Besancon St. Louis Historic District

Flat Rock Lodge , No. JJJ, 1. 0. 0. I1., was instituted March 5, 1874, by P. G. M. Platt J. Wise, assisted by L. M. Rogers, of New Haven, and several members of the Lodges of Fort Wayne. The petition for dispensation was made February 4. 1874. and signed by Melancthon Cary, John C. Wilson, James E. Whitney, Eli Todd, J. R. Parker, Fred L. Gable, Fred Fry, H. D. Stoneman and A. C. Crawford.

Passage source: History of Allen County, Indiana., published 1880.

It is believed that the first permanent settlement within the limits of this township was made by Jared Whitney and his family. He came in May, 1833, and remained during the summer on the Maumee river, but in the fall took possession of a tract on section 7, which he afterward brought into cultivation. In the summer of the same year, Wilhelm and Henry Tuschknagen and families settled, and became industrious and esteemed citizens. But several years later, one of the sons, while at Fort Wayne, took a piece of cloth from a store and was arrested. One of the neighbors becoming bail, the culprit was released, and returned home, but a few days before the day of trial disappeared forever. The disgrace so affected the famil}- that they were broken in spirit, and the ostracism by the community affected their reason. It is related that the elder men were to be heard night after night breaking stone in the woods, for the purpose, they said, of building a temple. The last survivor was a mental wreck, was known as the "Prophet," and fancied he was divinely directed in every action. During 1S33 there also came Christian Wolf, Joseph Grunauer, Mr. Blackmore, a transient resident, William Henderson, Simon Rogers. The latter sold his clearing to Eben Burgess, who took possession in 1834. On this farm the first frame house was erected by one Blakel}^ and was used as a barn by Mr. Burgess, who erected the first brick house in 1S37. WilHam Henderson was married in March, 1835, to EHzabeth Rogers, the first ceremonj' of the kind in the township. In 1835 the first death occurred, that of a child of Mr. Blackmore. In 1834 ^ settlement was made by Aretas Powers, who was born in New York in 1800. He brought with him his wife, Sarah Stilson, to whom he was married in 1828, and their children afterward increased in number to eleven. James Post came also in 1834, but \yas not a permanent settler. A sad event of that period was the loss of a little son of the latter. He strayed into the woods, and his bod}- was found by a party of neighbors many days later in Seven Mile creek. Mr. Powers was the first justice of the peace elected in 1840. In 1835 or 1S36, Henry Castleman setUed near the center of the township. They were famous hunters, and were known to bring at one load to Fort Wayne, on a home-made sled, forty saddles of venison. Henry Castleman is said to have killed 1,678 deer and twenty-three bears. A celebrated event of the early time was the clearing up the Sugar ridge or Vanwert road. On New Year's eve, 1837, about twenty residents went to a point near New Haven, provided with cooking utensils as well as axes, and began the work. The road had been merely a foot path before, but this winter's campaign made it a well-defined highway.

Passage source: Valley of the Upper Maumee River, with Historical Account of Allen County and the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, published 1889.

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 Jefferson Township - 3,124 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.