Madison Township

Madison Township

The first session of the commissioners' court of the county, in the month of June, 1844, ordered that the following territory be set apart and known as Madison township: "Beginning at the southeast corner of sec¬ tion 32, township 21 north, range 6 east, thence north six miles, thence west six miles, then south six miles, thence east to the place of beginning." This original area comprised thirty-six square miles, but at the September term of 1846 a strip one-half mile wide was taken from the western part and added to Cicero township, and at a subsequent session the northern bound¬ ary was made to include eleven sections of Wildcat township, making the area forty-four square miles, or twenty-eight thousand one hundred and sixty acres. The township occupies the southeast corner of the county, bordering on Madison county on the east and Hamilton county on the south, while the townships of Cicero and Wildcat form respectively the western and northern boundaries.

Duck creek, the principal stream, flows through the eastern part and receives in its course a number of tributaries, chief of which are Polly wog creek and Prairie outlet. The former enters the main stream in section 7, while the latter forms a junction in section 29, near the eastern border of the township. The east fork of Bear creek flows through the southern part of the township and supplies good drainage for that portion of the country.

The land surface of Madison township is flat, with the exception of the southeast corner in the vicinity of Dpck creek, where the land is of an undulating nature and in some places brokefi. At one time there were sev¬ eral low tracts in the township, which the pioneers ignored, thinking the land of no value. These quagmires and sloughs have been largely elim¬ inated by a system of drainage, and the productiveness of the clay soil has reached a high standard today. Black loam is the character of a great part of the soil, resting upon a sub-stratum of clay. The original territory of the township was covered with a thick forest, with small, wet prairies scat¬ tered throughout. The timber was comprised of walnut, poplar, oak, ash, elm, maples, beech, linn, sycamore, and a smaller growth of buckeye, spice¬ brush and willow. Round prairie comprised several hundred acres in the northeast corner of the township, with a like area in the township of Wildcat on'the north. West prairie occupied a greater portion of section 15 in the western part of the township. There was also a small tract of wet land in the southeast part known as Wesall prairie.

Eari.Y Settlement

The southern division of Madison township was opened up for settle¬ ment about 1830, being at that time included in Hamilton county, while the northern sections formed a part of the Indian reserve and were not placed on the market for a number of years afterward. This necessarily meant that the southern lands were settled first, and indeed in the year 1836 there were not many people living there: James Shaw, Henry Eytchison, Pleasant Allman, and Henry Hobbs. Shaw came from Rush county, and located two miles south of the village of New Lancaster. Eytchison came from North Carolina, and took a claim in section 17. He later moved to Madison county. Allman located in the southeast corner of the township, and was the first there. He came from Marion county. Hobbs was a Virginian, and a man of first quality. He was once a candidate for probate judge. Absalom Hobbs, brother, came a year later and entered a tract of land in section 27. He ran for the office of sheriff in 1846, but was so unfortunate as to belong to the weaker party.

In the forepart of 1837 Joseph Henderson, from Ohio, secured land in the southeastern part. When he left Ohio he joined the Mormon sect under the prophet, Joseph Smith ; he was one of the Latter-Day Saints at the time of their expulsion from Illinois, and was one of a small settlement in Jackson county, Missouri. He gave up the Mormon heresy before leaving Mis¬ souri. He entered land in Madison township in 1838, and lived there until his death in 1875.

In 1837 a Virginian bv the name of Henry Hildebrand came to the township and bought land in the southern part. He afterward practiced medicine. About the same time settlements were made by Reuben Farlow, near the eastern boundary, and William Orr. a nephew, and by Absalom and Henry Hobbs in the southwest corner. Philip Letzinger came, in 1838, and was joined the same year by Mitchell and William Goings and Joseph A.

Wright. The Goings located near the Hamilton county line. Wright came from North Carolina, where he left his family while he investigated the land of Tipton county. He selected a claim on section 22, on which he built a small cabin. He burned the first brick in the township and erected the first brick house in the county on his farm in 1848. Other of the settlers who came early were : Henry Harbit, a Kentuckian, who located a short distance south of New Lancaster; Reuben Harvey, in the eastern part, and William Carr.

In 1838 two brothers, Newton and Carter Jackson, came in with their families and settled near New Lancaster, the former in section 19 and the latter in section 20. They were natives of Kentucky, but left that state in an early day and settled in Wayne county near the city of Richmond. At the organization of Tipton county in 1844, Newton Jackson took an active part and was elected as the first clerk. Carter Jackson was elected as the first representative to the state Legislature in 1845.

The following is a list of settlers who entered land from the govern¬ ment: Ansell Ballard, John Rader, John Gross, Samuel Potoff, Ebenezer Douglass, Eli Wright, Enoch Warman, Sanford Daniel, Alfred Daniel, Silas Mills, Lemuel Darrow, Obadiah Kinney, Henry Oldacre, Samuel Heck, Solomon Dill, Jarrett Nugen, Martin Rogers, Daniel Miller, William Orr, Jesse McAnally, Benjamin Baird and James Beeson. These men all received their patents prior to 1837. The following two years' entries were jnade by William Sheets, N. Stanbrough, James Tate, S. N. John, Joel Stephenson, Frederick Waltz, Jesse Hankins, James Armstrong, George L. Smith, Rob¬ ert Stutsman, Jacob Smith, John Sharpe, Ransom Mills, H. Mills, William Riddler, Jonathan Coffin, John Sleath, Zadock Darrow, John Wiley, William Birch, Thomas Cooper, Samuel Neece, Nathan Baird.

James Merritt, from Ohio, came in 1839, and took land in. the south sections. In 1846, at the time of his wife's death, he moved to Hamilton county. In 1839, also, Edward Sharpe settled in the southwest part of the township, where he remained until 1844, when, becoming weary of the country, he removed to Marion county, his former home. The Darrow family, Lemuel, Zadock, John and Simeon, came in 1839 and made a home on Duck creek, near the eastern boundary. They were natives of Massa¬ chusetts. These brothers had an unfortunate existence here. Lemuel died in 1843; John left the country to escape litigation, and Zadock committed suicide in 1858.

First Improvements

The first wheat raised in the township had to be hauled to Perkinsville and Strawtown, where but poor markets were afforded, the farmers get¬ ting forty-five and fifty cents per bushel for their grain. It was the absence of close and adequate markets which handicapped the early settlers in all parts of the county, and was a detriment to rapid growth. Some of the farmers took their crops to Lawrenceburg in the southern part of the state, where better prices could be obtained. The nearest mills where meal could lie had were on Cicero creek in Hamilton county. They were simply rude corn-crackers, and ground very slowly. An inferior grade of flour could be secured at the Perkinsville mill, and it was for several years the chief source of supply. A fair market for grain and produce was offered by the Wabash canal, but the almost impassable condition of the roads leading to it pre¬ vented the farmers from taking advantage of the shippers.

The Indians, who were numerous in the northern part of the town¬ ship, gave no trouble to the settlers, only when they got drunk at Strawtown. They traded such articles as moccasins, dressed deer skins, venison, bead work, etc., for bacon, gunpowder and wearing apparel.

The first mill in the township was a saw mill erected sometime during the year 1848. It was the property of Gilbert Wright and was located on the west fork of Duck creek, from which it drew its motive power. It was operated by a large water-wheel, and supplied the lumber for many of the first frame houses in the township. Wright operated the mill until his death in 1854, and from then on it passed through several hands. B. F. Mar¬ shall erected a saw mill, run by steam, in 1868, at the village of Curtisville.

The New Lancaster tannery was established in 1849 by a Mr. Hillegoss. This man sold out a few months later to Martin Stevens, and from thence it passed through the hands of several owners, it passing out of existence many years ago.

The first orchard in the township was set out by Carter Jackson. He brought with him into the county three hundred small trees, which he raised from the seed in Wayne county, and started a small nursery. The second orchard was planted by James Merritt in the western part of the township in 1840.

Early Elections

The first election within the present bounds of Tipton county occurred in the year 1841, af the residence of Joseph A. Wright in the western part of Madison township. This was during the time that the township was a part of Hamilton county, and the election took place for county purposes only, no officers being chosen. Carter Jackson was appointed inspector, and eighteen votes were cast. The first election after the county organization was held at John B. Cole's residence in 1844. Newton Jackson was chosen jus¬ tice of the peace. The first board of township trustees was elected in the year 1854 and comprised the following: Levi Colvin, Gilbert Wright and Green Lilly. James Beeson was chosen treasurer, and Thomas S. Starkey, clerk.

In an early paragraph of this review -of Madison township it is stat¬ ed that the bad conditions of the roads in an early day prevented the farm¬ ers from using the Wabash and Erie canals as a means of shipping their produce. This condition existed for several years, when steps were taken to improve the roads and accordingly corduroy roads were laid. Today these would seem as impassable as the old mud roads, but at that time they were a godsend. These roads were laid through the then wilderness, blaz¬ ed on ridges and high places, and thence to the main throughfares. The farmers of the township now have the advantage of the best macadam and gravel roads. There are six hundred and forty-six miles of improved roads in the county, and Madison township has a large per cent, of them.

Agriculture in the township is a highly developed art. In describing the condition, one might duplicate the words used in the review of the other townships. Time-saving equipment has been invented, and scientific methods of cultivation have been discovered, and of all of these the ag¬ riculturist has taken advantage. The broad, well-kept fields, the palatial farm residences, the orderly buildings are a source of great delight to the visi¬ tor. There are many beautiful spots in this township, among them Carr's Grove, near the town of Hobbs, which is used for picnics from Elwood, Tipton and other places.

The Lake Erie' & Western Railroad and the Alexandria branch of the Indiana Union Traction Company traverse this township from east to west. Transportation is thus easily provided for passengers and for many chil- dren attending the larger schools. As in many other places, the system of many small school buildings throughout the township is being abandoned, and consolidation is being effected.

New Lancaster

New Lancaster is located in the southwestern part of the township, and was established to supply the need of a trading post. The original site' was owned by Carter Jackson, who sold small portions of his farm from time to time to those who desired to locate in the village. No plat was ever made, as it was not the intention of Mr. Jackson to found a town. The first residence in the village was erected by Abraham Ressler, about the year 1845. and soon afterwards two more dwellings were constructed by Granville Newby and R. R. Douglass. New Lancaster has no postoffice, but ft boasts of a school house, church, a lodge of Modern Woodmen, with a drill team which has won a statewide reputation. While the town is isolated, it is, nevertheless, a popular meeting place for people for many miles around.

Near the year 1859 the town of Curtisville was founded by L. B. Col¬ vin, who built a saw mill in section 31, on the railroad, and sold lots for the purpose of securing a switch and a station. Among the first men to buy lots were U. T. Moon, John Balser, C. D. Colvin and A. B. Newman. The latter opened up the first stock of goods for sale, erecting a building in the east part of town for that purpose. Jacob Stamm, John Tuttle, Tohn Starkey were subsequent owners of this business. The early blacksmiths were Will¬ iam Little, Joseph Leach and James Hamilton. The manufacturing interests of the place have been represented by several steam saw mills; at one time the village was a popular trading point and shipping point for lumber.

Curtisville was platted in 1873 f°r the following proprietors: R. T. Moon, Philip Staum, Boswell Colvin, William Spray, John Fouch Samuel Harbit. W. W. Colvin and J. W. Murden.

Curtisville has reached the climax of its growth and now is in the fourth act of its existence. There are not two hundred people in the village and the chief industry is the Curtisville Tile and Brick Company, manu- (6) facturing, as the name signifies, various sizes of drain tile and various kinds of brick. The town is not incorporated in any form and, like Hobbs, has no officers. The Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad runs through the town, stopping a few accommodation trains there daily. This is the only avenue of commerce there, intercourse being even cut off from the county seat, except by way of Elwood, in Madison county. Curtisville has one of the most modern public school buildings in the state of Indiana, it being a model recommended by the state board of health for other schools to pattern after.

At the present, in 1914, the village of Hobbs has about two hundred people living there. The village has not grown very fast since its founding, due to the fact that other trading centers are very close in any direction. A flouring and saw mill are the chief industries of the place; there is a bank, newlv started, and one or two general- stores. The people of Hobbs have easy access to Tipton and Elwood by the route of the traction line. There are two doctors and no attorneys. The two large elevators are the most noticeable of the town structures and, with the newly established bank, attest to the prosperity of the town and community. There are two churches and a postoffice.