Miami County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 12 of those read), 1914 (part 1 of 2)

Ixthkxai. Lmpuonemexts

First Highways - Tiik Old Stkawtown Road - Rivers as Thoroughfares - Wabash & Erie CANAii - Internal Imi-rovement Act op 1886 - Collapse op the State System op Improvements - Benefits Resulting from the Canal - Its Final End - Steamboat Navigation op the Wabash - The Railroad Era - Lake Erie & Western - The Wabash - Pan Handle - The Eel River Railroad - Peru & Detroit - Chicago, Indiana & Eastern - Chesapeake & Ohio - Electric Line - ^Iiami County's System op Drainage.

OiU' of the first necessities in the way of internal iniprovenients in a new comitrx- is tlie location ami o|)ening of public highways. When the first white men came to the reg'ion now comprising Miami county tliere was '"not a stick of timber amiss.'' In going from one place to another the most direct route was followed, the traveler often referring to a small compass to keep him in the right course. Where an old Indian trail existed it was used by the early settlers until better roads could be opened. The first roads were merely marked by "blazes" on the trees, without regard to points of the compass, no mailer how much they might interfere with some pioneer farmer's calculations. In after years nearly all these old "traces," as they were called, were altered and straightened to conform to the section lines of the official survey.

When the county commissionei's met on the first Monday in Septeml)er. 1834, a petition came before the board asking for the opening of a road fi'om Peru to Mexico. .Toseph Clymer, (ieorge Townsend and John F. Saunders were ap|)ointed viewers. They reported in favor of the petitioners and this was the first road established in Miami county.

was authorized by the act of February 1, 1834. Section 1 of that act provided that "Jesse Wilson and James Hughey, of the county of Hamilton, and William Rayburn, of Miami county, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to view, mark, and cause to be opened a state road from Strawtown, in Hamilton county, to Miamisport, in tlie county of Miami, near the mouth of the Mississinaway river."

The commissioners were given power to emplo3' a surveyor and his necessary assistants, and to select such route as they deemed best and most practicable, the survey to provide for a public highway, not exceeding thirty-five feet in width. They were required to give bond for the faithful performance of duties and to report to the clerks of the counties of Miami and Hamilton. In due time the road was opened, though for many years it was almost impassable at certain seasons of the year.

At that time the waterways of the state constituted the main arteries of traffic. Strawtown being located near the White river and Miamisport upon the Wabash river, as well as upon the line of the proposed Wabash & Erie canal, then under construction, the state road between these two points was intended to serve as an outlet for the traders along the White river to the Great Lakes, via the canal.

It would be practically impossible to give a history of each of the public highways established by the county authorities. For several years after the organization of the county, scarcely a session of the commissioners was held at whicli there were not introduced petitions asking for the opening of roads between certain points. In such cases viewers were appointed and upon their favorable report the board would order the opening of the road. A few years after the Civil war, the city of Peru gave .$40,000 to encourage the construction of gravel roads. This sum was divided among four roads, each receiving $10,000. They were the old Strawtown & Peru state road and the roads leading from Peru to ^Mexico, Paw Paw and Xenia. This was the beginning of the good roads movement in Miami county. Since that time the work of grading and graveling the highways has gone on, from year to year, until most of the roads in the county are as good as any to be found in the Wabash valley.

During the first twenty years of Indiana's statehood - from 1816 to 1836 - at nearly every session of the legislature there were introduced one or more bills looking toward the establishment of some state system of internal improvements. Most of the governors of this period were interested in the development of the state's natural resources, and their messages to the legislature were replete with recommendations, some of wliicli possessed a eertaiii degree of merit, but a majority of them would now be regarded as extremely visionary. Governor Ray was particularly energetic in trying' to secure the enactm(;nt of laws that would enable the state to inaugurate and prosecute "a grand system of internal improvement to a successful termination, and for the ultimate production of a revenue that shall relieve our fellow-citizens from taxation."

The prevailing idea at that time seemed to be that water navigation was the one thing needed to stimulate commerce and develop the natural resources of the state. The first traders along the Wabash, and other western rivers, carried their goods in canoes or pirogues. Then came the flatboat, by means of whicli cargoes were carried down the Ohio and Mississijipi rivers to New Orleans, where the flatboat was sold for what it would liring, it being more economical to construct a boat for each voyage than to attempt to bring the unwieldy craft up stream. These early traders, who carried on their traffic in pirogiies, and the settlers around the trading posts, tried to impress congress with the idea that the Wabash was navigable to Lafayette, and represented that a canal could be constructed from that point to the mouth of the Maumee river at comparatively slight expense. It was probalily due to the reports circulated by these traders that early gazeteers stated the Wabash river to be navigable as far as Huntington and other points above Peru.

As early as 1822 the states of Indiana and Illinois began to work together for the improvement of the Wabash river. A little later the subject of connecting the Waltash and Maumee rivers by a canal came before the legislatures of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. About this time the first steamboat ascended the Wabash as far as Lafayette and this gave a wonderful impetus to the canal project. A commission waa appointed to investigate the matter and report to the legislatures of the three states as to the feasibility of connecting these states with the Great Lakes by a canal or railroad, and which would be the most practicable. The conunission rei)orted in favor of the canal, because it could be built and operated at less expense than a railroad ; that so far the utility of the railroad as a common carrier had not been fully demon.strated, while traffic and travel by canal was a certainty, except in extremely cold weather, when the ice might interfere with navigation.

Congress was now overwhelmed with demands for a canal. One argument was that it was a military necessity ; that in the event of war with another power, troops and munitions could be quickly and cheaply moved from the interior to the lakes. By the act of March 2, 1827, congress granted to the states of Indiana and Ohio each alternate section of land in a strip five miles wide on each side of the canal, which was to connect the navigable waters of the Wabash river with Lake Erie, with the suggestion that the states supply the rest of the money necessary to complete the canal. The land in Indiana thus granted for the purpose of building the canal was estimated to be worth $1,250,000. The state was a little slow in accepting the grant, but it was finally accepted with all the conditions imposed by congress. A land office was opened at Fort Wayne and the canal lands were offered for sale at prices ranging from .$1.50 to $3.50 per acre, one-fourth cash and the balance in payments extending, in some instances, over a period of seventeen years. This opportunity to secure good lands, within easy access of a main channel of transportation, brought a large number of immigrants to the Wabash valley, some of whom settled in what is now Miami county.

Work on the canal was commenced at Fort Wayne in February, 1832, under the supervision of a board of canal commissioners. Two years later the state of Ohio had done nothing toward building her portion of the canal, and on February 1, 1834, the Indiana legislature adopted a memorial asking the state's senators and representatives in congress "to use their influence to secure the passage of an act granting to Ohio the permission to select land from the reserves lately acquired from the Indians," in lieu of the alternate sections along the line of the canal, as contemplated in the original grant.

The treaty of 1834 was not approved by President Jackson, because of the number of individual reservations. In 1837 President Van Buren ratified the treaty and the next year Chauncey Carter began the surveys. J. L. Williams, then canal commissioner, classified and booked the lands in the spring of 1840, preparatory to a sale later in the year. That summer the land office was removed from Fort Wayne to Peru and was located at the northeast corner of Second and Miami streets. The first sale of canal lauds here took place on October 5, 1840, when about ten tliousaud acres were sold. The individual reservations interfered with the canal grant of every alternate section and the state was given the privilege of selecting any unsold government land of equal (luantity. The selections were made in 1844 and a public sale was held in the fall of that year at the land office in Peru. In July, 1847, the land office was removed to Logansport.

In the meantime the financial condition of the state was thought to be such in 1836 as to justify the inauguration of an extensive system of public works. Consequently, the legislature of that year passed an act authorizing the appointment of a board of internal improvements, to consist of six persons to be appointed by the governor, "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the Canal Commissioners then in office." Eight great water and land thoroughfares were specified in the bill. Onlv one of these - the extension of the Wabash & Erie canal - affected tlio material interests of ^liaiiii eouiity, but the subject is deemed of sufficient interest to justify the insertion here of the eutire list, in order that the reader may learn what ideas were entertained by legishitors three-cjuarters of a century ajro witli regard to the development of the resources of Indiana. The public works proposed liy the bill were as follows:

1. The Whitewater canal, which was to begin on the west branch of the \Vhitewater river at the crossing of the national road, and running thence down the Whitewater to the Ohio river at Lawreneehurg.

2. Tile Central canal, "to eoinmenee at the most suitable point on the Wabash & Erie canal, between Fort Wayne and Logansport, running thence to Muncietown ; thence to Indianapolis; thence down the valley of the west fork of the White river to its junction wdth the east fork of said river, and thence by the most practicable route to Evansville, on the Ohio river."

To carry out the intent of the bill the sum of $10,000,000 was appropriated. Concerning the act Dillon, in his History of Indiana, says: "The state system of internal improvement, wliich was adopted by Indiana in 18:i6, was not a new measure, nor did the adoption of the system at that lime grow^ out of a new and hastj' expression of popular sentiment. For a period of more than ten years, the expediency of providing by law for the conmiencement of a state systent of public works had been discussed before the people of the state l)y governors, legislators and distinguished private citizens."

In this (lisi'ussion the advocates of a .state system of public improvements did not lack for a jjrecedent. To use a favorite expression of political i)latforms, tliey could "iKiint with pride" to the fact thai the state of New York had l)uilt the great Erie canal, which was begun in 1817, and that in ten years the tolls had paid tln' entire cost of construction. If a canal in New York liad been such a success, why siiould not the state of ludiana profit by that experience? The theory appeared to be flawless, but the application of it failed to bring the results anticipated. To quote again from Dillon:

"In fixing the mode of organizing a state board of internal improvement, and in defining the duties and powers of this board, the general assembly of 1836 committed several material errors. On account of these errors, and for other reasons, the internal improvement law of 1836 encountered a strong opposition ; and this opposition was most marked among the people of those counties through which the lines of the proposed public works did not pass."

After all, this was only natural. The people of those counties were paying taxes to the state, which was using the public revenues to establish certain public improvements that gave such counties no direct benefit. This opposition, like Banquo's ghost, would not down, and by 1839 it became so insistent that work upon the internal improvements was suspended. In his message to the legislature that assembled in December, 1839, Governor Wallace summed up the situation as follows:

"The failure to procure funds, as we had a right to expect from the extensive sale of bonds effected in the early part of the season, has led to great and unusual embarrassments, not only among the eonti-aetors and laborers, but also among the people. The state has, in consequence, fallen largely in debt to the former, and is without means of discharging it. . . . What shall be done with the public works ? Shall they be abandoned altogether? I hope not. In my opinion, the policy of the state, in the present emergency, should be, first, to provide against the dilapidation of those portions of the works left in an unfinished state, and, secondly, as means can be procured, to finish some entirely, and complete others, at least, to points where they may be rendered available or useful to the country."

The legislature of 1839 authorized the issue of $1,500,000 of certificates of indebtedness, in the form of state treasury notes, for the purpose of paying the claims of the contractors and other public creditors. The certificates circulated as currency for a time at their face value, but within two years they had depreciated from forty to fifty per cent. They were printed on yellow paper and became known as "yellow dog" money. In 1840 the legislature redeemed these certificates with an issue of engraved scrip in denominations of five and ten dollars. This scrip was made receivable for interest, and later for the principal, from the purchasers of the canal lands in payment of their indebtedness to the state. It wasi printed on white paper and soon received the name of "white dog" money, in comparison with the certificates of 1839.

the iiitfi'iial iinprovfUKMits autliori/etl liy tlic act ol' 1836. ami it was estimated that $20,000,000 more would he necessary to eouiplete the system aci-ordiiigr to the original plans. Public sentiment was adverse to any further i.ssue of state l)onds, or any increase in the slate debt, to carry on the woi'k and tlu' whole scheme collapsed.

The Wabash & Erie canal was connnenced. however, before the passage of the internal improvement law of 1836 and was built under a different act. When w(n'k was begun on the canal at l''iirt \Va\ne in

1832, the progress was slow at fir.st, hut after three years it was announced and confidently expected that it would be opened for navigation as far as Peru by July 4, 1837. Says the Peru Forester: "Before twelve o'clock of tliat da>-, the town was filled with people of the county, to witness the grand disjjlay on the occasion. Unfortunately the boats did not ari'ivc. The banks. Iieing pornns. a})sorbed the water much faster than was anticipated."

Following this was the statement: "Since the above was written, we were informed that the packet boat Indiana, Captain Columbia, had arrived at the head of the lock, about one mile above town, and that it would be impossible for her to reacli the Itasin in conseciueiu-c of the canal not having been sufifieiently filled with watc-r to buoy h<'r up."

No freight was carried by the Indiana on that initial trip. The passengers left the boat at the lock and reached Peru, some on foot and some in vehicles that went out to meet them. Accnrding to Graham, they were entertained at the National Hotel, located at the northwest corner of Canal and Miami streets, and then kept by John Cooper. Captain Columbia returned with tlie Indiana to Fort Wayne, but before leavino- the lock announced his determination to make another trip the following week. His promise was kept and the Indiana was the first canal boat to arrive at Peru.

When the state .system of internal improvements collapsed in 1839, the Wabash & Ei'ie canal was partly completed and the finished portion was bringing in a revenue. This part of the work was therefore not abandoned, and, as part of the land.s granted by the government was still unsold, it was hoped that sufficient revenue could lie realized from the sale to complete the canal according to the original design. The act of 1836 contemplated 1.2811 miles of canal, railroad and public highway. Levering 's Hi.storic Indiana (page 224) says that in 1842. when only 281 miles of this system had been completed, the state was in debt to the amount of !};207.894.613 and the authorities found it a difficult matter to pay even the interest upon this indebtedness. Transportation channels were still needed by the people, but there were no funds available with which to build them. Tlie Wabash & Erie canal, with its lands and tolls, was taken in part payment of the claims of tlu' contractors and other creditors by certain bondholders, wlio promised to complete the canal. This they did in 1851. The total length of the canal, from Toledo, Ohio, to Evansville, Indiana, was 460 miles, of which 379 miles were, in the state of Indiana.

Elbert J. Benton, in his history of this great waterway, says : "Before the opening of the canal, in 1844, the zone of the Maumee and upper Wabash valleys had sent towards Toledo only 5,622 bushels of corn. Five years later the exports from the same region, sent to that port, reached 2.755,149 bushels. For home consumption, the large number of laborers added to the population increased the demand for produce and much more money than ever before came into circulation.

"When the canal was begun, the upper Wabash valley was a wilderness. There were only 12,000 scattered population in all that district, but people began to flock in by wagon-loads, so that the num])er had increased to 270,000 by 1840. In 1846, over thirty families every day settled in the state. Five new counties were organized in three years following the opening of the first section of the canal from Fort Wayne to Huntington. Tliiity jxm- cent of the emigrants entering the port of New York passed into the grouj) of states whei'e the Erie canal and its eonneetions were being constrneted. The boats that took grain np the eanal lirought hack emigrants and homesteaders from tile East. Thirtyeight counties iu Indiana and nine in southeastern Illinois were directly affected by the new waterway. Long wagon trains of produce wended their way to the towns on tlie sliores of the eanal. In the year 1844 four hundred wagons in a day were waiting to unload at points like Lafayette and Wabasli."

Some of the towns that sprang np along the line of the eanal grew into cities of considerable size. Industry was stimulated by the prospects of having a reliable outlet to the markets. Saw mills, Hour mills, paper and oil mills were establislied in tiiese towns and every boat that went u|i the canal carried the products of these mills to the eastern states. Between the years 1840 and 1850 the increase in population in the counties ad.jacent to the canal was nearly 400 per cent, or more than twice the increase in other parts of the state. Such an influence did the canal wield in the develojjment of the country through which it passed that Jlr. Benton calls it the "Indiana Appian Way."

Just before the canal land office was removed from Peru to Logansport, a smooth swindle in connection with the lands was attempted and came very near being successful. A. W. .Morris and John Fitzgerald succeeded in securing the passage of a l)ill l>y the legislature of 1846-7, declaring forfeited all lands upon which any part of the principal or interest was due and unpaid. Immediately after the governor signed the bill, Morris and Fitzgerald secured a copy and started for Peru. Enlisting the cooperation of the clerk in the hind ofifiee, the door of that institution was kept clo.sed until the conspirators could enter all the choice farms in the eanal strip whose owners were delinquent. "While this was going on, John Shields, who had considerabl(> Inisiness with the land ofifiee, went fo the building, but was denied admission. Suspecting that something was wrong, he noised it about anil within a short time a large number of people were at the office, demaiuiing to know why they were denied admission. Morris and Fitzgerald left Peru as hastily as they had, come, not caring to face the indignant populace. The act was subse(|ucntly declared fi-anduleiit and at the next session was repealed.

About the time the canal was completed the building of railroads engrossed the attention of the people of Ijidiana. As the railway lines came into operation the income of the eanal was visibly affected, and in a few years it ceased to be a paying institution. The legality of the i-omiiai'y was also called into (|uestion and tlic state was asked to pay one-half of the debt for which the canal had been taken, the creditors claiming that, by granting franchises to the railroad companies, the state had defrauded the canal companj' out of large sums that would otherwise have been received in tolls. As the railroads increased in number and mileage, the traffic on the canal correspondingly decreased until the company ended in a financial failure, but during its existence, perhaps no one agency was of such potent influence in developing the Wabash valley as the Wabash & Erie canal.

In 1873 the constitutional amendment was adopted enjoining the state from ever* obligating itself for the payment of any portion of the canal bonds. As stated above, Inisiness declined and in 1876, upon foreclosure, the great waterway was sold to William Fleming, of Fort Wayne, by a United States marshal. In the summer of 1875 a freshet caused a washout of the canal at the eastern edge of the city of Peru, near the old dam. When the waters subsided the canal was practically dry and no longer fit for commercial purposes. With the gloomy outlook financially of the canal company there was no disposition to repair the damage done and boats were left stranded at infrequent intervals along its bed, where they gradually went into ruin and decay.

E. H. Shirk and A. N. Dukes, of Peru, bought fi'om Mr. Fleming the old waterway from Lagro to Lafayette and the most of it has been disposed of piecemeal, either by purchase or condemnation proceedings, to electric railway lines and other interests. In the purchase of the property Shirk and Dukes had some associates, among whom were H. J. Shirk and several Logansport people, but their holdings were small and they were soon lost sight of as interested parties.

In the early part of this chapter mention is made of the first steamboat that ascended the Wabash river to Lafayette, about 1823. While the country was yet undeveloped, and but sparsely settled, several attempts were made to send steamboats farther up that river. The following account of the first steamboat that ever reached Logansport is taken from Saiiford C. Cox's "Recollections of the Early Settlement of the Wabash Valley : ' '

"During the June freshet of 1834, a little steamer called the Republican advertised that she would leave the wharf at Lafayette for Logansport on a certain day. A few of us concluded to take a pleasure trip on the Republican, and l)e on the pioneer steamboat that would land at Logansport, a thriving town situated at the confluence of the Wabash and Eel rivers, in the heart of a beautiful and fertile region of country. At the hour appointed the Republican left the landing at Lafayette, uiuKt a good head of steam, and 'wjilkcd the waters like a tliiiitr of life.' We soon passed Cedar I'.lurt's, Davis' Ferry, the mouths of Wild Cat and Tippeeanoe, and began to antieijiale a (|uiek and siieeessful trip. But soon after passing the Delphi laiidini;- the boat stuck fast ui)on a sandbar, which detained us for several hours. Another and another obstruction was met with every few miles, which we overcame with much difliculty. labor and delay. At each successive sandbar the most of the boat's crew and many of the passengers got out into the water and lifted the boat, or jiulled upon a large rope that was exteniled to the shore - an important au.xiliai'y to the steam power to ])ropel the vessel over these obstructions. Xight overtctok us stuck fast upon the bnttom of the river below Tijiton's port.

"Several days and nights were spent in fruitless attempts to get over the I'apids. All haiuls, exceiit the women and a few others, were frequently in the water up to their chins, for hours together, endeavoring to lift tile boat off the bar. The water fell rapidly and prevented the boat fi'om either ascending farther up or returning down the river. While at this place we were visited by sevei-al ciimi)anies of well dressed, fine looking ^liami and Pottawatomie Indians, of all ages and sexes, who would sit for hours on the bank, ailmiring the boat, which they greatly desii'ed to see in motion, under a full head of steam. After four days and nights' inetfectual efforts to proceed, the boat was abandoned by all except the cai)tain and part of his crew.

"Two or three weeks afterwards over a dozen yokes of largi^ oxen wei-e lirought down from Logansport, and the Republican was hauled over ripples and sandbars to Logansport, and the citizens of that place and the surrounding country had the luxury of a steamboat arrival on the Fourth of July, and Captain Towne had the (doubtful) honor of being the connnander of the first steamboat that visited Logansport; for it cost him his l)oat, which bilged soon after its arrival in port, and its hull, years afterward, might be seen lying sunk to the bottom of the Wabash near its confluence with the waters of Eel river."

One would naturally suppose that the fate of the Republican would have had a teiulency to discourage others from making the attempt, l)ul not so. Alonu the Wabash was a large, fertile, undeveloped country, and adventurous navigators were willing to take risks, hoping that congress cnuld be made to see that the Wabash could be I'eudered navigable and undertake thi' im|)rovement of the river. In 18;i5 the first steamboat ascended the river as far as Peru. The voyage of this vessel is thus described by Cox:

Logausport. Peru and Chirl' (lodl'i'Oy's village above the mouth of the ilississiiiewa. The umisually high stage of the river gave promise of a successful trip. At Delphi and other points along the river, considerable accessions were made to our company. The boat reached Logausport without any difficulty. There was a large increase of passengei's from this point. The Tiptons. Laselles, Burets, Polks, Johnsons aud nianv others of the old settlers of the town turned out, many of them with their entire families, for a steanil)oat excursion, to visit the neighboring town of Peru and their aboriginal neighbors and valuable customers at Godfroys village.

"The boat left the wharf at Logansport under a full head of steam, which was considered necessary to carry her over the rapids a short distance above town. Our gallant boat failed to make the ripple, and after puffing and snorting for about two hours without gaining over forty feet, she dropped back to the foot of the rapids, where several hundred of the passengers went ashore to walk around llic rapids. Kosiii, tai- and siiles of l)acoii were freely east into the fire, to ercate more steam, and another longer and stronger effort was made to get over the rapids, but in vain.

"After narrowly eseaping tlie destnietion of his boat, tiie captain deemed it prudent to drop down to Logansport again and lighten the boat. Over two huiidi-ed barrels of flour and salt were taken off the boat, which lay that night at the landinu- at Logansport and one hundred or more of the citizens of Ijafayette and Delphi shared the hospitality of their neighbors at Logansport.

"After breakfast the next morning, the most of the passengers walked ai'ound the rapids, and the steamer passed over them the first effort. All joined in congratulations for the success of the morning, which was consiiin-ed a favorable omen for a successful and pleasant trip. We soon reached .Miainisburg and Peru, two little rival towns on the west bank of the Wabash."

roncerning the ai'rival of the Science at Peru in 1835, Graham's "Histoiy of Miami County" says: "She came without notice, and left without ceremony. Tier movements -were governed by the maxim that 'time and tide wait for no - steand)()at.' The water was falling and delay w"as dangerous. Lying to at the l)auk a moment, to allow those who desired a short ride to get aboard, she went up to Chief Godfroy's above the mouth of the Jlississinewa, stopped there a short time, returned, let off her excursionists, and then passed down the river out of sight and was gone."

The steamer Tecumseh, Captain David Laugblin. came up the Wabash to Peru in the sjiring of ISiifi and iirought several consignments of goods to the local nirrrliaiits. This boat aftefwai'd had its name changed to the Logansport and made several ti-ips up the ri\er to that city. There is a stm-y to the effect that Chief Godfrey ottered HioOO to the owner or master of any steamboat that would ascend the Wabash as far as his village. I5oth the Science and the Tecumseh went there, but it is not known which of then, if either, icceived the promised reward. By 1837 indications pointed to an early completion of the Wabash & Erie canal and after that date effoi-t.s to bring steaml)oats up the river as far as Peru practically ceased.

The first railroad in the United States was a line about nine miles in length, running from the town of Maueh Chunk, Pennsylvania, to some coal mines. It was somewluit in the nature of an experiment, but it proved to be a success, and thoughtful men foresaw that this was the oomiiig' method of transportation. Wliilu tlie states were turning their attention to the building of canals as a means of developing their natural resources, a few miles more of railroad were built in the East, though many people wero skeptical as to the ultimate results and many others were strenuously opposed to the introduction of this method of traffic and transportation. About 1830 some young men of Lancaster, Ohio, asked the school board of that town to grant them the use of the school house for the purpose of discussing the railroad question. To this re(|uest the board made the follo'.ving reply:

"You are welcome to the use of the school house to debate all proper questions in. but such things as railroads and telegraphs are impossibilities and rank infidelity. There is nothing in the Word of God about them. If God had designed that his intelligent creatures should travel at the frightful speed of fifteen miles an hour, by steam, He would clearly have foretold it through His holy prophets. It is a device of Satan to lead immortal souls down to hell."

Notwithstanding such oliji-ctions. the railroad gradually found friends among the more progressive element of the population. In th light of modern progress, the arguments of the Lancaster school l)oard in 1830 seem extremely puerile, to say the least. And, although tlie holy prophets failed to foretell a "frightful speed of fifteen miles an hour," it is no uncommon occurrence for the fast passenger trains of the present day to travel at a rate four times that great. In fact, a railroad whose trains did not make greater speed than fifteen miles an hour would hardly be considered as deserving of patronage.

This was the first railroad in ^liami county. It was projected by W. J. Holman, a citizen of the county, as a connecting line between Indianapolis and Peru. Mr. Holman made tlie 'preliminary sm-vey and estimates of cost, in which he undertook to show that the road could be built by the people living along the line. Through the efforts of Mr. Holman, the Peru & Indianapolis Railroad Company was incorporated on Jaiuiary 19. 1846. Among the members of the first board of directors were W. J. Holman, J. T. Miller, N. 0. Ross, G. S. Fenimore, William Kessler and R. L. Britton. of Miami county. The first funds subscribed, amounting to about .^soOO, were paid to General T. A. Morris, of Indianapolis, to make an estimate of the cost of construction. In June, 1849, the directors asked the people of Miami county to support a proposition authorizing the county to subscribe .1*20,000 for the completion of the road. A large majority of the taxpayers voted for the subscription, and upon the strength of this subsidy a loan of .$10,000 was iicgotiati'il, wliicli sum \v;is pliiccii in the hands of Ihe directors. Work was coininem-fd on the road at Indianapolis and in time was eonipleted as I'ar as Noblesviile, where the money ran out and further construction was suspended until additional aid could be secured from the counties along the line. Blost of the counties responded with help, but in the meantime the mortgagees, who had loaned the company the $10,000 in 1849, became somewhat anxious and the company got into the courts, which caused aiiother delay.

After many trials and tribulations, the road was completed to Peru in the spring of 1854. Shops and a round-house were built at Peru in the fall of 1853. In 186!) connection was made with ^licliigan City, by means of a road called the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville, which ran from Peru to Laporte, and the completed line then took the name of the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railroad. Four years later the old shops, in the southwest pait of Peru, were abandoned and new ones were erected in the northwestern part of the city. When, Ijcfore the removal, arrangements for a change of shop location and right of way through the city of Peru were begun, the citizens of the municipality became interested and the right of way, as it is today, was donated, James IM. Brown, A. N. Dukes, A. C. Brownell, William Rassner and others being conspicuously active for the city's welfare. A contract was entered into between the common council and the railroad company providing for a reversion of title both of the right of way and shop site in the event that the shops should ever be removed from the city. On one or two occasions this contract has stood the city in good stead when under !iew management or new ownership the company has manifested a disposition to abandon them. In 1881 the road was leased by what is now the Wabash Railroad Company, by which it was operated until 1887. when the lease was surrendered and the road passed into new hands, becoming a part of the Lake Erie & Western System, the main line of which runs from Sandusky, Ohio, to Peoria, Illinois. It is still known as the Lake Erie & Western, though it is now under the control of the New York Central System.

Another change in the right of way was effected in 18!)5 through the efforts of C. IT. Brownell, who succeeded in having a removal of the long switch which then ran east on Main street to Forest and then diagonally across many lots, now regularly platted and adorned with comfortable homes, to the old woolen mills. The switch was changed to leave the main line near the bridge, then nan east along the canal to a point east of Forest street, where it angles slightly toward the north and on to its original drstination.

Soon after work w.is eomiiu-nei'd on .the Peru & Indianapoli.s Railroad the preliminary steps were taken to build a railroad from Toledo, Ohio, to St. Louis. Missouri, down the Wabash valley. The first active work dolie on this project was in a meeting' at Logansport on June 23, 1852. At that meeting were a number of eastern capitalists, as well as the leadintr business men of the Wabash valley. James B. Fulwiler and L. D. Adkinson. of Peru, being among the number. It is said that when Daniel D. Pratt was called on for some expression as to the advisability of building the road, he w.ilked over to the secretary's table and signed his name for a handsome sum of money, remarking at the time; "There is my speech." His example was quickly followed and before the meeting adjourned a large part of the money necessary for the construction of the road had been subscribed.

A company was then incorporated under the name of the Wabash. St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company and such encouragement was given to the undertaking by the people living along the route that the road was completed in 1856. When this company leased the Lake Erie & Western the head<|uarters of the western division were removed from Fort Wayne to Peru and the office of the chief train despatcher was also located there. This action on the part of the Wabash added to the importance of Pern as a railroad center.

This road, which belongs to the system known as the Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsbui'gh. has been an important factiir in the development of the southern part of ^liami county. It enters the county near the southeast corner and follows a northwesterly course, through the towns of Converse, Amboy, North Grove, Loree and Bunker Hill, and crosses the western boundary about two miles north of the southwest corner of Pipe Creek townsliip. It was built through the county immediately after the close of the Civil war, having been completed about 1867. It gives the southern part of the county a direct line to Chicago and all the great eastern commercial centers.

When this road was securing and surveying its right of way through Miami county it proposed to come to Peru and make this its shop headquarters. AU the company asked of the Peru people was a bridge to span the Wabash river. In this day of subsidies and bonuses it is scarcely conceivable that so liberal a proposition should meet with opposition, but a sufficient number of influential people arrayed themselves a.irainst the proposal to defeat it. Tlie road then went to Logansport and ]M-aetically made that citj-. The people of Peru have never ceased to regret, even to this day, their short-siglitedness. Many who actively opposed the proi)osition lived to regret their action.

What is known as tlic Eel River Railroad was consti'ucted through .Miami cdunty in 1871 and 1S72. It runs from Logansport to Butler, Indiana, and from tlie latter point its trains run to Detroit over the tracks of another company. The ;\Iiami county stations on this line are Mexico, Denver, Chili and Pettysville. Some years ago the line was leased by the "Wabash for a period of ninety-nine years a* an annual rental of if;90,00(). This lease was made the subject of litigation and was finally set aside by the court, on the gi'ounds that the Wabash could not lease or otherwise control a parallel or competing line. On June 10, 11)01. the road was sold b3' the receiver to Elijah Smith, who represented the oi'iginal .stockholders, for $1,000,000. Not long after that it was leased by the Vandalia Railroad Company, which still operates it. Under the present numagement the character of the service has been iiuiinived and tliH volume of business has been increased.

In 1889 some of the capitalists and manufactures of Peru, desiring some other outlet to the north other than that afforded by the Lake Erie & Western, organized a company to build a line from Peru to Chili, where it would connect with the Eel River road. On Maj' 28, 1889. the people of Peru townshi]) voted an appropriation of $40,000 and the county commissioners ordered a ta.x levy of one dollar on each $;100 worth of property m the township for the years 1889 and 1890 for the construction of flu- road. This tax yielded a fund of nearly $44,000 and after paying the subsidy of $40,000 the balance was turned into the county treasury. The road was completed the same j'ear (1889) and was leased to the Wabash for ninety-nine years.

When the organization was perfected C. H. Brownell was chosen president of the company. Mr. Brownell had long i)een identified with railroad interests as director and otherwise and he was regarded as the logical Peruvian to occupy that position with the new enterprise, which was regarded locally as a remarkable achievement and a harbinger of city expansion and prosperity. It was proposed on the jiart of the Wabash Railroad Comjiany to build extensive slio])s at I'itu and it l)egan to fulfill its part of the contract, building a round-house and shops which are still in use north of the railroad and west of Miami street, but they never grew to the proportions contemplated owing to subsequent litigation and the enforced abandonment l)y the "Wabash of the Peru & Detroit and Eel river lines. Citizens of Logansport, which city had been deprived of the terminal benefits which now naturally accrued to Peru, began a suit to set aside the lease on the ground that the law did not countenance a lease to a competing line. After long litigation this view was upheld by the courts and the well laid plans of the Peru citizens came to naught. For years right of way and tracks of the Peru & Detroit lay idle and went into a state of decay. Finally the road was purchased and rehabilitated by the "Winona Traction Company.

The other local men associated officially with ilr. Brownell on the Peru & Detroit board were Louis B. Fulwiler, secretary and director, and R. A. Edwards, treasurer. The other directors were St. Louis men affiliated with the "Wabash system.

A company was incorporated under this name in the spring of 1893 and came forward with a proposition to build a road through ]\Iiami county, provided encouragement was offered in the way of liberal appropriations. On June 2, 1893, an election w-as held in the townships of Jackson and Peru, at which the people of Jackson voted a subsidy of $15,000 and the people of Peru township, $50,000. To raise the money the commissioners ordered a levy of seventy-five cents on each $100 worth of taxable property in the two townships for the year 1893. Nothing was done by the company that year toward the construction of the road and the commissioners rescinded the order levying the tax. After building about ten miles of road - from Fairmount to jMatthews, in Grant county - the company became involved in law suits with regard to the right of way, and in November, 1895, was placed in the hands of receiver by the Grant county circuit court. It was finally enabled to complete the road from Muncie to Converse.

"When this road was projected in the year 1900 it was known as the Cincinnati, Richmond & Muncie. From Cincinnati to the suburb of Cottage Grove its trains were to run over the tracks of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, and the intention was to extend the line to North Judson, Indiana, whence trains would use the tracks of the

Erie railroad iuto Chicago. On ;\Iarcli 1, 1901, an election was held in the city of Marion on the question of granting fuiaucial aid to the company and the proposition was defeated. Immediately after this the citizens of Peru started a movement to bring the road to that city. On Wednesday evening, March 13, 1901, a meeting was held at the circuit court room to ascertain the sentiment of the people on the subject. Some of those present had been to Richmond to investigate the matter and they reported that the road was being constructed in a substantial manner. A petition that had been prepared, asking the county commissioners to call a special election to vote on the question of granting aid to the road, was read by H. P. Loveland, and speeches were made by N. N. Antrim, E. T. Reasoner, J. O. Cole, F. M. Stutesman, W. C. Bailey, C. A. Cole and a number of others, all of whom expressed themselves in favor of rendering assistance to the company.

The petition recjuested an election, at which the people could vote on the proposition for Peru township to appropriate $60,000 and Jackson township $15,000. the money not to be paid until the road was completed to Peru and trains running between that city and the southem terminus, and it was further stipulated that the road was to be completed to Peru by January 1, 1902. In response to this petition the commissioners ordered an election in the two townships for April 23, 1901. When the* subsidy for the C. R. & M. was about to be voted upon the advocates of the enterprise found that they had opposition, supposedly from the Pennsylvania Railroad, which would meet competition from the new line. An exceedingly active and even bitter campaign followed, with a result probably of a larger majority for. the measure than would otherwise have been accorded. The proposition was carried by handsome majorities in both townships, the terms were accepted by the company and work on the road was prosecuted with such vigor that the first passenger train arrived at Peru at 3 :07 P. M., December 29. 1901. The next day the first passenger train left Peru for Cincinnati.

The first train to arrive at Peru on December 29th was greeted by a large concourse of people, with a brassj band, etc., to celebrate in a fitting manner the completion of the road to that city. A number of Peru people went out and met the train, ju.st to have it said that they were among the passengei-s on the firet train that came in over the C. R. & M. Railway.

On August 5, 1902, a petition was presented to the county commissioners asking for an additional appropriation of $24,450 to aid the road in estiiblishing its round-house and machine shops at Peru, the money not to be paid until the company acquired at least thirty acres of ground and permanently located the said round-house and shoi>s. The petition was signed by sixty-one taxpayei's and in response to this popular request the commissioners ordered an election for September 9, 1902. when the proposition was carried by a substantial majority of the voters of Peru township.

Owing to the fact that the municipal indebtedness of the city of Peru was almost up to the constitutional limit, the matter of raising the money to secure the railroad shops was taken up by the Peru Improvement and Park Association, which was incorporated for that purpose. This association acquired a tract of land "north of and along the Wabash river and south of the Wabash & Erie canal, ea.stwar(l from tlie wagon bridge near the west line of Richardville Reserve No. 5, on what is known as the Reyburu farm, the same to comprise and include the entire grove on said farm." By a special ordinance of the Peru city council, a contract was entered into between the city and the Improvement and Park Association, by which the city was to occupy a certain portion of this land as a public park for a period of ten years, upon payment of an annual rental of $3,200, and was given the option of purchase of said land "at any time within six months after the first day of January, 1913." The association then made preparations for borrowing the necessary amount of money to secure the shops. In a circular issued at the time it is stated:

--Th^ method of borrowing this money is as follows: The Peru Improvement and Park Association will issue $50,000 of bonds in denominations $100 to $1,000 with interest at 5 per cent payable semiannually on January 1st and July 1st, and with the right to pay on those dates on the principal of each bond whatever amount the company is able to pay in addition to the interest due; payments to be made in proportion on all bonds, and no bond whatever to receive any payment unless all other bonds have the same per cent paid. . . . These bonds will be secured by a mortgage duly and legally executed by the -company and covering all the assets of the company enumerated above, excepting the cash subscription, which it is necessary to use to pay the current expenses, and the excess of land and donation over $50,000."

The assets referred to in the preceding paragraph, as set forth in the circular, were: 1. The park contract with the city of Peru; 2. The donation voted by Peru towniship on September 9. 1902; 3. Certain real estate over and above that set apart for park purposes, which could 1)0 platted into lots and sold. The trustees named in the mortgage were James 0. Cole, Frank W. Bearss and Benjamin E. Wallace. The bonds were liberally subscribed for by the people of Peru and in this way was raised the money to secure the permanent location of the roiuidhouse and shops, making Peru a division point on the railroad.

The park sclu'iiu- worked out admirably and in Deeeiiiber, l!)l:i, llie city having paiil the tenth annual rental, exercised its option and, upon payment of the agreed sum of one doUar, i-ec-eived a deed to the park grounds. In the meantime the pai-k assoeiation had paid off its bonds and the whole plan, wiiieh was originally devised to enable the municipality to obligate itself for a large sum without hindranee by the two per cent debt limit, was carried successfully through. Thus the citizens raised a bonus for the city, which, together with that voted at the same time by the township, made an amount sufficient to secure the shops and a binding contract was entered into pledging the shops to be continued here throufjli all subsequent ownerships. Thus, too. the city came into possession of a park without pr-iinarily designing that acquirement. Henry Meinhardt was secretary and- treasurer and Louis B. Fulwiler was president of the Improvement and Park Association and the former did most of the detail work thi-ouglinut all the negotiations. For a short time, however, J. G. Brcckenridge was secretary and Sig. Frank, treasurer.

In 1905, soon after the road was finished to North Judson. it became known as the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville and was operated in connection with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton System. Thus will be noticed the coincidence of two roads called the Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville running through Miami county, though they had no connection with each other whatever. Subsequently it was acquired by the Chesapeake & Ohio, thus giving Peru direct connection with Cincinnati. Washington, and all the principal cities of the East.

At the ]\Iay term of the county commissioners' court in 1900 a petition of the Wabash Rivci' Ti-action Company, asking for a right of way over certain highways, canu' up for consideration and was continued until the next term. On .June 5, 1900, a i)etitibn of the citizens of Peru township asked the commissionei-s to order an election in said township, "to vote on the question of appropriating $20,000 for the construction of an electric railway through the township by the Wabash River Traction Company. "" At the same time a remonstrance was filed, but the board granted tlie petitioners the privilege of amending their petition. When the amended jietition came before the board on the 8th, arguments for and against it were heai-d, after which the commissioners refused to order the election. Thus ended the first effort to secure ill! electric line to Peru.

in the Peru and Paw Paw gravel road at a point where the said road is intersected by the east line of the corporate limits of the City of Peru ; thence along the said Peru and Paw Paw gravel road in an eastwardly direction to a point where the same is intersected by the public highway running in an eastwardly direction along the south side of the Wabash & Erie Canal ; thence along the said highway on the south side of the Wabash & Erie Canal in an eastwardly direction to the county line between Miami county and Wabash county."

This petition was supplemented by one from some of the property holders along the proposed route, asking that the right of way be granted. Accordingly, the commissioners granted the company a franchise for fifty years, with the privilege of using the desired route, under certain conditions. About the same time the city authorities of Peru gave the company the privilege of laying its tracks and running cars upon certain streets in that city. The first car on this line came into Peru on July 1, 1901, drawn by three horses, laying out the cable for the trolley line. Six cars an-ived on July 4, 1901, and four more came in on the 9th. These were taken to the power house and made ready for service and on the 27th regular ear service was inaugurated.

On September 3, 1901, Fred C. Boyd, who had been interested in the Wabash River Traction Compau.y from the beginning, as trustee, petitioned for a right of way and franchise over certain roads from the western limits of the city of Peru to the county line. His petition was granted the same day, but with the understanding that no special elections should be asked for to vote aid in building the road, and that the company should keep in repair all ditches and bridges, building new bridges where the old ones were not sufficiently strong to support the weight of the cars. It was further stipulated that the franchise, with the conditions imposed, should be accepted by June 1, 1902, or the franchise would be forfeited. On May 7, 1902. Boyd accepted the terms of the franchise and on the same day transferred it to the Wabash River Traction Company. In due time the line was completed to Fort Wayne on the east and to Lafayette on the west, and is now known as the Fort Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company.

Early in the year 1902 the Indianapolis Northern Traction Company was given a right of way through the southern part of the county. On Jlarch 25, 1902, George F. McCullough, Horace C. Stilwell, H. A. Richardson and other representatives of the Indiana Union Traction Company visited Peru looking for a franchise and terminal for an electric line from Kokomo. Satisfactory arrangements were made and this company acquired the franchise of the Indianapolis Northern. On October 6, 1903, permission was asked by the company to build an abut- lucnt oil the north bank nf tlic Wabash river I'or a bridge, at tlie foot of Broadway. The request was panted, the bridge was finished and early in 1904 Pern was eonneeted with Tiidianapolis liy an electric railway.

Late ill the year 1904 a petition wa.s presented to tlie board of county coniiiiissioners re(Hi('Stiiii;' a special election in Pern township for the purpose of voting on the (piestion of an appropriation to the Winona Interiirbaii Railway, 'i'he trustees of the Winona Assembly, who were among the jirojeetors of the road, agreed to pay the expenses of holding the election and the board ordered that an election lie held on Tuesday, February 14, 1905. On Friday evening before the election a meeting was held at the eonrt-house in Peru, at which S. C. Dickey, one of the principal pi-omoters of tiie road, was one of the speakers. He explained the aims and advantages of the road and though the 14th was a very cold day a fair vote was polled. The proposition was carried - 1,288 to 776 - and the subsidy of $25,000 was thus granted to aid in the construction of the line.

On ]\lareh 20. 1905, ^Ir. Dickey met with a number of citizens of Perry township and urged them to petition the commissioners for au election, by which the people of that township might voice their sentiments with reg;ird to an appropiation of .$15,000. In Augu.st, 1901, the voters of Perry had expressed themselves in favor of a subsidy of $10,000 for an electric line to run from Wabash to Rochester. That road was never built, but the order for the appropriation had not been rescinded and the people did not care to burden themselves with an additional subsidy. To obviate this difficulty, Mr. Dickey agreed that, if the electors of the township should vote $15,000 to his road, and the road from Wabash to Rochester should be built, he would accept $5,000 and allow the old subsidy of 1901 to stand in favor of the other company. With this niidi'i'standing the board of commissioners ordered an election for i\la.y IG, 1905, when the proposition to give $15,000 to aid in the construction of the Winona line was carried by a majority of fortynine votes in the township.

With the $40,000 voted by Peru and I'crry townships, and the money derived from other sources, the road was completed about the close of the year 1905. This road uses the old tracks of the Peru & Detroit Railroad from Peru to Chili, that road having been abandoned when the Eel River Railroad was acquired by the Vandalia. The Winona Interurban cars run to Goshen, the county seat of Elkhart county, where they connect with the (Chicago, South Bend & Northern Indiana Electric Railway.

It is certainly appropriate that the subject of drainage should come in this chapter on Internal Improvements, although the ditches for reclaiming swamp lands and improving the farms of the county have been constructed in a manner entirely different from that used in the building of railroads or the construction of public highways. Railroads are usually built by corporations with funds derived from the sale of stock or voted as subsidies by the people of the townships through which the line passes; public highways are constructed and kept in repair by a general tax levy, but the cost of public ditches is assessed against the lands drained by them in proportion to the benefits received.

Old settlers can remember when practically the entire southern part of Miami county and some sections of the northern part were too wet for farming purposes, especially in the early spring, when the snow melted, to which were frequently added heavy spring rains. These low. wet lands were the last to be settled and in their natural state they were the source of much of the fever and ague with which the early settlers had to contend. Drainage has not only improved the land for agricultural purpo.ses, but it has also improved the health of the county's inhabitants.

Several years before any pulilic drainage law was pa,ssed by the Indiana legislature, some of the Miami county farmers undertook the work of improving their farms by the introduction of tile drains. The first tile was used in the county in 1869. In 1875 the legislature passed a ditch law. The first ditch constructed in Miami county is wliat is known as the Mud Creek Ditch, in Allen and Union townships. It was petitioned for in 1878 and was completed in the fall of 1879. In 1881 the act of 1875 and all supplementary acts were repealed by -'An Act to enable the owners of lands to drain and reclaim them, when the .same can not be done without affecting the lands of others, prescriliing the powers and duties of county commissioners and other officers in the premises, and to provide for the repair and enlargement of such drains, and repealing certain acts therein specified, and declaring an emergency. ' '

Under the provisions of this law one or more land owners could petition the board of county commissioners for a ditch, setting forth its general description, and they were required to furnish bond that they would pay the co.st of the proceedings, in case the ditch was not established. If the three disinterested persons, appointed by the commissioners as viewers, reported favorable, and no remonstrance was offered, the board ordered the construction of the ditch. It was not long until

This hnv c-rcatcd the olficc of drainapfc conuaissioner, the incuml)ent of whic'li was to he a])i>oiiiti'd liy the eounty coniniissiont'rs. William Zeliriiig was the first drainage coinmissioiier of lliami county. The entire proceedings under this act ai-e in the circuit court. A petition is presented to the judge, who appoints a conunis.sioner to' act with the drainage connnissioner and the county surveyoi' in viewing the proposed ditch. If they i-eport in favor of its construction it is so ordered by the coui-t.

On .March 4, 189.'i, what is known as the Drainage District law went into effect. Under its ])rovisions a drain niaj- be constructed and kept in repair by nnitnal agreement of the owners of the lands affected. All ditches therefore come under three genei-al heads, viz. : Connnissioner ditch, Circuit Court ditch, or Drainage District ditch. The Connnissioner and Circuit Coui-t ditches are kept in repair liy the township trustees.

The following table shows, in i-ound figures, the approximate numbei- of miles of ])ublic ditch in each township of the county, with the cost of construction :

These figures include only the main ditches and the original cost of eonstruft ion. Tm many instances hi'anciics have been opened sin<'e the main ditch was constructed and large sums have been assessed against the lands for widening, deepening and otherwise improving some of the ditches after they were built and found insufficient. The public ditches afford an outlet for the numerous tile drains that farmers have put in at their own expense. Peter Kelly, while serving as drainage commissioner some years ago. estimated that the cost of these private tile drains would average close to ten dollars per acre, or more than $2,000,000 for the entire county. In some instances the cost of private drains upon a farm has run as high as $30 an acre, and in a few instances it has reached $50.

But even at that figure the money spent in tile drains has been a good investment for the farmer. It is related of an old German farmer in the southern part of Washington to^^^lship. some forty years ago, that after successive crop failures on account of the low lands upon his farm, announced his intention of mortgaging the place to buy tile. His wife, with visions of deeper debt and an old age in the poor house, tried to dissuade him from his purpose. He finally succeeded in overcoming her objections, the mortgage was executed, the tile purchased and judiciously distrilnited over the farm, and the next season he had good crops, while his neighbors were "drowned out." Three years was sufficient to lift the mortgage, his debts were all paid and he was on the high road to prosperity. His example was followed by his neighbors with the result that what was once a breeding place for malaria and mosquitoes is now one of the most fertile sections of the countv.

Finance And Industry

Public Finances - Bonded Debt of the County - Banks - Trust Companies - Agriculture - Statistics Relating to Crops and Live Stock - ]\Ianufacturing - CnARACTER op the First Factories - Peru as a Manufacturing Center - Natural Gas Era - Its Influence on Industry - Oakdale - Report of Bureau op Inspection - The Oil Field - Outside Industries - Factories in Other Towns.

The people of ]\Iiami county are to be congratulated upon the fact that the public revenues have always been managed in such a manner that at no time has the indebtedness been burdensome to the taxpayers. Bonds have been issued from time to time for specific purposes, but with each issue provisions were made for the redemption of the bonds as they fell due. At the close of the year 1913 the bonded debt of the -county was $667,852, which was distributed as follows :

The gravel road bonds are pi'oportioned among the several townships of the county, according to the amount of imjjroved highway in each, and might be considered a township ol)ligation rather than a county debt, though the bonds are issued by the board of county commissioners upon jiftition of the taxpayers for the construction of a gi'avel road. The original issue of the coTU-thouse bonds was $280,000, but after bids were received it was found that the amount was more tlian necessary and a few of the t)onds wei'e canceled. For the construction of the concrete bridge bonds to the amount of $20,000 were issued, only $4,000 of wliich remained unpaid at the close of the year 1913. The issue of bonds for the construction of the bridge across the Wabash river at the foot of Broadway, in the city of Peru, was made necessary by the great flood of March. 1913. which carried the old bridge away. According to the tax duplicate foi- the year 1913. the assessed value of the taxable property of the county was nearly $17,500,000. hence the bonded indelitedness is less than four per cent of the property value.

Although the figures in the principal item - the gravel road bonds - may seem large, when the reader stops to reflect that ^liami county has many miles of improved roads, and that the mileage is l)eing constantly increased, it will be seen that every dollar of these bonds represents a permanent investment, the profits of which can hardl\- be estimated. So, too, the county has something to show for the bonds issued in the other cases. Miami county has one of the best appointed courthouses in the state, the cost of whicii was not excessive when compared with public buildings of like character elsewhere: the concrete bridge over the Waliash river is one of the largest of its kind in the country and so well built that it withstood the pressure of the great flood of March, 1913, that carried other bridges away as if they were built of cork; and the Broadway bridge, when completed, will .soon pay for itself in the advantages afforded to the farmers south of the Wabash and the business interests of the city of Peru.

congress, approv<'(i l^'chriiaiy 2."), 1S().'}, iuitiioiizing the establishment of national banks. K. II. Shirk, who started tlie institution as a private bank, was the prinei])al promoter and the first president alter the organization as a national I)ank. The first board of direetors was composed of I'^ IT. Sliii-k. Roliirt .MiJlei', .Taiue.s Ilolienshade. Jaeob Ki-eutzer, George L. Dai'l. W. \V. Constant and Alirahaiu Leedy. Mai-k Ilaynes was the first cashici- and .M. S. Robinson the seeond. Tlic liank opened for business in a small frame building at No. 6 Soilth Broadway, but in a short time was removed to a new building on the eorner lot at the northwest eorner of Main and liroadway. In 1889 a new building was ereeted upon this same lot, l)ut on tlie corner, by the bank, where it now has a permanent location. The original capital stock of $75,000 has been increased to $100,000 and the surplus amounts to about as much more. At tlic close of the year 191li the deposits were about $1,500,000. In l'Jl;i the interior of the bank was completely remodeled and an armor plate safety vault installed. This is one of the three armor plate safet.y deposits in the state of Indiana, the other tw'o being located in the city of Indianapolis. The officers of the bank at the beginning of the year 1914 were : R. A. Edwards, president ; J. O. Cole and G. R. Chamberlain, vice-])residents ; M. A. Edwards, cashier; Lloyd V. Smith, assistant cashier.

Jn February, 1867, the firm of Bonds, Iloagland & Comiiany opened a pi'ivate bank at No. 6 South Broadway. It continued as a private bank until in July, ISTl, when it was reorganized as the Citizens' National Bank of Peru, with I). C. Darrow as president and M. S. Rol)inson as cashier. The first board of directors consisted of the president, cashier, A. C. Brownell, C. D. Bond, N. 0. Ross, William Smith anil K. K. Donaldson. President Darrow resigned in July, 1883, when Chark's II. P.rownell was elected to the office, which he still holds. Not long after this change in the executive head of the bank till- board of directors authorized the purchase of the property at No. 16 North Broadway, opjjosite the courthouse, where a building has been erected and occupied by the bank since September, 1886. The capital stock of the Citizens' National is $100,000, the surplus .$25,000 and the deposits over $400,000. At the close of the year 19i;i the officers were: C. II. Brownell, president; Charles R. Hughes, vice-president; C. :\I. Charters, cashier; G. E. Potter, assistant cashier.

The Peru Trust Company is the outgrowth of the Miami County Loan and Savings Association, which was incorporated on .lanuary 13, 1891, with a capital stock of .$500,000. It began business on February 2, 1891, in a room over Hale's store and during the first five years of its career accumulated over $175,000 iu assets and paid out over $26,000 iu dividends to its depositors. In 1897 the association leased the buikling on North Broadway, where its successor - the Peru Trust Company - is now located. On Saturday, July 13, 1901, some of the depositors became uneasy and started a run upon the association. Over $40,000 passed over the counter that day in balancing accounts. Before the doors were opened the following Monday morning there was a large crowd in front of the building and it looked as though the run w^as to be continued. In the meantime the association had called in its reserves from Chicago and when the doors were opened there was a literal "barrel of money" iu the window, in plain view of those on the street. This had a salutary etfect and the knowledge that the association had among its assets about $400,000 of mortgage securities checked the run and restored confidence. On the evening of January 14. 1904, the iliami Couuty Loan and Savings Association closed its doors and the next morning the Peru Trust Company began business in the same room with the same officers, the change having been made without friction or inconvenience. At the close of the year 1913 the capital stock of the company was $100,000, the surphis $25,000, and the deposits over $1,000,000. The officers at that time were as follows: Joseph H. Shirk, president; Elbert AV. Shirk, vice-president; E. L. Miller, secretary; C. W. Beecher assistant secretary. Mr. Alillcr has been secretary of the institution ever .since it started as the Miami County Loan and Savings Association in February, 1891.

The Wabash Valley Tnist Company received a charter early in the year 1904 and opened its doors for business on the 21st of March, with the following officers: B. E. Wallace, president; F. R. Fowler and C. H. Brownell, vice-presidents; W. W. Sullivan, secretary; Charles R. Hughes, treasurer. The death of Mr. Fowler left a vacancy that has not been filled and the offices of secretary and treasurer have been consolidated, the position being filled by Mr. Sullivan, with A. E. Cathcart as assistant secretary and treasurer. The company owns the building at the southwest corner of Alain and Broadway, the main floor of which is used for the general banking and trust company business, and the basement for the abstract, real estate and insurance departments. At the beginning the capital stock was $100,000, which was increased to $150,000 - all paid up - on January 1, 1914. Its deposits at that time were over $700,000.

About the beginning of the present century banks were opened in a number of Indiana towns by Chicago capitalists and others from outside of the state. Some of these banks have survived, but a large immbtT of thciu were short-lived. In VM)0 a bank was started at Denver liy W. G. Green, formerly of Toledo, Ohio, and a Mr. Iloban opened a bank at nunker Hill. The Hunker Hill bank elosed its doors in May, 1901. A meetint; of tiie depositors was held on IMay 18. 1901, at wliieh it was decided to reorganize and open the bank. This was done, but after a short time its affaii's were liquidated and the bank was closed permanently. Green's bank at Denver elosed on June 11. 1901, the proprietor leaving a note stating that he was eulled away from town but would soon return. The depositors became suspicious and upon .Mr. Green's return started a run on the bank that forced it to susi)end. Green was arrested by a deputy United States marshal and taken before the United States commissioner at Logansi>ort, where he was found iiniocent of any criminal intent and was released. The lloosier Basket Company at Denver was so seriously affected by the failure of the bank th{.t it was forced to suspend operations for a time.

The Farmers" State Bank of Bunker Hill was established in 1906 by local cai)italists. Its capital stock was fixed at .^25,000, all paid up, and tile bank has had a fairly prosperous career. In 1913 A. E. Zehring was president and J. W. Duckwall was cashier. The deposits at the close of that year amounted to about $100,000.

In 1907 the Farmers' Bank of Converse was incorporated with a capital stock of .$25,000, all of which is owned by local people. The deposits at the close of the year were in excess of $] 60,000. At that time Fred Green was president and J. Rich, cashier. This bank is located in a good building, commands the confidence of the community ajid is well pati-onized by the citizens of Converse and the adjacent farmers.

The town of Amboy has two banks. The ]Miami County Bank organized in 1902 and reorganized in 1907 with a capital stock of $13,500 and at the close of the year 1913 carried about $125,000 in deposits. C. W. Cole was at that time president of the bank and O. C. Atkinson was cashier. The Amboy Bank began business in the early part of the year 1913. Its capital stock is $10,000 and according to the Bankers' Directory for July, 1913, its deposits then amounted to $15,000. M. P. Pearson is i)re.sident and II. East is cashier.

The Citizens' Bank of ^Macy was organized on November 10, 1908, with a capital stock of $10,000. This stock was all subscribed and paid up by citizens of i\Iacy and the immediate vicinity. Jacob G. Smith is the president and S. H. Musselman, cashier. This bank has comfortable quarters on Commerce street and carries deposits amounting to $125,000.

Ou June 3, 19U9, the Farmers' Bauk of Deiivei- began business with a paid up capital stock of $10,000. The officers of the bank at the opening were Ileury Lewis, president; I. C. Brower, vice-president; Noble B. Hunt, cashier. These gentlemen still retain their respective positions. A statement issued by this bank at the close of business on March 10, 1913, shows that at that time the surplus amounted to $1,500 and the deposits to nearly $80,000. The bank owns its building and enjoys the confidence of its patrons.

Banks were established at Mexico and Miami in the summer of 1913. C. H. Black, a prominent business man and manufacturer of Mexico, is at the head of the bank in that town and James Stedman is president of the iliami Bank.

With the banks and trust companies in the city of Peru and those above enumerated in the other towns, Miami county is well provided with banking facilities. These financial institutions are all owned and controlled by citizen of the county, whose personal interests are identical with those of other citzens, hence each bank official and director in the county is interested in the maintenance of a policy that bj' promoting the general financial welfare of the community will enhance the profits of his own institution. Satisfied with reasonable returns from a banking business conducted along legitimate lines, the general policy of Miami county banks is to be conservative, but without being at the same time non-progressive. Most of the men at the head of these banks are men of experience in financial matters, whose judgment in business aifairs can be safely trusted, so that the institutions with which they are connected command local confidence and credit abroad.

For many years after the first white settlers came into Miami county, farming was practically the only occuiJation of the jjeople, and it is still the principal industry and source of wealth. Concerning the agricultural conditions, the last biennial report of the state bureau of statistics, published in 1912, says:

"]\Iiami county, situated as it is in the center of the northern half of Indiana, includes within its borders nearly every industry known to that section of the state. The county is a rich agricultural one, and the variety of her soils enables her to produce every crop which can be grown in Indiana. Across the southern end of the county extends a broad belt of black loam. Through the center run the fertile vallevs of the "Wabash, the Mississinewa and Eel rivers.

"All of the ortlinary farm crops are grown in abundance, and in the past few years products for the canning factory have been raised quite extensively. The possibilities of fruit raising on a commercial scale are just beginning to be realized and a number of first-class apple and pear orchai'ds liave been set out. Stock raising is carried on quite generally by the farmers and there ifre several fine breeding faiiuis in the couiily. Tlic eounty is now quite thoroughly drained and threaded li.\ ;i network of gravel roads."

The following table shows the acreage and quantity of some of the leatling crops for the year 1911, the last year included in the statistical report :

The potato crop given in the table is only a little more than half that of the preceding year, when the acreage was 577 and the number of bushels raised 50,209. The production of ()rairie hay was less than half that of the year before, due principally to the fact tliat tile low lauds adapted to the production of i)rairie or marsh hay have pi-actieally all disappeared under the tliorough sy.stem of drainage and have been planted to more jirotitable crops. In 1910 there were 1,007 bushels of Iterries and 2,374 bushels of apples, peaches, pears and plums raised in the county. In 1911 the berry crop had increased to 1,583 bushels and that of the other fruits to 24,515 bushels. These figures bear out the statement of the statistician that "the possibilities of fruit raising on a commercial scale ai-e just begiiniiiig to })e i-ealized." Since that report was issued by the liureau, hundreds of fruit trees have been set out in all parts of the county and it is only a (|uestion of a short time when Miami will rank among the fruit growing counties of the state.

acre of the leading products Miami makes a favorable showing. On this basis, of the ninety-two counties in the state, she stood fifth in the production of wheat, ninth in oats and sixteenth in corn.

Considerable attention is given to dairying. During the year there were sold 2,329,835 gallons of milk, Avhich brought $257,972, and 268,254 pounds of butter, for $55,733. The number of dozen eggs marketed was 805,366, for which the farmers received $155,870.

In connection with the agricultural and stock raising industry, it is worthy of note that John Miller, of Jefferson township, has taken more prizes at world's and state fairs and other live stock exhibits than any cattle man in Indiana. Mrs. Miller has two or more bed quilts made of ribbons awarded her husband in these stock show.s - most of them representing tirst prizes - and the supply of ribbons was not then exhausted. Mr. Miller has sold cattle all over the country and even to breeders in South America. Another prominent cattle raiser in the county is Clem Graves, of Pipe Creek township, who a few years ago sold a single Hereford liull foi- the handsome sum of $10,000, Since then he has sold his herd and engaged in other lines of business.

The statistics above given indicate that the farmers of ]\liami county are prosperous, as a rule, and the traveler through the county sees evidence of this prosperity on every hand. Good dwelling houses and barns, bountiful crops and an abundance of live stock, much of which is of thoroughbred varieties, bear out the statement that the farmer is still the industrial king in the eountv. Another evidence of the fariners' prosi)urity is round iu the statistics, which sliow that during the year 1911 the indebtedness secured by farm mortgages was reduced from $585,384 to $318,665.

The earliest manufactories in Jliami county were of the most simple character, intended to produce only such articles as were in demand in a new country. These first factories included saw and grist mills, the country tan-yard, wagon shops, an occasional hat factory, carding machines, etc. In the c-hapters on Township History will be found mention of a number of the early mills, hence it is not necessary to repeat their history in this chapter.

Peru is naturally the manufacturing center of the county, being the county seat and greatest i-ailroad center. The first foundry in the city was established in 1843 by F. S. & George Ilackley. A new building was erected about 1860 and the business of the concern was greatly enlarged, the Junior partner retiring about that time. After the death of F. S. Hackley the business was continued by his son for a time, when the plant was sold to Thomas Lovett. Later the firm of Lovett & Rettig was formed and began the manufacture of agricultural implements. About 1884 A. -J. Ross succeeded to the business and conducted it for a while. Then after some further changes in ownership and management the buildings were acquired by the Standard Cabinet !Mainifaeturiiig Company.

In 1853 the railroad shops of the Peru & Indianapolis (now the Lake Erie & Western) Railroad were built in the southwestern part of the city. Twenty years later they were removed to their present location in the northwestern part of the city and the old ])uildings were occupied by some Peru capitalists as a packing house. A considerable number of hogs were killed annually for e.\port, but the competition from the packing companies of Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati became so great that the business was found to be unprofitable and was discontinued. When the Lake Erie shops were first opened in 1853 they employed about forty men on an average, the year round. According to the last report of the State Bureau of Inspection, Nie number employed in the shops in 1912 was 149.

The Peru Woolen Mills were established in 1865 by H. E. & C. F. Sterne on West Canal street, just west of Broadway. The Commercial hotel now occupies part of the building. The first mill was what is known as a "five set" mill, i. e., consisting of five sets of cards, and had in addition some 1,500 spindles. This miU was destroyed by fire iu January, 1868, and a new building 66 by 300 feet was erected in the western part of the city. At the same time M. Oppeiilieimer was taken in as a partner. Siibsequentlj' two other buildings, each 44 by 300 feet, were erected and in 1874 L. Mergentheim became associated with the enterprise. In February, 1877, Harry W. Strouse succeeded Henry Sterne in the tirm and in 1886 the business was conducted by the firm of Mergentheim, Sterne & Strouse, which afforded employment to about 150 people. During the palmy days of this industry the mills turned out large quantities of jeans, Hannels, cassimeres, blankets and other cloths and the firm won a number of premiums for the quality of their goods in competitive exliibits. Upon the death of Louis Mergentheim the mills were closed and stood idle for a number of years. Then Josiah Turner received a small bonus from the people of Peru and reopened the mills. His undertaking was not a success and the plant was sold to the Racine Woolen Mills Company, of Racine, Wisconsin, which carried on the business until the panic in the fall of 1907, when the mills were again closed. The best of the machineiy was afterward sold to the Mexico Woolen Mills Company when it was incorporated in 1912 and the buildings are now used as a sectional box factory by Cramer Brothers & Unger.

There was at one time, probabl.y as early as the '50s, a woolen mill in the eastern part of the city, near the canal and east of the Howe factory. It was established by Asa Thomas and was run by water power. Later it was owned by Isaac Armfield, and still later by John and Ab. Wilson. The principal products were rolls and woolen yarns.

East of this woolen mill Jesse Smith established a distillery at an early date. It did a dourishing business until the passage of the internalrevenue law Ifevying a tax upon spirits, when it was discontinued. A. C. Brownell was interested in this institution during the latter part of its career.

Andrew Baldner once operated a brewery on Canal street, about a s(|uare east of Broadway, and at one time it was one of the prosperous business enterprises of Peru. Like the old water power woolen mill and the distillery, it has disappeared and scarcely a trace of these early industries remains to show where they stood.

Wilkinson & Pomeroy's planing null was established in 1860 by Daniel Wilkinson, who came to Peru in that year with a sawmill, which was located in the southwestern part of the town. The sawmill burned in 1865, but was immediately rebuilt. Two years later Mr. Wilkinson sold out and built a frame structure where the present mill is located. This building was practically destroyed by fire in 1872, when the brick mill was erected. Some years later Mr. Pomeroy purchased an interest in the business and the miU now manufactures fine interior woodwork, sash, doors, office and store fixtures, ete. Daniel Wilkinson died aliout twenty nr twenty-five years ago, and his iic])hew, W;dter Wilkinson, heeanic liis suoeessor in the firm.

In 1870. when the Howe Sewini; .Machine Conijjany was looking; i'oi' a location for a western branch, a representative of the company came to Pern with a proposition to establish a factory for the production of the woodwork, the factory to have a capacity of nine hundred machines per day and employ from four hundred to five hundred persons. The citizens of Peru donated a site and a larfje portion of the building materials and the concern began work under favorable auspices. The factory had not been ruiniing long when the buildings were almost completely destroyed by fire, causing a property loss of something like .^200, 000. E. P. Loveland and John Cummings, two well known citizens of P«ru, lost their lives while trying to save the property by being caught by the falling roof. The plant was immediately rebuilt and continued under the name of the Howe Factory until 1875, when it was succeeded by the Indiana Manufacturing Company. Some donations were made to this company, which was regularly incorporated on July 1, 1875, with a capital stcjck of $500,000. Among the stockholders were A. N. Dukes, E. W. and M. Shirk, R. A. Edwards and A. J. Huffman. The company continued the manufacture of sewing machine woodwork, but added to it the manufacture of refrigerators and wooden rims for bicycles. Its products went to all parts of the United States and even to European countries and Australia. In 1881 it passed into the hands of a receiver - A. N. Dukes - who brought it out of its financial distress, increased the nuiuliei' of employees, erected some new buildings, reorganized it as the Indiana ^lainifacturing Company, and continued the manufacture of goods which annually found a larger .sale. In 1!)12 there were 367 people employed by the company, but the great flood of March, 1913, again forced the woi'ks into tlie hands of a receiver, the loss by the flood being reported as .'t;250,O0O. It lias since been purchased by the Shirk interests and reorganized as the United States Refrigerators Company. It has often employed as high as five hundred people.

Tn 1871. the year following the establishment of the Howe factory, tile Claris Wheel factory was started in South Peru, the board of directors being constituted of Messrs. Maris. Shirk, Clifton, Rettig, Constant and Smith, in 1874 the factory was purchased by John Clifton, Sr., and the next year a fire caused a loss of $20,000. The concern was then reorganized as a furniture factory, but a year later the buildings were so badly damaged by fire that the enterprise was abandoned. The Clifl'toii brickyai'ds were once a paying ind^istry of South Peru, many of the brick used in I'crii having been made there.

About the time this wheel facton- was started, or perhaps a few months earlier, John Coyle built a flax and tow mill in Peru. The next year a Mr. Torrey, of New Jersey, became associated with :\Ir. Coyle and a baggring mill was added. Some years later Coyle & Torrey were succeeded by the tirm of Lehman, Rosenthal & Kraus, who carried on the business for about twenty years. Mr. Rosenthal died, Mr. Lehman retired from the firm, and the mills were then operated by Charles J. Kraus & Sons, under the name of the Peru Bagging Company. For many years this mill had a large trade in the southern states, where its product was used in baling cotton. Jute bagging is one of the i)roducts affected by the tariff and this fact, together with the introduction of the cotton compress, rendered the business unprofitable and about 1909 the mills in Peru were closed.

Gardner, Blish & Company removed to Peru from Antioch (now Andrews) in 1872 and started the Peru Basket Factory, which also manufactured hoops for barrels. Six years later the firm failed and James il. Brown was appointed receiver. The factory then passed into the hands of the Citizens' National Bank, which leased the building to Lewis Benedict in 1880. In 1882 Henton and Tall)ot purchased the plant and about eighteen months later Mr. Henton withdrew, leaving Frank M. Talbot sole pi-oprietor. He continued in the business until the spring of 1893, when he removed a part of the machinery away from tlie city, and in June the buildings were occupied by the Peru Basket Company, of which G. R. Chamberlain was president; Azro Wilkinson, secretary; and J. J. Ke^'CS, manager. For about a year the company ran a hoop factory in connection with the manufacture of baskets. This department was then abandoned. Some years later Mr. Wilkinson retired from the company and subsequently Mr. Keyes also withdrew, leaving Mr. Chamberlain in full control. In the winter of 1911-12 the buildings were partly destroyed by fire, but they were rebuilt and the company now employs about seventy people, turning out some two thousand dozen baskets weekly.

B. F. Dow & Company, who had previously been engaged in the manufacture of farm implements at Fowlerville, New York, came to Peru in 1880 and secured a donation of !i^lO,000 to start a similar factory there. Buildings were erected north of the Wabash tracks and in May, 1881, the factory began business. The principal products were portable engines and threshing machines, which were sold over a large territory, and in connection was a foundry for the purpose of supplying all kinds of repairs for farm implements. By November, 1883, the firm had become so deeph' involved financiallj' that the works were placed in the bands of J. G. Blythe as receiver. His final report was made on January

1, 1887. iiffcr wliieli the Imildings were allowed to stand idle for several years, when they were taken by the Carbon Company. They are now oeeupied by the Peru Electric Company.

About the time the Dow factory was established S. Tudor & Company started a packing house in South Peru for the purpose of packing butter, eggs and poultry for the New York market. Although not a large concern this house has continued in business and now employs about half a dozen people in handling poultry, eggs and dairy products. The old building in South Peru was burned and the firm removed across the river to Peru.

On June 13, 1881, the first telephone exchange was opened in Peru by the Bell Telephone Company. At that time the telephone was almost in its infancy and its future undetermined. Three years later Charles H. Browiiell accjuired the John Muhlfield planing mill, started in 1879, near the junction of the railroad and Cass street, and soon afterward he began the manufacture of sound-proof telephone booths for use in hotel offices and at i)ublic pay stations. In this business he was a pioneer and as the tleinand for booths inei'eased he gradually relinquished the planing mill business and devoted his entire attention to the production of booths. In the course of time the business outgrew the old planing mill and a new factory - one of the best appointed in Peru - was erected in the western part of the city. The manufacture of bank and ofSce fixtures was tlun added. The works now employ about forty-five people and the pi'oduct is shipped to all parts of the country. The old factory building is now occupied by the Peru Auto Parts Company.