Laurel Township

Laurel Township

Laurel was platted, originally, Xovember 30, 1836, by pioneer James Conwell, who had been selling goods from his house before that date. At first he intended naming his new town site Xew Baltimore, but later changed his notion and called his town Laurel after a town in his old home state, Maryland. It is situated on the old canal and is described on the maps as being situated on parts of sections 9 and 10 in township 12, range 12 east. It is on the Big Four system of railroad. During the first few years of its history it grew very rapidly, especially during the years in which the canal was being constructed, which was from 1839 to 1845. "Dove," the first canal boat to pass through the canal at this point, was owned by W. Harding, of Laurel. The opening of the canal brought in several new business factors, including IVIessrs. William S. Geyer, George and Samuel Shoup, David Hazzard, Louis Steffey, the Snyder brothers. Doctor Giftord, James A. Derbyshire, Horatio Burgoyne, Joel Palmer and a few others. The population of Laurel in 19 10 was five hundred and three.

Without further evidence of the spirit of enterprise and busv industries at this point, one has, today, but to look upon the ruins of numerous stone and brick structures, many years ago the scene of shops and factories and flouring mills. A wonderful talc conld these old buildings tell were they gifted with tongues. Here men bought anfl soM, manufactured an<l .>hi[)ped by water navigation many useful products. The old canal, completed in 1845, was the great artery of trade to and from the town, which grew rapidly until 1852. Fortunes were here made, and in several instances lost. Many men of more than ordinary note have, at one time or another, resided in Laurel.

The milling industry was > luc of much importance, but it has all disappeared with the passage of years. The water power, once derived by tapping the canal, has been cut off, as now the canal carries no water in its bed above a point about one mile south of the town. From there on down to Erookville it has a steady, year-round current and gives the towns of Mctamora and Brookville a splendid power for mill and factory purposes. The first mill on the White Water river was built by one Van Meter, a fourth of a mile l>elow the feeder dam. Later, it was known as the Jcnks mill ; it was destroyed by the building of the canal, and it is related that Thomas Henderson, its owner at the time, recovered three thousand dollars in a suit at law against the state for the damages he had sustained.

The next mill built was by John Ferris, three and a half miles below the town of Laurel. This mill burned and was never rebuilt. Mr. Webster then constructed a rude mill, near Laurel, at the site of the later "Laurel Wreath mills." It was of but little account. In 1843 Samuel Fisher removed and enlarged this mill and it was rebuilt by the Conwells once if not more times; it was burned in 1855. David Hazzard rebuilt in 1857, selling out to Johnson & ]Moak, and they in turn to James A. Derbyshire. It burned again in 1868, and in 1879 it was again rebuilt by Fisher & Withers. Later it was operated by Flerman B. Buhlmann. It was originally propelled by the waters of the river, but later utilized the water from a cut-oflf of the canal.

The Laurel mills were built in 1845 ^^y Shoup, Cullum & Company. It was on the right bank of the canal, below the present railroad station. It was, perhaps, the most extensive mill ever erected in the White Water valley. It. was burned in March, 1877, never to be rebuilt. In the early eighties there was a small pulp mill operated on its old site.

At an early date, a few hundred yards above the iron wagon bridge, there was erected a carding and woolen mill by Dennis Calhon. It was later purchased by Elias Macey, and finally burned. Macey rebuilt farther down stream, but, owing to the washout of his dam so many seasons, it was long since abandoned and but little trace of its foundation can now be seen. In this connection, it may be .stated that ahead of all these various mills there was the pioneer affair known as the old Maple hand-mill of a Mr. Davis, who set it in motion in 1816 on Garrison's creek. He aUo had a pottery there. The stones of this pioneer mill were to be seen as late as 1890. With the change of times and the process of making flour, now largely centralized in large grain centers, the milling interests of Laurel passed out of existence many years since, and t(?day flour is shipped in. instead of out of. the place.

"In a very early day," says a pioneer, well posted, "you could stand on a hill and count the chimneys of thirteen distilleries up and down the river from Laurel." The one nearest to Laurel was the Webster distillery, operated in 1822. In 1874 John Colter built an extensive distillery in a large brick building near the railway station. It was really built for a general store in 1833 by James Conwell ; later it was used as a pork-packing establishment, in canal days, then as a store and finally converted into a "still." In the seventies it ceased to distill and the machinery was removed, Vvhile the building stands a monument of former greatness, if not usefulner^s.

In 1822 pioneer Webster planted out a peach orchard on all that portion of Laurel between Washington street and the canal and Conwell and Baltimore streets. These trees stood there until they were cut down the summer before Laurel was laid out.

In 1823 Webster had a distillery running where, in later years. Williams & Day's slaughter house stood, and at about the same date he established his tan-yard.

The railroad was completed through Laurel in the summer of 1867, and this gave a new life to the business interests, which, however, were seriously crippled by the great iires of 1872 and 188G, an account of which is given in this chapter.

There was also a paper box factory at Laurel about twenty years ago, but this industry has, like most all others, ceased to exist. Twelve or fifteen years ago the stone quarry business was one of much magnitude. The Laurel limestone quarry, three miles to the west of the town, had a spur running from the railroad tracks and shipped as many as fifteen cars of dressed stone daily, employing from one hundred to one hundred and fifty men. The introduction of cement greatly crippled the stone industry, and it was finally abandoned entirely at this point.

A new feature of industry, if such it may be called, is that of the experimental fruit farm, overlooking the town. It consists of a seven-hundred-acre tract, three hundred acres of which are already set to fruit trees. It is owned by a large company, members of which live in Chicago, while its part owner and superintendent, E. A. Schultz, is a resident of Laurel.

The churches of the tow;n are the Alethodist Episcopal. Christian. Catholic, United Brethren and Evangelical Lutheran. The last two have buildings, but no regular services are held at this time.

The fraternal orders here represented are the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of I'ythias and Iiniirnved Order of Red Men. Eioth churches and lodges arc fully described in separate chapters.

The old schoolhonsc, a three-story building erected in 1852, is still used, though condemned. A new ten-lhousand-dollar building is to be erected tliis year.

Corporation Items

Laurel became an incorporated town in 1S77. With the passing' years, the incoming and outgoing of hundreds of f>fficers have caused the records to be misplaced or lost, hence the early hist(jr\- can not here be given. Suffice to say that a fairly good town government has always Ix^en maintained. The place has no water works or lighting system. The electric lights of the town are now supplied by the proprietor of the moving picture show. The town board meets at Brier's drug store.

The officers of the incorporation (jf Laurel in 1915 are as f(jllow : Board members, William Johnson (president), D. T. Reese, George (joehringer, G. H. Foster, Thomas Tharp: marshal, Charles Davis; clerk, Gilbert Tague ; treasurer, William ]\Ioster.

The Postoffice

What is now known as Laurel postofhce has had the following- postmasters since the establishment of the office known as Somerset, and later as Conwell's ]\Iills. The dates, furnished by the department at Washington, show time of appointments:

Great Fires

On Thursday, ^March 21, 1872, there occurred a fire about the noon hour from a spark falling on the dry shingled roof of James Haley's salor.n. By speedy work this was extinguished, but that same night at about two o'clock it was retiewed, and this time it had every appearance of being the work of an incendiary, as an explosion was heard and there were exterior signs of oil having been thrown on materials near the burned buihlings. In this fire, which devastated the place, there were twenty-three buildings lost: all fences, outbuildings and trees in the burned district were destroyed by the ravages of the flames. The heaviest loser was W. F. Hazzard, who had a large dry goods store and lost about all he possessed. It was carefully estimated at the time of the fire, that tlie total loss was not far from one hundred and ten thousand dollars, and on this amount there was only eighteen thousand dollars of fire insurance available. The following is a list of the seventeen buildings wdiich were totally leveled to the foundation stones : The two-story brick block, the upper story of which was occupied by J. C. Durgoyne. a justice of the peace and insurance agent; a two-story building, in which a stock of clothing was carried by Fred Batt ; Williams & Day's livery barn; the Hazzard House, a two-story frame structure, occupied by Mrs. J. O. Van Horn ; a two-story frame, the "Haley House.'' used as a residence and saloon ; a twostory brick building of Charles Hubbard, who carried a dry goods stock below, and the Chronicle office in the second story; a two-story brick building in which Jacob Secrest had a grocery ; a two-story brick building in which was located the dry goods concern of A\\ F. Hazzard. with a tin shop in the rear; the one-story frame building in which a shoe shop was kept and which was torn down to stay the spread of the fire; a two-stor}- frame in which was conducted the saloon of David ]McCarty ; a two-story double frame house : the two-story residence of John Nestle; the story-and-half house of Williams & Day, used as a warehouse ; the two-story frame building in which was carried a stock of dry goods and millinery by 'Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Cooper; also what was known as the Pearl Street House, occupied by Mrs. Pike and Mrs. Cooper; a story-and-a-half building of Morris Londgain, and the calaboose, all of which were totally consumed.

Another fire visited Laurel, January 7, 1886. which did much damage, while another, the same year, on Sunday morning, ]May 9. consumed the large store building of John F. Geyers. This structure was forty by one hundred feet in size. An e.xplosion occurred in.sidc which was thought to have been a stick of dynamite, hut this was never clearly proven. The fire spread from the oritjiiial building to Mike Herman's dwelling and tailor .shop, Mrs. Lynn's fancy notion store, a coffin store belonging to A. & L. Moster, and the large barn of Frank \\'instoring. The total loss was placed at fifteen thousand dollars.