Northwestern Indiana from 1800 to 1900A regional history written by Timothy H. Ball . . . .
Source Citation:
Ball, Timothy H. 1900.
Northwestern
Indiana from 1800 to 1900 or A View of Our Region Through the Nineteenth Century.
Chicago, Illinois: Donohue and Henneberry. 570 p.
NORTHWESTERN INDIANA FROM 1800 TO 1900
234
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
In some stages
of society and connected with some occupations, the history of villages, towns,
and cities, is to a large extent the history of that region, for the people are
mainly in the towns and cities, and from them
usually go forth the guiding and controlling influences. But the more fully any
region is strictly agricultural, the less number of large towns will it have,
and the true history will be made much more in the country homes, on the farms
and by the firesides. And as the counties south of the Kankakee are
agricultural, their history is to a large extent the gradual increase of home
comforts, the growth of school and church life, and the diffusion of
intelligence among thousands of peaceful, prosperous homes. Yet villages and
towns have sprung up, as the needs of the people, and an enjoyment of railroad
facilities required, and a notice of these will give a quite full idea of the
growth of the communities. As there are many of these villages and towns, the
notice of each must be brief.
Remembering what the region was when we first took a mental view of it, as it
was actually seen by a few in 1830, beginning with the broad belt of the Grand
Prairie, its rich soil, tall grass, beautiful summer and autumn flowers, as it
extended over the southern portions of what are now the counties of Newton and
Jasper and White, and even up into Pulaski, and then looking upon Beaver Lake
and the
247
"oak barrens" of the once large Jasper, and the "fly
meadows" and timber lands of level Pulaski, having left the large water courses
and the outcropping limestone region, and crossing the wet lands and the sand
ridges south of the Kankakee, and passing on northward, glancing over the wide
marsh and then the beautiful prairies and the thick timber and open woodlands,
and rivers and creeks and small marshes and lakes, till we looked upon the broad
waters of Lake Michigan, we shall now, as we go over this then Indian home and
luxuriant hunting ground, find abundant traces of the presence, the enterprise,
the skill of the white man.
Villages, towns, and cities are now to receive our attention, and their number
and appearance, and resources, will show what seventy years have done in the
progress of modern civilization. We start upon a railroad, and may as well look
first upon the growing town of Newton County. As the results of the United
States Census are not yet public, the population given is estimated:
1. Morocco. -- Population, 1,000; location, southeast quarter of section 21,
township 29, range 9. (As all of northwestern Indiana,
as here included, is west of the second principle meridian, the word
"west," in marking or naming the ranges is usually omitted.) The following
memorandum was given by a citizen for insertion here: "The town of Morocco was
laid off in 1850, by John Murphy, an early frontier man. He was born in old
Virginia, moved to Ohio when a mere boy, from this
to Lafayette, Indiana, where he enlisted in the
Black Hawk war, and after the Indian trouble was settled came to Morocco." This
was as early as 1833. He lived to be 72 years of age. The
248
growth of Morocco, as a village, was for many years
slow, but in 1855, the Bank of North America, it is said, "nourished here," and
it further said that the president of this bank was chosen for his skill in
'coon hunting. (The village at one time had quite a fur trade). The cashier of
the bank owned the village smith shop. The amount of capital of this peculiar
bank is not stated in the records consulted, but it is declared that, unlike the
early "red-dog and wild-cat" banks, it did redeem its issues. The history of
this village for the next forty years is not to be here given. It was in a quite
inaccessible part of the State. North of it, covering nearly all of township 30,
was Beaver Lake, and all the northern part of what was then Jasper County, was
called, in 1856, in Colton's large atlas, "Oak Barrens," and no indications of
any settlements appear on that map northeast of Beaver Lake. But Beaver Lake is
not a lake now, and in 1889, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railroad passed
through Morocco and placed it in connection with all the world. It may be stated
here that on Rand & McNally's new "Universal Atlas," up-to-date as that work is
supposed to be, all the northeastern portion and nearly all the northern part of
Newton County is heavily shaded as though representing marsh and swamp, or
something of that kind. But one who travels over that region now, in township
31, range 8, and township 31, range 9, will find that this excellent atlas has
hardly done justice to Newton County. Some sand ridges and a plenty of sand he
will find, some marsh land he will see, but farms and ranches, and family homes
he will find lying along the roads from
Lake Village to Thayer and to Rose Lawn.
From this digression,
coming back to Morocco, as a
249
town, it was incorporated in 1890. In the last few years it has grown rapidly.
The population is estimated at fully 1,000. Five brick buildings have been
erected, including a three-story brick hotel; it has four churches, Methodist,
Episcopal, "Christian," United Brethren, and Baptist, the last-named, a stone
and brick building, commenced in 1899, and the United Brethren having erected an
excellent brick church in 1898; it has a brick school house for 1900; it has a
tile factory, and many business houses of various kinds. It waited long for much
improvement, but enterprise and growth seem now to be imprinted upon the living
town. The soil seems favorable for the growth of fruit. W. Murphy, on a little
more than one town lot, raised, in 1899, twenty-two bushels of strawberries; and
in July he had trees loaded with peaches, and blackberries were ripening then in
abundance.
2. Lake Village. -- Population, 120; on section 16, township 31, range 9, is
quite an early settled place. It is in the civil township named Lake, and bears
the name, probably on that account, of Lake Village. It has no railroad
communication with the world, being about eight miles
from Thayer or Rose Lawn. Westward, about eleven miles, in Illinois, is
Momence. It is a place of some business. "The religious element is Methodist,
Baptist and Presbyterian." It has had a Sunday school for many years.
3. Rose Lawn. -- Population, 300. The name of this place suggests beauty. But a
natural suggestion in regard to the origin of the name would be far
from correct. Before the railroad was completed,
now called the "Monon," which was in 1882, three men formed a company and opened
a store on the line of
250
the coming road. They were: Jacob Keller of North
Judson, Lon Craig of Winamac, and Orlando Rose of Missouri. A name was wanted
for the locality and some one proposed to combine a surname and one given name
and call it Rose Lon. The sound of the last name was slightly changed and so the
place became known as Rose Lawn. No more wild roses grew there than elsewhere in
Newton County, and on the ridge of sand there was no lawn. When, in 1882, the
railroad reached that place it was for a time a terminus, till the track could
be laid across the river and the marsh up to Lowell. Yet on account of its
nearness to Thayer and an agreement that had been made there in getting the
right of way, it was difficult to secure at Rose Lawn a side track and a depot
or station. This was finally accomplished at a cost of about $2,000. While quite
a business point growth was not rapid. In the last few years many improvements
have been made. There are several business houses, one large store with two
rooms, a school house, a church, and the streets have macadam pavement. It is
now a thriving little town, about four miles south of the Kankakee.
4. Thayer. -- Population, 100. This village, on the "Monon" road, about a mile
from the river, secured a station before the
neighboring village called Rose Lawn, but it has not made as good use of its
opportunities, and (has not attained much growth. It has a good two-story school
house, used also for Sunday school and church gatherings, and is slowly
improving. It has some business houses.
5. Mt. Ayr. -- Population, ------. This town is on the railroad that runs north
from Goodland, and is thirteen miles
from that place, on the northeast corner of
251
section 23, township 29, range 8. The railroad passes
from Goodland through the center of sections 26, 23, then northward
through the center of 14, 11, 2 and in the next township of 35, 26, 23, 14, 11,
2, and then, still running north, cuts the east side of section 35, as in that
township (29), the sections are far from being
exactly north of those in 28 and 27. Mt. Ayr is about midway between Morocco and
Rensselaer, being eight miles from Morocco and
nearly due east. It is a pleasant town.
6. Beaver City is a railroad station on the northwest of section 2, township 28,
range 9. It has one elevator but few houses.
7. Brook is the next station on the southeast, coming
from Morocco. This is an enterprising and a true business place. Its
inhabitants are ambitious. Its location is on the northwest quarter of section
19, township 28, range 8. It is in an old settled neighborhood.
8. Foresman is nearly east of Brook, on the other railroad, three and one-half
miles distant, near the center of section 14. Like Beaver City, it is not a
large place, but a good shipping point.
West of Kentland, among the names of railroad stations, is mentioned Effner. It
is on the State line. It has no stores, no business to any extent. A school
house is near the station, and a neighborhood of several families around it.
9. Kentland. -- Population, 800. This town is the county seat of Newton County.
The first house was built in 1860 by William Ross, who now resides in
Indianapolis, and is nearly blind, but who happened to be in Kentland July 26,
1899, and stated that he put up the first building where the town now is, kept
252
a store there for several years, was the first station
agent and the first postmaster. The court house was also built in 1860. It is a
frame building, and is said to have cost $1,000. It is in use still. The public
square or ground in front of the building, is large, quite large, and is well
supplied with shade trees. It affords ample room for the gathering of thousands,
and for the ball
games of the smaller boys, and is indeed quite a natural park. A stand and
permanent seats indicate that the citizens meet there for public exercises on
their gala days. In Kentland are four churches, Catholic, "Christian,"
Methodist, and Presbyterian. There are eight lawyers and five physicians. The
town is supplied with telephones and electric lights. Oats and corn are shipped.
It is but four miles from
the State line and about one and a half
from the county line, and
is so near to the corner of the county that an effort has been made to have the
county seat removed to Morocco, but at an election held in June, 1900, Kentland
received 1,446 votes and Morocco only 1,398. So the county seat seems likely to
remain at Kentland, and probably a new court house will before long be built.
10. Goodland. -- Population, 1,800. This is the
second town west from the Illinois line, on the
Logansport and Peoria railroad, eight miles east of Kentland. Its area is nearly
one square mile, section 26, township 27, range 8. It has five churches, Roman
Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, house erected in 1895, and
Presbyterian, date of building, 1897. There are in town two elevators and one a
short distance north of the town, and large quantities of oats and corn are
shipped. This is a business town. One of the prominent business men
253
is J. A. Patton. He deals in butter, eggs, poultry,
game, birds, and wool, shipping to the east. His business amounts to $100,000 a
year. Like Kentland, this town also has telephones and electric lights. The side
walks are largely of Bedford stone. There are two banks, ten or twelve
physicians, many business houses. There is a good school building. The town has
the appearance of more than the ordinary neatness, thrift, and enterprise,
characterizing so many of our towns and villages. There must evidently be among
the citizens of Goodland much public spirit and intelligence.*
These ten are the towns and villages and stations of Newton.
Jasper County is almost entirely devoted to agriculture or to farming and stock
raising, and its towns are few. In 1883, the Indiana,
Illinois and Iowa railroad went across the Kankakee Valley
from east to west, and gave three principle
stations in the north of Jasper, Dunnville, Wheatfield, and De Motte. Oil has
lately been found here, especially south of Wheatfield, and there may be large
town growth here in a few years. These places are now not very large.
1. Dunnville, about two miles west of the county line, in Kankakee township, is
a somewhat thriving town, the population being estimated at
from three to five hundred. It has but one church
building, which is Methodist Episcopal. There is a Baptist church in the
township, and Baptist meetings were held in the town in the early summer of this
year
__________
*I am indebted to the very accommodating and intelligent pastor of the Baptist
Church at Goodland, Rev. W. F. Carpenter, for courtesies and for information.
254
(1900), with much success. A school and some business houses are now among the
necessities of town life.
2. Wheatfield is said to have been so named because it is situated where once
was the first wheat field in the county. It is on the crossing of the
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, and what was once
called the Chicago and Indiana Coal railway. The
church buildings are: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and "Christian." It commenced
village life about twenty years ago. It is four miles west of Dunnville, and is
now quite a growing town feeling the influence of the oil wells. Population,
500.
3. De Motte, eight miles further west, has not made a large growth since the
first impulse which, the railroad gave passed
away. But it now has three churches, Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodist, and
Hollander "Reformed." It has a pleasant location. Its population may be called
300. It bears the name of a former congressman, Mark L. De Motte of Valparaiso.
There is a station called Stroutsburg, four miles west of De Motte, but not yet
classed among the towns. About two and a half miles east of De Motte is a
locality called Kersey, which is the point of departure toward the southeast for
a peculiar railroad, the Chicago and Wabash Valley road, of which mention will
be made, and on which villages are starting, to be known as Zadoe, Laura,
Gifford, Comer, and Lewiston. These are agricultural shipping points on a
private road running through a large estate owned by Mr. B. J. Gifford.
4. Fair Oaks has a pleasant location, section 6, southeast quarter, township 30,
range 7. Population about 300. On the high ridge of the town are the
255
school house and two quite new, neat-looking churches,
the one "Christian," the other Methodist Episcopal. The town is growing.
5. Remington. -- Estimated population, 1,200; date 1860. This is one of those
growing towns on the Logansport and Peoria railroad. It is eight miles east of
Goodland and sixteen from Kentland, and twenty
from the State line. It has had a fair growth in
forty years. Like Goodland, it is in a rich farming region. It has five
elevators. Oats, corn, hay, and live stock are shipped. Also some horses. It has
telephones and waterworks. The well which furnishes water for the town is 315
feet deep. The tower or standpipe is of brick for 80 feet, with a tank 24 feet
in depth, making the entire height 104 feet. The churches are four:
Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and "Christian." The various secret
orders, so-called, are well represented. These are: Masons, Odd Fellows, Grand
Army of the Republic, Womans' Relief Corps, Knights of Pythias, Daughters of
Rebekah, Woodmen of the World, Rathbone Sisters, Eastern Ancient Order of United
Workmen, Catholic Order of Foresters, Knights of the Maccabees, and Modern
Woodmen of America. These all, and the four churches, are advertised in the
Remington paper.
6. Rensselaer. -- Population, 2,500. According to some authorities, the first
settlement, in what is now Jasper County, was made where is now the county seat,
the town for many years, and now the city, of Rensselaer. In 1834, so it is
claimed, one family, John Nowels, his son David, born September 15, 1821, and so
at that time 13 years of age, a married daughter and her husband, Joseph Yeoman,
and a young
256
daughter, made for themselves a home at this locality on the Iroquois River, the
place being then called the Rapids. Here Joseph Yeoman built the first log cabin
on the ground where now stands the Rensselaer bank. It is evident that this
account differs from that given in Chapter III,
where the earliest settlers are named on the authority of the Historical Atlas
of Indiana, the traditions and recollections on
which that work is based having been collected more than twenty-five years ago,
when many pioneers were living. That authority places the settlement at the
Rapids in 1836. Mr.David Nowels, who was visited in his city home October 16,
1899, confirms the date of his father's settlement as having been in 1834. In
some of these counties the records and evidences are such that there is no room
to question who was the first settler. In others the question cannot be
perfectly settled. That a cabin was built where is now a city, on section 30,
township 29, range 6, as early as 1836, perhaps in 1834, seems very certain. The
village that soon came into existence was called Newton, and it became the
county seat about 1839. The first term of court was held in Newton in 1840.
There came from the East about 1838 or 1839, James
C. Van Rensselaer, a descendant of a wealthy New York family, who bought
thousands of acres of land, built a mill, had the name changed
from Newton, the name of that great philosopher
Sir Isaac, to his own name of Rensselaer, and looked for the coming city. But in
his day the city came not. In 1876, before the railroad passed through, it was
called, by a writer in the Historical Atlas, "a quiet and, in some respects, an
attractive country village." In what respects it fell a little short of
"attractive" that writer says not. In
257
1870 the number of inhabitants was 617. It shared with Remington, that town
having a railroad, in the commercial business of the county, but in 1876
Remington was called "the leading town in the county, both as regards business
and inhabitants." But a railroad passed through in 1882, and then the town did
grow. It soon became the residence of quite wealthy men who erected nice
dwelling houses and solid business blocks. One of these men, Alfred McCoy, born
in 1831, becoming a citizen of the county in 1852, owns in Jasper some five
thousand acres of land, and commenced, eight miles eastward on the road, a
villa, now bearing the name of McCoysburg. At this suburb of the real city
cattle are sold and bought, pastured and fed, for some little time, and shipped
to different parts of the country and to Canada. The cattle market is held once
in two weeks. On Saturday, October 7, 1899, thirty-eight hundred head of cattle
changed owners. Other wealthy men of Rensselaer have their individual interests.
Mr. David Nowels, son of the first settler, owned at one time thirty-five
hundred acres of Jasper County lands. Rensselaer has now two large school
houses, with only a street and the school grounds between them --s even hundred
and sixty-four school children in the city in 1898, -- a number of church
buildings, and a new large court house. The churches are: one Roman Catholic; a
Baptist, a Primitive Baptist, and a Freewill Baptist, and a Presbyterian; a
Methodist Episcopal; a "Christian;" and one Adventist, called the "Church of
God." In all eight. Rensselaer was incorporated as a c'ty in 1897. Population
about twentyfive hundred. The Iroquois River runs through the city.
258
The water works of the city are somewhat peculiar. The water is obtained
from two wells, one being two hundred and seventy
feet in depth, and the other two thousand feet. The tower, one hundred feet in
height, is not, as in other towns, a large cylindrical tower, but a
comparatively small pipe firmly encased and surmounted by a water tank
apparently about thirty feet in depth, but said to be forty feet deep. This
"stand pipe" does not make as fine an appearance as the brick or iron
cylindrical towers but seems to answer the same purpose.
"The Peoples' Pilot" of Renesslaer, early in January, 1896, issued a large
holiday historical and descriptive number, containing information concerning the
business men and prominent citizens of the town. Some statements gathered
from that number found in the hands of Dr. Utter,
of Crown Point, then a pastor at Rensselaer, have been inserted here. The
statements coming from home writers are considered
very reliable.
The Primitive Baptist church was constituted May 7, 1877, with seven members.
First pastor Elder William Jackson; the second Elder W. R. Nowels; a building
erected in 1892; about forty members.
A church called the "Church of Christ," was organized in April, 1887. A
Christian Endeavor Society, in 1892.
The Presbyterians in Rensselaer had for some time quite a struggle for
existence.
Commenced with nine members, "there were times when the church had apparent
prosperity, but * * * for long stretches of years, at one time
from 1866 to 1883, not one ray of light came."
The church was constituted February 20, 1847.
259
Some of the early ministers were, E. Wright, F. M.
Chestnut, and T. Wharton. For seventeen years the church had no pastor.
The first church building was completed in 1852. It cost $1,200. A new church
has taken its place now, but to the Presbyterians of Jasper, the old building is
like the one on Rolling Prairie to the Baptists of La Porte County. One of these
Presbyterian members, W. B. Austin, writes: "The old church has passed
from our sight, but not
from our memory. To many of us some of the fondest and sweetest memories
of childhood and youth are entwined with the old building."
"Here was the cradle of Presbyterianism in this county; here were baptized as
infants and adults representatives of almost every family in the town and
surrounding country."
"The songs, the Sunday school, the Christmas entertainments, the festivals, the
harvest homes, the choir practices, the installations, have so engraven
themselves that the lapse of years will not eradicate them." It speaks well for
a community when, in the hearts of many such associations cluster around a
church building.
The pastor at Rensselear in 1895 was Rev. M. R. Paradis.
The Odd Fellows' Lodge, erected in 1896, cost $9,000. The O. F. hall is
considered equal to any in the State.
Near Rensselaer are the St. Joseph's College and the Indian Normal School.
The Catholic church, called St. Augustine's church, is quite strong, the
membership being given as five hundred, or one hundred families.
NAVIGATION OF
NORTHWESTERN INDIANA FROM 1800 TO 1900
FRONT MATTER AND DEDICATION
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
- GENERAL OUTLINES
CHAPTER 2
- THE INDIANS
CHAPTER 3
- THE EARLY SETTLERS
CHAPTER 4
- WHAT THE EARLY SETTLERS FOUND
CHAPTER 5
- PIONEER LIFE
CHAPTER 6
- COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS
CHAPTER 7
- OUR LAKES AND STREAMS
CHAPTER 8
- LAKE MICHIGAN WATER SHED
CHAPTER 9
- TOWNSHIP AND STATISTICS
CHAPTER
10 - RAILROAD LIFE
CHAPTER
11 - POLITICAL HISTORY
CHAPTER
12 - THE WAR RECORD
CHAPTER
13 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER
14 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER
15 - RELIGIOUS HISTORY
CHAPTER
16 - SUNDAY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER
17 - TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF NEWTON AND JASPER
CHAPTER
18 - TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF WHITE, PULASKI AND STARKE
CHAPTER
19 - VILLAGES, TOWNS AND CITIES OF LAKE
CHAPTER
20 - VILLAGES AND TOWNS OF PORTER
CHAPTER
21 - VILLAGES, TOWNS AND CITIES OF LA PORTE
CHAPTER
22 - EARLY TRAVELS
CHAPTER
23 - PUBLIC SCHOOLS
CHAPTER
24 - PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
CHAPTER
25 - LIBRARIES
CHAPTER
26 - OTHER INDUSTRIES
CHAPTER
27 - SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
CHAPTER
28 - THE KANKAKEE REGION
CHAPTER
29 - DRAINING MARSHES
CHAPTER
30 - ANIMALS AND PLANTS
CHAPTER
31 - MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
CHAPTER
32 - COURT HOUSES
CHAPTER
33 - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS
CHAPTER
34 - BIRTH PLACES OF PIONEERS
CHAPTER
35 - McCARTY
CHAPTER
36 - ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE
CHAPTER
37 - ALTITUDES
CHAPTER
38 - MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
CHAPTER
39 - SOME STATISTICS
CHAPTER
40 - WEATHER RECORD
CONCLUSION
Transcribed by Steven R. Shook, April 2012