Washington County, Indiana - Development of the Country, 1916

Development of the Country

Almost a century and a half passed away after the discovery of America before any portion of this Western country was explored by Europeans. While the English were striving to establish colonies along the Atlantic coast between Chesapeake bay and Plymouth Kock, the Erench moved up the St. Lawrence and settled Canada. Quebec was founded in 1608, and gradually thereafter adventurers pushed farther west and established posts back in the lake country. The Jesuits and fur traders were the forerunners our civilization. As early as 1634 missions were established as far west as Lake Huron.

The first white men known to nave put foot upon Indiana soil were the missionaries, Allowez and Dablon. Between the years 670 and ibjj they were visiting the Indians along the Kankakee river. The Miami confederacy of Indians then claimed and possessed all of this Nortliwest country. La Salle was the boldest of all adventurers and spent t\\elve years of his hie in exploration. In the early part of 1682 he crossed over from the lakes to the Mississippi river, and was the first to explore the same to the gulf of Mexico. Here he ouilt a few huts, erected a cross, fastened the arms of Erance to a tree and proclaimed that he had taken possession of all the country through which he had traveled, from Canada tv the gulf in the name ot the king of Erance. He called it Luuisiana, in honor of Louis XIV., who then and there became the first ruler o\er tlie territory embraced in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Erom this time on explorers and traders made frequent excursions into these western wilds and the Jesuits labored industriously to form missions among the savages.

No sooner had La Salle inf(irnie<l the h'rench king of the vastness and fertility of the territory- west of the Alleghanies than he set about to establish a line of forts and settlements from lanada to the mouth of the .Missis- -^ip])i ri\er, for the purpose of protecting the fur traders and keeping out

Other nations. The faxorite route from Quebec to the gulf was up the St. Lawrence river, across lakes Ontario and Erie to the mouth of the Maumee ri\er; up that stream as far as boats could go, where a portage of ten miles was made to the Wabash, from which point the passage to the Ohio and Mississippi was easy. This continued to be the main line of travel for traders and settlers as long as bVance retained possession of the country.

One of the first in the chain of forts established across the Northwest was at Detroit in 1701. The next, in all probability, was the "Post du .\ubashe" (V'incennes ), in 1702, and thus began the settlement of what is now the great commonwealth of Indiana. It was ten years after before this post became a permanent settlement. It was not till the year 1733. when Francois Morgan de \'incennes, officer of the King's troop in Canada, was sent to take charge of the "posti" that its name was changed to "Posti V'incennes." New Orleans was founded in 1717, and from that date French emigrants came in quite rapidly.

In 1 72 1 France divided her western possessions into nine districts. All the Ohio valley and the country extending as far west as the Mississippi was one district and was called the "District of Illinois.'' Its capital was located at Fort Chartres, built in 1718, on the banks of the Mississippi. The only remains of this ancient capital is a heap of crumbling, moss-grown ruins. King Louis XV was then ruler over the French territory in America. This king and his nobles were much more diligent in trying to make fortunes for themselves out of the colonies than they were in looking after the welfare of the colonists. Heavy taxes were imposed on all who attempted to establish permanent settlements, and little encouragement was extended to those who took up agricultural pursuits. If the French had prompted their early emigrants to become tillers of the soil, like the English did their colonists along the Atlantic coast, they would no doubt have increased their population more rapidly and been able to retain their possessions against all intrusions, but during the eighty years that France controlled this country very little was done to develop it.

While engaged in an expedition against the Natchez Indians in 1736 M. de Vincennes was killed, whereupon Louis St. Agne was placed in command at Post "Vincennes, who continued to command this fort as long as the French held possession of the country. He was a wise and discreet ruler, and for almost a quarter of a century the inhabitants round about the post lived careless, happy lives, and while they farmed a little most of their time was spent in fishing, hunting and trading, all the while maintaining peaceable relations with the Indians.

About 1750 emigrants from the colonies began to cross the Alleghanies and encroach upon the French domain. As a means of self-protection a number of strong forts were built northwest of the Ohio and garrisoned with French soldiers. By the aid of the Indians, who were their allies, se\- eral English traders and small posts were captured on the burders of the frontier settlements. In retaliation the l-jiglish picked up a number of French traders and scouts and held them as jirisoner^ of war. These depredations soon led to a formal declaration of war between luigland and France, commonly known as the "French and Indian War." For eight years this strife continued, but finally the I'rench had to yield to superior numbers and the control of the country pas.sed t(j the luiglish. By treaty made at Paris, February 10, 1763, France ceded to Great Britain Canada, Nova Scotia and all the territory claimed by the French lying east of the Mississippi, except the town of .\ew Orleans Thus the territory now comprised within the Ijorders of Indiana came under British rule. But the Indians occupied the same and made a stubborn fight, under Pontiac, to retain it. A sanguinary struggle ensued, but the Indians were o\erpowered, their warriors slain and their villages destroyed, and they sued for peace, which was concluded on October 25, 1764. Immediately thereafter the work of garrisoning all the French posts was begun There were at this time only three small colonies of whites within the present limits of Indiana. There were about eighty families at Post Vincennes, fourteen at Fort Ouiatenon and ten at the Twightwees village near the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers. These were all French and in the absence of any military force they refused to submit to British rule and did not transfer their allegiance to the British crown until 1777. On December 15, 1778, Post Vincennes was for the first time garrisoned by English soldiers.

On the 2nd da}' of June, 1774, the British parliament passed an act extending the boundaries of Canada so as to include all of the "Illinois District." At this time they were anticipating trouble with the American colonies, so they took steps to conciliate the Indians and French in this territory and turn them against the frontiersmen, .\fter the colonies had declared their independence the British still controlled Canada and all the territory northwest of the Ohio. By retaining the forts, they could annu}- the Americans by fitting out arnieil bands of Indians and sending them tu attack the settlements along the border. The Continental army had to direct all its force against the British troops that had been landed on the Atlantic coast to force the patriots into subjection, so the western country was left to fight its own battles.

At this time Virginia claimed all the territory west of the AUeghanies and back to the Mississippi. She was greatly distressed on account of the savage warfare that was causing so much trouble and bloodshed among her people and in which strife she seemed unable to lend a helping hand. Among the early pioneers that followed Boone into Kentucky was a brave, vigorous, patriotic young man who had been authorized to survey the lands as they were claimed by early settlers. The name of this adventurer was George Rogers Clark, a native of Albermarle county, \'irginia, and to him, more than to any other one man, the United States is indebted for the accession of all that vast scope of country out of which the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Ohio were formed. More especially do the people who now dwell in the land conquered by General Clark owe him a debt of the deepest gratitude, for if he had not disputed the claims of the English, the boundary of the United States would doubtless have been the Ohio river instead of the Mississippi and Indiana now might have been under British rule.

Clark had not been in Kentucky long before he saw that the only way to secure the safety of the settlements was to send an armed force against the British, capture their forts and take possession of the country. He felt sure that if the Americans could gain possession of the country b}- driving the English out they could then make peace with the Indians and make the homes of the pioneers secure. Kentucky was then subject to the laws of \'irginia, and before this bold and hazardous enterprise was undertaken the support and protection of the state must be secured. Acco-dingly, on June 6. 1776, a general meeting was called at Harrodstown to di.scuss and, if possible, take some action in the matter that might lead to the accomplishment of the end so much to be desired. At this meeting Gabriel Jones and George Rogers Clark were chosen to represent Kentucky l)efore the Virginia Legislature and make known the needs and desires of the settlers. In their first visit to the capital of Virginia they did little more than to succeed in having the "County of Kentucky" established under the protecting wing of the "Old Dominion."

In the summer of 1777 Clark sent two young hunters to Kaskaskia and \'incennes to ascertain the exact condition and strength of the garrison, while he returned to \'irginia and secured men. arms and ammtmition for the proposed expedition. About the first of June, 1778, he rendezvoused liis forces at the Ohio falls, having journeved from Pittsburgh in flat-boats. Some of his recruits were from Kentucky, but all told they only numbered one hundred and fifty soldiers. On June 24 they started for Kaskaskia. which place thev reached and captured on July 5. Clark remained there some time to ingratiate himself into the favor of the French and Indians. On b'ebruarv 4, 1779. Clark started from Ka.skaskia with one hundred and thirty men to capture \'incennes, which he succeeded in doing on February Jv and from this time (in \'irginia's claim to the great Northwest Territory was recognized.

First Amekic.Vn Ruler Over Indiana

While ( leneral L'lark was waging his successful campaign against the Hritish posts the General Assembly of X'irginia. in October, 1778, passed an act creating a county to be called "Illinois," embracing all that part of .ountry "'on the western side of the Ohio" claimed by said state. Provision was also made for the appointment of a "county lieutenant" to take conimantl of said county. Col. John Todd was duly elected and commissioned lieutenant of Illinois C(.)unty m the spring of 1779. and thus became the first .\merican ruler over Indiana. Kaskaskia was made the seat of government, at which place Colonel Todd arrived in May. His first act was to order an election for the purp(.ise of choosing officers for the territory. This was the first election held in Indiana and the country northwest of the Ohio. Colonel ('lark was made general and was gi\en command of all troops and the management of the militar}- aflairs in Illinois cmuit}-. In June, 1779, Colonel Todd \isited A incennes and e-^tablishe<l the first court on Indiana soil. It was coni])osed of several magistrates, and Col. J. M. P. Legras was made president of the same. These officers held their positions till 1787.

In (October, 178,:;. the (leneral .\ssembly (.^f \'irginia passed an act for laying ott the town of Clarksville "at the falls of the Ohio in the county of Illinois." The act provided that the lots, of half an acre each, should be sold at public auction for the l)est price that could be obtained. The purchasers respectixel}' were to hold their lots subject to the condition of Ixiilding on each, within three years from d;ite of sale, a dwelling house "twenty feet by eighteen, at least, with a brick or sti.me chimney." This town was laid out and was known as the "Illinois Grant," or "Clark"s Grant," and is what is known as Clarksville today, situated between New Albany and Jefferson- \ille, a short distance above Silver creek.

Ceded To The United States

On account of the vastness of the Northwest Territory and its remoteness from Virginia, this state decided to cede to Congress, on certain conditions, all the right, title and claim which she had to said territory. 'Yhn conditions were that the territory so ceded should be laid out and formed into states having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as other states, reserving certain rights and claims that had been granted to French and Canadian settlers in and about the several posts that had been established, including the grant of one hundred and fifty thousand acres made to Gen. George Rogers Clark and the soldiers who marched with him when the posts of Kaska,skia and Vincennes were reduced. Congress acce]ited the cession of the territory and on the ist of March, 1784, Virginia's delegates in Congress executed a deed for same.

On the 23rd of April, 1784, Congress, by a series of resolutions. i)rovided for the maintenance of temporary government in the territory thus recently acquired. From 1784 to 1787 various commissions were appointed by Congress to obtain from the Indians who had possession of and claimed all the country north of the Ohio, as liberal concessions t lands as possible and to establish friendly relations with all tribes located thereon. .\n eflFort was also made to effect a treaty with Spain, so as to obtain equal rights with that country for the navigation of the Mississippi.

Local Government Instituted

About this time the tide of emigration was turned toward the great country west of the Alleghanies. Settlements be_i.-an to spring up here and there and with them came the necessity for s. <" better system of local government. Congress readily took cognizance of ali the existing perplexing conditions that were confronting these pioneers and pro\ ided for a more stable form of government by electing, on October 3, 1787, Maj.-Gen. .\rthur St. Clair governor of the territory, and \\'inthrop Sargent, secretor\ . This position General St. Clair held till 1800. In the month of July, I jNS. ( ;o\ ernor St. Clair assumed the active duties of the office, locating at .Marietta, in what is now Ohio, it then being near the center of the most populous sections of the territory. The first laws governing the territory were adopted and published at that place by the governor and judges of the general court, Samuel Parsons, James V'arnum and John Cleves Symmes.

Early in January, i/QO, Governor St. Clair and his court moved down the Ohio to Ft. Washington and founded there the town of Cincinnati, making it the capital of the territory. In the early part of March they proceeded to the Illinois country to organize the government in that quarter. Upon their arrival at Kaskaskia they proceeded to lay out the county of St. Clair, which extended from the Mississippi to the Wabash rivers. Magistrates and other civil officers were appointed to maintain law and order. In June following, Governor St. ("lair was called back to Cincinnati to settle some serious Indian troubles that had arisen thereabout, leaving Secretary Sargent as acting governor, with instructions to complete the work already begun at Kaskaskia and then proceed to Post Vincennes and lay out a there. Secretary Sargent and the judges of the territory, John Symmes and George Turner, moved across to the '"poste" early in the spring and at once proceeded to lay out a new CL)unty, including all uf what is now Indiana and Michigan. It was named "Knox," in honor of Gen. Henry Knox, then secretary of war. Various civil and military officers were appointed, the militia was organized and numerous disputed land claims were settled. Two courts were estalilished, one of claims and the a magistrates' court. John Small was commissioned sheritT and Samuel Baird, clerk of the court. At tlie -irst session ni the magistrates court, July 14, 1790, a grand jury was impaneled. Their first presentment read as follows: "The grand inquest for the body nf the countw upon their oath, present that a murder, oi malice rifurctlidUi^ht. was cotnmitted on or about the i()th or JOth of Noxeniber last li\ one Michael (iraft'e, upon a certain Albin Guest." The tirsl jail w a'. ])an cf the block-liouse of I'l. Sackville. In the course of the suninuM- of 1700 tln\e l.'iws were pronuilgated regulating the sale of lii|UMr>, arm- ;in.l aniniunition> tn the In<lianand prohil)iting every species of i;;unli]ini^ .ind \ariMU- ilisorderh- ])racticc>.

During the years 1790 lo iji)j twcntx -tlirrc '-taluli's were adopted and published at Cincinnati b}- Goxernor St. (Ian- and tlir Mi])(.-nor court of the territory. .\ number of these acts were i^v the pvirpose of rei^ulatini; the courts that had been established m the -e\eral counties thai had lieeii laid out in the territory. The niiliti.i roened eonsideralile attention, one aei requiring "th.it whenever ])ersMiis eiinilled in the iniliti.i cf this territnr\- shall assemble ;il .any ]il:ue mI' |iulilir wur-hip e\ery -ucli ]KTsMn shall arm and equip himself aeeiu'duiu tn law .'i- if he were inareliiii-- t. eiii;a,!.;e the enemy." All merchants, traders and tavern-keepers had to pay a license fee. Each county was directed to build a court house, county jail, pillory, whipping post and stocks. Persons assisting violators of the law to escape or evade arrest were to be punished by iine, imprisonment, whipping, pillory Dr sitting on the gallows with a rope about his or her neck. Strange old laws were these, but the exigencies of the times seemed to demand them. These laws were amended and many others enacted during the fitting of he law-making court at ( incinnati from May 29 to August 25, 1795. On he 7th of April, 1798, Winthrop Sargent was made governor of Missis- ;ippi Territory, whereupon William Henry Harrison was appointed secreary of the Northwest Territory.

The time had now come when the people themselves were to have a ^oice in making the laws which were to govern them. Accordingly, on the :9th of October, 1798, Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation- directing he qualified voters of the territory to hold elections in their several counties 0 select representatives to form a General Assembly to meet at Cincinnati m January 22, 1799. There were then seven counties in all the territory. vs yet Knox was the only county organized within the present state of ndiana. Her representative was Shadrack Bond.

This Legislature was composed of a legislative council of five, appointea y the President of the United States, and twenty representatives elected by le several counties. It was organized at Cincinnati on September 24, 1799. lenry \'anderburgh, of this (Knox) county, was elected president of the .gislati^e council and Edward Tiffin, speaker of the House of Representaives.

On the 3rd of October the Legislature elected the first delei^ate to ^present the Northwest Territory in Congress in the person of William enry Harrison. Charles Willing Byrd was apiwinted his successor as cretary of the territory on December 30, 1799.

This first territorial Legislature, which continued in session till Decem- 19, 1799, passed forty acts, thirty-seven of which were approved by the pvernor. Representati\'es who attended this Legislature received three <j)llars per day for their services and three dollars for everv fifte«ti miles tiveled, going to and returning from the seat of governnicnt.

had stubbornly claimed and 1)attled for every fout ijf soil in the territory, but after the campaign waged by Gen. Anthony Wayne, the)- sued for peace. On the 3rd of August, 1795. a treaty was signed l)y all the warring tribes at Greenville, making e.xtensive cessions of land to the L'nited States in different parts of the territory. The Indians ga^-e up most all their claims in Ohio. In what is now Indiana they ceded tracts of lands a few miles square at Ft. Wayne, Ouiatenon and Yincennes. At the Ohio falls there was a cession of one hundred and fifty thousand acres, called "Clark's Grant." Also a strip of land lying east of a line running directly from the site of Ft. Recovery and intersecting the Ohio river at a point opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky river. This strip of land included the present counties of Switzerland, Ohio, Dearborn and part of Franklin, Union, Wayne, Randolph and Jay. Prior to this treaty the times were hard and perilous for the people who inhabited the scattering white settlements or posts on the Wabash. But with trade and traffic resumed and the Indian boundaries established, new settlements sprang up rapidly. It was soon deemed expedient to divide the territory: accordingly, by act of Congress, May 7, 1800, a division of the territory was made l)y establishing a line from the mouth of the Kentucky ri\-er below Cincinnati to Ft. Recovery and thence north to Canada. The country situate east of this line was still called the Northwest territory and that which was west. Indiana territory, and included the present states of Illinois and Wisconsin, nearly all of Indiana, about half of Michigan, and the northeast corner of Minnesota. In all this domain there were then but three counties - Knox, with the county seat at Vincennes; Wayne, with the county seat at Detroit, and St. Clair, with the county seat at Kaskaskia. The capital of the new territory was located at Vincennes.

On May 13, rSoo, \A'illiam TTenr}' Harrison was appninted go\ernor of the territory and on the next day Jnhn Gibsrm was made secretary. William Clark, Henry \"anderburgh and Jdhn Griffin were ajipointed territorial judges. In July. .Secretary Gibs(in went to A'incennes. and, as actino go\ - ernor, made se\eral aiipointnients of territ(irial officers, so that the wheels of go\ernnient might 1)0 set in nidtinn. Gn\-ernor capital of the territor\- nn Jannar\- to. iSot. He calk of the territory on ^londay, Januar\- u, and togcll they held sessions from <la\- to da\- until the jotf adopting and publishing l:n\ s and three re-oliiti line of the trail leading from Vincennes to Kaskaskia. All the country south of this line was the county of ^^andolph, while that north remained St. Clair. Clark county was laid out in the southeast corner of Indiana Territory, with boundaries as follow : "Beginning on the Ohio at the mouth of Blue river, now the boundary line between Harrison and Crawford counties ; thence up said river to where the trail leading from Vincennes to the Ohio falls crosses said river ; thence by a direct line to the nearest point on White river ; thence up said river to the branch thereof which runs towards Ft. Recovery, and from the head springs of said branch to Ft. Recovery ; thence along the boundary line between Indiana Territory and the Northwest Territory south to the Ohio river ; thence down said river to the place of beginning." The exact place where the old trail crossed Blue river may not be now known, but it was not far from the point where the New Albany and Vincennes turnpike now crosses it at or near the town of Fredericksburg. The line running north from this point divided what is now the townships of Howard, Washington and Jefferson, thus putting the west third of Washington county in Knox county and the east two-thirds in Clark.

The Question Of Slavery

When the United States assumed control of the Northwest Territory Congress passed an ordinance which declared that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude should exist in the territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes. This law was not strictly enforced, however, for there were quite a number of slaves owned and held in and about the old French posts in 1800. It was under French domination that slavery had first been legalized. A great many people in the territory were natives of slave-owning states and were opposed to the ordinance passed by Congress. Governor Harrison himself favxarad the slave system, but in deference to public opinion he issued a prodawration requesting the people to hold an election in the several counties of the fterritory on the nth of December for the purpose of selecting delegates ffeo meet in convention at Vincennes on December 20, 1802, to take into cottaideration the expediency of adopting measures to eflfect the repeal of the ordinance of 1787 prohibiting the holding of slaves in Indiana terribjrvv. The numl)er of delegates from the several counties was fixed as follraws: IFiFom the county of Knox, four: Randolph, three; St. C'lair, tliree, anad (Qark. two. Wayne county had no representation. With the excepticMa i(i)if Cllni'k county the delegates all voted for a suspension of the ordinance. an<ll n memorial and ])ctition was forwarded to Congress voicing the sentiment of the convention. Congress refused to suspend the law. The question of slavery in the territory continued to be the all-iinporlant political issue for several years afterward, but the anti-sla\ery people were persistent in their purpose and were finally victorious.

First General Assembly

The second election held in Indiana Territory was for the purpose of determining whether or not the people favored the organization of a General Assembly. This election was held on September ii, 1804, and resulted in a majority of one hundred and thirty-eight in fa\'or of the propositioiL A great many persons opposed the taking of this step, because it advanced the territory to what was termed a second-grade government, which necessitated the payment of taxes to meet the current expenses of the same. On .January 3, 1805, the several counties of the territory elected members of the House, as follow: Jesse B. Thomas, of Dearborn county: Davis Floyd, of Clark; Benjamin Park and John Johnson, of l\nox: Shadrack Bond and William Biggs, of St. Clair, and George Fisher, of Ixandolph. Xo election was held in Wayne county, for the reason that an effort was being made to create a new territory out of the same. By act of Congress, approved January 11, 1805, the territory of Michigan was established, taking from Indiana Territory all the region of country lying north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend of Lake Michigan.

The first Legislature of the Indiana Territory met at \''incennes on July 29, 1805. During its session a number of necessary laws were enacted and some of the old laws which had lieen adopted by Governors St. Clair and Harrison and the territorial judges were re-enacted and revised. Before the close of the session Benjamin Parke was elected first delegate to Congress for the Indiana Territory.

Indian Tre.Vtu'-S

same territory by a treaty concluded at V^inceiines on August 27, 1804. This opened up for settlement a strip of land in the southwest part of what is now Washington county, or practically all the lands south of the New Albany and Vincennes turnpike, which followed the old trail very closely. On the 2ist of August, 1805, at a treaty which was concluded at a place called Grouseland, near Vincennes, certain chiefs and headmen of the I^elaware, Pottawattamie, Miami, Eel River and Wea tribes ceded to the United States the Indian territory lying southeast of a line running northeasterly from a point about fifty-seven miles due east from Vincennes, so as to strike the general boundary line, or the line running from the mouth of the Kentucky river to Ft. Recovery, at the distance of fifty miles from the commencement of said line on the Ohio river. The point "fifty-seven miles due east from Vincennes was known in later years as "Freeman's corner," and was situate about one-half mile north of the present site of Orleans. By this treaty, all the territory in what is now Washington county became "Congress land," a term generally applied to all lands owned by the United States. By act of Congress, approved March 26, 1804, three land offices were established for the disposal of public lands in the Indiana Territory, one at Detroit, in Wayne county; one at Ftaskaskia, in Randolph county, and the other at Vincennes, where all entries were made by parties taking up lands in this section of coimtry. The land office at JefTersonvilJe was established on March 3, 1807. After the treaty at Grouseland the settlements back of the Ohio falls began to develop rapidly. The country round about "Clark's Grant" seemed to be the objective point of all emigrants who came to Indiana Territory. Most all the government lands within the present border of Washington county were surveyed and platted out in 1806. Clark soon became the most populous county in the territory, which made it necessary to curtail its boundaries.

By an act of the Legislature, approved October 11, 1808, Harrison county was formed out of the counties of Clark and Knox, with the following boundaries : Beginning at the point on the Ohio river, where the meridian line from which the ranges take number strikes the same, thence due north to the present Indiana boundary line, thence with the said boundary, to the intersection of the same by the line which divides the fourth and fifth ranges east, thence with the latter to the above mentioned boundary line, between Jeffersonville and \'incennes districts, and with the same to the intersection of the line dividing the fifth and sixth ranges, thence with the said range line, until it strikes the Ohio river, and thence down the same with the meanders thereof to the place of beginning. "In compliance with the wishes of the good people within the bounds of said new county," so says the act, "the seat of justice shall be and is hereby fixed at the town of Corydon." The town was quite new, having been laid out in the spring of 1808.

By this division most of what is now Washington county was included within the boundaries of Harrison count)'. The present townships of Gibson, Franklin, Polk and a strip one mile wide off the east end of Jacksun, still remained a part of Clark county. The question of a division of the Indiana Territory into two parts was pressed upon the attention of the Legislature by legislative memorials and by petitions from 1806 to 180S. The principal reasons which were assigned in favor of such a division were based upon the "wide extent of wilderness country which separated the civilized population of the country - the dangers and the expenses which were imposed upon parties and witnesses who were compelled to attend the superior courts of the territory - and the difficulties which presented or obstructed the administration of the laws at settlements remote from the seat of government."

The subject was disposed of by an act of Congress of the 3rd of February, 1809, which declared that from and after the ist of March, 1809, all that part of the Indiana Territory lying "west of the Wabash river and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash river and Post Vincennes, due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada," should constitute a separate territory and be called Illinois, At this time there were but five organized counties in the territory of Indiana. Knox, Clark, Dearborn and Harrison.

In 1810 the population of the Indiana Territory was 24,520; and there were in the territory 33 grist-mills, 14 saw-mills, 3 horse-mills, 18 tanneries, 2?^ distilleries, 3 powder-mills. 1,256 looms and 1.350 spinning-wheels. The development of the great commonwealth of Indiana has thus been traced through a period of one hundred and forty years, or from the time of the first white man's \'isit to this part of the unexploretl \A-est until the present borders of the state were established.

explored the upper Ohio valley. The lower Ohio was discovered by the French about 1680, and by 1700 they had a well-defined line of travel laid out from the lakes south by way of the Wabash river, but nothing was known of the upper Ohio except what information they were able to glean from the Indians.

It remained a wild, unexplored country until 1748, when one Thomas Lee, a resident of Virginia, conceived the design of effecting settlements in the fertile lands west of the Alleghany mountains through the agency of a company. Lee succeeded in enlisting a wealthy merchant of London, named Hansbury. in his enterprise, and with twelve other persons, residents of Virginia and Alaryland, formed what was known as the Ohio Company. In 1 749 this company received a land grant of about one-half million acres from the king of England, to be located northwest of the river Ohio. Their first mo\e was to employ an agent, in the person of Christopher Gist, "to explore the countrw examine the quality of the lands, keep a journal of his adventures, draw as accurate a plan of the countn,' as his observation would permit and report the same to the Board." Gist organized a small party and spent three years exploring the Ohio and its tributaries quite a distance back into the country, as far south as the Falls. Prior to this time it was only known that a broad expanse of territory lay beyond the Alleghanies, but whether it was land or water, mountain or plain, fertile or barren none could tell. But the stories told by this band of adventurers on their return to the settlements about the vastness and future promise of all this western country, turned the thoughts of the pioneer to the Elysian fields '"across the ranges," which from thenceforth ceased to be impassable barriers and the hitherto impenetrable fastness began to lose its terrors. The onlv check that held l)ack the tide of emigration was the claims of the French and Indians, .\fter 1763, when England succeeded in wresting the country from FVench domination, adventurers began to push their way across the nmuntains and open up new homes on the headwaters of the Ohio. In 17(11) I^aniel Boone made his first visit to Kentucky.

I'caring that this westc-rn cnuntr\' might in time lieconie densely populated, and as ;in indi']icnilent pe()])le set u]) a government for themselves, England chaiit^ed her jxilicy and discfjuraged all emigration as much as possible, particnlarh- refusing to make any sort of land grants to parties whose aim \\;ls to csialili-li rol.niies in the West. But the tide of emigration was irresistilile aud before the close of 1 77ri numbers of jiersons explored and marked out \al\i,i1)le lands for settlement far down the Ohio and established ( iiuiuinnii.it i.iu w itii tin I ren(ii scttk-ments in the Illinois country by an over- land route from the Falls to Vincennes -and on to other points. In the absence of any record of dates or positive information on the subject, it is consistent to presume that the first white men to put foot on Washington county soil were the ad enturers who first crossed over from the Falls to Vincennes, aiong the Indian trail, in the summer of 1770.

Gen. George Rogers Clark captured Vincennes on February 25, 1779, after which he spent some months adjusting affairs of government and arranging garrisons for the main points that had been wrested from the English. His troops were divided l^etween Post Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia and the Falls of the Ohio. General Clark took up his quarters at the Falls as the most convenient spot to ha\e an eye over the whole. This was the first body of armed troops that e\er passed through Washington county. They made the journey early in July, 1779. General Clark at once secured from the Painkeshaw chiefs, called Tabac and C'omet, a tract of land two and one-half leagues square opposite the Falls and erected thereon Fort Clark. This was not only the first station established along the Ohio river on Indiana soil, but also the first one northwest of said river below Loggstown. This site became Clarksville by act nf the Legislature of \'irginia, January 2, 1781. From this time on the "(lid Trail," which passed across the southwest corner of this count}-, became a much fre(|uented thoroughfare for traders, scouts, adventurers, settlers, governors and commandants of the territory.

Clarksville was laid out in the latter part of I7<S3, but notwithstanding the fact that it was the only town in this part of the country north of the Ohio river, that General Clark made it his home and that Fort Clark was located there, around which many a sensational scene was enacted, its growth was slow: for it is alluded to in 1797 as "a straggling village of only some twenty homes."

Emigrants from the interior of \'irginia, the (_"arolinas antl nther states began to find their way across the mountains rapidly after the conquest of the Northwest Territory. It is said that in the spring of 17S0 three hundred large family boats arrived at the Falls of the Ohio, and all found homes in the interior of the country, most of them in Kentucky. A feutook claims in Clark's Grant.

The Indians still persisted in claiming as their own all the territory northeast of the Ohio, excepting the military grant and a few jioints near the river. It was not expedient for settlers to take clainis in any part of the country when the United States could not jirotect them, so this part of the

The first lands relinquished by the Indians in what is now the state of Indiana \vas a strip of a few thousand acres in the southwest corner. Under the stipulations of \arious treaties made by Governor Harrison, beginning in the year 1802, the Indian titles to several large tracts of land were extinguished, and the work of surveying and mapping out the country for settlement was begun.

The first settlement of white people made in territory over which Washington county once exercised jurisdiction was at the present site of \\illonia. Here some French located in 1790. They cleared up a few acres of land for farming purposes and put up some substantial cabins for that day, but their chief occupation was bartering and trading with the Indians. All the pelts secured from the savages were carried down the river in pirogues and supplies of various kinds were brought back in the same manner. There was a good-sized Indian village here also. The proprietor of this post is said to have done a thriving business here up to 1805 when the Indians grew hostile, under the influence of Tecumseh and the Prophet, and the post was abandoned.

In 1800 hunters, tra]jpers and traders began to make regular excursions into this territory. It is doubtless true that in as much as permanent settlers followed hard after the year 1800, squatters lived and thrived here prior to that date. While this is reasonable to conclude and is undoubtedly true, detailed statements cannot be given, as the squatters had no reliable historian and their public achievements accordingly will sleep in eternal oblivion. The first settlers found evidences of white occupancy in several places where there were large springs, such as marked trees, rude shelters and trees cut down white man fashion. When the Indian cut down a tree he hacked all around it, while the white man chopped only on two sides. The signs of ci\ilized man were more numerous about the "Lick," twO' miles east of Salem, than any other point. A man named Royse is known to have lived here among the Ox Indians as early as 1802. He built, or some one did before him, a sort of pen out of poles and covered it with bark, for a place of shelter. The entrance to this "shack" was through a hole made in one side of same by cutting out a pole, through which the occupant had to crawl. It stood among the Indian "wakiups" that were located at the foot of the hill just west of the "Lick." Royse was a hunter, a trader and in a small wav. a manufacturer of salt. The "Lick" took its name front

First Settler

Thomas Hopper is entitled to the credit of being the first settler of Washington count}-. He landed at the Falls in the spring of 1803, and after learning all he could about the "lay of the land'" decided to push out into the interior of the country to select a home. He followed the Indian trail leading to Vincennes until he came to the point where Hardinsburg now stands. Finding at this place a rich soil, an abundance of fine timber and good, cold cave springs, he staked his claim on a piece of land which, when it was surveyed a f.;w years afterward, was in section 3, township i south, range 2 east. A cabin was built in what was then an immense sugar orchard. This was two }-ears before the Indians, by treaty, ceded this land to the United States. Flopper was a man of considerable means, and had left Xorth Carolina with a view of improving his fortune in land speculation. He spent a considerable portion of his time prospecting through the country, and when the lands had been surveyed and now open for entry he took up aljout ten thousand acres of the best. In 1808 he, sold his farm in this county and moved farther west. In 18 16 he visited the place, then owned by Hyatt Rutherford, and while standing in the door-yard pointed out where, just thirteen years before, he cut twelve bee-trees, and captured three bears in a ca\ e. He also told how he had chased deer across the barrens or prairies, when the hounds and game could be seen several miles away. He was the only resident of that part of the county for two or three years. His home was a favorite stopping place for tra\elers going to or returning from the Wabash and Illinois country, and such guests were ever welcome, for they brought either news from the settlements or rehearsed the horrible tales of Indian depredation among the frontiersmen.

The first white man to locate with his family in the central part of the count}- was Jesse Spurgeon. He li\-ed akme with the Indians at Royse's Lick for some time in 1804, eniplo}-ing his time hunting and prospecting. When he returned to his old home in Xorth Carolina he gave glowing accounts of this Mecca in the far west. In the spring of 1805 he brought his family out and l)uilt a small cabin on the branch about a mile east of the 'T.ick." it l)eing in the southwest quarier of section 14. Here he lived till iSoS. when the land being subject to entr\ he secured the northeast quarter of section J5, a short distance southeast of llie present site of Flarristown. lie did not remain liere Ions'. seeminL; lo li;i\e ;i liking for the Indians and frontier life. His next move was to Illinois and from thence to Missouri. He never seemed content unless he was on the verge of civilization or beyond it. Afterward he fell in with the Mormons on their way to Salt Lake, and was never heard from again.

In 1805 the third settler came into the county. His name was Thomas Poulson and he stopped in section 17, about a mile southwest of Fredericksburg. He was noted for his hospitality and there was always an extra bed for the wayfarer at the Poulson cabin. On the 25th day of December, 1807, George Beck and his two sons, John and George, Jr., crossed the Ohio at the Falls and started out the "Trace" in search of a home. On the second day's travel they left the Trail and went north till they came to the south fork of Blue river in section 31, in what is now Pierce township, where they found a spot to their liking, and made a brush shelter under a big elm tree. In a few days a cabin was completed and made ready for the rest of the family, which had been left back at Bear Grass, now Louisville. In the first days of January, 1808, the family was safely quartered in their rude sconce in the midst of an unbroken wilderness. While the two boys were out hunting a short time afterward they discovered a large spring in section 1 1 . Howard township, which they decided would be an excellent place to locate a mill and to this place they removed the following spring.

George Brock, born in Virginia, but of German descent, was the first man to settle in the immediate vicinity of Salem. He found his way to Clarks' Grant in 1807 and spent some time exploring the country with a view of locating therein. He finally laid claim to all of section 8, just north of and adjoining the present site of Salem. Near the center of this .section a cabin was built in the fall of 1807 and early the following spring he moved hi? familv out to their new home. There came with him his son George, Jr., and his sons-in-law, Adam Barnett and Frederick NeidifTer. They all located on the same section and thus formed a little settlement of their own. Brock was a blacksmith, the first that ever came to the county. The Indians would visit his shop quite frequently and express their astonishment at the way and manner he brought the iron to a heat and shajied it with a hammer. P.enjamin Brewer entered the land when Salem now stands, in 1809. His cabin stood on the south side of what is now Alulberry street between Posey and Harrison streets.

The ,ijo\ enniK-nt sur\ey of lands in this county was made in 1806 and 1807. A land ofiice was established at Jcffersonville, March 3, 1807, and from this date claims were taken up quite rapidly. Log cabins and clearings soon began to dot the whole face of the country and the sound of the woodman's ax reverberated from every hillside and \'ale. They came singly and in colonies ; some well-to-do, some poor, some good, some bad. They came mostly in wagons drawn by ox teams, but not a few put all their worldly possessions on a pack-horse and journeyed several hundred miles to find homes in this then far-away country that promised so much. The county was mostly settled with emigrants from North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania, but there were a few persons here and there from almost every other state in the union, h^oreign population was never a very prominent factor in the settlement or development of any portion of the county. For several years the sturdy pioneer endured many hardships, ever encouraged by the prospect that in the near future he would be the fortunate possessor of a home with plenty all around. For several years the Indians remained troublesome and the sturdy pioneer suffered no little anxiety about the safety of himself and family. It was not until after the treaty of peace with the various Indian tribes, made in 1815, that frontier settlers felt secure in their homes and possessions. In 1S12 and the early part of 1813, discussion was rife upon the necessity and importance of establishing a new county in the northern limits of Harrison and a petition was circulated and extensively signed, asking the General Assembly to take action accordingly.