Marshall County, Indiana - The whole text, 1908 (part 12 of 12)

Lx. The Old Forge

At the lower end of Twin Lakes, shortly after the organization of the county, a forge was erected for the purpose of smelting and "forging"' bog iron ore, of which there was an abundance in the region of country round about. In the beginning it was planned and operated by Charles Crocker, of Mishawaka, who afterwards associated with him French Fisher, of the same place. Timothy Barber had previously built a grist mill at that place, and it was thought by Mr. Crocker and Mr. Barber that there was a great future for "'Sligo," the euphonious name they gave to the embryo city. But the country was sparsely settled at that time, and the grist mill failed to do business beyond the making of a living for the proprietor, and the forge failed to produce the amount of iron ore expected, and after paying for its '"forging" and hauling a long distance to market there wasn't much left for the proprietors. The "forge" was kept going until gold was discovered in California; shortly afterwards Air. Crocker disposed of his interest in the business and about 1850 went overland to California, where, before he died many years ago, he became immensely wealthy, leaving an estate that ran up into the millions. A few years ago, LeRoy Armstrong, who had lived in that region in his boyhood days, visited the old "forge," and wrote his impressions of it to a Chicago paper, from which the following is taken :

"The forge provided nearly the only means of earning money. Felling trees, clearing forest land, planting, tending, and harvesting the scanty crops occupied much of the pioneer's time, and after it was done there was the barest living. But now and then in the dull season they could prepare charcoal or haul it to the forge ; they could mine the ore or haul it to the forge, or they could employ their teams and their time in hauling the iron to the large towns to the north.

"There was a famous axe factory and wagon works of note and excellence, both located at Mishawaka, which city was a leader in the state at that early day, dating its rise and drawing its prosperity from the bog ore found and worked in its vicinity, and to these places the Twin Lakes metal was hauled. People hereaway, Crocker and Fisher among them, hoped and believed they would see a greater city spring up here, and all their efforts were directed to that end. Crocker never made a trip to the north but he spread the news of his works at Sligo and the excellent advantages of the neighborhood. He hoped sometime to see a city on the bluffs above the lake and to be the leading man in that development. Had he remained here and continued his exertions he might have been gratified. But, after carrying on a business under difficulties that would have staggered a weaker man', he caught the California fever and abandoned Indiana for the more promising future in the west.

" 'The old forge, located at the corner of Twin Lakes, gave promise of being a place ofconsiderable importance. Like the famous Duluth, the sky came down at equal distances all around it, and hence it was considered pretty near the center of the universe. Charles Crocker, 1850, was the presiding genius, but the pliyri.viis of fortune failed to bring him the golden fleece, and lie sought the golden shores of the Pacific slope to replenish his depleted exchequer. How well he succeeded is shown bv the fact tliat in 1880 he was assessed for $9,000,000.'

"Jacob Gebhardt," says Mr. Armstrong, "was the hammerman in the old forge. He has loosened the lines of his recollection on recent events to tighten them more and more every day on those of an earlier period. He remembers Crocker well, and states that that man could do more business with a ten-dollar bill than all the rest of the communitv could with $100.

"Gebhardt's duties consisted in part in building up the fire, which was done by laying a base of charcoal, and then erecting a cone of that material mingled with ore. All the ore was kept well to the center. The mass was fired from the base, and the flame was urged to fiercer heat by a current of air from a great bellows, that filled and respired under the impetus of waterpower. Great care was required in the treatment of the work about the time when the metal began to fuse. At exactly the right moment a break was made in the wall of livid coal, and the prisoned metal ran out in shapeless masses on the ground. As it hardened into solidity the hammerman beat it with a sledge until the cinder ran from it in a stream and hardened into grotesque forms. The iron was then grappled with a pair of tongs that swung on a lever, and by slow purchases it was lifted to the anvil where the great trip-hammer was set to work upon it. The trip-hammer was itself run by waterpower from the little race that tapped the dam only a score of feet away. ^Vhen the iron grew too cold for beating, it was returned to the fire, the glowing charcoal was heaped upon it again, and again it was lifted with the utmost difficulty to the anvil. They called it bar iron when all was done, but it was far from uniform in thickness and width, but was cut into lengths for convenient handling, and was then ready for transportation to South Bend and Mishawaka.

"Sometimes as many as forty men were employed about the forge. The work was prosecuted night and day, for Crocker's' energy was tireless. Scores of other farmers were busy digging the ore, some just below the dam, some five miles away ; others were washing it free from soil in the creeks or lake, and still others hauled it to the fire. Men were hired from far and near to make the long trip to the foundries and these brought back with them whatever Crocker found he could sell at Twin Lakes. He owned the store there and made something of a profit on his goods. It seems to be the verdict of good judges that bog ore, instead of making an inferior iron, makes the best. It was of a very compact and tenacious nature. Axes and wagon tires were the supreme test, and no metal has ever been put into them which has lasted so well.

"Crocker was just getting ready for his California trip in 1849, when the forge burned down. He was in Mishawaka at the time, and had completed a deal by which the forge passed to other parties. When the news of his misfortune reached him, he hurried to Twin Lakes and within ten days, hampered as he was by inadequate appliances, had the forge ready for work. But the disaster only delayed his departure one year. Early in 1850 he sold out and got ready to join the stream of fortune hunters, few of whom gave so little promise of success as did he. When he had settled up all his business he remarked to Gebhardt, the hammerman, that he was worth more than he thought.

"And that was all he took with him out of Indiana. No, not quite all. He had fallen in love with an excellent girl at Mishawaka, the daughter of a certain druggist. ,The young lady's father declined to receive Crocker's suit until such time as he was worth $5,000.

"Crocker came back with that much gold in just one year, and married the girl of his choice. She went with him through the burdens and blessings of those many years, and he died with a fortune too large to count."

Lxi. The Old Time Fiddlers

In the beginning of the formation of society in Marshall county, there was nothing that was more conducive to enjoyment and to cement the young people together in the bonds of good fellowship than the "old time fiddlers" who made the music for the "Hoe Downs" that were so popular during the formative society period and for a number of years afterwards. Amusements of some kind were an absolute necessity, and during the winter season, when the few amusements of the summer had passed away, the boys and girls determined that they would have an occasional dance - "hoe downs" they were called - to relieve the monotony of the long and dreary winters. The first and most important thing to do was to procure the services of a fiddler - not a violinist, because a violinist was considered entirely too "high toned" for the "back-woods dances" in those days. Some of the younger men who came with their parents and others for the purpose of making this part of the country their home had taken time by the forelock and had purchased fiddles and learned to play after a fashion before they started to "the new country," and had learned to "call" some of the figures of the country dances, so the getting things ifi shape for a start was not so difficult a thing as it at first appeared. The largest house in the neighborhood was selected as the place where the dance was to be held. The beds were taken down and all the furniture removed, and upon a pinch there was room enough for two sets to dance, provided they did not spread out too much. The boys and girls for miles around were invited and generally were only too glad to accept the invitation, because in that way they could become better acquainted, and many a happy marriage resulted from the acquaintances formed and the associations of these primitive country dances.

As a matter of fact, the old fiddlers, who were artists in their way and could make a whole orchestra, with a caller to spare, were very few. The writer remembers but one in all the region of country round about that could do it up to a turn. That was Charlie Cook, who lived a short distance west of Pretty lake, and who was killed a few years ago, being gored by an infuriated bull. He was not what was called a scientific fiddler, but when he "rosumed up his bow, and plinked and plonked and plunked the strings, and tuned her up, you know," and put his quid of tobacco on the other side of his mouth, and called out: "Take partners for a quadrille," everybody knew the old fiddler would do his level best. He stood at the end of the log cabin dancing hall, and did the fiddling and calling at the same time, and _vou may be assured he kept the boys and girls busy moving to the figures, "down outside and up the middle," "balance all," "doe see doe," "cross over," "swing your partners," "all promenade," etc. He played pieces that the old fiddlers of these days know nothing about, such as "The Girl I Left Behind Ale," "Jamie's On the Sea," "Boyne Water," "Fisher's Hornpipe," "Arkansaw Traveler," and the like. To these inspiring strains - "They danced all night Till broad daylight. And went home with the girls in the morning."

Charlie Cook was one of the pioneers of this county, having come here as an "Indian trader" in 1832, and was, therefore, proioably the first white settler in the county, and a representative of that class whose early years were a continued struggle with poverty and the hardships of pioneer life. When he first came to the county there were no white people here, and his associates were the Pottawattomie Indians, who were the only residents here then. He necessarily learned their manners and customs, and learned to speak fluently their language, which he did not forget even to the day of his death.

There was a peculiar circumstance connected with his death which is not generally known, and will bear repeatiiig here as a mystery that has not yet been solved. In the neighborhood where he lived there was a considerable number of spiritualists, who held occasional meetings, and, through the mediums that developed among the number, claimed to be in communication with those who had "passed over." Mr. Cook was not inclined to be a "believer" and had not attended many, if any, of their meetings. However, on a certain Saturday night, he had agreed that he would attend a meeting which was to be held at the house of his neighbor, Edwin Dwinnell, about three miles distant. He told them he was going to Plymouth to do some trading, and when he returned and arranged things for the night he would go over. He rode his horse to town and when he returned, in leading him through the barn lot to the stable, an infuriated bull gored Mr. Cook in the leg, inflicting a frightful wound, which was not only dangerous but painful. Those assembled at Mr. Dwinnell's waited a long time for Mr. Cook to come, but as it was getting late the "seance" opened in the usual form. One of the mediums went into a trance, and a spirit came who was asked if it could tell anything about Charlie Cook and why he had not come as he had promised. It replied that in leading his horse through the barnyard he was gored by a bull in the leg and was so badly hurt that he would die in three days. Those present were much excited at the information, aijd Mr. Dwinnell said he would saddle his horse and go over and see if it was true. He did so, and found Mr. Cook gored and hurt as stated. Three days afterwards he died. Mr. Dwinnell related this to the writer shortly after it occurred and declared that the information came to him as stated, and at the time and under the circumstances he had no other possible way of finding out about it. Mr. Dwinnell is long since dead, as are also most of those who were present on the occasion named, and the matter remains as great a mystery today as it did when it occurred.

My fiddle? - Well, I kind o' keep her handy, dou 't you know! Though I ain't so much inclined to tromp the strings and switch the bow As I was before the timber of my elbows got sn dry. And my fingers was more limber-like and eaperish and spry ; Yit I can plonk and plunk and plink.

My playin's only middlin' - tunes I picked up when a boy - The kind o '-sort o ' fiddlin ' that the folks- calls ' ' cordaroy ; ' ' "The Old Fat Gal," and "Eye-straw," and "My Sailyor's on the Sea," Is the old cowtillions I "saw," when the ch'iee is left to me; And so I plunk and plonk and plink,

I was alius a romanein', do-less boy, to tell the truth, A-fiddlin ' and a-dancin, ' and a-wastin ' of my youth. And a-aetin', and a-euttin'-up all sorts o 'silly pranks That wasn 't worth a button of anybody 's thanks ! But they tell me, when I ust to plink

That's how this here old fiddle's won my hart's indurin' love! From the strings acrost her middle, to the schreechin' keys above - From her ' ' apern, ' ' over ' ' bridge, ' ' and to the ribbon round her throat, She 's a wooin ', cooin ' pigeon, singin ' ' ' Love me ' ' ev 'ry note ! And so I pat her neck, and plink Her strings with lovin' hands, And, list'nin' clos't, I sometimes think She kind o' understands!

Lxii. Telegraph And Telephone

The telegraph is one of the most wonderful and also one of the most useful inventions of modern times. The remotest portions of the world through its instrumentality are brought within speaking distance. The benefits to trade and commerce by its use are incalculable. In a thousand ways it is beneficial to mankind. In fact, so necessary has it become in the every day transactions of business that it could not be dispensed with without serious loss.

The first telegraph line built in this part of the state was what was called the Ohio and Mississippi line. It extended from Chicago through Michigan City, La Porte, Plymouth, Rochester, and thence to Logansport, where it intersected a line extending from Toledo, Ohio, along the Wabash river, and having its terminus at Evansville, Indiana. An office was opened in Plymouth in 1852, mainly for the purpose of enabling the company to keep its line in repair. Before the office was opened here there was no office between La Porte and Logansport, a distance of nearly 100 miles, and the frequency with which the line "got down," owing to the wilderness through which it was built, and the long distances the repairers had to travel to repair it. and the difficulty of .finding out where the break was, made it necessary to shorten the distance between stations. The merchants and business men of Plymouth contributed to the purchase of an instrument, and the office was established in John Cougle's store, which stood where the postoffice is now located. An operator was sent from Chicago, who put the office in shape and taught Henry Cougle the telegraph alphabet and how to operate the machine. He was an apt pupil, and it took him but a few days to master the whole thing. In those days messages were taken and conversation carried on between operators on what was called paper instruments. These instruments were made so that strips of paper an inch in width could pass through between the cylinder and pen lever when the line was being used by any operator on the circuit and the impression made on the paper, which enabled the operator to decipher the message by dots and strokes. Mr. Cougle learned very rapidly and soon became an expert operator. He and his father had a misunderstanding and he left the office in 1853 and was stationed at Kansas City, Missouri, where he had charge of the repeating office. A year later he returned to Plymouth, was taken sick and died. After he left the office it was turned over to Daniel iMcDonald, who was then postmaster, who operated in connection with the postoffice immediately west of the Masonic temple until the office was closed and the line removed to the New Albany & Salem railroad about two years later.

From that time until the completion of the Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad Plvmouth was without telegraphic communication. Upon the completion of that road, in 1858, the Western Union Telegraph Company built a single line along the track of the railroad, when an office was again opened inPlymouth, and the writer of this history was employed as the first operator, who continued as such until the breaking out of the war in 1861. After the beginning of the war the movement of troops from west to east commenced, and as the soldier trains were usually run through in the nighttime, operators were required to remain until relieved, which frequently did not happen until morning. The business of the road increased so rapidly from that time on that it became necessary to establish a night office and employ a night operator, which was done in 1862, and has been continued until the present time. The business of the telegraph increased rapidly, also, so much so that it became necessary to erect additional lines. As the business increased lines were stretched until now there is a network of lines on either side of the Pennsylvania road, numbering probably forty. Lines have been built along all the railroads in the county and offices established in all the principal towns in the county.

It would be impossible, even were it necessary, to get the facts in regard to the date of establishing offices and building the lines that have been erected since the first line was built in 1851. the whirligig of time whirls us around too rapidly to permit us to keep track of the rapidity with which these numerous public improvements grow into existence before we are aware of it.

Totally deaf, vet able to distinguish the dots and dashes of the Morse telegraph alphabet.' William E. Elliott, of Tippecanoe, in Tippecanoe town- ship, Marshall county, has for twenty-six years represented the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad company, commonly known as "The Nickel Plate" road, as agent and operator. Just after the railroad was built through to Chicago in 1891, Mr. Elliott took a position as the sole representative of the company at Tippecanoe. At that time his hearing was far from being good and in time it gradually became worse, so that he was unable to detect any sound.

Some 3'ears prior to the time Mr. Elliott began to learn telegraphing, operators caught messages that were sent them by letting long strips of paper run through their machines, on which the pen lever left the indentations of the letters and words so that operators could take their time and decipher the message at their leisure. But since that time paper instruments, as they were called, have been entirely abandoned and operators are required to read by the sound of the instrument, and, pencil in hand, have the message written out in full when the operator at the other end of the line has finished sending and closed his key. The telegraph letters are made entirely of dots and dashes properly spaced, and to an inexperienced ear when rapidly made by an operator on his instrument, convey no more meaning than the sounds produced by the falling of shot in a tin pan.

As soon as Mr. Elliott realized that there was a time not far distant when he would be t-otally deaf, he set about to devise some way of reading the telegraph by which he could still continue in the employ of the railroad company. Following the idea adopted by the old-time telegraph operator, he loosened the hammer on the telegraph sounder and read the dots and dashes by sight. There were times, however, when he was not watching the instruments, and on these occasions the train dispatcher frequently called and called without a response from the "TP" station. Mr. Elliott realized that some other plan was necessary, and he tried attaching a metal cord to the sounder and holding a metal plug fastened to the cord in his mouth.

This was not altogether satisfactory and he tried other things. An old horsewhip fell into his hands. He had never paid much attention to a horsewhip before, but this particular whip interested him. He cut a piece about two feet in length from the butt, and to one end he attached a metal plate. The other end was fastened to a telegraph sounder. Elliott placed his forehead to the plate and his problem was solved. For years he has received the code through his frontal bone and through a horsewhip. Mr. Elliott is fifty-five years of age, but he is still regarded as one of the most expert sending operators on the division of the road on which he works.

The writer, having during his life been a telegraph operator nine years, four of which were under the original paper ribbon system and the remainder of the time as a "sounder," is prepared to say that the achievement of Mr. Elliott has probably never been equaled in the history of telegraphing the world over.

The telephone, which came into use about the latter half of 1878, is the latest and most useful discovery in connection with electricity yet made. In its first invention it was considered only useful as a toy, but it was but a very brief and a very short space of time before it was found out that it

It is an instrument attached to a telegraph or other wire, similar in appearance to a mouthpiece to a speaking tube, and is so arranged that the voice of the speaker talking at it in an audible tone is forced over the wire almost any distance, and can be distinctly heard by the listener at the other end of the wire listening through a similar tube. Telephones are very useful in transacting business, and in social intercourse. In fact, they have become so thoroughly interwoven into our business and social relations that they are a part of us, and we could hardly get along without them. The Bell Telephone company was the first to start here, "probably in the latter part of 1878. The price for the use of phones was, the people thought, exorbitantly high, and as they had not been educated to the necessity of their use they did not give it sufificient patronage to make it a paying investment. Air. C. A. Reeve secured their franchise to do business in Plymouth, and later, in connection with Dr. D. C. Knott, built up an excellent'svstem, which gave general satisfaction, and by fixing the price at living rates succeeded in securing nearly all the business men as patrons. He also extended his wires to all the towns of importance in the county and to many farmhouses as well. He also connected his system with the long-distance wires, giving his patrons facilities to communicate with all the large cities. He recently disposed of his plant to the Winona Telephone Co. Bremen, Bourbon, Argos and Culver each maintain a telephone exchange.

The most marvelous discovery of the infancy of the twentieth century in which we are living is that of telegraphing and telephoning through the air without the aid of wires or any other mechanical appliances. The rapiditv with which wireless telegraphy has come into general use is as marvelous almost as the discovery itself, and while the machinery and appliances by which it is operated are not as perfect as they undoubtedly soon will be, they are much more so than the Morse system of telegraphy was in the early history of that marveloup invention, less than sixty years ago. The government of the United States, after experimenting and thorough investigation, has adopted it in the naval service especially, and finds that it is a perfect success. The great fleet of United States battleships commanded by Admiral Evans, before leaving Hampton Roads in December, 1907, were furnished with wireless telegraph and telephone instruments and appliances, and as the fleet moved out into the boundless sea communications were carried on between the officers of the several vessels of the fleet as easily and correctly as if they were sitting together in one of the cabins of the flagship. This is the first practical application of the wireless telephone in the history of the science of navigation, and the experiments thus far have produced results that are almost incredible. For the first time the commander of a fleet can give his orders silently and secretly into a mechanical apparatus and have them communicated instantly and accurately to the subordinates for whom they are intended. This seems like a fairy story, but it is nevertheless true. It seems almost beyond belief that a man can sit in the cabin of his ship and converse across the water with a man in the cabin of another ship without even a wire - without anything but atmosphere and water between them. But Admiral Evans reports daily to the department at Washington from across the sea that the wireless system, both as to the telegraph and telephone, is almost a perfect success. As the poet has well said -

Lxhi. Railroads

The project of connecting Plymouth and other parts of the country by means of railroad communication was not seriously contemplated by the citizens of Marshall county until the year 1853. The Cincinnati, Peru & Chicago route had been talked of prior to that time, and a company had been organized for the purpose of building it, but as to whether it would be constructed by way of Plymouth, or on some other line which would leave it out, no one could tell. The following notice appeared in the Plymouth Banner, the only paper published in the county at that time, July 21, 1853:

"Gov. William Bebb and John B. Niles will address the citizens of Marshall county at the courthouse in Plymouth, on next Wednesday, the 27th inst., at 2 o'clock p. m., in relation to making Plymouth a point on the Cincinnati, Peru & Chicago railroad."

The meeting was held and a lively interest awakened, but no definite action was taken by the people at that time. In the meantime the feasibility of building a railroad from Fort Wayne to Chicago had been discussed, a company formed, and a preliminary survey made. In an editorial in the Banner of April 7, 1853, the editor said :

"On the twenty-fifth day of May, 1853, the entire line will be put under contract (the Fort Wayne & Chicago route). Engineers will be here this evening. They are locating the road this time, and will pass on westward as fast as possible. An effort is being made to employ another corps of engineers. We hear rumors almost daily that it is uncertain whether the road will be built or not. It is unnecessary to spend much time in contradicting the many rumors gotten up by men who do not know anything about the matter."

The line was established on the completion of the third survey, and most of the contracts let at the time advertised. The same paper, on June 16, 1853, contained the following:

"The contractors are making arrangements as fast as possible to commence work upon their several contracts. Already shanties are being erected in many places along the line, and we are told lay one of the directors that within one month from this time there will be at least 2,000 hands at work between Fort Wayne and Chicago."

The contract for building the Cincinnati, Peru & Chicago road was let to French, Tyner & Co., who agreed to make it a first-class road in every particular, with water stations and rolling stock complete, and have it completed by September i, 1855. They failed, however, to complete

"Regular trains are now running in connection with the Logansport stage. The work on this road is pushed forward with energy, and before the Fourth of July we expect to hail our neighbors of Plymouth with a steam trumpet that will startle the natives."

"The cars of the La Porte & Plymouth railroad will make their stoppings in a few days at the depot grounds of the Fort Wayne railroad. The track from the present landi^ng is but a few rods west of the town seminary, and is now nearly completed."

This, however, was after the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago railroad had been completed to the turntable at the northwest part of town. The date of its completion to that point was July 18, 1856, and the event was celebrated by a free excursion from La Porte to Plymouth, and by a "grand railroad ball" at the Edwards House in the evening. The first train that came to Plymouth over that road was an excursion train, on the eighteenth of July, 1856, and consisted of two sections. Nearly all the cars were box and flat cars. There were only three or four indifferent passenger coaches, in which only the female portion of the excursionists were permitted to ride. David Kendall was the chief conductor. He was assisted by Welcome Rice, who afterwards and until his death a few years ago was conductor on that road. It was a free ride for the La Porte people, and a large number, including railroad laborers, shop hands, etc., embraced the opportunity to visit Plymouth for the first time. The road was completed to the water tank and turntable, which stood in an old field about seventyfive rods east of where the curve in the road now is, half a mile or so northwest of the courthouse. There was no depot there then, and the excursionists were dumped out on the ground without ceremony.

A great many Plymouth people were at the end of the track when the train came in to escort the visitors downtown. The streets were crowded with people from town and surrounding country, and amid the rejoicing and general excitement of the occasion it was not long until several quarrels and knockdowns took place, which finally resulted in a general riot. The railroad laborers and shop hands openly boasted that they had come down to clean Plymouth out, and that they could whip the whole town. A number of sawmill men from south of the river bridge came to the rescue, among whom were Ben Klinger, Wm. Guy, Henry M. Logan, High Slade, John Aldrich, and perhaps others. Stacy Burden and a number of farmers from his neighborhood joined them, and from the recruits from town the Plymouth forces outnumbered the invading army two to one. The fight now became general, and ^Michigan street, from La Porte to Garro street, was crowded with an infuriated mob engaged in a regular fist fight. No stones, clubs or fire arms were used, but there were probably never so many black eyes and bruised faces according to the number engaged as there were in that fracas. W. W. Hill, the Plymouth bakery man, in attempting to "stay the slaughter and stop the effusion of blood j" got the worst of it, and when the late L^ncle Jake Klinger lifted him out of the gutter onto the sidewalk, he was more dead than alive.

when the lines readied Garro street, between where the postoffice and the state bank now is, they became thoroughly demoralized, took to their heels, and ran for the railroad train as fast as their legs could carry them. The train men, fearing serious trouble might result if they remained longer, blew the engine whistle, and it was not long until the "invading army" were on their way home. Several were severely hurt, and one La Porte man so badly injured that he died not long afterwards. His comrades believed that the man who inflicted the injury was William Guy, of Plymouth, and they succeeded in getting him to go to La Porte, where he was supposed to have been drugged and placed on the railroad track, where he was run over by the cars and killed. This was the end of the railroad celebration of the arrival of the first train of cars into Plymouth.

The citizens of Plymouth, however, celebrated the event in the evening by giving a "grand railroad ball," at the Edwards house, then the principal hotel in the town. A copy of the printed invitation is still in possession of the present writer. Underneath the heading: "Grand Railroad Ball," is the picture of a passenger train of cars, apparently running at the rate of forty miles an hour, but that was rather deceptive, as the passenger trains on that road for many years did not make more than ten or fifteen miles an hour. In fact, they were so slow that they were the subject of the butt of all the practical jokers along the line of the road. Hugh Rose, whom all the older people of Plymouth knew very well, was one of the passenger conductors. It was told of him that on one of his trips from La Porte to Plymouth, when near Tyner he came across a man hobbling along with one wooden leg. Rose, in the goodness of his heart, slowed up his train and asked him if he would not get on and ride. The cripple thanked him and told him he was much obliged, but as he was in a hurry he guessed he would walk on.

Xo more we sing as they sang of old, To the tones of the lute and lyre. For lo, we live in an iron age - In an age of steam and fire. The world is too busy for dreaming, And has grown too wise for war. So today, for the glory of science, We sing of the railroad ear.

"You are respectfully invited to attend, with your lady, the ball to be given at the Edwards Hotel in Plymouth on the evening of July i8, 1856. Managers: Tom Price, G. B. Roberts, Homer Allen, Samuel Burson, Wm. H. Salisburv, La Porte; W. L. Woods, La Favette; C. French and Lot Day, South Bend; N. H. Oglesbee, L. C. Barber, M. Pomeroy, E. S. Elliott, John Smith and David Vinnedge, Plymouth." Every one of these men is dead, as is also, Wm. C. Edwards, proprietor of the hotel. The music was furnished by Hull & Arnold's band, of Niles, Michigan, and the function was one of the most important that had occurred in Plymouth up to that time.

The track was completed from the turn table to the Fort Wayne depot, and trains stopped there about September i, 1856. This road was not completed from Plymouth to Peru until some time in 1868.

The original survey of the Indianapohs, Peru & Chicago railroad, located the line through the northern part of Plymouth. It will be noticed that the residence of Mr. O. G. Soice, on the east side of North Michigan street, stands zigzag with the points of the compass. It was built by Lorenzo Matteson, a house carpenter, about 1854-55, and many imagine that locating it in this odd way was the result of a cranky notion Mr. Matteson had to be different from his neighbors. But such was not the case. The railroad line had been laid out there, and grading had been done in front of the house and across the river near the residence of Henry Humrickhouser, and so on southeast beyond where the Pennsylvania road now is located, and being morally certain that the road would be built on that line was the reason Mr. Matteson built his house to correspond with the angle of the road. This line had been surveyed before the coming of the Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. When it was found that that road was to be built, the Peru road was changed and the present line established so as to intersect the Fort Wayne road at the present crossing, where it has ever since remained ; so the line surveyed through the north end of town was abandoned, the grading smoothed down, leaving the Matteson house standing "eater-angling" with the world, in which position it has remained ever since.

The report of Samuel Hanna, president of the Fort Wayne road, dated December i, 1854, stated that it was the purpose of the company at that time to direct their efforts to the early completion of the division between Fort Wayne and Plymouth, to get a temporary connection with Chicago over the I. P. & C. road, which was completed to Plymouth at that time. The road to Plymouth was completed to Plymouth early in November, and the first train over it arrived in Plymouth November 11, 1856. It was a year or more before the road was completed to Chicago.

Several residents of Plymouth were connected, in one way or another, in perfecting the organization of the company and building the road. A. L. Wheeler was a member of the first board of directors and took an active part in its management until it was completed, when he resigned.

C. H. Reeve was attorney and solicitor for the company, and proved an efficient and energetic officer in perfecting its organization and in soliciting subscriptions to its capital stock, etc. J. B. N. and J. M. Klinger, G. H. Briggs, George Edwards and A. C. Thompson were connected with the engineer corps.

Charles E. Morse was the first station agent at Plymouth, and Daniel McDonald the first telegraph operator after an office was established here.

The Baltimore & Ohio railroad was completed through Marshall county in December, 1874. So rapidly and quietly was the work done that few of the people of the county were aware that it was being built. The roadbed lies across the north part of the county, about eight miles from Plymouth. There are three stations on its line in the county - Bremen, La Paz and Teegarden.

Plymouth, Kankakee & Pacific Railroad Company. This company was organized in 1869 for the purpose of building a railroad from Kankakee, in Illinois, to Plymouth, Indiana. James A. McGrew, of Illinois, was chosen president ; Charles H. Reeve, of Plymouth, vice-president; John C. Cushman, secretary, and J. B. N. Klinger, chief engineer, the last three all of Plymouth. Center and West townships in Marshall county voted aid to this company to the amount of about $60,000, but the company failing to come up to their part of the contract, only a portion of the amount voted was paid. The line was about all graded, several bridges built and ties purchased, when the afifairs of the company became financially embarrassed and were placed in the hands of a receiver for final settlement. Work on the road was then abandoned, and upon final settlement the company, having no assets, disbanded and work permanently ceased. A new company a few years later was organized in Illinois, which secured the right of way of this road from Kankakee to Knox, Indiana, with all the work that had been done upon it. It is called the "Three I" road, its real name being the Iowa, Illinois & Indiana railroad. In place of coming to Plymouth from Knox the company built the road from Knox by way of Walkerton to South Bend. It has been completed and in operation more than a dozen years.

The Terre Haute & Logansport branch of the A'andalia railroad from Logansport to South Bend was completed to Plymouth in June, 1884. In 1883 a subsidy tax of $30,000 was voted in Center township by a vote of 648 in favor and 447 against, being a majority of 201 in favor of the tax. The Lake View club, at Maxinkuckee lake, composed of eight residents of Plymouth, gave the company the right of way through their grounds, which was of considerable value, as an inducement to build the road to Plymouth instead of by way of Walkerton to South Bend, as was threatened. At any rate the company got the subsidy, the road was built, and it has proved to be a good investment.

The New York, Chicago & St. Louis railroad, universally known as the "Nickel Plate," was completed through the southern part of the county from the east to west in the latter part of 1882 or first of 1883. The original survey located the line something like four miles south of Argos, which had the efi'ect of stirring up the citizens of that town, who finally induced the company to change their survey and locate it through that town. The people of Argos paid for the survey and gave the right of way, and the building of the road on that line was rapidly pushed to completion. The road is one of the important trunk lines between the east and the west, and is especially valuable to the people of the southern part of the county. The stations on its line in this county are Tippecanoe, Argos, Rutland, Hibbard and Burr Oak.

In October, 1907, an election was held in Center and North townships on the proposition to raise about $50,000 to aid the construction of the above named company. The vote in Center township was 251 in favor and 836 against, being a majority of 585 against the proposition. In North township the vote was 41 in favor and 251 against, a majority of 210 against, being a total against it in the two townships of 795. In 1905 this same company surveyed the line from Logansport to Argos, and from there to Bourbon and Bremen, and thence to South Bend by way of Mishawaka. They secured the voting of subsidies in Walnut, Bourbon and German townships, but so far no work has been done on the line.

For more than fifty years the building of a railroad from South Bend to' Plymouth has been considered at different times, but railroad connection between the two places was not consummated until the completion of the Vandalia railroad in 1884.

Resolved, That a company be formed for the construction of a railroad from the town of Plymouth, in the county of INIarshall, to South Bend, and from thence north in the direction of Niles, Michigan, to the northern boundary line of the state of Indiana.

Elisha Egbert, for many years judge of the Alarshall county common pleas court, presented articles of association, which were adopted and ordered spread upon the records by the stockholders. A board of directors was then elected and the meeting adjourned.

The board of directors then met and organized by the election of Elisha Egbert, president; A. B. Ellsworth, treasurer, and John F. Miller, secretary. All these parties are long since dead. Mr. Miller became a distinguished L'nion general in the war of the rebellion ; afterwards removed to San Francisco, where later he was elected to the United States senate, which he held until the time of his death.

Another company was organized in 1871, the line surveyed, and the engineers reported that a road could easily be built along the line of the Michigan road ; but nothing was done, and the company ceased to exist.

The Plymouth & Ligonier Railroad Company. This was the name of a company organized in 1871. At the organization the following board of directors were elected : Samuel T. Hanna, of Fort Wayne ; Charles H. Reeve, John C. Cushman, C. C. Buck, C. E. Toan, J. B.' N. Klinger and Daniel IMcDonald, of Plymouth. Of these, C. H. Reeve was elected president; John C. Cushman, vice-president; Chester C. Buck, treasurer; Daniel McDonald, secretary, and Jacob B. N.

Klinger, cliief engineer. The requisite amount of stock was subscribed to enable the company to organize under the law in such cases made and provided, but none of it was ever paid, and no business transacted outside of the preliminary organization. The company was formed more for the purpose of keeping out another company about to be formed on that line in the interest of the Plymouth, Kankakee & Pacific Railroad Company than for the purpose of building a road. Having served its purpose it went into a state of innocuous desuetude, and now is a thing of the past.

Lxiv. Public Buildings

There is nothing, probably, in the whole range of public improvements, that attracts the attention or makes a deeper impression on the minds of the people than the public buildings of a county. Marshall county has been fortunate in the erection and maintenance of public buildings that have been an honor and a credit to the county. They might have cost more, but possibly they might not have answered the purpose for which they were intended any better than the buildings we have erected and now have. The first public building erected in the county was the courthouse, stipulated in the agreement between the proprietors and the board of locating commissioners, and completed according to contract in October, 1836. Its dimensions were twenty by thirty feet, one story high, and it was erected on lot No. 22, being the lot on the corner of Adams and Michigan streets. This was a temporary concern and was used only about four years, when the first courthouse built by the county was erected. This first building erected in 1836 was used for the purposes for which it was intended until the county built the first courthouse after the organization of the county, about 1840. The old building was used as a carpenter shop, cabinet shop, and for other purposes, and was afterwards purchased by Mr. L. Lumis, and moved on his lot east of the Michigan road, or as it is called, "Michigan street," where for several years he used it as a barrel factory, and later overhauled it and made it into a dwelling, which at this time is occupied by the family of John Fogle.

The First Courthouse Erected by the County. The contract for the building of the first courthouse erected by the county was awarded to Levi C. Barber, May 8, 1840. As compensation for building the same, it was agreed by the board of commissioners that he should have all the lots donated by the proprietors of the town unsokl at the time the contract was made, except the lot on which the courthouse was to be built. He was also to receive a small amount of money and notes, except about $517 in notes in the hands of the county agent. From an estimate of the value of the lots at that time, it is thought the probable expense of building the courthouse was about $5,000. The lumber of which it was built was manufactured at the sawmill at Wolf creek, five miles southwest of Plymouth. The old mill has long since gone to decay, and within the last year or two the court ordered the old mill dam to be taken out, which has been done, and the old mill, which was one of the original- landmarks in Marshall county, has passed away, and not a vestige of it remains to remind one of the scenes and incidents that occurred there threequarters of a century ago.

The rising generation and those who come after them will be interested in knowing that the courthouse in question was the finest temple of justice, at that time, in northern Indiana. Its dimensions were about fifty by eighty feet, two stories in height, with a cupola and winding stairs to the top. Offices of about fourteen by sixteen, on the first floor, were provided for the clerk, treasurer, auditor, recorder and surveyor. The second floor was used entirely for court purposes. When the second courthouse was commenced in 1870, this old courthouse was sold at auction in 1871, for

$150 to A. C. Thompson, and by him transferred to i\I. W. Downey, who removed it to a vacant lot on the then Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago railroad west of the present school building, where it was converted into a stave factorv. During a heavy thunderstorm one evening in July, 1874, it was struck by lightning, caught fire, and in less than an hour was a mass of smouldering ruins.

In 1872 the present courthouse was completed and the several county officers moved into the various rooms assigned to them. It is an elegant brick and stone structure, complete in all its parts; with all the offices fireproof, and the courtroom, halls, offices and jury rooms beautifully frescoed.

cago, and accepted by the board of county commissioners, consisting of Hiram A. Rank, Jonas jMiller and Henry Krause, and the contract let to Epperson and Favorite, of La Fayette, under whose direction the work was commenced in April, 1870, and from that time on was pushed vigorously.

On the twenty-fifth of August the cornerstone of the building was laid with appropriate and imposing ceremonies, under the general committee appointed to make the arrangements, consisting of John C. Cushman, William W. Hill, Henry G. Thayer, O. H. P. Bailey and Martin H. Rice, of whom Henry G. Thayer was subsequently made secretary and W. W. Hill treasurer. H. G. Thayer was also selected as grand marshal. The following was the program of exercises prepared by the committee :

One of the many interesting incidents of the day was a dinner, provided for the masonic bodies by the citizens and masonic body in Plymouth, before the ceremonies of the day. in the beautiful grove of trees belonging to the seminary, in which the ladies of Plymouth acquitted themselves admirably in all the arrangements to supply the wants of the inner man. The provisions were ample and most excellent, while the abundant supply of iced crystal water, and splendid coffee, was such as to indicate that the ladies of Plymouth know how to keep an open-air hotel to perfection. May they often be employed in a like good work, which we need not say we should be happy to witness.

In reviewing the accomplishment of the exercises upon the program, we deem it a duty and pleasure to note the excellencies of, indeed, all concerned ; especially, however, we may remark that the No. i music by the Fort Wayne band was a credit to the musical talent of the band, and exhibited great proficiency and beauty in the piece executed - we did not learn its name. The glee club also did splendidly for an open air concert, which is always a great difficulty to keep in time and harmony. In that beautiful song, however, of Brother Past Grand Master Rob Morris, of Kentucky, which will render his name immortal, "We meet upon the level, and part upon the square," they were sublime. Brother A. C. Thompson, of Plymouth, sang the solo with great feeling, perfect harmony and in a key that sent the sentiments thrilling through every heart. Again, in the Anvil Chorus by this club, under the direction of Daniel ^IcDonald, aided by the Plymouth Silver Cornet band, the music was rendered in a manner unsurpassed, while the silver chimes on the half dozen anvils were most beautifully smitten, in time and tune. The local bands of Bremen and Warsaw were also in excellent time, order and beauty. As to the Chicago band of twenty pieces (Nevins & Dean's Band), who that knows what they are capable of will be otherwise than convinced that they discoursed music hardly surpassed by any band in existence.

Hon. A. L. Osborn, of La Porte, who was then judge of the Marshall circuit court, had been selected by the committee as orator of the day, but owing to sickness was unable to attend. Hon. Charles H. Reeve, the oldest member of the Marshall county bar, was then selected "on the spur of the moment," and although he had but a few hours to prepare what he had to say, made a splendid effort, which will last in the memory of the people until the cornerstone itself shall crumble to dust. Since then the distinguished C. H. Reeve has passed over the mystic river to the great beyond, and it seems fitting that at least a portion of this address, which contains much food for thought for the present and future generations, as a memorial to his name and fame should be given. After a few preliminary remarks he said :

"The people of Marshall county have met to lay the cornerstone structure, which will be their temple of justice, and within which must be kept the records of her whole history, past and future, and where must be transacted all the business relating to her people and their prosperity. Her representative business men must sit here to hold intercourse with other municipalities like herself, with the state, and with all individuals having public business within her borders; and from the impression made by them must go abroad the opinions of men as to the capacity of the people to govern themselves. The extensive interests involved in her administration, and the important duties demanded by mankind, so far as they affect her people, center here ; and from here must emanate - in wisdom or folly - that kind of administration of public affairs which will make her people prosperous and wise, or bring them burdens and ignorance, and offer great inducements, or none at all, for capital or intelligence to make their home with her. The management of schools and the funds to maintain them ; the valuation of property ; the levy of taxes ; the collection of and accounting for the public money; the care of the poor; the directions for public improvements ; the provisions for the safekeeping of persons charged with crimes ; the preservation of the records of the titles to property ; the administration of justice at the hands of the ministers of the law - all will have their center here, and from here will go out the reputation that shall make her fame - good or bad. It is fitting, then, that the chief cornerstone of this temple shall be laid with ceremonies, amid scenes and in presence of witnesses that shall constitute the act an era in the county's history ; and it is an occasion when eloquence could give utterance to thoughts in words which would leave impressions on the memory not to be forgotten.

"That ancient craft, organized when the glory of Israel's inspired king filled the known world with fame in the erection of that wondrous temple their hands created in all its magnificence, and whose order now is found in every land beneath the sun, have laid the cornerstone of almost every public building in the land, and here, today, with their imposing ceremonies, lay down for us the corner of this structure, in which shall hereafter center so many vital interests of our people. Within that stone now lies a synopsis of the record of her history to this day. There are names of men - our sometime public servants - who have long since gone down the dusty road on the march to the home of the dead, and their busy minds, which once sat here in judgment for us, have ceased to think and plan. For each of them, 'the dome of thought, the temple of the soul,' has crumbled back to dust ; but their names live here, and 'their works do follow them.' Time shall crumble the walls to be here erected. We shall be where those dead servants are, and our names shall not be known ; but in the long years yet to come, nations who come after us may find these records and these names here deposited, and thus are formed the links in the great chain of history which binds the past to the ever-existing present.

"Here, too, for us as well as those to come, is food for thought. Only thirty years ago, and we numbered 126 voters; now we number 6,309 f Then our whole population was only 630 ; now it is about 25,000. Then we had only $461,000 of taxables - supposing the valuation to be one-third - and that mostly in wild lands owned by non-residents; now we have nearly $15,000,000, owned mostly by residents. Then we had no railroads, no telegraphs, no church buildings, few and widely scattered log schoolhouses, no educational system or public funds to sustain one ; now see the contrast, and realize that nearly all the vast improvements that bring all the world together in a week - a day - an hour - have principally emanated from the minds of American citizens, and are the legitimate outgrowth of that system of government of which our counties form a part.

"See here today the thousands assembled, who, a few short hours ago, were at their homes long miles away, and in a few hours hence will be there again, moving all the time with the ease and comfort of an afternoon visit at the residence of some friend ; again, behold the contrast. These men whose names we have preserved beneath that stone in their day would have been weeks, by rude conveyance and camping out, in making such a round.

"Ah me ! Well I remember all their faces. And I remember, too, many of the faces of the wild Indians among whom they came to open up the wilderness that has given place to all this civilization we now enjoy. I knew these men, and how they lived. And I saw the red men and their wives and children torn from their homes here by the soldiers and driven from the graves of their fathers, almost in sight of this spot where I now stand, by the sharp bayonet of the soldier, leaving the land for us.

"And all these names of the early judges and members of the bar - how their forms and faces now come back to me ! The invincible, punning Everts ; the English-like judge, S. C. Sample ; the Websterian-looking Liston ; the wily Jernegan ; the eloquent Hannegan ; the scholarly Bradley ; the scientific Niles ; the witty Orton ; I cannot pause to name them all, but their faces rise up before me as they were. Some live yet; some have gone to visit 'that bourn whence no traveler returns.' But they were with us and of us; and no portion of the state, or of any state, has seen better lawyers, truer men, or, as a class, those who have left a better record. Peace to the ashes of those who are gone ; a serene and prosperous old age to those who are left ! It makes me sad to go back in memory to those early days and note the havoc made by death. It makes me proud to note the progress made within the space upon which these men have left the impress of their actions and their thoughts. Within the walls here to be erected, no profounder logic, no more thrilling eloquence, no more sparkling wit, will e'er be heard than has fallen from their lips - now cold in the silent chambers of the dead !

"But the living claim our attention. Here before us is the foundation, and about us are the materials and the workmen; what shall come of it? A beautiful and substantial structure, to battle with time and with the elements. For what use? The administration of public justice, the protection of private rights, the punishment for public wrongs, the preservation of the public records. Who shall inhabit here? The servants of the people. By what rule shall they be selected? Because of their fitness, both as to capacity and moral integrity, let us hope. What a trust is here ! Shall we ever have a JeiTries on the bench ? God forbid ! Shall Justice sit blindfolded, while Ignorance, in the person of her minister, the judge, directs her to strike right or left with her sword, without regard to the right or without the -ability to see which is right? Heaven forbid! Shall public opinion, founded on rumor, walk into the jury box and dictate the verdict without regard to evidence? May a just system of education make it impossible. How shall we insure the non-pollution of this temple and make it the fit home for justice to dwell in? By being just ourselves, and fit to be her ministers. By rejecting demagogues. By respecting the law and its ministers, and by making them respect us. By refusing to select them in party or political caucus, and by selecting the purest and most competent men we have, and then paying them a salary sufficient to command their attention to our call for their services, and pension them when they have served till they are old. By crushing, with the contempt of an outraged public, the men who enter the political arena to use its contaminating influences to reach the bench. Above all, having, as a people, permitted such a system to be inaugurated, and many of our good men to be dragged within its action against their sense of right, let us do away with It at the earliest possible moment, and recognize the fact - as patent as sunlight - that cheap salaries command cheap men, and cheap men will degrade justice and bring the law into contempt; the lex talionis - the mother of anarchy - follows.

"j\Iay no such fate follow the imposing ceremonies of this day. j\Iay no such contamination pollute the beautiful structure whose cornerstone has this day been laid. May our judges be wise lawyers and honorable gentlemen, and may our people recognize their right to commensurate respect and compensation. May our county offices be always filled by the best men we have who are best fitted for the stations to be filled. May our prosperity continue and our county become the home of still greater intelligence, industry and enterprise, and may the reputation of her public men be such as to bring to us the wealth and intelligence from abroad which would seek a resting place only amid an honorable people, whose public servants can be safely trusted with the public interests, and where courts and the law are respected."

Daniel McDonald, being clerk of the court when the several county offices were moved from the old to the new courthouse, spread upon the judge's docket of the court on the day named, the following:

"Be it remembered, that, on the eleventh day of June, 1872, the records, books and papers of the several county offices were removed into the new courthouse, just completed at a cost of $105,000. The officers of the county at this time are: Daniel McDonald, clerk; Hiram C. Burlingame, auditor ; John Soice, treasurer ; John W. Houghton, recorder ; Daniel K. Harris, sheriff; ^Morgan Johnson, surveyor; John Bauer, Jr., coroner; Hiram A. Ranck, Jonas Miller and Henry Krause, commissioners."

Judge Thomas S. Stanfield, of South Bend, presided at the first term of court held in the new building, and Daniel K. Harris, sheriff, first opened court therein with the usual "Hear ye! hear ye! hear ye! the honorable jMarshall circuit court is now in session, pursuant to adjournment, and all persons having business herein can now be heard,"

"Be it remembered that, at a term of the circuit court of ^Marshall county, state of Lidiana, began and held at the new courthouse, in Plymouth, Indiana, on the first Monday of August, 1872, and on the first judicial day of said term, the same being August 5, 1872, there were present the Hon. Thomas S. Stanfield, judge of the ninth judicial circuit of said state, and, ex-officio, judge of the circuit court of I\Iarshall County; William B. Hess, deputy prosecutor of the ninth district ; Daniel McDonald, clerk, and Daniel K. Harris, sheriff of said county, and court opened in due form of lavi^."

This was August 5, 1872. The names of the Marshall county bar who were in attendance at the opening of said term were Charles H. Reeve, James O. Parks, Horace Corbin, A. C. Capron, M. A. O. Packard, D. E. Van Valkenburgh, John G. Osborne, Amasa Johnson, A. B. Capron, William B. Hess, John S. Bender, J. Darnell. S. D. Parks, Z. D. Boulton and R. D. Logan.

Of those mentioned as being the officers of Marshall county in the above entry on the eleventh of June, 1S72, only Daniel McDonald, then clerk, is still living, and of the fifteen attorneys noted as being present only M. A. O. Packard. Wm. B. Hess, John S. Bender and A. B. Capron, now of Denver, Colorado, are still living.

The entire cost of the building, including furniture, heating apparatus, grading the square, and superintendency, was $105,000; and the entire county indebtedness for the same was, at date of completion, only $50,000, for which bonds had been issued and sold at par, which, two years later, were fully paid.

The first county jail was built of hewn logs, and was completed August I, 1838. From the plans and specifications it appears that the building was "to be sixteen by twenty, of white or burr oak timber, to be well hewed, and counter-hewn, twelve inches square ; the foundations to be three sills, twelve by twenty inches, let into the ground twelve inches; the lower floor to be laid with timbers hewn as above, twelve inches square, to be well laid and perfectly level ; the walls of the first story to be made of timbers twelve inches square and hewed as above, to be built seven and a half feet high; then the second floor to be laid with timbers hewn as above, twelve inches square, to be laid in a complete, workmanlike manner ; the above-said wall to be raised with a half 'duff-tail,' so as to fit down close and tite ! to be two windows, twelve inches square and eighteen inches long ; the grates to be let in the centers of the timbers at equal distance ; the said lower floor to be covered with inch boards, well seasoned and well matched, and spiked down with spikes two inches in length, and the spikes to be two feet apart one way and six inches the other ; the said walls to be well lined with good white oak plank, well seasoned and matched together, two inches thick, spiked on with four inch spikes, twelve inches apart one way and four inches the other, the whole building to be weather boarded with good half-inch boards ; the door of entrance to be five feet high and two and a half wide ; said door frame not less than two inches thick, to be made of good timber, well seasoned, and hung with good strong hinges in the upper story of the north side, near the east end ; one trap door, made of good oak timber, five inches thick, two and a half feet square, to be hung with good iron hinges, made for the purpose ; the said door to be let down even with the floor, in a place cut through the floor for the purpose, to rest on two iron bars, three feet long, one inch square, with a good and sufficient hasp and staple, lock and key, to be placed three feet from the wall of the west end."

The contract for erecting this magnificent building was let, in 1837, to Oliver Rose and James Currier, for the sum of $399. The building was completed according to contract, and many who read this will remember the trap-door aforesaid, through which prisoners were let down to the "bottomless pit" in the regions below. This structure was used until the completion of our present (1879) old brick jail, which in time has given place to our elegant brick and stone jail, and sheriff's residence, completed a« stated further on.

The plans for the second county jail, which stood in the southwest corner of the public square, were drawn by William M. Dunham. The contract for its erection was let, through a mistake in reading the bids, in 1849, to A. M. La Peere, E. Compton and W. G. Norris. This was afterward corrected, and the contract let to Albert Bass for $2,380. The building was completed according to contract and delivered over to the county June I, 185 1. The building proved to be a very poor one, and of late years it has been almost impossible to keep an expert thief from escaping through the tumble-down walls. Some five or six holes, or places where holes were made through the walls, could be seen on the east, north and west sides. Several years ago one end was knocked out by a stroke of lightning, but no serious damage resulted. It was recently demolished by Enoch Belangee.

In the early part of 1879 the board of commissioners resolved to build a new jail, secured plans and advertised for bids. The plans adopted were drawn by J. C. Johnson, of Fremont, Ohio, and the contract let to William H. Myers, Fort W^ayne, for the sum of $16,970. The heating apparatus.

The first county asylum, or "poor farm," as it was then known and called, was purchased in 1849, of John Murphy, for the sum of $1,671.11. It was situated on the Plymouth and La Porte road, then known as the "Yellow river road," about three miles west of Plymouth. For some cause which does not appear of record it was ordered sold June 19, 1853, for not less than $1,350, and the auditor was ordered or authorized to sell the same to Joseph Evans for $900 in Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad stock, and $450 in two equal annual payments. Why the county should have wanted to invest $900 in Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad stock, the road at that time not being built, or even in the course of construction, is one of the historical facts we have been unable to find out. Practically the stock was worthless, and whatever became of it is not known. The record of the sale of the "poor farm" does not appear, but the offer of Mr. Evans was probably accepted, as he afterwards owned the land.

After the sale of the "poor farm" as above related, the commissioners purchased a tract of land about one mile northeast of Tyner, on which was erected a two-story frame building, thirty-six by thirty-four. This was in 1862. The building, was a frame structure, not very substantially built, but answered the purpose until the erection of the present buildings. The first superintendent was Minard Taplin, who was appointed in 1862. Prior to that time the poor of the county were taken care of by contract among the farmers and people. This building was sold by the county about 1890.

The Present Infirmary. About 1890 the board of commissioners decided to purchase land and build a more modern and commodious asylum, and therefore arranged to sell the farm and house near Tyner and purchase ground elsewhere, and therefore purchased of Henry Humrickhouser, two miles east of Plymouth, 195J4 acres for the sum of $20,000, for which bonds were issued. Contracts were then let for the erection of the asylum and other buildings, and the work was completed and accepted by the commissioners June 12, 1893. The total cost of the building is set forth in the following statement :

The following are the names of those who have been appointed superintendents of the county farm and infirmary since that part of the public service of the county was organized : Alinard Taplin, George W. Boyd. Henry W. Steckman, Sanford E. Jacox, William B. Kyle, Jonas Haag, Nathan E. Bunch, Prosper N. Mickey, Peter J. Kruyer.

School

Brightside, the Julia E. Work training school, was established at Plymouth, February i, 1899, on Mrs. Work's farm, formerly owned by John Ellis, one and one-quarter miles north of Plymouth on the Michigan road. The object of the school is the care and training of dependent, delinquent and physically defective children. At the time of the transfer from La Porte to Plymouth the number of children was seventy, and the buildings completed for their accommodation included the new building now known as No. i, and the farm house. The rapid increase of patronage made it necessary in 1900 to erect a second building, and thereafter for a period of four years a building was completed each year until the present capacity - 280 children - was reached. The institution equipment now includes a 270-acre farm, five large buildings for the care of the children, and all necessary out-buildings for the use of stock and the farm implements used on a big farm.

The children are classified as follows : Normal dependent, defective dependent, delinquent and difficult, and private pupils. Complete sex separation is maintained, and the ages range from six to eighteen. A township school employing four teachers is maintained on the place a few rods from the main building. This school is supported by the enumeration and transfers provided by law. The industrial training given the boys includes all kinds of farm work, the care of stock and gardening. The equipment for teaching these fundamentals is firstclass in every respect. No expense is spared in the purchase of suitable farm machinery or the employment of a farm superintendent who is an expert in his line. The girls are all under the supervision of ladies who understand the several branches of housework, including laundry and dairy work, and the girls are thoroughly grounded in the essentials for good housekeeping and good homemaking. No attempt is made to give manual training in the general acceptance of the term, but the aim is "foundation building" - giving the boy or girl a fair chance to start in life with a rudimentary knowledge that will enable him or her to make a living.

As a result of this training numerous boys and girls past the age of eighteen are now supporting themselves along the lines taught in the institution.

"Brightside" is maintained by the legal per diem, the amounts paid for private pupils and the products of the farm. It has no bequests, no endowment, and solicits no funds for current expenses. The management is vested solely in Mrs. ^^'ork as superintendent and Annie A. Barr as assistant superintendent and secretary. The property is owned and managed b\-

Mrs. Work, and the institutional work is under the supervision of the board of state charities and the several child-saving^ organizations patronizing it. The legal per diem, which is inadequate for the maintenance of a child except under very favorable circumstances, is in this case supplemented by the products of the farm. A sufificient supply of potatoes, cabbage, navy beans, turnips and all kinds of garden truck is raised and used in the institution, besides all the grain, hay, etc., consumed by the cattle, hogs, sheep and horses. A herd of firstclass cows supplies all the milk and butter used. Special attention is paid to the raising of hogs for market, and the fund from these sales and the sales of surplus grain goes into the general maintenance fund.