Lake Ditch Bridge

In the month of June, 1834, Gideon Johnson and George Hubbard employed a surveyor and laid out forty-five lots on Section 12, Township 13 north. Range 1 west, and named the village thus founded Monrovia - a variation of the name of the township. The first merchants were Gideon Johnson and Ira Hadley, each of whom owned a store. If one began selling before the other, such fact is not now remembered. In 1887, Mr. Johnson sold out to Thomas Edwards & Co., for $600, Lots 1, 2, 13 and 14, Block 3, together with all the appurtenances thereunto belonging. This company was composed of Thomas Edwards, I. B. Edwards and C. G. Hussey. This company owned about $2,000 worth of a general assortment of goods. About the time this sale was effected, John Carter laid out an addition of sixteen lots to the town. Mr. Hadley still continued his business, taking in a partner in 1888. Mr. Johnson must have opened another store soon after his sale, as he took out a license in 1839 to sell merchandise. Eli Vestal was an early merchant in the village. Henry and Noah York engaged in the same pursuit early in the forties. Irvin Caveness was the first tavern keeper. Samuel Wilhite and John Valentine were probably the first blacksmiths. A man named Half hill opened a saddle and harness shop, and John Edwards began making wagons. The growth of the village, though not rapid, was steady and permanent. For several years, beginning about 1842, there was no store in town. This is said to have been due to the hard times resulting from the crash of 1837. Owen Johnson opened a store about 1845, and soon afterward Ira Hadley resumed his business, which had been temporarily abandoned. Collins, an Irishman, opened a store about 1850. Milton Lindley was engaged in the same pursuit about the same time, or possibly before. Benjamin Young came in with goods a little later, and Porter & Breedlove still later. After them came Samuel Hadley, Joseph Fulghman, M. B. Shaw, Butler & Mendenhall, Mendenhall & Thompson, W. B. Thompson, Philips & Johnson, R. P. Johnson & Co., and several others, whose names are forgotten. A steam grist mill was built in the town not far from the year 1837, and was the first of the kind in the central part of the State. But the machinery was too rude to compete yet with the numerous powerful water mills, and the mill proved a failure, and was soon abandoned, and the machinery was removed. George Hadley built a wool-carding establishment about 1840, the motor being cattle on an inclined plane. It passed to Silas Gregory, who conducted it until about 1850. No spinning or weaving was done. A man named Dunning manufactured saddles quite extensively in the forties. Halfhill followed the same occupation. Ira Fowler owned a distillery some distance south of town, where lovers of ardent spirits could secure their favorite potations. Mershon was a cabinet and coffin maker, and was probably the first undertaker in the town. Mr. Caveness kept a shoe shop in connection with his tavern. William Wisner conducted a tannery, beginning about 1836. It is said that Joseph Pray started the business, but soon sold out to Wisner. A saw mill was conducted in connection with the steam grist mill. Harris & Goddard built the present steam grist mill in 1856. A woolen mill was added to it. John McDaniel bought both mills about 1861, but soon sold out to Charles Smith, who made money during the war. Hadley & Taylor succeeded Smith. In about 1868, the two mills were separated, each being owned by different parties. John Stanton bought the woolen mill, and Hadley & Taylor owned the grist mill. Mr. Taylor is the present owner of the grist mill. The woolen mill was an important industry. Spinning and weaving was done. Flannels, jeans and other cloths were manufactured. Various other industries have flourished from time to time, but the above are the more important.

Passage source: Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and Biographical, published 1884.

A newspaper was started in the town about 1880, by a man named Stotzell. After a checkered career of about six months, it became de- ' funct. Late in the sixties, the village became the " incorporated town of Monrovia." Ordinances were adopted, streets were drained, sidewalks were built, etc., but after a few years the municipal government was abandoned.

Passage source: Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and Biographical, published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Monroe Township - 2,614 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.