Union Township

Union Township

Union is the last civil township to he formed in Gihson connty. Until 1S90 it was a part of Johnson and F'atoka townships, hut at the commissioners' meeting in May, 1890, the separation took ])lace, and since then it has been a separate sub-division of the county. For a detailed description oi the act forming this township, with its boundaries, the reader is referred in tiie chapter on County Government, in this volume.

Its history from the pioneer settlement to the year 1890 has been treated and fully covered in the township history of Johnson township, hence will not here be gone over, at any length. Suffice to say that it contains about fifty-one sections, with the town of Fort Branch about in its geographical center. It is surrounded liy the townships of Johnson. Montgomery, I'atoka, Center and Barton.

In 1900 Union township had a population of two thousand one hundred and forty-nine and in the census taken in 1910 it showed a ])Oi)ulalion (jf two thousand five hundred and seven.

Its surface is somewhat broken, but contains the average number of excellent farms and prosperous agriculturists. The valleys are rich and very productive and the native timber is still found sufficient for all i)resent needs.

The schools and churches in this portion of Gibson county have already been noted under separate chapter heads. The only town within the territory is Fort Branch, a place of more than ordinary early historic interest. This shows that the first settlement in this part of Gibson county was effected in what is now Union township, and its details have been narrated somewhat in the history of that townsbi]), which contained a portion of Union.

Fort Br.Anch

the land. The postoffice was moved from Little* York, which had been a mile north. As there was another town of that name in the state, the name was afterward changed to Fort Branch, after the fort built during the Indian troubles.

Fort Branch was built in 181 1 and was constructed within an enclosure or stockade, located across a small branch in order to obtain a water supply furnished by Pigeon creek, a little north of the present town, on an eminence, the highest point for miles around. The site of this old fort is now under cultivation.

The stockade was built of split logs, set upright in the ground, and the blockhouse was made of logs two stories in height. There were port-holes in both stories and this enabled the pioneers to shoot in any direction at the enemy. Two blockhouses, each thirty by forty feet in size, were situated on the line at opposite sides of the stockade. A few weeks after the fort was finished and ready for any emergency, a rumor got out that the Indians were going to attack the settlement. Residents of the neighborhood gathered their families and sought safety in the fort. The Indians failed to show up, and it is not on record that the fort was ever used as a defense against the intruders.

When Fort Branch was laid out it was partly in Patoka township. A half mile south of the \illage L. T. Mead and Littleton Lowe formed a partnership, erected a building and started a general store, the object being to start a town in opposition to Fort Branch, but the undertaking was a dismal failure. The first preaching in Fort Branch was done by Rev. T. M. Strain.

In 1913 Fort Branch had about one thousand two hundred inhabitants. The coinmunity was incorporated as a town in May, 1902. The present officers are: Trustees, Clarence Sides, Charles Scales and Henry Hickrod; the clerk and treasurer is Frank Homan, and the marshal is John Peck.

The business interests of 1913 are below listed: Restaurants, Henry Slinger, O. Ramsey; barbers, McKinney & English, Simmons & Brokaw; tin shop, W. I. Stone; general stores, George T. Ford, A. Rodeman, E. Richey; J. L. Bryant, J. V. Belong & Son; hardware and implements, J. M. McCarty, F. P. Lawton, W. L. Woods : restaurant, Henry Lowe ; veterinary, V. B. Reynolds ; jeweler, J. A. Carson ; lumber, branch of the Greer- Wilkinson firm ; foundries, Lintz Brothers ; meat market, Peter Emge & Sons : job printer, J. F. Hofifman; furniture, W. L. Mellinger, S. T. Wheeler & Son; grain, A. Waller, Fort Branch Milling Company ; hotel, Joseph IJird : harness, L. W. Woods, J. M. ]McCarty; blacksmiths, Wright & Weeks, R. H. Bidlemann, J. J. Stone, Stephen Lockwood: bakery, L. Herr; drugs, C. R. Runcie, W. G. Gram; dray, Roy Wallace; poultry and eggs, Toops & Company. W. G. Hopkins, W. F. Morris, H. L. Bass and W. W. French are the physicians, and B. G. Cox, the dentist. The newspaper is the Fort Branch Times.

The water supply of Fort Branch is obtained from excellent artesian wells. Electric lights are furnished b}- the Electric Light Company of Fnrt Branch, an organization incorporated in September, IQ13. A well-equipped mill is maintained by the Fort Branch Milling Company, and they ha\ e one of the first concrete wheat storage vats of this part of the state. A short distance from Fort Branch is the coal mine operated by the T'ort Branch Coal Mining Company. The mine gives employment to about fifty men, and coal is shipped to various points of the country. The coal is l>itunu'nnus. The fire department of the town is made up of \'olunteers.

Banking Interksts

The Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Fort Branch was started as a private banking concern in 1896, was incorporated as a state bank in 1900 and chartered as a national bank in 1908. The first officers were W. L. West, J. A. West and S. H. West, holding the respective offices of president, vice-president and cashier. The first capital was $9,000. The present officers are : S. H. West, president : Gerhard Sollman, vice-president ; Herman C. Graper, cashier. The bank now has a capital of $25,000; surplus of $10,000, and deposits in September, 1913, of $160,000. It built its own banking building in 1900.

The First National Bank of Fort Branch was organized March 18, 1908, with the following as officers : W. G. Stiefel. president : Charles B. .Runcie, vice-president: L. S. Bryant, cashier; Miss Nellie Clark, assistant cashier. The first capital was $25,000; the same capital is carried today, and the present surplus is $1,650, with deposits amounting to $85,000. A good bank building was erected in 1909. The officers in 1914 were: W. G. Stiefel, president; Walter S. Hoffman, vice-president; L. S. Bryant, cashier; John Vickery, assistant cashier.