Vigo County, Indiana - Chapter 18: Yigo County Formed, 1891

IN our account of the. settlement of this particular spot on the Wabash River, we have now arrived at the time when the rapid increase of population demands that a new county be formed. In the beginning of the year 1818 this was Sullivan county, and the settlement in the vicinity of Fort Harrison became fully entitled to be stricken off and have their own convenient seat of justice, and this public necessity was heeded by the legislature. The following is the act:

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That from the fifteenth day of February next, all that part of the county of Sullivan included in the following bounds shall form and constitute a new county, that is to say: Beginning at a point on the Wabash river where the section line between fractions 14 and 23, in Range 11 west, Township 10 north, strikes the same; thence east with said line to where it intersects the range line dividing Ranges 6 and 7 west, Township 10 north; thence with said range line to the Indian boundary; thence north with said boundary to the division line between the State of Indiana and the Illinois Territory; thence south with said line to where it strikes the Wabash river; thence down said river to the place of beginning.

Sec. 2. The said new county shall from and after the fifteenth day of Febru¬ ary next be known and designated by the name and style of Vigo county, and it shall enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdictions which to a separate county do or may properly appertain and belong.

Sec. 3. That Efihu Stout, of Knox county; John Allen, of Davies county; Charles Scott, of Sullivan county; James D. Jones, of Gibson county, and Marstin G. Clark, of Washington county, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to designate the place for the seat of justice of Vigo county, agreeably to an act entitled "An act for fixing the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off." The commissioners above named shall convene at the house of Trueman Blackman, in the neighborhood of Fort Harrison, on the third Monday of March next, and then proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law.

Sec. 4. The board of commissioners, of said new county of Vigo, shall, within twelve months after the permanent seat of justice shall have been established, pro¬ ceed to erect the necessary public buildings thereon.

Sec. 5. Until suitable accommodations can be had, in the opinion of the circuij; court at the seat of justice of said new county, all the courts of justice of the same shall meet at the house of Trueman Blackman, near Fort Harrison, from whence they may adjourn, if they think proper, to any other suitable, place near the center of said new county, and as soon as the public buildings are; in the opinion of the circuit court, in a sufficient state of forwardness for their accommodation, the courts shall adjourn to the county seat; and after that time the circuit court and all other courts necessary to be holden at the seat of justice of the county aforesaid, shall be held at the county seat established for said county.

Sec. 6. Whenever the seat of justice of the said new county shall have been established, tlie person or persons authorized by law to lay off the lots and sell the same shall reserve ten per centum on the net proceeds of the whole sale of lots for the use of a county library in said new county, which sum or sums of money so received shall be paid over to such person or persons as may be authorized to receive the same in such manner and in such installments as shall be authorized by law.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That the said county of Vigo, which was for¬ merly a part of Sullivan, shall form a part of the respective counties of Knox, Davies and Sullivan, for the purpose of electing senators and representatives to the General Assembly, until otherwise directed by law, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

This was the new county of Vigo [pronounced Veego, though the pronunciation Vygo is entirely permissible]. The name is pure Spanish, and the soft pronunciation would seem to be preferable.

The boundary lines originally differed materially from those of the present. In the above description it will be noticed that the starting point is between Sections 14 and 23, where the line strikes the Wabash river, and then due east (this is just three miles north of the present southern boundary line of the county) ; then it lan east to the range line between Ranges 6 and 7 (that was two miles farther than the east line of the southern part of the county now is) ; then it followed this range line to the "Indian boundary line." That is now a "lost line" on the present maps, and hence the school children in studying their geographies could not trace out the original boundary line of the county Avitliout studying the history of the treaties with the Indians and Harrison's purchases, from time to time, of their lands. This Indian boundary line evidently was what was known to the Indians and the early settlers as " the 10 o'clock line."

This line runs in a northwest and southeast direction - as the Indians could comprehend about in the direction of the 10 o'clock sun. It passed the mouth of Raccoon creek in Parke county and passing east of Brazil to White river in Jackson county.

\ igo county then included on the east a strip two miles wide, commencing at the southeast corner of the county, and extending north to the south line of Township 13 and along the range line between 6 and 7, as now, but striking the Indian boundary line in what is now Parke county; then going northwest past the mouth of Raccoon creek to the State line. The county then included what is nov a pait of Clay, and the southwest part of Parke, and nearly the south half of what is now Vermillion county.

It continued in this shape until January 10, 1819. On the first day of January of that year the legislature passed an act containing^the following: "After the 10th of January next all that part of the county of Sullivan lying within the following bounds to wit: beginning on the Wabash river at the southwest of the said county of Vigo on the said river Wabash ; thence with the meanders of the same to where the township line dividing Towns 9 and 10 intersects the Wabash; thence east with the said line to the range line dividing Ranges 6 and 7 ; thence north with the said line between Ranges 6 and 7 to the southeast corner of Vigo county, shall be, and the same is hereby attached and shall form a part of said county of Vigo."

January 9, 1821, the new county of Parke was formed from the north part of Vigo county. This fixed the north boundary line of Vigo county as it is now. The act provided: "That all that part of Vigo contained in the following bounds, shall form and consti¬ tute a separate county, viz. : Beginning at the line dividing the States of Indiana and Illinois , where the line between Townships

The same year, December 31, 1821, the new county of Putnam was formed, and that again remapped Vigo. Its boundaries were as follows: Beginning in the center of Range 7 west on the line dividing Townships 10 and 11 north; thence east fifteen miles to the line dividing Ranges 4 and 5 west; thence north twelve miles to the line dividing Towns 12 and 13 north; thence east three miles; thence north twelve miles to the line dividing Townships

14 and 15 north; thence west fifteen miles to the line between Ranges 6 and 7; thence south six miles; thence west three miles, and thence south eighteen miles.

This act remained in force one year, when an amendatory act was passed, which restored to Vigo county her original boundary lines as they existed before Putnam was formed. The new boundary lines of Putnam, and restoring the territory of Vigo was an act of the legislature of December 21, 1822. The following are the new metes and bounds of Putnam: Beginning in the center of Town¬ ship 12, north, on the range line dividing Ranges 6 and 7, west; thence east twenty-four miles to the line dividing Ranges 2 and 3; thence north with said line twenty-seven miles to the line dividing Townships 16 and 17, north; thence west with said line twenty-four miles to the line dividing Ranges 6 and 7 ; thence south twentyseven miles to the place of beginning.

But in time some confusion arose as to the exact boundary lines, and the jurisdiction, especially of the counties, lying along the Wabash river.

definition of different counties' boundary lines, the general assembly passed an act dividing the State into counties and defining their boundary lines. Then in 1873 a supplemental act to the above was passed, and of Yigo county it is enacted:

" The district of country within the following boundaries shall form and constitute the county of Vigo: Beginning at a point on the Wabash river, where the line dividing Townships 9 and ten strikes the same; thence east to the line dividing Ranges 7 and 8; thence north to the line dividing Townships 12 and 13 north; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 32, Township 13, Range 7 west; thence north to the line dividing Townships 13 and 14; thence west to the State line; thence south with the State line to the W abash river; thence down the same to the place of beginning."

This described the lines bounding the county, and especially the county's east line, dividing Yigo and Clay. It so remains at present, and in all probability will not be subject to any more changes.

The county was not fairly upon its feet as an independent mu¬ nicipality until some vexed questions arose as to the term of office of the county commissioners, and the legislature finally had to step in and untangle matters.

Whereas, It is represented to this general assembly that in March, 1818, the county of Yigo was organized and three commissioners for said county were elected; and the act organizing the board of county commissioners does not pro¬ vide when the election for commissioners shall take place upon the organization of the new county; and whereas, the first board were [was] elected in March, 1818, and Ezra Jones being elected one of said board, drew for one jmar, and Isaac Lambert, who drew for two years, and John Hamilton, who drew for three years; and the said board being of opinion that the seat of the said Ezra Jones would be va¬ cated in August, 1818, ordered an election, whereupon the said Ezra Jones was re-elected; and that in August, 1819, the said Isaac Lambert's seat would be vacated and oideied an election to fill the vacancy, when the said Isaac Lambert was re-elected to fill his own vacancy, and that in August, 1820, the said John Hamil¬ ton s seat would be vacated, and an election was ordered at the last annual election to till the \acancy of the said John Hamilton, when Gersham Tuttle was elected and received his certificate and was sworn into office; and an election was ordered at the last annual election, also to fill the vacancy of Ezra Jones, who had previously resigned, and John M. Coleman was electedlto fill said vacancy; and whereas John Hamilton has considered that he has a right to his seat until March, 1821, in conse¬ quence of which four commissioners have appeared and taken their seats at the last meeting of the board of county commissioners; and whereas, doubts are enter¬ tained of the legality of said board since August, 1818, and also of the time of the commissioners elected in March, 1818, were to serve." After this very full statement of the tangle the legislature confirmed all of them and legalized all their acts.

John M. Coleman was appointed by the legislature as one of the county seat commissioners for the new county of Parke formed out of the northern part of Vigo county.

trix and Touissant Dubois and William Jones executors of Touissant Dubois, deceased of Vigo county, to sell and convey a por¬ tion of the lands of said deceased, not otherwise disposed of by his will, for the payment of the debts of the estate.

January 2, 1821, an act apportioning the senators and repre¬ sentatives of the State was passed. By this act Vigo county was entitled to one representative. And the counties of Vigo, Sullivan, Greene and Owen were made a senatorial district.

January 2, 1819, the State was divided into four judicial cir¬ cuits, Vigo was in the first, and courts were to be held in the county in the "fourth Mondays in February, May and September, and shall sit six days, if the business requires it, at each term." The counties composing the first circuit were Knox, Sullivan, Vigo, Owen, Monroe, Lawrence, Dubois and Davies.