St. Joseph County, Indiana - Chapter 7: Public Improvements, 1907 (part 2 of 2)

The total difference of level from station A, the small rivulet in See. 16, T. 37 N., R. 2 E., near South Bend, which is the source of the Kankakee, to the surface of the water below the dam at JNIomence, is one hundred and eig-ht and one-tenth (108.1) feet. The total distance, as shown by the survey, is eighty ^one and eighty-six hundredths (81.86) miles.

There is no part of the line where a slope of one foot to the mile can not be obtained, without any serious variation from an uniform depth for the new channel.

I have made the estimates of capacity for the new channel on this lowest basis of one foot fall to the mile, although in nearly every part the fall will be considerably more.

The mean level of the Kankakee valley is 674.5 feet above the ocean, from which it is important to notice that, notwithstanding its general marshy character, it is a broad valley which has a mean elevation of ninety '(90) feet above Lake Michigran, and of one hundred and sixty (160) feet above the water in the Wabash river at Lafayette.

The Soil And Underlying Strata

In accordance with your special instructions, careful examinations were made of the soil and vegetable growth along the marsh, and frequent borings were made for the purpose of determining the underlying strata. These borings were made with a two and onehalf inch iron tube, sunk to the depth of from eight to twelve feet, and the strata were examined by using the sand pump.

Eeliable sections were obtained near South Bend at Crum's Point bridge. Free bridge, Lemon's bridge, Baltimore & Ohio railway crossing, Barnes' bridge, Austen's bridge, Huncheon's farm, Stowell's farm, Baum's

Within the depth which will be required in the improvement of the Kankakee, no stone obstruction will be found from its source at South Bend to the limestone ledge near Momence, Illinois. Throughout the state of Indiana the underlying strata are fine sand, increasing downward to coarse sand and gravel. Occasional thin layers of blue clay are found, but the excavations can be made generally in loose sandy soil and fine gravel.

Profitable crops of wild hay are annually harvested from a large part of the marsh, and the partially recovered portions are found to be especially adapted to the culture of timothy, clover and blue grass. For stock farms this region will be surpassed by no section of the state.

Mr. Lamb has a farm in Starke county, near English Lake station, on the P., C. & St. L. railway, on which he has a field of cranberry plants, twenty acres in extent, under the most successful cultivation. The yield is enormous, and in 1882 the crop harvested was seventeen hundred bushels. The receipts for this crop this year will be not less than four thousand dollars.

The Beaver Lake region, in Newton county, is a good sample of the reclaimed marsh land along the Kankakee, and the results in this section are so satisfactory that the most earnest efforts should be made to recover all the overflowed lands.

Marsh Area

The number of acres in the marshes along the Kankakee and its principal tributaries which may be recovered by .judicious drainage, is not less than four hundred thousand.

These assessments iiieluded lan( s adjacent to the marshes Avhieh would be cotoimerciallj" benefited by the improvement of Vhe river, and therefore give a|i aggregate considerably in excess of the overflowed lands, ©wing to the favorable location of the KankakeV region with reference to the great commercial metropolis of the northwest, and the facilities furnished by the numerous railways which pass through it, there will be a rapid increase in the value of the lands as soon as the drainage is eifected.

Estimating this increase at twenty dollars per acre, the aggregate addition to the wealth of the state will be eight million dollars ($8,000,000) on the estimated four hundred thousand acres reclaimed.

Or, estimating the general increase in value for the entire section drained by the Kankakee at ten dollars per acre, the added wealth to the state will be ten million dollars ($10,- 000.000).

The Improvement

The drainage and recovery of the Kankakee marshes will include : First, the construction of a better main channel than now exists, for the flow of the river ; second, the straightening and deepening of the beds of the streams which empty into the main stream -, and third, the digging of a large niunber of lateral ditches through the swamps to the improved channels.

The portion of the work which seems properly to belong to state and national supervision, is the improvement of the main channel of the river. The other parts of the work may be left to the OA^mers of the land, to be executed under our general drainage laws.

Two streams, the Kankakee and Grapevine creek, unite near the northwest corner of Sec. 4, T. 36 N., R. 1 E., nine miles from South Bend and form the Kankakee river.

The approximate length of the river in the state from this initial point is two hundred miles, as measured along the crooked channel, and the average fall per mile is less than four inches.

It is proposed to reduce the length of the river by the improvement, so that the distance from the initial point to Momence, 111., will not exceed eighty-five miles, and the average fall per mile will be increased to more than twelve inches.

The experiments of Messrs. Richards and Stephans, made in 1871, and reported by Mr. Bennet, civil engineer, show that the Kankakee river, one mile above Momence, 111., has a sectional area of 1,026 sciuare feet, a mean velocity of 1.424 feet per second, and the volume of discharge of 1,452 cubic feet per second.

At the state line the sectional area is 543 square feet, the mean hydraulic depth is 4.5 feet, the calculated mean velocity is 2.35 feet per second, and the volume of discharge is 1,271 feet per second.

According to the same authority, the dimensions of the new channel proposed by the Kankakee Draining Company were : Width at top, 52 feet, wadth at bottom 42 feet, depth 10 feet, inclination one foot per mile, area of cross-section 470 square feet, calculated velocity 3.32 feet per second, volume of discharge 1,558 cubic feet per second.

In the' determination of the dimensions of the new channels which will be required, I have assumed the correctness of the experiments made to determine the flow at the state line, and that the volume of discharge at ordinary stages of w^ater will not exceed 1,271 cubic feet per second.

To provide sufficient capacity for ordinary floods, I have given the lower end of the new channel, fifteen miles above the state line, an area of cross-section of 500 feet, and the calculated volume of discharge 1,358 cubic feet per second.

It is proper to remark that so much depends on physical features peculiar to each particular case, that hydraulic formulas can serve only as general guides in the solution of any given problem. Absolute results can not be reached, and there is always room for honest differences of opinion among engineers as to the accuracy of conclusions.

Division I. From the initial point at the month of Grapevine creek, Sec. 4, T. 36 N., R. 1 E., to the lower end of Mud lake, at Lemon's bridge and the bridge of the Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago railway.

Division IV. From the end of Division II, by the old channel, and from the town of Knox, on Yellow river, Sec. 22, T. 33 N., R. 2 W.. to the place where Crooked creek, the new channel and old channel, form a grand junction.

Division V. From Grand Junction, by a new channel, to a point in the river in Sec. 33, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., marked station Q on the map, near the bridge on the line of the Indianapolis & Chicago Air Line railway.

The river begins in the open marsh and is entirely free from timber to the end of this division. The Crum's Point bridge is near the beginning of this division. ' ' Free Bridge ' ' is in Sec. 26, T. 36 N., R. 1 W., and Lemon's

]\Iud lake is only a widening of the river on account of a slightly less fall than the average. The diminished velocity has caused the deposit of soil, and increased the growth of grasses and weeds in the stream.

The improvement of this division will require the straightening of the channel in the general line of the river. The new channel could be made perfectly straight without any timber obstruction, but, by slight deviations from a straight line, at least ten per cent, of the cost of excavation may be saved, by using as much of the. present channel as possible, without material increase in distance.

These dimensions would give area of crosssection 216 square feet, mean hydraulic depth 4.26 feet, calculatel mean velocity, with a fall of one foot to the mile, 2.105 feet per second ; volume of discharge, 455 cubic feet per second.

The excavations will measure for each linear yard 24 cubic yards, for each mile 42,240 cubic yards, for the entire division, 8.5 miles, 359,040 cubic yards. This aggregate may be reduced ten per cent, for the old channel appropriated in the new, leaving a total for the first division of 323,136 cubic yards. Division II.

The river in this division runs through the open marsh, and is free from timber obstruction. The Baltimore & Ohio railway bridge is in this division. The length of the division will be 11.3 miles. The improvement will be along the general line of the river, and the route for the new channel will be nearly a straight line.

The dimensions proposed for the new channel are - width at bottom 27 feet, width at top 48 feet, depth 7 feet. These dimensions will give area of cross-section 262.5 square feet, mean hydraulic depth 4.6 feet, calculated mean velocity 2.187 feet per second, volume of discharge 574 cubic feet per second.

The excavations will measure for each linear yard 29.16 cubic yards, for each mile 51,321 cubic yards, for the division, 11.3 miles, 579,927 'cubic yards. This aggregate may be reduced ten per cent, for the old channel appropriated in the new, leaving for the second division 521,935 cubic yards. Division III.

The Kankakee river below the mouth of Mill creek has a belt of timber along its banks, which would make the cost of straightening the river, as in Divisions I and II, very great.

The line proposed for the improvement lies in a remarkable part of the valley. The line will be clear from timber obstruction, except about one and a half miles at the lower end, where it passes through the belt of river-bank timber into the old channel. The line lies for the most part in a series of deep marshes, now impassable, and well known in the neighborhood as a deep slough, sand channel, etc. This division will be crossed by the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago ; the New York, Chicago & St. Louis; the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis; the Chicago & West Michigan ; the Chicago & Atlantic, and the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railways. The new channel will take the greater part of the water of the improved river above Mill creek, and all the surface drainage on the north side in Laporte and a part of Porter county. The length of the division will be 21.5 miles.

The proposed dimensions for the new channel for this division are at the upper end - width of bottom 27 feet, width at top 51 feet, depth 8 feet, area of cross-section 312 square feet. At the lower end - width at bottom 33 feet, width at top 57 feet, depth 8 feet, area of cross-section 360 square feet. The mean measure will be - width at bottom 30 feet, width at top 54 feet, depth 8 feet, area of cross-section 336 square feet.

These dimensions will give - mean hydraulic depth 5.23 .feet, calculated mean velocity 2.405 feet per second, mean volume of discharge 808.4 cubic feet per second. The volume of discharge at the lower end will be 878.4 cubic feet per second.

The mean dimensions will give - for each linear yard 37 1-3 cubic yards, for each mile 65,707 cubic yards, for the division, 21.5 miles, 1,412,700 cubic yards.

From the terminus of Division II at the mouth of Mill creek, by the old channel of the river, and from the town of Knox, Sec. 22, T. 33 N., R. 2 W., on Yellow river, to the point where Crooked creek, the new and the old channels, form the grand junction. It is important to preserve and improve the old channel of the river in this division, for the purpose of draining the large territory on the south side, including the Yellow river country.

The new channel of Division III will relieve the present bed of the most of the water above Mill creek, and its relative carrying capacity will thereby be largely increased ; but owing to its extreme crookedness, it will be necessary to expend a liberal amount in dredging and in cutting off the most troublesome bends, in order to increase the velocity of flow, which would otherwise be diminished below its present rate. The English lake region is similar to that above called Mud lake, and is only an enlargement of the river, of rather an extensive widening of the deep marsh border. In this lake the wild rice and gi'ass grow in the greatest luxuriance. Austen's wagon bridge. Sec. 34, T. 34 N., R. 3 W. ; Lougee's wagon bridge. Sec. 24, T. 33 N., R. 4 W., and Dunn's wagon bridge, Sec. 15, T. 32 N., R. 5 W., are in this division ; and also, bridges on all the railway lines mentioned in Division III, except the Chicago & West Michigan.

From Grand Junction, Sec. 36, T. 33 N., R. 6 W., by a new channel, to a point in the river in Sec. 33, T. 32 N., R. 8 W., marked on the map as station Q, near the bridge on the line of the Indianapolis & Chicago railway.

At Grand Junction, the new channel or the upper Kankakee, the old channel or the Yellow river section, and Crooked creek, unite their waters and form the enlarged lower river.

From Grand Junction to the state line, and to Momence, 111., there is plenty of water for the purposes of navigation, and it is desirable that the improvement below Grand Junction should be made with reference both to drainage and navigation. The route proposed for the new channel, as shown by the map, will be through the open mai"sh, entirely free from timber obstruction, except one mile of river banlc timber on the west end, and is admirably located with reference to the drainage of some of the deepest marshes in the entire valley.

Another route may be adopted, nearly if not cpiite as good as the one proposed, by running the new line more directly west after it entera Newton county, and terminating in the river north of station Q ; thence by the straightened river to the terminus at station P. The cost of the two routes will be about equal.

The dimensions proposed for the new channel for this division are - at the upper end, width at bottom 36 feet, width at top, 63 feet, depth 9 feet, area of cross-section 445.5 square feet. At the lower end - width at bottom 42 feet, width at top 69 feet, depth 9 feet, area of cross-section 499.5 square feet. Mean measure - width at bottom 39 feet, width at top 66 feet, depth 9 feet, area of cross-section 472.5 square feet.

These dimensions Avill give - mean hydraulic depth 6.06 feet, calculated mean velocity 2.7 feet per second, volume ot discharge 1,275.7 cubic feet per second. The volume of discharge at the lower end station will be 1,358.6 cubic feet per second.

The mean dimensions give for each linear yard 52.5 cubic yards, for each mile 92,400 cubic yards, for the division (16 miles) 1,478,400 cubic yards.

The old channel of the river below Grand Junction receives no important creek, and only a small expenditure will be required to keep this channel open for its limited drainage area.

The increased velocity of the river in this division, owing to its increased slope and the general direction of the stream, make the improvement desirable along the general line of its present flow.

A new channel in Sec. 33, T. 32 N., E. 8 W., one mile in length, and a similar one, chiefly in Sections 1 and 2, T. 31 N., R. 9 W., two and a half miles long, will be required. The dimensions of these new channels are estimated the same as in Division V - per mile 92,400 cubic yards - 3i/o miles 323,400 cubic yards.

The other improvements in this division will consist in a general straightening of the channel, the removal of timber obstruction and dredging the channel to secure an additional depth of two feet.

Messrs. Cass, Singleton, Williams, Luck & Co. are constructing a large ditch, twenty feet wide and six feet deep, on the north side of the Kankakee, which will be an important part of the general improvement.

This ditch is located on the map, and extends from See. 29, T. 33 N., R. 7 W., in a general southwesterly direction to the river near the state line.

The marsh is very wide in this region, but when the land is reclaimed, as it doubtless will be when this ditch is completed, it will be as beautiful and as rich as any portion of the state.

The enterprising owners have two steam dredging machines in successful operation, and the construction of the ditch is progressing satisfactorily.

A new channel, beginning a short distance from the state line and running west nearly two miles, will cut off a great bend of the river and effect an important saving in distance.

The dimensions of this channel should be the same as in Division V, and owing to its short length it will readily adjust itself to any required size by the action of the stream itself.

The other improvements of this division will be similar in every particular to those in Division VI, until the rock ledge near Momence is reached.

This obstruction is a limestone ledge which extends about one and a half miles in width, and its removal is a necessity for the proper improvement of the river.

The increased velocity of the straightened channel above will carry down large quantities of soil and sand, for which a free outlet must be provided by opening a way through the rocky ledge.

Even now the improvements in the Beaver lake region have increased the growth of grasses and weeds in the river at Momence and this will be further increased to a very damaging degree, unless this free outlet is provided.

The general government has ordered a survey of this portion of the river, and the methods for this improvement doubtless will receive proper consideration. A channel forty feet in width and five feet in depth will be large enough to meet the requirements of the new improvement, which will give approximately for the entire length 60,000 cubic yards.

The entire work may be divided into two general parts, the first including Divisions I, II, III and IV, from the initial point to Grand Junction, Section 36, T. 33 N., R. 6 W., and the second including Divisions V, VI and VII, from Grand Junction to Momence.

It is entirely feasible to begin the improvement of either of these general parts without delaying for the other, and pending the settlement of the proper quastion of the relation of the general government to the lower portion as a navigable stream, it is recommended that work be begun as speedily as possible on the upper portion.

Methods And Cost

The best forms of these machines, as now constructed, are made to float in channels of their own making. The Kankakee open marshes and sandy soil afford the best field for the economic use of these dredging machines. The two now in use by Messrs. Cass,

Singleton, Williams & Co., are constructed after an excellent model, and the work being done by them is satisfactory. Five to six men are required to do the work on each boat, and one machine can excavate thirteen hundred cubic yards per day.

The special machinery for the excavation consists of a series of scoops attached to an endless chain, which passes over a projecting arm in the forward part of the boat, this arm being adjustable to any point in front, where it is desired that the excavation be made.

The scoops deliver their loads into an elevated chute, which is inclined about 30 degrees, and extends over the side of the boat far enough to deposit the excavated earth at the proper distance from the ditch.

In the Kankakee improvement a number of these machines will be required. For the wide channels it will be more expeditious and economical to use the machines in pairs - one digging half the width and the second following close behind and digging the remaining half.

In addition, it will be found necessary to have small steam tenders to carry supplies to the dredge boats, as in many parts of the marsh it will be impossible to reach the boats by wagons.

I am not able to say what is the lowest possible price at which this work can be done with these dredging machines - or rather the lowest price per cubic yard at which the contract could be made with responsible and capable parties.

The manufacturers of dredging machines claim that the expense of moving earth will be from two to three cents per cubic yard. This amount, however, can not include the use of capital invested, wear of machinery, and necessary losses by breakage and other delays.

Persons with some experience in this kind of work think that five to seven cents would be a fair price, including interest on capital and all risks incident to the work ; while others believe that contracts with responsible parties can not be obtained at less than ten cents per cubic yard.

According to the foregoing estimates, the amount of earth work included in the improvement, from the initial point to Grand Junction, will be :

At 10 cents per yard this will cost... 180,180 00 The estimated expenditure for the remaining 11% miles of Division VI is $6,000 per mile, or for the division, $69,000; making a grand total . from Grand Junction to the State

General Results

In addition to the cost of construction, the question of maintenance of the new channel requires consideration. The same causes which produced the present crooked river will, in a less degree, atfect the straightened stream, and continued care will be required to preserve an unobstructed flow.

The broad valley of the Kankakee marsh is doubtless the result of glacial action. At the close of the glacial period, we may suppose that a shallow river extended from bank to bank of the valley. This stream had a slope of about one foot to the mile, and a consequent velocity rapid enough to take up the particles of fine sand and carry them forward. The retardation along the borders would cause the deposit of the sand, and thereby make the stream more narrow by the formation of banks. The narrowed and deepened stream would have an increased velocity, and hence, other masses of sand would be taken up by the current and carried forward to form obstructions in the general direction of flow. Following the lines of least resistance, the channel would be diverted from its original direction and would change from straight to crooked, and continue to change so long as the velocity was too great for the stability of the sand bed over which the river flows. By these processes, doubtless, the sinuous Kankakee was formed ; and its present length, with its many windings, approximately determines the velocity consistent with permanence in the wide marsh which it now so imperfectly drains.

During freshets the low lands would be overflowed, and the soil and sand brought do-v^Ti by the increased current would be deposited, first along the banks of the river, thereby raising the surface next the stream enough above the level of the marsh to permit the seeds of trees to grow, which would not germinate in the swamp itself.

If we assume that the river now has an opproximately stable bed, the result mainly of the free action of natural forces on the sandy soil, it is evident that any increase of velocity will affect this stability and introduce a disturbing element which will require special attention.

The lateral ditches, also, will bring down masses of sand which will, if left iineared for, form bars where these ditches empty into the river.

To meet these difficulties it will be necessary to keep at work one or two dredging machines until the new channel has assumed a partially stable condition.

Grass grows most luxuriantly in all parts of the Kankakee valley, and from this cause we may expect that the banks will be covered very rapidly. After the drainage has been once accomplished and the lands brought under cultivation, there will be a great diminution of the volume of water to be carried off.

The absorbent power of the reclaimed land and the evaporating surface will be increased, and the quality of surplus water will be proportionally diminished.

The diminished volume will give a relative increased capacity with less depth, and thus by degi'ees the new channel will become stable, while at the same time it fulfills all the requirements for complete drainage.

Division Of Expenses

In this improvement it is proper to consider the relation which the Kankakee sustains to the navigable waters of the iMississippi system, and to what extent the expenses of the work should be borne by the government of the United States.

The Kankakee has always been considered a navigable stream, but the point above which it can not be properly so classed never has been fixed.

Major Jared Smith, of the U. S. Engineers, in charge of the river and harbor improvements in this state, made an examination of the Kankakee in 1879, and reported favorably for its improvement for a distance, by the river, of one hundred and fifty miles. Major Smith's report will be found on pages 1,455-60, Executive Documents, Second Session Forty-Sixth Congress 1879-80, Vol. 4, Engineere, No. 1, part 2.

Major Smith's reconnoissance was made by a small steamer from Momence as far up the river as Baum 's bridge, and in this entire distance he reports abundance of water for navigation. He says: "The greater portion of the distance of 120 miles, which I thus went over, had a depth of five (5) or more feet, and

I fully concur in the opinion expressed by Major Smith, and believe that there will be a supply of water sufficient to maintain a reliable depth of two and a half to three feet at the lowest stage, even after the channel has been straightened and improved for general drainage.

The uniform slope of the bed of the Kankakee, and the absence of any rock obstruction in the entire State, will obviate the necessity for the construction of dams for navigation purposes, so that it will be entirely feasible to make the improvement for the double purpose of drainage and navigation.

From Momence to Grand Junction there are but one railway and two wagon bridges. It will not be difficult, therefore, to provide an open way for navigation.

The manifest importance of this improvement, as a part of the general system of water communication through the Mississippi river, will certainly command favorable action.

It is respectfully recommended that the General Government be requested to consider the improvement of the Kankakee for the purposes of navigation, in connection with the State work for drainage, from Momence to Grand Junction.

Drainage To The Tippecanoe

The short water-shed to the Kankakee on the south side below English lake, has suggested a possible route for the new channel of the Kankakee southward through this dividing ridge to the Monon, and thence to the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers; and, in accordance with your directions, I made a survey in that section.

The line was run from the mouth of a small creek which empties into the Kankakee in the N. E. i Sec. 35, T. 33 N., R. 4 W., a short distance below the P., C. & St. L. R. R. at English lake : thence up this stream five miles to the dividing ridge near the section line, between Sections 23 and 26, T. 32 N., R. 4 W. ; thence down a small tributary of the Monon to the head of the Monon ditch, in Pulaski county. Sec. 6, T. 31 N., R. 3 W. ; thence to a point in the same ditch in Sec. 33, T. 30 N., R. 4 W., called Hickory Grove, northeast of Francesville.

of the ridge, five miles from the starting point, is 46 feet above the level of the water in English lake, and allowing 6 feet for depth of the river and 1 foot fall per mile, a cut will be required at the summit of 57 feet. At the county line, two miles further south, the cut will be 43 feet in depth. The fall from the head of the Monon ditch to Hickory Grove, a distance of twelve miles, is 40 feet; and. with the same slope as before, the depth of the ditch would be 15 feet at this point.

The impracticability of the route being so manifest, I abandoned any further survey at this point. It is important to remark that the fine slope to the marsh along the Monon from its source to Cooper's mill, and the very fertile marsh valley along the river, should prompt immediate and active efforts to complete the drainage already partly accomplished by the "Monon Ditch."" To finish this important work will require the enlargement of the ditch, the straightening of the channel in the lower portion, and probably the removal of the dam at Cooper "s mill.

During the month of October I made an examination of the extensive swamp lands in Allen and Huntington counties, along the line of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railway. The field leveling was done by Messrs. Anderson & Orton.

The marsh region embraces twenty-five thousand acres, and is nearly equally divided * between the two counties. In Allen county the marsh is chiefly prairie, but in Huntington county a considerable portion is in the wood land.

In range twelve, running quite through the county, lies the dividing line between the waters which flow through the Maumee to Lake Erie and those which flow through the Wabash to the Ohio and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

Little river rises in the south part of Allen county, and runs northward to within a few miles of Ft. Wayne, where it is lost in the mai-sh, but it reappears again with definite banks and channel in Sec. 25, T. 30 N., R. 11 E.

Through the Eichardville Reservation the marsh extends quite to the St. Mary river, and it is both feasible and desirable to direct the upper portion of Little river, by a new ehan- nel, through this marsh to the St. Mary. From six to ten feet fall may be found from this marsh to the St. Mary, and there are no stone or timber obstructions in the line of the proposed new channel.

The following table shows the elevations, referred to sea-levels from Ft. Wayne along the general line of the marsh to the surface of the water below the lower dam at Huntington :

The chief obstruction to the drainage of Little river is the ledge of limestone which lies across the channel at Huntington. The entire fall from the starting point, in Allen county, seventeen miles from the upper dam at Huntington, is thirty-two feet, but nearly one-half of this fall is found in the five miles at the lower end. The improvement of the river and the recovery of the marsh lands above will require the removal of the upper dam at Huntington and the opening of a channel through this rock obstruction.

Several years ago a company was formed for the purpose of making this improvement of Little river and the recovery of the marsh prairie. The length of the improved channel of Little river, contemplated by the company, was sixteen and one-half miles from the upper dam at Huntington to a point west of Ft. Wayne, where the river first crosses the line of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway.

The rock excavation near Huntington was estimated at sixty-two thousand cubic yards, and the probable cost per yard for removal was seventy cents, giving an aggregate of $44,400. I am not able to give an estimate of the cost of the earth work which will be required without further surveys. It is safe to say, in general terms, that the entire improvement can be made at a cost not exceeding $100,000, an average cost of four dollars per acre for the marsh land recovered.

The nearness of this vast marsh to one of the largest and most flourishing cities in the state, makes its reclamation especially important. These lands are now practically worthless, but when recovered will have a value at least of thirty ($30) dollars per acre, or an aggregate value of $750,000.

The extensive area south of Vincennes, in KJaox county, known as Cypress Swamp, lies in the belt of territory between "Wabash and White rivers, above their junction. The low lands begin near the city of Vincennes, and, interspersed with sand hills or ridges, constitute a series of swamps embracing not less than 15,000 acres. The marshes have but little elevation above the river at ordinary full stage, and during heavy floods they are submerged to the depth of five to ten feet. The soil is very rich and the lands will be valuable when recovered.

A small stream called River Dechee runs through a part of the marsh, and is lost in the marsh itself, but reappears, and, through a fairly defined channel, empties into the Wabash.

A State ditch was once constructed from the Dechee to White river, and by the enlargement of this incomplete work the upper portion of the marsh may be drained. The channel of the Dechee to the Wabash will furnish the proper line for the improvement of another part of the marsh.

In order properly to protect the lands from overflow, it will be necessary to construct levees along the Wabash from the point where the present levee near the city ends, to the rapids, and, also along White river above the junction of the two rivers. Additional surveys will be required to determine the cost of these improvements.

In the eastern part of the county there is another extensive marsh, known as Montour's pond, embracing six to eight thousand acres which is not subject to overflow from the river.

The levels run by the County Surveyor show a fall of two to three feet per mile, from the deepest part of the pond to White river. This section can be readily drained to White river, and when recovered it will be equal in value, for agricultural pu^-poses, to any part of Knox county.

In the conclusion of this report, I deem it proper to acknowledge the invaluable assistance I have received from yourself, in the facilities furnished for the work and in the discussion of methods for its prosecution.

I am specially indebted to the State Geologist for his cordial co-operation, and for the information and assistance which he has given to me.

I desire to express my thanks to the railway companies of the State for favors received, and to the many citizens of the State who have kindly furnished to me valuable information.

The popular interest everywhere expressed in the success of this undertaking, shows how strongly the ^people will sustain efforts tending to promote the real prosperity of the State. Respectfully submitted,

"The other improvements of this division will be similar in every particular to those of Division VI, until the rock ledge near Momence is reached. This obstruction is a limestone ledge which extends about one and a half miles in width, and its removal is a necessity for the proper improvement of the river. The increased velocity of the straightened channel above will carry dowTi large quantities of soil and sand, for which a free outlet must be provided by opening a way through the rocky ledge.""-

The removal of the limestone ledge, which acted as a dam to the Kankakee at Momence, and thus obstructed the drainage of the valley all the way from Momence to South Bend, remained a problem from the date of Professor Campbell's report until the convening of the legislature of 1887. The writer was a member of that legislature and considered it a duty to his constituents to seek some means of securing an outlet to the Kankakee through the natural rock dam at Momence. During that session, however, political controversies rendered it impossible to make any headway in this important matter. The subject was then pretty thoroughly discussed, however, and at the beginning of the session of 1889 a mode of procedure was adopted which finally proved effectual.

Two difficulties presented themselves, - the physical obstacle of the limestone ledge, and the question of jurisdiction over the territory occupied by the rock. The Momence rock is within the state of Illinois, a few miles below the Indiana state line, and it was not at first clear to the members of the legislature how they were to acquire the right to go into another state to make an improvement such as that proposed. This difficulty was happily overcome by the action of land owners in Kankakee county, Illinois, who procured deeds to a strip of land, including the river bed, from the Indiana line to and ineluding the rock at Momence. These deeds were drawn to convey to the state of Indiana an easement in the lands and river bed for the purposes of drainage. There were forty such deeds delivered to the auditor of state. A legal opinion was then procured, to the effect that the state of Indiana, like any other land owner, having a right of easement for drainage in the river bed from the Indiana line to and including the limestone ledge, might enter upon those lands and make the necessary improvement. The Illinois authorities afterwards contested this right, and there was much tedious litigation in the Illinois courts; finally ending, however, by a decision of the court of last resort that the state of Indiana, had a clear right to make the improvement.

The law question being solved, the legislature, by an act approved March 7, 1889,^ passed an act appropriating forty thousand dollars for the removal of the rock at Momence, in the state of Illinois, the work to be done under direction of three commissioners and a civil engineer; the commis.sioners to be appointed by the governor and the engineer to be selected by the commissioners.

Before the passage of the bill, numerous conferences were held in relation to the necessity of this drainage by Indiana and Illinois land owners. The following is a report of one such conference held in Chicago on January 18, 1889:

"A number of gentlemen interested in the drainage of the overflowed and wet lands situated in the Kankakee valley met this afternoon in the club-room of the Palmer house. About one hundred persons, including representatives from all the counties interested, were present. Clem Studebaker of South Bend, Ind., was elected chairman and J. M. Youche of Crown Point, Ind., secretary.

" 'Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that the first and most important step to enable the land owners to drain and reclaim the 1,700 square miles of swamp and overflowed lands of the Kankakee valley in the state of Indiana, is that of cutting a channel of sufficient width and depth through the ledge of rock which extends across the Kankakee river at Momence, 111., so as to afford an outlet for the marshes, and to accomplish this we request an appropriation be made by the state of Indiana from the state treasury of such a sum as will bring about these improved eonditions. '

"On motion, a committee of three was appointed from each county to solicit signatures to a petition to be presented to the Indiana state legislature requesting these improvements, as follows:

"A committee of three was then appointed by the chair to present these petitions to the legislature of the state of Indiana. This whole matter was presented to the legislature two years ago, but nothing was done. It is claimed that a large ledge of rock in the Kankakee river at Momence, 111., is the cause of the overflow which submerges millions of fertile acres in the Kankakee valley in Indiana. When this obstruction is removed, the gentlemen interested in the movement claim that this large tract of swamp land will be drained and can be put under cultivation."

The following is the legal opinion pronouncing in favor of the validity of the law. It was from one of the ablest firms of attorneys then in the state :

' ' We have been unable to find, either in the constitution or statutes of Indiana, or in the decisions of the supreme court of Indiana, any statement, provision or ruling prohibiting the state of Indiana from acquiring and owning real estate within the territorial limits of another state. By the decisions of courts of other states, and of the supreme court of the United States, it seems to be conceded that the United States, or any state, may acquire and become the owner of real estate within the territorial limits of another state, subject in all respects to the laws of the state within which such real estate is situated.

" ' The ownership of lands by one state within the territorial limits of another state is in no wise different from that of the ownership of an individual person. The title and estate in such case is acquired and held subject to all the incidents of ordinary private ownership, so far as regards the mere circumstance of a state being the owner.'

" 'Rorer on Inter-State Law,' p. 213. "The doctrine, as thus laid down, seems to be supported by several well considered cases, among which the leading cases seem to be : "Burbank et al. v. Fay et al., 65 N. Y.

375, 376. "Pollard's Lessee v. Hogan (dissenting opinion of Justice Craton), 3 How. U. S. Reps. 232-233. "United States v. Chicago, 7 How. U. S. Reps. 194. ' ' We find no case in our state reports touching this question. There may be such decisions but if they are, they have escaped our notice. If, therefore, the laws of Illinois permit, we do not think the constitution or laws of Indiana prohibit the state of Indiana from acquiring and holding the real estate described in this bill.

"One state acquiring real estate within the territorial limits of another state acquires and holds such real estate subject in all respects to the jurisdictional and municipal regulations of that other state. In other words, it would be useless for the legislature of Indiana to attempt to assert its jurisdictional and municipal control over any real estate within the territorial limits of the state of Illinois. It must stand in Illinois simply as any other private owner of real estate, and must be and become subject in all respects to the municipal regulations and jurisdictional powers of that other state.

"2d. Has the state of Indiana the right to expend moneys derived from general taxation in opening that part of the channel of the Kankakee river within the territorial limits of Illinois, as contemplated by this bill?

"The only objection to such use of said funds derived from general taxation would be that it might be urged that this legislation would fall under the designation of 'local' or 'special' legislation, and be prohibited by Article 4, Sections 22-23 of our State Constitution, and that it would be in effect applying funds raised by general taxation to the exclusive benefit of the owners of the land reclaimed by the contemplated deepening of the channel of the Kankakee river. But we do

"AVe understand, from the preamble to the bill, that some portion of the land to be benefited by opening a channel through the Momence ledge still belongs to, and is the property of the state of Indiana. We a&sume this to be true and on that assumption are of the opinion that the objections above named are untenable for three reasons:

'First. - The contemplated improvement would be an improvement by the state of Indiana upon its own property, held by it in the state of Illinois.

' ' Third. - The contemplated improvement would be a Avork of public utility and a municipal sanitary regulation, promotive of health, preventive of disease, and greatly conducive to the general welfare.

"The supreme court of Indiana has repeatedly held that when the public health and general welfare of the commonwealth are involved, such objections as those above named are invalid. This is the principle underlying and supporting the following decisions of our state supreme court:

"We have paid no particular attention to the second and third sections of the proposed act. because they seem to be merely directions with regard to the work to be done in opening the channel of the Kankakee river, if the real estate in Illinois is procured and conveyed to the auditor of state for the state of Indiana, as provided by the first section of the act. Yours most respectfully,

"Dear Sir: I notice with special pleasure the introduction by you, in the senate, of a bill providing for the removal of the rock obstruction in the Kankakee at Momence, 111.

"The increased value to the state of the millions of acres in the Kankakee region, would in a few years repay in taxes the amount now asked in aid of the work.

"The sanitary interests involved in this vast unreclaimed marsh are sufficient to warrant the expenditure proposed, - while the good name of the state demands the recovery of this dreary waste, now so unpleasantly prominent from the numerous national highways which cross it.

"The removal of the obstruction at Momence is the proper beginning of the improvement - ^and this is certainly a very reasonable part of the general cost of the work for the state. Permit me to refer your committee to my report to the governor in 1882, and to say that the added years have only increased the importance of the statements then made. Very respectfully yours,

"Dear Sir: By referring to page 24 of ]ny report you will find my estimate of work on the iMomence ledge is based on a channel in the rock forty feet wide and five feet deep, giving approximately 60,000 cubic yards, - and estimated to cost, above the probable value of the stone removed, S1Y2 cents per cubic yard. This gives $15,000 per mile, as stated on page 26.

"It may not be safe now to estimate the cost of removal a.t less than 50 cents per cubic yard, which would make the channel I proposed cost $30,000.

"Plowever, these dimensions can be increased as far as the limits of the appropriation and the contracts made for the work will allow - and I therefore suggest that the dimensions of the channel be left to the commission - perhaps stating as a miminnim the channel I recommended, 40x5 feet, or its equivalent. Very respectfully,

"South Bend, Ind., Feb. 11, 1889. "Hon. T. E. Howard, Senate Chamber, Indianapolis. "Dear Senator: Yours of the 9th notifying me that a joint committee of the senate and house will give parties interested in the Kankakee drainage bill a hearing on the evening of Thursday, the 14th inst., is at hand. I regret that I cannot be there. If I am well enough to leave home, which at present seems somewhat doubtful, I must go to New York to-morrow night to attend an important business conference. I must therefore beg you to present to the committee my compli-- ments and regrets. Kindly ask them further to permit me to hope that they will be favorably imprassed with the statements and arguments which will be presented to them by the promoters of the bill. I can truly say that my concern for its success is mainly inspired by regard for the general welfare. I\Iy own property adjacent to the Kankakee river is near its head waters, and the fall at this point, I am assured, is practically sufficient for drainage purposes. But aside from the private interests which might be subserved by the passage of this bill, there are certainly abundant reasons in favor of the measure that are of a general character. I take it that there will be no question that the improvement is one highly desirable to be made, and it will be easily shown that it is of a nature which cannot well be undertaken by private parties, but must be done, if at all, through state aid. Gentlemen will show the committee conclusively. I think, that the successful drainage of the Kankakee, dependent upon the removal of the obstruction provided for in the bill, would greatly improve the sanitary condition of the northern part of the state. These low, wet lands are declared by all the authorities on the proper conditions for the public health to be malariqus and fever breeding. State aid ought to be cheerfully afforded on this account if for no other reason. Yet, I contend that for purely selfish motives the state may well undertake this improvement. The drainage would reclaim and make valuable large bodies of land the property of the state, that are now practically useless, valueless. It would also add so materially to the value of other lands as to greatly increase their assessment valuation, and so bring rapid returns to the coffers of the state. But again, as a matter of state pride, I feel that the legislature should vote aid for the purpose of this bill. The principal trunk lines between Chicago and the east traverse this marshy section of our state, and the observations of travelers give credit to the belief A^ddely entertained that Indiana is a good state for emigrants to avoid. Other reasons of weight will no doubt be presented to the committee, favorable to this measure, and these which I have hastily touched upon will, I trust, be more cogently and forcibly set forth. Hoping that the committee will give due weight to what shall be said in favor of the proposed legislation, I am. Very respectfullv vours.

' ' Considering the fact that so many people find it irksome to investigate, inquire and think, it is perhaps not at all strange that a matter of such transcendent importance as the reclamation of the vast Kankakee region should have received comparatively little consideration and awakened relatively little interest, even in this part of the state.

' ' It is remarkable, however, that during the entire session of the general a&sembly nearly everybody at the state capital seemed to be bitterly opposed to Senator Howard's bill for the removal of the obstructions in the Kankakee river at ]\Iomence. The press of Indianapolis was freely utilized to awaken prejudice against that measure. But still more remarkable is the sudden change wrought in public sentiment by the final passage of the bill. All at once the immense advantages likely to accrue to the state are being recognized and favorably discussed. It is freeh^ said that it is the most far-reaching and important piece of legislation that has ever passed the general assembly in the interest of northern Indiana. Roseate predictions are made as to the future of the Kankakee region, which it is now said will become the garden spot of the state.

of the Kankakee valley will immediately, after that outlet is nmde, clean out and straighten the old river, putting enough money into the work, if necessary, to equal the present value of the lands. Such an investment is morally certain to bring ten-fold returns. We shall take frequent occasion to speak of this matter as developments are made in the near future.

"Senator Howard is entitled to unstinted praise for his perseverance and tact in pushing this measure in the face of all the opposition arrayed against it. And too much cannot be said in recognition of the zeal with which Representative Edward A. Metzger, aided by his colleague, Mr. William H. StuU, urged favorable action by the house. Mr. Metzger had charge of the bill in the house, and started out with the determination to secure enough votes for its passage, 'or know the reason w^hy. ' In this he succeeded beyond hope or reasonable expectation. The vote on the final passage in the house stooJ 58 in favor to only 25 against. This remarkable achievement again proves that where there is a will there is usually a way, and that a good and just cause can be made to prevail when the right man takes hold and determines to win."

The following, from an Indianapolis paper, of date August 1, 1890, gives some of the .subsequent history of the work up to the time of letting the contract for the removal of the rock :

"The Momence rock has been a sort of nightmare to every man who has attempted to make a home in the Kankakee region. As a breeder of malaria, mosquitoes and melancholia the Momence rock has had no rivals. It has caused half a million acres of land within two hours of a city of over a million people to remain a 'slough of despond' instead of the garden spot of Indiana. It has been a 'hell-gate' upon which politicians of the region wrecked their aspirations. 'Send, me to the legislature and I'll remove the rock,' is the platform upon which many a politician elevated himself to the legislature. However, the rock was too much for him, and he immediately returned to private life. In 1882 an aspirant for congressional honors said: 'If you want the rock removed, send 2ne to congress, ' and the candidate was elected by a majority of 2,000.

"The so-called Momence rock is a ledge oP limestone through which the Kankakee river cuts a shallow channel for a mile and a half near the town of Momence, 111., eight or ten miles west of the state line. Through this ledge of rock the channel must be lowered from five to seven and a half feet to give the Kankakee the necessary fall from the state line. But this is not the only obstacle. Near IMomence the river forms an island. For years a dam was maintained on each side of the island for water power. These two dams caused the water to back up to Indiana. The Illinois courts always protected the dam owners whenever the land owners of Indiana attempted to remove the dams. The Cass estate, representing 40,000 acres of overflowed land in Lake county, seeing no other way to reclaim it, purchased the dams, the island and the adjacent lands, with the object of removing them whenever the state should take hold of the 'rock.'

"Meanwhile, the Chicago & Western Indiana railroad company built across the island. From the Cass estate the railroad company bought the east part of the island, which was converted into a picnic grounds, the Cass estate reserving the control of the dams, the ice privileges and riparian rights. The boating is excellent up the river for ten miles. During the picnic season the railroad runs excursions to Momence i-sland nearly every day from Chicago, Terre Haute, Vincennes and other points. With the boats rented at 10 cents an hour and fare the company derives an annual revenue of $30,000. Every winter an enormous quantity of ice is cut here and shipped to Chicago over this road, adding many thousand dollars to the income in the way of freight. To drain the Kanka- kee marsh the dam of the main channel must be removed and rock blasted seven feet from one mile above the picnic grounds to five feet one-half mile below it. This will wipe out the picnic, boating and ice transportation, and the beautiful island will return to its ante-railroad condition, but the state of Indiana will gain $8,000,000 in natural wealth. In order to avoid a constitutional obstacle, Mr. Shelby secured from the owners of the adjacent lands deeds to the channel of the river from the state line to the lower point of proposed improvement. These conveyances were made to the state of Indiana. At this stage Senator Howard took hold of the matter and the result was that when the legislature adjourned the state had accepted the channel of the Kankakee, in the .state of Illinois, and $40,000 was appropriated to remove the rock. This work was intrusted to three commissioners appointed by the governor,

"Prof. John L. Campbell of Wabash college, Isaac D. Dunn of Jasper county and J. B. Kimball of Noble were selected. Prof. Campbell's appointment was an excellent one, he being a practical engineer, besides having made an exhaustive survey of the whole region in 1882. William M. Whitten of South Bend was appointed engineer, and, with Prof. Campbell, made the survey and prepared specifieations. This report was adopted May 17, 1889. The next step was to advertise for bids to remove the rock; but Commissioner Dunn, who had been appointed a committee on right of way, reported that the railroad company claimed, under the Illinois law, the riparian right to the middle of the stream on both sides of the river, thereby giving it a strip 100 feet wide across the river. Conceding the claim, the board requested the auditor and attorney general to secure from the railroad company trust deeds to the right of way for thase 100 feet.

But, having conceded this much to the company, the railroad officials now claimed that, having paid taxes on the estate for seven years, they also owned to the middle of the stream, which also gave them an interest to the dam and water privileges, and on June 28, 1890, the attorney of the road notified the commissioners that an attempt to dig under their bridge or remove the dam would be met with an injunction. Then followed a correspondence between the commissioners and the railroad officials until December, when the board decided that nothing more could be done, and they adjourned to await the action of the next legislature.

"But public opinion in the Kankakee country would not brook this delay; and, in order to satisfy Mr. Shelby and Senator Howard, who represented the dissatisfied citizens, a meeting was held yesterday. Messrs. Howard and Shelby and ex-Senator Youche of Lake presented the matter before the board in such a way that the commissioners receded from their position, and consented to advertise for bids. They had delayed this very action because the railroad company threatened an injunction suit, and had taken for granted that the railroad acquired priority of ownership to the channel, whereas Mr. Shelby proved to their satisfaction that the railroad acquired no right by paying taxes for seven years, for the good reason that the company paid taxes on the island last year for the first time. The company claimed that the Cass estate, in selling the island, did not reserve the riparian rights, when the fact is that riparian right is still vested in the Cass estate. Besides, Senator Howard yesterday showed that the commissioners had no right to suspend work upon a threat; that it was their duty to advertise and let the contract, that no injunction can be brought by the company till the contractors reach the railroad bridge, and Mr. Shelby satisfied them that when the bridge was reached nine-tenths of the work would be completed, and as for the dam. he had ordered it torn down. The railroad company had stopped the destruction, but he had brought an action in the United States court to restrain the company from interfering with his dam. He promised to take care of all litigation. Therefore the board decided to authorize the state auditor to advertise for bids in the Sentinel and Journal for the state of Indiana and the Chicago Herald and Tribune for Illinois. Bids will be received in four sections or for the whole work.

"It was not through any wrong motive that the board delayed its work, but it feared to get into litigation and exceed its authority. If the railroad company had not .interfered with the work the 'Momence rock' would perhaps before this time be no more.

"Senator Howard has no interest in the improvement save that of a representative of his constituents. Mr. Youche represented the Lake county swamp angels and Mr. Shelby, who is vice-president of the G. R. & I. railroad, represents 20,000 acres in Lake. To him the state of Indiana owes the right of way of the channel and the destruction of the dams. It is safe to predict the work will be pushed from now on."

A little later the contract was let; and the Chicago Tribune, in an editorial, showed that even thus early the opposition first manifested by the Illinois authorities had disappeared, and the people of the metropolis of the west became aware that the removal of the limestone ledge in the Kankakee, and the drainage of the great valley, instead of being an injury would be of great benefit to the city of Chicago.

"The contract has been let for the removal of the rock ledge in the Kankakee river at Momence, and it is probable that within a year a million acres of fertile land, now spoiled with swamp water, will be open to the sun and ready for the plow-share. While the stretch of naturally fertile land which is to be redeemed lies mostly within the limits of Indiana it is tributary to Chicago. The crops and garden truck raised there will come here, or to those Chicago outposts, such as "Hammond, which this city has planted on Indiana soil.

"Some persons have claimed that the removal of this limestone uplift in the Kankakee would increase the spring floods in the Illinois and do damage, which the Chicago drainage trustees would be called on by the farmers to make good. It has been alleged also that immense quantities of silt would be carried down stream, be deposited in the Illinois river, and add to the difficulties of its navigation. But on consideration there seems no good reason to expect any of these misfortunes. All that the small rock cut will do practically will be to drain oif the swamp water. It will be doing but on a far smaller scale what hundreds of miles of tiledrains and drainage canals are doing now in Illinois. It may add at the most an inch to the height of the flood waters of the Illinois river in spring. After the river has fallen and is within its banks the increased flow will be a good thing for navigation down to the Mississippi.

"As the 'cut' will be a rock one and cannot be enlarged by the flowing waters, there need be no more fears of silt than there will be from the waters of the Desplaines flowing through the deep rock cut which this city intends making southward from the Sag. There will be no marked addition to the quantity of sedimentary matter already carried down the Kankakee. If the cut were through alluvium it might be otherwise, but it is through rock and will remain stationary in size.

"Thus the carrying out of this great drainage scheme will be a positive benefit to Chica)go and be attended with no drawbacks. It will enlarge its tributary territory and will not interfere with its drainage plans."

Mr. William M. Whitteu, for many years the very competent surveyor of St. Joseph county and city engineer of South Bend, was the civil engineer in charge from the beginning to the end of the work at Momence. Two of the commissioners first appointed, however, resigned from the trying task. These were Professor Campbell and Mr. Dunn. The important work, however, had been accomplished. Franklin Landers, of Indianapolis, and John Brown, of Crown Point, Lake county, were appointed in their place; and these officials, with Mr. Kimball, originally appointed, carried the work to a successful conclusion. By an act approved March 6, 1891, the legislature gave greater freedom of action to the commissioners and engineer; while, by another act, approved March 4, 1893, an additional appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars was made to complete the work.*^

The outlet at Momence thus secured, the drainage of the Kankakee under the general laws of the state was taken up and actively prosecuted, year after year, by the land owners in all the counties of the valley. The suggestion made by the French traveler Charlevoix, in his letter written, in 1721, from his camping place on Portage prairie, that the Kankakee river could with little trouble be cut into a straight canal,^ has been accomplished. The Kankakee has been cut into a straight, deep channel, effectually draining the valley from the source of the stream, at South Bend, through the counties of St. Joseph, Laporte and Starke; and the people are preparing to extend this magnificent drainage system through the remaining counties of Indiana and Illinois, down to the opening made through the rock at Momence. Land values, which before the cutting of the limestone ledge were so low as in many cases not to be equal to the small assessment for taxes, have steadily risen, until the drained and cultivated farms of the valley are worth from fifty to seventy-five dollars an acre. The Kankakee valley is indeed rapidly becoming the "garden of Chicago," which it was at first called in derision ; and it will at no distant time be the richest farming section in the state of Indiana.

Sec. 4. - General Drainage. - The general laws under which the drainage of the Kankakee valley was undertaken and successfully prosecuted, after the removal of the rocky ledge at Momence, were enacted in 1881 ; that for proceedings in the circuit court, by an act approved April 8, 1881 ; and that for proceedings before the county commissioners, by an act approved April 21, 1881.* This . legislation which, with its several amendments made at almost every subsequent session of the legislature, has been productive of the utmost good to the state of Indiana. Our low lands have become dry and fertile, and malaria has been banished from our homes. The good name of the Hoosier state has, as a consequence, been established throughout the nation. To be a resident of Indiana has come to be associated with culture, refinement and happy homes. Our lands are the most fertile in the country; our highways are the dryest and most substantial; and the health of our people is the most satisfactory. To no cause are we more indebted for these blessings than to our drainage laws. These laws were reported to the legislature by the codification commission of 1881, and are said to have been drawn by the eminent jurist James S. Frazer, a member of the commission. By successive amendments and modifications of the original acts, we have come to have the simplest, most equitable and most satisfactory drainage laws. By the application of these laws every acre of farm lands in St. Joseph county and every mile of highway has been rendered dry and clean, and is far on the way to perfection. The application of the drainage

Farmers Societies And Fairs

Sec. 1. - Agricultural Societies. - As early as January 22, 1829, the legislature of Indiana passed an act for the incorporation of agricultural societies.* Afterwards, by an act approved February 7, 1835, provision was made for elections in counties and townships for the formation of such societies. Provisions were likewise made in said act for the creation of a state board of agriculture.'' Still another act, approved February 19, 1838, was passed for a more simple method of organizing agricultural societies.*^ By the revised statutes of 1843, a codification of the best provisions of the three acts of 1829, 1835 and 1838, was effected.'^

The first attempt in this county to form an agricultural society was made under the act of 1835. On the first day of the May term of that year, being May 4, 1835, the board of county commissioners entered the following order:

"Ordered by the board that public notice be given that the citizens of the county of St. Joseph assemble at South Bend, on the last Saturday in the present month, to organize a county agricultural society, agreeable to the statute in such case made and provided. ' '

On the application of five freeholders of German township for the formation of a local society, as also provided for in the act of 1835, the board, on the same day, entere<l the following order:

"It is ordered that public notice be given for the citizens of German township to assemble at the school house in district No. 2, congressional township No. 38, for the purpose of organizing a township agricultural society, on the first Saturday in June, pura. R. S., 1831, p. 67.

It does not appear that any township but German, the banner agricultural township of the county, made application for the formation of a society. Nor indeed was German itself, or even the county, ready to maintain an agricultural society. A township society was, however, established in Penn, in the next year, 1836. But the time was not yet ripe for the formation of agricultural societies.

Under the simpler provisions of the act of 1838, a successful meeting for the organization of an agricultural society was finally held in South Bend, June 12, 1841.« The incorporators were among the most prominent of the early citizens of the county. Their names were as follows : George Sumption, David Hoover, Israel De Camp, Charles Sumption, Matthew B. Hammond, William S. Vail, Aaron M. Parker, Sr., John J. Deming, Evan Chalfant, Sanniel Brooks, James Stuckey, Charles W. Pomeroy, Francis R. Tutt, Thomas P. Bulla, Tyra W. Bray, Hiram Doolittle, William Milliken, Samuel Witter, Thomas D. Baird, Charles M. Tutt, William II. Patteson, E. S. Sheffield, Joel Garst, Albert Monson, William Cosgrove, Samuel C. Sample, Elisha Egbert and John Gilmore.

This first agricultural society organized with the following officers: President, John J. Deming; vice-president, Thomas D. Baird; secretary, Tyra W. Bray; treasurer, Francis R. Tutt; directors, Thomas P. Bulla, George Sumption, Hiram Doolittle, M. B. Hannnond, Jonathan A. Listen, Samuel Brooks and Israel De Camp.

The first and only fair conducted by this original organization was held on October 11, 1841. The premium list named twenty-three articles for which prizes were offered. Among them were : Best ten yards of jeans ; best ten yards of flannel; best ten yards of linen; best sample of sewing silk; best cheese, not less than ten pounds; best beet sugar, not less than ten pounds; best half acre of ruta-bagas; best five acres of tame grass; best cultivated fa.rm, not less than thirty acres.

No further action seems to have been taken by the society until April 19, 1851, when a re-organization was effected, with the following officers: President, Powers Greene; vice presidents, Reuben Dunn and Oilman Towle; secretaries, Schuyler Colfax and George C. Merrifield; treasurer, William Miller. A constitution and by-laws reported by Mr. Colfax were adopted. The meeting then adjourned until ]\Iay 17th, when Mr. Merrifield delivered an address upon the advantages of agricultural and horticultural societies. The membership was then reported to be one hundred and thirty-two. Mr. J. L. Jernegan was elected a delegate to attend the meeting of the state board of agriculture. Numerous other meetings were held during the summer and fall, at which valuable papers were read, followed by discussions of great interest. A verv^ successful county fair was held in the court house yard on October 16, 1851.

The interest aroused in the pursuit of agriculture, horticulture and floriculture continued unabated for many years. In the fall of 1852 the fair was held at IMishawaka, the people of the town paying all the expenses. An excellent address was made at this meeting by the Hon. John B. Niles, of Laporte,

For the fair of 1853, two acres of ground on Washington street, in South Bend, three squares west of the court house, were leased. This property was afterwards purchased by the society; which continued with varying success to hold its meetings and annual fairs on this ground until 1857.

On March 15, 1858, the society was again re-organized, this time under provisions of an act of the general assembly for the encouragement of agriculture, approved February 17, 1852.«* At this meeting the following officers were chosen : President, John

On this re-organization, the location of the fair grounds was again changed. The twoacre tract on West Washington street was sold; and, in its place, the company, on April 13, 1858, purchased about seven acres and a half on Portage avenue, taken off the south side of lot one hundred and twelve, of the state bank's first addition of outlots to South Bend.

The first fair on the new grounds was held on September 28, 29 and 30, 1858. The society now entered upon a period of prosperity which continued for ten or twelve years, after which a state of indifference again intervened. The last annual fair was held September 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, 1872. Even before that time, that is, on December 16, 1871, the gTOunds had been platted and offered for sale as the St. Joseph County Agricultural Society's Addition to the City of South Bend. During the war these fair grounds were occupied as a military camp for quartering and organizing troops.

Some zealous spirits still continued to keep up an agricultural society. In 1873 an exhibition was held in connection with the northern Indiana fair ; and efforts were made to continue annual exhibitions on grounds west of South Bend, on Division street, being lots five, six and seven of Harper & Ruckman 's survey. These lots were ten acres each, and the grounds were ample. The exhibits shown on those lots were interesting and of value to the people of the county; but the enterprise was not successful financially.

By an act of the legislature, in force March 18, 1873,® boards of county commissioners were authorized, on petition of the majority of the voters of any county, to invest not to exceed five thousand dollars in the purchase of real estate to be used for the purposes o£ agi'icultural and horticultural fairs. On April 20, 1881, at a special meeting of the board of county commissioners of St. Joseph county, a petition such as required by the statute was filed with the board; and thereupon an order was entered for the purchase of forty acres of land on the north side of the St. Joseph river, between South Bend an;l Mishawaka, being the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section seven, township thirty-seven north, range three east, to be used for agricultural fairs.

On February 3. 1881, the Northern Indiana Agricultural Society was formed with the design to hold fairs on grounds to be purchased by the county, under the provisions of the act of 1873. It was a stock company, each share five dollars and the number of shares without limit; the purpose was to promote the interests of agriculture in northern Indiana.

The Northern Indiana Agricultural Society, with its splendid list of incorporators, its free grounds and the fresh enthusiasm infused into agricultural interests in this and the neighboring counties, continued to flourish and to furnish exhibitions of a very high order for many years. It was not until the World's Fair at Chicago, in 1892 and 1893, with its extraordinary exhibits from every part of the earth, that the people began to show a want of interest in the simpler and more homelike display of our local fair. Nevertheless it is good to remember how much pleasure and profit all our people received from those fine exhibitions on the county - grounds between South Bend and Mishawaka. The time will yet come when the memories of those days will inspire the people to renew, at least for a time, those annual farmers' reunions.

The fortunes of the society having declined, by reason . of the indifference of the people and the consequent falling off of the attendance at the fairs, a new society was formed, March 31, 1899, to take over the property, and, if possible, to revive interest. The old name, the "St. Joseph County Agricultural Society," was restored; and the incorporators were: Charles G. Towle, William D. Rockhill, Abram W. Byers, Ashbury Lindley, Daniel W. Beall, William 0. Jaclvson, John B. Witwer, W. C. Jaclvson, Thomas H. Jackson, Adam W. Shidler, Edward A. Metzger and Samuel Bowman.

The end had come, however, and on June 4, 1903, the St. Joseph County Agricultural Society made a formal surrender of the county grounds, which were accepted by the board of commissioners. With this surrender the history of agricultural societies in where our county fairs failed. Let the fair storm, the chief loss suffered was the destrucbe an exhibition of the products of the farm tion of window glass. It is doubtful whether annual reunion where he and his friends may loss of the churches was very great, especome together. cially in the destruction of stained glass.

older inhabitants tell us of destructive floods g^a&s at Notre Dame was estimated at a thouthat occurred on the St. Joseph river, one on sand dollars. A peculiar accident was the ritory from Notre Dame and St. Mary's to points just south of South Bend. The form of the stones that fell in the city and on the fair grounds was spherical ; further south the stones were jagged. At either side of the line of hail there was a heavy fall of rain. The duration of the storm, in any one place, was about seven minutes.

Comparing the hailstorm of 1886 with the tornado of 1865, it is noticeable that they proceeded from nearly opposite directions, - the tornado up the Kankakee valley, from the southwest; and the hailstorm from a little east of north.

Sec. 3. - HoRTicuLTUR^VL Society. - On November 9, 1892, the St. Joseph County Horticultural Society was formed, on petition to the State Horticultural Society, and by action of that body, as provided by statute. The membership is without limit, new members being admitted at any regular meeting on the vote of a majority of the society. Honorary members are also provided for. The meetings of this society are to a great extent of a social character and have been of exceeding interest to the members. A feature of the membership is that the wives of members are admitted, without payment of dues, to the full privileges of the society. Much good has accrued to the fruit interests of the county, by reason of the discussions and deliberations, as well as by the exhibitions, of this very successful society.

Sec. 4. - Farmers' Fire Insurance Company. - On August 25, 1877, the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of St. Joseph county, was organized. The principle on which the society proposed to act was that all losses should be paid by a pro rata assessment on all the members. The plan has proved successful, and the farmers of the county have secured insurance for their property at actual cost. The membership has always included the best farmers of the county. The original incorporators of the company were :

Sec. 5. - The Grange, Farmers' Institutes, ETC. - A society that has been of the greatest good to St. Joseph county farmers, by reason of its perfect organization and the close friendship which it secures among its members, is the Grange. St. Joseph Valley Grange, No. 584, has been most successful from the beginning, and its members have been among the most influential in the order. In the person of Aaron Jones, the local organization has frequently furnished the master for the Indiana State Grange; and for several years Mr. Jones was the most efficient master of the ^National Grange. Indeed, it was chiefly through him that the farmers of the United States have become a living force in shaping the internal policy of the nation. The present of^cers of the St. Joseph Valley Grange are : IMaster, John Layton; secretary, Mrs. William Golden; treasurer, Carrie E. Webster. The officers of Pomona Grange, No. 31, are : Master, L. P. Robertson; secretary, Maud Gray; treasurer, Mrs. Samuel Bowman.

For many years the citizens of St. Joseph county have enjoyed the pleasures and advantages of yearly Farmers' Institutes, in M'hich a full week is taken up in valuable instruction and discussion, during the fall or winter season. These institutes have been schools, in which study and recreation have been combined in an eminent degree. Distinguished lecturers from Purdue University and other seats of learning are always provided. The institutes at which Governor and Mrs. James A. Mount were present are treasured in the memory of all the people of the county.