|
PERRY TOWNSHIP
The first settlement made
in Perry Township, which also proved to be the first large permanent
settlement made in the county, began in 1830, when Levi Perry,
Isaiah Dungan and Richard Stone located on Perry's Prairie, named
for Levi Perry, the first settler. The location was a fortunate
one, possessing many advantages and few, if any, drawbacks. The
soil was rich and the absence of trees saved the settlers an
immense amount of labor. The brush was easily cut down, and the
tough roots which permeated the soil, were conquered by heavy
plows, capable of turning over nearly a yard of earth, which
were drawn by eight or ten yoke of oxen. Thus the wild and irregular
surface was quickly transformed into smooth fields of growing
grain. So plentiful were corn and other products that the farmers
on Perry's Prairie were soon able to supply the less fortunate
settlers in other parts of the county, who "made the pilgrimage
to Egypt," as they called it, in search of provisions, which
they always obtained, and they called it, in search of provisions,
which they always obtained, and were, moreover, treated with
generous hospitality whenever they visited the community. It
was on Perry's Prairie that the first postoffice in the county
was established, and here also selections were made for that
first county court and for the first township officers, the first
election after the creation of Noble County, being held at the
home of John Hostetter, in the northern part of the township.
In 1831 there came in
Jacob Wolf, Henry Hostetter, Sr., and his sons, Adam Engle, Jacob
Shobe, Joseph Smalley, and Henry miller and their families, together
with a few others. Each year after that brought new accessions
to the population, and up to 1844 over one hundred persons or
families had taken land in the township for more or less permanent
settlement, besides others who remained awhile as transitory
residents. The White Pigeon road was opened through the township
by the state about 1835, and the state also opened and improved
other roads, devoting three per cent of the receipts from the
safe of land to that purpose. These early roads were in no sense
the fine highways that have since been created, but such as they
were, they were a great aid to the settlers.
The scenery of the township
was picturesque, especially along the banks of the Elkhart River,
which abounded with fish, furnishing the pioneers with an additional
food supply. Bears were rarely seen, having retreated to the
wild pine forests of Michigan, but deer were numerous, and hundreds
fell victims to the settler's rifle. One very successful method
of hunting them was to float down the river at night in a canoe,
with a bright light. The deer, which came down to the river at
that time to drink, would stare at the light until shot down.
The Indians were very numerous and would exchange venison or
furs with the settlers for provisions and whiskey. When unprovided
with articles of barter, they would resort to any device to obtain
what they wanted without rendering an adequate equivalent. They
were not always well treated by the whites, on whose minds were
strongly impressed stories of former outrages by the savages.
Mrs. Galbreth, who lived in the northern part, had been captured
by the Indians in Pennsylvania many years before, had seen her
mother and sister cruelly tomahawked and scalped, and had been
dragged far off into the wilderness by the savage foes, with
whom she remained a prisoner many wretched years, until she finally
either managed her escape, or was given up by her captors.
The construction of mills
began about 1835, when Adam Engle built and conducted a "corn-cracker"
at the northern extremity of Indian Lake. After five or six years
the dam was destroyed by some one whose land was flooded by the
backwater. Abut 1842 Seymour Moses erected a saw-mill on Elkhart
River, two miles northwest of Ligonier. Several years after,
he sold it to the Miller brothers, who neglected the property
and finally gave up the enterprise. In 1843 Mr. Moses began the
construction of a carding-mill, near the site of his saw-mill
but, just as it was about completed he died, and the project
died with him. An early saw-mill was also conducted at Rochester
by the "Iron Works Company.
The village of Rochester
was the precursor of the modern city of Ligonier. It was laid
out on section 26, township 35, range 8, by the proprietor, Simpson
Cummins, in November, 1836. Fifty blocks and fractional blocks
were surveyed on the river bank, each full lot comprising eight
lots, four lots being donated for school and church purposes.
Previously, to the laying out of the plat several houses had
already been erected, and afterwards the village grew rapidly.
In 1837 there was a good store, and in the same year an iron
factory was started and operated by Baldwin and French, and perhaps
others, eight or ten teamsters being employed to haul iron ore
from "Ore Prairie" in York Township. On the death of
the original proprietors Mr. Lee assumed control, and the factory
was successfully operated for some years. About 1844 Richmond
& Beall started a foundry, for the manufacture of plow castings,
pots, kettles, and other articles in common use. By the following
year Rochester was a lively and enterprising village of over
100 population. Some years later McConnell & Cummins erected
a three-story grist-mill, with three run of stone, which had
a long period of activity; and there was also a saw-mill, erected
in 1834, which ran intermittently for a number of years. The
growth of Ligonier, and other causes, finally brought about the
lingering death of Rochester, and its one-time inhabitants sought
other and more fruitful fields of enterprise.
Ligonier was laid out
and platted in May, 1835, the year before the county was organized,
by Isaac Cavin, who owned eighty acres, including the site of
the village, and the plat was recorded at the county seat of
LaGrange County, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Mr.
Cavin had arrived in the locality from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,
in 1830. At the land office at Fort Wayne he entered the eighty
acres above mentioned, but the original plat laid out by him
contained forty acres, which were divided into 110 lots. He,
himself, never lived in the village, but resided for fifty years
five miles to the northeast of it, during which time he made
seventeen trips between Perry Township and his original home
in Pennsylvania, two of which were by train, and the others on
horseback or by wagon. During his first two years in the township
he occupied a small log cabin without either door or window.
He died in 1884, having had six children, the only present survivor
of whom is John L. Cavin, of Ligonier.
The site on which the
village was founded had formerly been used by the Indians as
a depositary of animal bones, which had formed a rich mould,
giving rise to a great profusion of wild strawberry vines, the
fruit of which was utilized by the early settlers. The Elkhart
River, then larger than at present, wound through the settlement,
and was a favorite of the deer, which came in large numbers to
quench their thirty in its limpid waters. Soon after the plat
had been laid out, Isaac Spencer, who was the first county clerk,
put up a small log building, and opened a store with an assortment
of general goods valued at about $1,000, thus becoming the pioneer
merchant of the place. Trade was slow, however, and in about
two years he left, being succeeded as a merchant by Daniel Stukey,
who occupied the same building with a smaller stock. He, too,
found the business unprofitable, and gave it up in 1839. The
first residence was erected by Ward Bradford, and was occupied
by him and his family about 1836. The early growth of the place
was slow, and it was a number of years before it could be even
denominated as a hamlet. In 1840 there were but two or three
families there. In 1845, the population was about 50; in 1850
about 100; in 1855, 300; in 1860, 900; in 1865, 1,100; in 1870,
1,400; in 1875, 1,700; in 1880, about 2,000. At the present time,
it is about 2,300, the last forty years having shown a very slow
growth. One or two other stores were opened in 1844, one by Henry
Treer, of Fort Wayne, and another by Hugh Miller, but each continued
in business but a short time, departing in search of more profitable
fields. In the same year a black smith shop was started by Allen
Beall. It was not until 1852, when it became certain that the
Northern Indiana railroad would pass through the town, that a
period of prosperity set in, and within five years after that
the population and volume of business had quadrupled. A number
of the newcomers were Jews, who added greatly to the general
prosperity by their shrewd and energetic business methods.
Taylor Vail, who in 1847
had bought the iron foundry at Rochester, moved it to Ligonier,
but in 1848 sold out to Jacob Wolf. It was continued by the latter,
and by his successors, Mr. Beall, and (probably) George Ulmer
& Sons, for about ten years, when the property was destroyed
by fire and was not rebuilt. The business done was small, amounting
to not more than about $1,200 per annum. A saw-mill, built in
1852, was operated by several parties for a few years without
profit. The Fisher Brothers, however, built one about 1856, which
was operated successfully for six or eight years. They also built
a grist-mill in the vicinity, which furnished the neighborhood
with flour for a few years, after which it was abandoned. Another
grist-mill was erected by Albert Banta and Joseph Fisher, and
after the war Dodge & Randolph built another saw-mill.
The postoffice was established
in 1848, and was a continuation of the Good Hope office, the
first one established in the county. The Strauss Brothers established
what is now the Citizens Bank in 1867, and in 1873 Solomon Mier
began a banking business which has grown into the present Mier
State Bank. Both are numbered today among the strong financial
institutions of the county, while another strong bank is the
Farmers & Merchants Trust Company, established in 1906. A
Building, Loan & Savings Association was organized in 1874,
the charter of which, with the business, passed to a new organization
three years later; but the slow growth of the town has confined
the operations of all such companies within conservative limits.
The shipment of wheat from Ligonier began at an early date, and
has responded steadily to the growth of the agricultural interests
in the surrounding country.
In 1864, the village having
sufficient population for the purpose, the citizens petitioned
the commissioners for its incorporation as a town, which was
accordingly done. In 1892 Ligonier was incorporated as a city.
The present city hall was built in 1913. The losses by fire,
which were formerly rather frequent, have been guarded against
as far as possible by the establishment of a good volunteer fire
department, provided with a chemical engine and other modern
apparatus. The department has its quarters in the city hall.
The water-works system
owned by the city, was started in 1888, with two duplex pumps,
and a somewhat smaller tank, with a low elevation than at present.
The water was obtained from an open well, and the tank had a
capacity of 60,000 gallons. The plant, which was situated just
south of the present site, was abandoned early in 1905, the present
building having been constructed and installed with the necessary
machinery in the previous summer. The tank now in use has a capacity
of 100,000 gallons, with an elevation of 83 feet from the ground
to the bottom of the tank. Two boilers, of fifty horse-power
each, are used, having an average daily pumping capacity of 110,000
gallons. The full capacity of the plant is, however, one and
a half million gallons every twenty-four hours, and the water
is pumped to all parts of the city. The pump cost $9,000. The
pumping-engine is one of the most economical in the state in
the consumption of fuel proportioned to the amount of power given.
The present engineer, Jacob F. Fisel, has been on duty for twenty-eight
years. One meter man is employed, and also an assistant, who
helps both the engineer and meter man.
The electric light system
was formerly operated by a private company, who sold it to the
Milling Company, by whom it was operated for eight or ten years.
It was then taken over, about two or three years ago, by the
Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, who are now rendering
efficient service. Ligonier has a very complete sewer system,
extending over the city. There is brick paving in the vicinity
of the city hall building, and three paved roads lead out of
town, one for six miles to Cromwell, one of three miles west
on the Lincoln Highway, completed in the fall of 1919, and thus
closing the gap in the road to Chicago, and one running east
three miles, on what is now called the Blazed Trail, to the township
line.
Ligonier has several large
and prosperous manufacturing plants, among them the Lyon &
Greenleaf Company, millers, which was established as the Ligonier
Milling Company in the middle '80s, and took its present name
several years ago. It turns out an average of 1,000 barrels a
day in Ligonier, besides a considerable product from a large
mill owned by the company in Wauseon, Ohio. The Ligonier Refrigerator
Company is also an old concern, and was originally established
as an incubator factory. About five or six years ago the building
burned and the concern was then consolidated with the Ligonier
Carriage Company. It is engaged chiefly at the present time in
the manufacture of refrigerators and ice boxes. The Mier Carriage
& Buggy Company was established about thirty years ago. Chicago
people have lately become interested in it, and the concern now
manufactures automobile bodies principally.
Ligonier is well supplied
with fraternal orders and other societies. Excessive drinking
habits in early days, before the prohibition of the liquor traffic
was thought of, gave rise to such orders as the Good Templars
and the Sons of Temperance, which aimed rather at moderation
than total abstinence. The Masons and Odd Fellows also established
lodges, and are still thriving with good memberships. The Masons
have four representative bodies or branches in the city, namely:
the Blue Lodge (Ligonier Lodge, No. 185, Free and Accepted Masons);
Noble County Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, No. 42; Ligonier Council,
No. 59, Royal and Select Masons; and Ligonier Chapter, No. 325,
Order of Eastern Star. The Odd Fellows have Excelsior Lodge,
No. 267, and Washington Encampment, No. 89, Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. Other lodges holding regular meetings are: Ligonier
Lodge, No. 11, Knights of the Maccabees; Ligonier Lodge, No.
123, Knights of Pythias; Ligonier Lodge, No. 451, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks; Ligonier Lodge, No. 1863, Fraternal
Order of Eagles; Stansbury Post, No. 125, Grand Army of the Republic,
Stansbury Woman's Relief Corps, and Modern Woodmen Camp, No.
4824. Among the leading social and literary clubs are: The Daughters
of the American Revolution, which was organized in April, 1905,
the charter being dated August 7, that year, and which was founded
by Frances Allen Palmer. The present regent is Mrs. Maria Royce
Caldwell. The Progress Club, a ladies' club for literary purposes,
was organized in 1905, and has since been continued, except that
meetings were suspended during the recent participation of the
United States in the World war. Mrs. Evanna Smith is now the
president. The Century Club, also literary, was organized previous
to those above mentioned, and is at present presided over by
Elma Culver. These societies, and perhaps at different times,
others, have done much to advance local culture.
The Elks Lodge was established
about 1898, with from thirty-five to forty charter members, and
its early meetings were held in what is now the Hoosier Club
room, after which a room over the south Grocery Store, on Cavin
Street, was occupied. In 1912 the lodge erected their present
fine building on the corner of Main and Third Streets, at a cost
of $10,000, the building, ground and furnishings representing
a total investment of about $15,000. The lodge has a present
membership of about 275. The Masons occupy the third story of
a building on the corner of Third and Cavin streets. The Blue
Lodge has a membership of about 130; the Chapter, 74; Council,
77. The Council was established in the early '80s; the Eastern
Star within recent years. In addition to the lodges already named,
there is a flourishing lodge of Rebekahs, the ladies' branch
of the Odd Fellows' order, having a large and active membership,
and holding regular meetings in Odd Fellows' Hall.
One of the most important
and popular institutions of Ligonier is the public library. For
some time previous to the construction of the present building,
a reading-room was maintained in a room over Wertheimer's seed
store on Cavin Street. Books were donated by the King's Daughters,
of the Presbyterian Church, and the Queen Esther Society, connected
with the Methodist Episcopal Church. The library movement was
started by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1907,
and aboard of trustees was elected, consisting of W. C. Palmer,
Fred H. Green, Mrs. W. H. Bender, Mrs. Jacob Sheets, Mrs. Abbie
Draper, and Mrs. F. W. Zimmerman. Will Baum was also a very active
worker. A lot had been donated to the city for park purposes
some years previously, but not having been used, arrangements
were made whereby it was turned over to the board for a library
site. Through the munificence of Mr. Carnegie a building costing
$10,000, was completed in October, 1908, and in addition to fulfilling
its useful purpose, is now one of the ornaments of the city.
It contains at present about 5,000 volumes. The reference room
was furnished, and the books in it donated by Mrs. Abe Goldsmith
and children, in memory of the late Abe Goldsmith, for a number
of years one of Ligonier's prominent citizens, and the room is
kept up by the family, though the children reside in Detroit,
where Mr. Goldsmith died. Among other benefactors of the library
have been the King's Daughters, The Queen Esther Society, the
Daughters of the American Revolution, the Jewish Ahavath, who
gave their entire library, and S. J. Strauss, who donates $100
a year for children's books. The present trustees are: Mrs. Lena
W. Stansbury, president; Herbert Sisterhen, vice president; Mrs.
Elmer Culver, Miss Alice Vallance, Arthur Kelly and Graham S.
Lyon. Mrs. Evanna Smith has been librarian since the building
was opened to the public, and during the same period Enoch Golden
has been the popular janitor and caretaker.
The Ligonier postoffice
is an international money order office, of class 2, with four
rural routes. G. D. Gaby is now postmaster. The present mayor
of the city is Sol Henoch; clerk, R. E. Jeanneret; treasurer,
Orlo Shearer. Information in regard to the newspapers, schools
and churches, besides other topics, may be found in the chapters
of this volume specially devoted to those subjects.
In June, 1837, Isaac Cavin
laid out a village of sixty lots on section 2, township 35, range
8 east, and named it Washington, but as a community settlement
it failed to materialize; as also did the little village of Hawville,
sometimes called "Buttermilk," except for the more
or less transitory residence of a few families, in former days.
Robert M. Waddell,
History of northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and
DeKalb Counties, Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1920, Noble County,
pgs. 422-428. |
