being desirous to lay off a town, has got the same surveyed, laid off and does give the same the name of Pearsonville, bounded as follows: Commencing at the north edge of the Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, at the north and south open line, 32 rods, 19 links south of the half mile stake on the north side of section number seventeen (171 in township number thirty-three (33), north of range number three (3) east, thence north on said open line 297 feet, thence north 72 degrees, 23 minutes west, 135 feet, thence south 17 degrees, 37 minutes, 60 feet, thence north 72 degrees, 23 minutes west, 132 feet, thence south 17 degrees, 2)7 minutes west, iio feet, thence north 72 degrees, 23 minutes west, 182 feet, thence north 17 degrees, 37 minutes east, 170 feet, thence north 72 degrees, 23 minutes west, 169 feet, thence south 297 feet, thence south 72 degrees, 23 minutes east, on the north line of said railroad 61S feet, to the place of beginning, situated in the county of Marshall and state of Indiana."

In the 3'ear 1859 the name of the village was changed to Ironwood. There have been eleven additions laid out and platted, but they are so small that space cannot be given them in detail here. The village used to be quite a lively one, especially in the lumbering business, but now that the lumber has nearly all been cut off, it is quite quiet and it is evident that it has seen its best days, yet it will continue to always be a convenient trading place in the center of one of the best farming districts in the county. There are now two good dry goods, grocery and notion stores, a good grist-mill, a postoffice, a drug store and other conveniences for country trade.

North Salon. - North Salem was a small village consisting of twelve lots laid out in the year 185 1, by Barrack Plummer, Basil Roberts and A. G. Pumphrey. Shortly after it was platted a very large and elegant church, for those daj^s was built, but it burned down in a few years and has never been rebuilt, and nearly the entire plat has been vacated.

Grccii Towns/u'p A''o. j. - Green was one of the original townships of the county. When first organized it embraced what is now Union, Green, Walnut and Tippecanoe townships, being seven miles in width and twenty-one miles in length. It has been eliminated by cutting off the three townships from its original dimensions, so that it is now but seven miles in length north and south, and about five miles in width east and west. There is no village within the limits of the township, and the matter for historical reference is very limited. Originally, the township was sparsel}' settled, and but little occurred out of the usual routine of pioneer life. Ewell Kendall was the first inspector of elections in this township, and the first election was held May 28, 1836, at the house of Sidney Williams. June 15, 1836, the following orders were made by the board of commissioners:

That Fielding Bowles be allowed fifty cents for making ballot-box for Green township; that Abner Caldwell and John Triner be appointed constables of Green township for the year 1836; that William Owens and John A. Boots be appointed fence viewers in Green township for the present year; that William Johnson and Samuel Pattison be appointed overseers of the poor in Green township for the present year; at the September term, 1S36, of the commissioners' court, it was ordered that John Compton be appointed constable in Green township to fill the vacancy of Abner Caldwell, former constable, who is now elected sheriff of'said county; at the May term of the court, the following petition was presented to the board: " We, the undersigned, commissioners of Green township, in said county, certify that Williamson Owens, the present applicant for a tavern license in said township, is a man of good moral character, and that it would be for the benefit and convenience of travelers, and conducive to the public good if such tavern should be opened, and we believe it is the bona fide intention of said Owens to keep a tavern for the accommodation of travelers. "Abner Caldwell, John Williamson, Frederick Dysinger, Elias Triner, William Boots, Sidney Williams, James W. Moore, Ewell Kendall, Samuel B. Patterson, Fielding Bowles, Jacob Boots, A. W. Roberts, John A. Boots, William Johnson, Thomas J. Head, George Owens, A. B. Tinder, Isaac Williamson, John Compton, Edmund Noe, John D. Fergeson, J. McDaniel, Edwin Owens, Josiah Taylor." The license was granted, but where the tavern was located is not exactly known; probably on the Michigan road, near the town of Argos.

lJ\iIJ Creek. - This place is situated on a small stream called Wolf creek, in the northwest corner of the township. It contains a grist-mill, a notion store and postof^ce. The mill was erected by Robert C. Blivin prior to 1S50, who, during a rise in the creek, on the 28th day of February, 1850, in attempting to repair the dam, lost his footing and was drowned. The mill passed into the hands of the Zehner family, and is at present owned by M. B. Zehner. The country immediately surrounding this place was settled in a verj' early da}' by those who came from the southern part of the state. John Anderson, who settled on a piece of land a short distance to the northward, in 1835, was probably the first. Uncles Henry and Thomas Logan are also located near here. Then there were James Voreis, Abraham Voreis, John Loudon, Thomas K. Clifton and perhaps a few others, who located near by not long afterward. A short distance north was at that time an Indian camping ground, and tradition has it that at one time a battle was fought there between some of the hostile tribes, but there is no authentic information in regard to it.

Mrs. Kendall, wife of Ewell Kendall, of this township, died April 2Q, 1S55, aged nearly one hundred. She had been an invalid from a stroke of paralj'sis for a number of years prior to her death. Some time before her death occurred, three robbers entered the house of these old people and carried off all the money and valuables they could find about the premises. Mr. Kendall died a few years later. He was a very eccentric man.

Bourbon Township No. 4. - This township was organized January 6, 1S40. Prior to that time, it was a part of Center township. In addition to the territory now embraced within its boundaries, it contained what is now Tippecanoe township. Its dimensions at that time were seven miles wide by fourteen in length. March 9, 1S42, it was divided in the center east and west, and the southern half took the name of Tippecanoe township. Bourbon township is now seven miles square, and contains about 31,460 acres of land, of which probably 20,000 acres are under cultivation. The petitioners for the organization of Bourbon township were James O. Parks, Grayson H. Parks, John F. Parks, Edward R. Parks, Thomas H. McKey, Peter Upsell, W. H. Rockhill, Israel Beeber, William Taylor, John Greer, William Elder, John Henry, A. H. Buckman, Lyman Foote, Samuel Taylor, John F. Dukes, John Fuller, James Taylor, William Taylor, Jr., George Taylor and Samuel Rockhill.

Prior to the completion of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, in 1S56, which passes diagonally through the southern portion of the township, the land was mostly covered with a thick growth of oak, poplar, walnut and other timber. Upon the completion of the railroad, saw-mills sprang up all over the territory, and, until the last few years, the amount of lumber manufactured and shipped from that section was something marvelous. Over one thousand car loads were shipped each year in 1864, 1S65, 1866 and 1S67, and half that many for several years before and since that time. The slaughter of the timber during these years was like the mowing down of an army in a terrific battle. But, as the timber disappeared, farms were opened, houses and barns were erected, and the places that a few years 4-B.

ago were a wildnerness of timber and undergrowth are now some of the finest cultivated fields in the country. There is no better farming land anywhere than is found in this township. The growth of all kinds of grain, vegetables and fruit is fully, if not more, than the average. This township stands first in blooded stock of all kinds, and each 3'ear shows marked improvements.

The north and south branches of Yellow river unite in the northwest corner of the township and form Yellow river proper. In the "bottoms" of the south branch, a distance of about two miles is low, flat land, and, during wet seasons, the land in this region Is overflowed and rendered unfit for farming purposes. It is valuable for meadow and grazing purposes, and, with the system of ditches and underdraining recently inaugurated, this portion of the township is destined to become as valuable as any other portion of it.

In the township, educational interests are well provided for. It has eighteen public school buildings - the largest number of any township in the county except Center. Three of the buildings are brick, and the remainder frame. Their value is stated to be $4,400, and the value of school apparatus, etc., $400 - a total of $4,800.

Tippecanoe Towns/iip A'^o.fi. - Tippecanoe township was organized March q, 1S42, and was taken off the south part of what was then Bourbon township, and is seven miles long north and south, by five miles east and west, and lies in the southeast corner of the county. The petitioners for the organization of the township were A. H. Buckman, Thomas Irwin, William Wagner, Israel Baker, William Sprout, William H. Rockhill, Samuel Taylor, Joseph Taylor, William Taj^lor, George Taylor, Samuel Rockhill, I. H. Clearer, T. H. McKey, James Turner, Jacob Raber, G. H. and J. O. Parks, W^illiam Elder, Robert Milleny, H. Blakely, Solomon Linn, John Greer, Moses Greer, I. Reed, A. J. Cruzan. The petition was presented to the board of commissioners by Andrew J. Cruzan, on behalf of himself and the other petitioners.

The firstsettlers of Tippecanoe township were A. H. Buckman and family, and a man by the name of James Welch and wife, who settled there in 1838. Welch committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor, and was buried on what is now the farm of A. D. Senour, and was the first white person buried in the township.

James Turner was one of the earliest and most prominent citizens of the township. He died some years since after having amassed quite a competency. He was a most highly esteemed citizen. The first school was taught in the summer of 1842, at what is now school-house No. 3, by Esther Birney, who taught there three successive terms. Among prominent early settlers were Thomas H. McKey, Samuel R. Koons, William Sprout, Thomas Ivens, Samuel Rockhill and Levi Holloway, none of whom now remam. The Pottawattomie chief, Benack, and many of his tribe, lived at this time on the banks of the Tippecanoe river, a short distance above Tippecanoe town, and continued to reside there until 1853-54, but have not now a representative in the township.

Township Trustees. - It has been impossible to obtain a correct list of those who have served as trustees since the organization of the township. On the books and various instruments in the hands of the present trustees are found the following names as trustees in the early history of the township: A. H. Buckman, James Turner, C. Sarber, Thomas Grippis, David Jordan, Clayton Grant. Since the change of the law authorizing the election of only one trustee in each township, the following have served in the order named: Lewis Erwin, David James, James Turner, Daniel R. Wood, Calvin R. Wood, Daniel R. Bearss, Patrick S. Mulligan, Simeon Blue, William Yaiser, Robert Erwin and M. Dilley, the present incumbent.

Flouring and U^w/cn Mills. - "Tippecanoe river, which meanders through this township, entering it on the eastern boundary, about the middle, running toward the center and veering off to the south, furnishes an excellent water-power at Tippecanoe town for milling purposes. The dam across the river at this point was originally built, it is said, by the original proprietors of the town. The flouring mill now in operation was built by N. B. and P. S. Alleman, of Plymouth, who operated it until within a few j^ears past. During the war, the Messrs. Alleman, erected a woolen factory close by, which they operated in connection with others until 1S78, when they disposed of it to J. F. Van Valkenburg, of Plymouth. On the night of October 25, 1878, the woolen mills were fired by an incendiary, and, before assistance could reach them, were entirely destroyed. An attempt was made to set fire to the grist-mill the same night, but a watchman being in the mill, the attempt was unsuccessful. Detectives were put on track of the "fire fiend," and in course of time a young man in the neighborhood was arested on suspicion of having committed the deed. He was incarcerated in the county jail, and soon after gave intimation of an intention to confess his guilt, and turn state's evidence against other parties, who, he said, were implicated. Before the meeting of the grand jury, however, he succeeded in making his escape from the jail. He concealed himself for some time, but finally concluded to return and give himself up to the authorities. This he did, and afterward appeared before the grand jury and confessed that he fired the propertj-, describing minutely how the act was accomplished. He also implicated a large number of old and respectable citizens of the neighborhood as being particcps crimmis in the transaction. He alleged that the object sought to be attained was the removal of the mill dam, which it was averred overflowed a large section of countr}-, produced stagnant water, causing malaria, resulting in sickness and death. He stated that meetings of those in the neighborhood affected by the dam had been held at various times, at which the question was discussed as to the most expeditious and safest wa}' to get rid of what they termed an "intolerable nuisance." According to his statement, it was finally determined that if the mills were out of the wa3% the dam would soon follow. He was selected, he stated, to do the work, the others agreeing to save him from arrest and punishment. Several of the parties implicated were jointl}' indicted with him, and after many vexatious dela3's, the cases came on for trial. i\stoall the parties but one, a nolle-proscqiii was entered, and the case went to trial as to the remaining party, mainly on the evidence of the party who had confessed that he had been guilty of the burning. The trial lasted several days, creating much excitement and ill-feeling among neighbors and parties interested, and finally resulted in the jury failing to agree. The venue of the case was changed to another county, where it is still pending. The names of the parties to this unfortunate transaction are omitted for reasons which will be apparent to the reader."

The above paragraph is taken from the McDonald history of -of the county, written ten 3'ears ago, as an interesting portion of the history of this township, but since that time the old flouring mill has run entirely down - has gotten into litigation - has been sold for taxes, and there are as many as three different parties claiming to be the legal owners of the property. Within the past few years the Nickel Plate railroad has been located through the township and a station laid off about three-fourths of a mile -south of old Tippecanoe town, which was first called Tippecanoe Town Station, but is now named Ilion, has almost entirely taken the trade from the old place and the last dry-goods, grocery and notion store in the place owned by Yaiser & Alleman, has recently been moved to Ilion, and Old Tippecanoe Town, as far as business is concerned, is a thing of the past. The mill and all the other machinery that was formerly run bj' the water power at the old town having been destroyed or permitted to run down to a state of worthlessness, it seems that the dam should now be torn away, as it has been a great " bone of contention " among the good citizens of the community and is a great " eye-sore " to the township.

river in this township, the farmers are reclaiming a large amount of their lands by drainage and their public roads are beingopened and established on proper and permanent routes. These things taken in connection with the location of the railroad referred to, has given Tippecanoe township a "boom "that has " come to stay."

Tippecanoe Town is located on the Tippecanoe river in the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section i8, township 32, north of range 4 east, which is very nearly the center of the township north and south, and one mile west of the center east and west. The original proprietors of the place were Joseph Hall, Daniel C.Martin and Joseph Serls. The town was platted and laid off into thirty lots December 1 2, 1850. As stated above. Old Tippecanoe Town's glory has faded and it is a village of the past. This is evidenced by the fact that even P. S. (Schuyl) Alleman has with his partner in business, Mr. William Yaiser, moved their store across the river to the now village of Ilion.

Tippecanoe Town Station, now Ilion, is located in the west central part of section 19, township 32, north of range 4 east., W. " Wilson " Burkett, John Kramer, John T. Hardesty, Elizabeth Lewallen and E. J. Martindale, were the original proprietors and the plat was subscribed and sworn to P'ebruary 8, 18S2. The lots numbered from one to sixty-two, and on the first of November, 18S2, John Kramer, John T. Hardest}^ and David Lewalien laid off and caused to be platted an addition to the original town of Tippecanoe Station, the lots in the addition numbering from sixty-three to ninety, inclusive. Both the original plat and the addition were laid off by J. M. Klinger, then county surveyor.

At the December term, 1886, of the board of commissioners^ on the petition of G. W. Roberts and others, the name of " Tippecanoe Town Station "was changed to Ilion, to the great relief and convenience of " all parties concerned," and yet, and although the name of the place has been changed and shortened, it will, in fact, be the village of Tippecanoe township for probably all time to come.

German Tozvnsliip was organized May nth, 1838, in its present form, and the following is the order of the board of commissioners, made and spread of record, concerning the organization, bounding and naming of said township: