Perry County, Indiana - Pciii First County Fairs, 1916

The earliest successful effort toward holding a county fair in Perry County was a three days' exhibit October 13, 14 and 15, 1867, in Tell City, when a creditable display of farm produce, grain, vegetables, fruit, flowers, jellies, preserves, needlework, manufactured and mechanical products, and other miscellaneous articles was assembled. The attempt was not repeated the following year, however, and it was not until 1875 that another organization was effected under the style of "Perry County Exposition." Zalmon Tousey, president; George F. Bott, secretary; August Menninger, treasurer; and James M. Combs, superintendent; were the officers.

A tract of land was secured about midway between Cannelton and Tell City, on the old "high water" hill road leading from Seventh Street in the former town into Tell Street in the latter. Here a half-mile track was laid out, and the usual grand-stand, band pavilion, floral hall, stalls, sheds, rest and refreshment houses necessary for v/ell-equipped fair grounds v/ere built. A liberal premium list was issued, with prizes, sweepstakes, etc., in all departments and for some few years annual fairs were held, drawing large crowds from both Southern Indiana and neighbouring Kentucky.

At Rome, February 12, 1870, the Perry County Agricultural and Mechanical Society was organized, adopting constitution and by-lav/s, and electing as permanent officers, James Hardin, president ; Hiram Carr and James T. Bean, vice-presidents; Emile Longuemare, secretary; Adam Ackarman, treasurer. Fortnightly meetings were held, at which were discussed such topics as "Oat Culture," "The Crop," "Use of Manures," "Preservation of Meat from Vermin," "Onion Growing," and "Does the Moon Affect the Potato Crop?" Seeds and Hterature from the Department of Agriculture were received and distributed among the members, and the society was in its way a forerunner of the Farmers' Institutes which came into existence about twenty years later, and among whose earliest active workers was James J. Wheeler, now a resident of Chicago but long identified with Perry County.

At a very early meeting of the A. and M. Society it was suggested that a fair be held at Rome during the fall of 1870, but the plan failed to materialize, as did also an attempt to reorganize the society upon the basis of a stock company. Regular meetings were continued, nevertheless, until the autumn of 1871, the membership then numbering about thirty residents of Tobin Township in the vicinity of Rome, and after prolonged deliberation it was determined to hold a fair in the fall of 1872, utilizing for the purpose the Academy grounds and buildings.

In exhibits, attendance and interest the first fair was so successful that it was repeated in 1873, again using the Academy. Such was the increase along all lines that early in 1874 it was decided by the association to secure permanent quarters. Three acres of level land, lying one mile west of the village, were purchased of Andrew Ackarman, for $300 and during the summer were fenced in, a show ring laid off, a well dug seventy-five feet deep, and suitable buildings constructed, at a total outlay of $1,500.

James Hardin continued as president until 1876, and was then succeeded by John Tipton Connor, but again took the ofl^ice in 1880. Hiram Carr Ackarman, in 1882 ; James Carey, in 1883 ; and A. T. Wheeler, in 1884; were the next officials in succession, by which time the interest of the county at large had seriously languished, and the association had begun to decline.

High praise, however, is due the town and neighbourhood of Rome for their efforts in founding and maintaining so long as they did an organization which many- Indiana counties of greater wealth and superior agricultural conditions had failed to establish successfully.

The fruit displayed was of notable excellence in the earlier years, John C. Shoemaker, the authority on pomology, making several annual trips from Indianapolis back to his old home to serve as one of the judges, and pronouncing Perry County apples unsurpassed by any exhibited at the State fairs. His own orchards (now "Sunnycrest") were then deteriorating, but from the Polk and Winchel nurseries near Tobinsport came specimen fruit which would have won prizes in any competition.

With jellies soother than the creamy curd. And lucent syrops, tinct with cinnamon," whose delicacy could not be excelled, while needlework was shown of a fineness which only the patient stitchery of Belgian convents might equal. With the flagging of enthusiasm, however, it came to be a goodhumoured local jest that some of the displays were kept in pantry, cellar or linen-press from year to year, and annually brought forth like rare works of art, to win new ribbons and further cash prizes.

About 1888 strenuous exertions were made to revive the old-time attractiveness of the fair, and fifteen additional acres were leased, so that a half-mile race track could be laid out. Some handsome purses were offered in the hope of inducing horsemen to bring their trotting strings, but Rome was of such inconvenient access that men of the turf passed it by for points having railway connection, and only two more fairs were held.

stalls, floral hall was changed into a barn, corn-furrows were traced across the race-track, and only the deep well remains as a relic of "the grandeur that was Rome."

For a number of years after the discontinuance of the short-lived Orleans Bank of Cannelton, Perry County was without any regular banking facilities, but in 1872 John S. Whitten came from Leavenworth to Tell City and, in co-operation with Frederick Steiner, founded the Tell City Bank as a private institution, with a capital of $30,000. Whitten was cashier and manager, Steiner being wharfmaster and otherwise occupied at the time.

After one year the concern was turned over to a partnership of twelve stockholders with a capital of $12,000, all of which could then be profitably handled. Charles Steinauer, of Tell City, was president, and Gabriel Schmuck, of Cannelton, cashier; the other shares being held by Peter Meier and Christian Rauscher, of Cannelton; Louis Martin, of Fulda; Amand Eble, J. Wielman and John Richardt, of Troy; Gustave Huthsteiner, Ferdinand Becker, August Menninger and Michael Bettinger, of Tell City.

In November, 1874, it was changed to the Tell City National Bank, with Charles Steinauer, president; Gustave Huthsteiner, cashier, and a capital of $50,000, but in February, 1878, became a private institution again. Later reorganized as a state bank, it finally became a national bank once more, which it still remains, having for its cashier (1915) Walter F. Huthsteiner, a son of Gustave Huthsteiner.

While Gabriel Schmuck was not for long connected with the Tell City Bank, the services which he rendered the infant concern were of incalculable value, as he brought it safely through he financial panic of 1873, when it shared the fatal danger threatening other organizations of its kind all over the Union, and his sound judgment steered the craft wisely in its period of critical storm.

Gabriel Schmuck was born June 13, 1833, in Sobernheim, Rhenish, Prussia, and was brought to America by his parents, Adam and Elisabetha (Klein) Schmuck, in the wave of emigration which left the Fatherland during 1848. Their first stop of two years, was in Pittsburg, but in June, 1850, they settled for permanent residence in Cannelton, where the fourth generation of the name in Indiana is now represented. The family was large and - like most of the immigrants - without fortune, so the discipline of early life served to fix habits of industry and usefulness upon the six sons, Adam, Jr., Gabriel, Peter, Anton, Charles and Frederick, all of whom grew to maturity as men of strong characteristics.

Gabriel Schmuck's education was begun in the schools of his native town and his actual time in the school-room was not long, though he devoted many hours in his youth to outside study and by personal application attained versatile culture. When still in his 'teens he yielded to that wanderlust which possesses many vigourous temperaments, and left Cannelton to seek new fields in the South and West. Having to earn his own money as he went, he worked temporarily in many states, thus adding to his experience and increasing the resources upon which the requirements of public station would later draw. No false pride prevented him from engaging in any legitimate kind of honest labour, and his active mentality soon lifted him into positions of responsibility.

Satisfied with a few years of this roving career, he returned home, finding Cannelton increased in population and Tell City installed as a new factor in Perry County's development. His accurate knowledge of the German language caused him to be much in demand as an interpreter for legal transactions of many kinds, and a step into politics was an easy transition.

In 1859 he was elected Recorder and near the close of his four years' term was chosen Clerk of the Circuit Court, holding this office for six years, or until

March 10, 1872. Six months later he was elected Representative for the Legislature in 1873, an important session wherein he was connected with measures of state-wide bearing and brought himself into notice all over Indiana. As a direct result he was nominated by the Democrats in 1876 for Clerk of the Supreme Court of Indiana, and was elected with the rest of a ticket which his name and popularity materially strengthened.

Following this election he removed to Indianapolis with his wife, Mary F. Sanders-Talbot (an adopted daughter of Dow Talbot, of Cannelton) , whom he had married December 24, 1861. With their children, they made the capital city their home thereafter, until they left Indiana for Kansas in the 'nineties, settling in Galena, where extensive mining properties demanded supervision.

The Centennial anniversary of American Independence, July 4, 1876, was universally commemorated all over Perry County with the same spontaneous enthusiasm which marked its observance throughout the Union.

Cannelton's demonstration was in the highest degree creditable to the intelligent patriotism and public spirit of her citizens, being ushered in at earliest daybreak by the roar of artillery and the ringing of every bell in town. At eight o'clock a parade was formed at the corner of Washington and Fourth Street, and headed by the Cannelton Cornet Band, marched through the principal streets, among buildings everywhere profusely decorated with the national colours and a variety of emblematic devices. Besides all the different fraternal orders and societies in line, an amateur military company, organized and drilled for the occasion by Will N. Underwood, impersonated appropriately garbed and gracefully represented by Miss Kate May, with thirteen other young ladies dressed in white, impersonating the Original Colonies.

These young women sang national airl as they drove along, and after reaching the beech grove on the hill west of Cliff Cemetery, where the formal exercises took place, were joined by additional singers, both male and female, who again rendered "The Star-Spangled Banner," and other patriotic melodies.

The Declaration of Independence was read aloud, and John B. Handy, of Boonville, delivered the principal oration. The Rev. Christian Kirschman, pastor of St. John's Evangelical Church, gave an address in German, and the remainder of the day was spent in dancing, games, music and refreshments. A display of fireworks closed the celebration, with another public dance on a platform built for the occasion in "Hutchings Square," between Washington, Adams, Sixth and Hutchings Streets.

The boom of cannon also woke the echoes at dawn in Tell City, where the Stars and Stripes were everywhere unfurled, and a procession said to be the finest in Perry County, marched through Eighth (Main) and other streets, proceeding lastly to Camp Sherman where a programme of regulation character was carried out. Christian Uebelmesser read the Declaration, and Albert Bettinger, of Cincinnati, spoke eloquently in German, followed by a brief talk from Judge Handy. Dancing was continued all day, and at night both Turner and Union halls were thrown open for large balls.

Troy also sustained her olden spirit of patriotism, and public demonstrations drew crowds to Rome, Derby (famed for balls sometimes lasting for two days or more in O'Neill's Hall), and Leopold. In Anderson Valley six Sunday Schools united in a joint celebration, serving a basket dinner to over seven hundred persons besides singing patriotic songs and listening to a Centennial address delivered by Roan Clark, of Cannelton.

exhibited with pride in Cannelton during this Centennial period, was a veritable powder-horn, owned by Mrs. Peter M. Hackett (Roselle Thompson), granddaughter of its original possessor.

It was twenty inches long, by three-and-a-half at the base, bearing the hand-cut inscription : "June 4, 1768. EBENEZER THOMPSON, his Horn." The ox which bore the horn had been raised by Ebenezer Thompson, one of the earliest settlers of Maine, where he had large possessions and where he died at the advanced age of over one hundred years. His wife's name was Somerset, belonging to the family for whom Somerset County, Maine, was named, and as she was the first white female child born within its limits an entire township of land was bestowed upon her by the authorities.

After its first military use in the American Revolution, the powder-horn saw service in the Second War with England, and again in the Mexican War. No doubt it would have served once more, during the War Between the States, save for the changes and improvements in soldierly accoutrements made by 1861 since its first owner slung it across his shoulder and sallied forth to meet the British regulars.

Nor was the Centennial sentiment of pageantry and symbolism wholly expended on the national anniversary. The intensely exciting Hayes-Tilden presidential campaign was marked by frequent demonstrations in behalf of both political parties. Glee-clubs flourished, torch-light processions helped to kindle enthusiasm, spell-binding eloquence was poured out lavishly all over Indiana - then an "October state" - as the crucial battle-ground.

ured in it, and the circumstance that it preceded a Hayes and Wheeler pole-raising and a speech by Curran A. De Bruler, Republican candidate for Congress, is purely a subordinate detail after the lapse of twoscore years.

Thirty-eight little girls garbed in white were bedecked with sashes of red and blue, bearing the names of the States then in the Union. In a low and roomy basket-phaeton rode the Goddess of Liberty, Miss Margaret Gray (Mrs. Charles Oswald), dressed in white, with supporters, respectively gowned in red and blue, representing Justice - Miss Emma Moore (Mrs. Charles W. Proctor) - and Truth - Miss Lizzie May (Mrs. John Gordon, later Mrs. Henry Dickman, Sr.).

Most striking of all was the float whereon sat the "Thirteen Original Colonies" impersonated by young women in elaborately correct costumes of the Colonial period. Some of the gowns worn were genuine family heirlooms, and while the personality of ail the participants could not be recalled in 1915 by the narrator - herself by far the youngest and smallest of the group, hence appropriately representing Rhode Island - among them were the names of Emma Burke (Mrs. A. Kinney Hall), Sallie Lees (Mrs. Clinton C. Worrall), Jessie Lees (Mrs. William Cleaves Conv/ay), Annie Huckeby (Mrs. John Allen Smart), Ida Moeller (Mrs. George W. Hufnagel), Rose Moore (Mrs. Charles H. Rose), Bessie Payne (Mrs. Samuel Brazee), and LilHe Richards (Mrs. George Minto).