ROLLICKING, RAMPANT, GAMBUNCTIOUS, RIP ROARING, ROANN (PARIS OF THE WABASH VALLEY) BY RON WOODWARD Joseph Beckner and his family arrived in what is now roan in 1836. He bought 600 acres of forest wilderness south of Eel River from the Federal government. He built and operated a tavern on the southeast corner of what is now the first intersection south of Roann on the Chippewa Road. Beckner decided the site south of the river was a good place to build a town. Beckner and Elijah Hackleman platted and surveyed the town June 16th and 17th of 1853. The plat was recorded Sept. 14, 1853. The town consisted of 39 lots, three streets, north and south, and two streets east and west. The streets were Pike, Adams, Walnut and Allen running east and west and Washington and the Chippewa Road running north and south. The unusual name of the community was selected by the two men who laid out the town. They used the name of two young girls, Ann (Beckner); and the last name of one of them, Roe; hence Roann. Local tradition maintains that the name came from an incident where a young lady named Ann was being chased by Indians. She made it to the Eel River and got into a row boat and started across the river. People on the other side encouraged her by yelling "Row Ann". Later when the site was laid out people remembered that and named the town for it. Growth of the community was very slow. Roann was only a stopping point on the road from Rochester to Wabash called the Chippewa Pike. The town of Stockdale, just two miles downstream from Roann, competed with Roann for the mill trade and was more successful. One of the most picturesque settings in the county is the wooden covered bridge spanning the Eel River. The bridge is one of the last two bridges of its kind in the county. The first bridge was built over the river in 1841 but was washed away and another built around 1845. The third bridge was necessitated in 1856 and the existing bridge was built about 1873. The structure has undergone repairs, repainting and attempted arson. Half of the bridge was destroyed by fire but the community raised funds to repair the bridge. In 1855 the first business was built by Cornelius Halderman a sawmill on the Eel River and two years later a shoe shop was opened. Roann's first post office was established in 1860. Originally only a stopping point of the road from Rochester to Wabash called the Chippewa Pike the town began to grow in 1871. The coming of the Detroit, Eel River, and Illinois Railroad in 1871 led to Roann's growth. An elevator and a hotel were built. By 1875 there was also a furniture and coffin factory, wagon shop and about 31 residences. The Roann Universalist Church built a meeting house during the summer and fall of 1875 at a cost of $2,500. It began with 11 members. By 1882, 100 were attending the church. By that time the church was a popular cultural fixture of the community as well. In 1881 Roann Lecture Association was formed and was on the Redpath Lecture Bureau circuit. The church served as its local presentation point. Among those to present programs was Miss Laura Dainty a "remarkable" elecutionist, the humorist orator Burdette, South Carolina Singers, Swiss Bell Ringers and James Whitcomb Riley along many others. Stockdale dwindled as Roann grew and attracted more and more business and social life. Shortly after the railroad came, Cornelius Halderman laid out three additions to the town in 1872, 1881 and 1883. Samuel Butterbaugh platted two additions in 1871 and 1875. Two other additions, Fairfields and Fairview, were added at a later date. By 1881 the town at Roann had grown enough to warrant incorporation. Under the influence of such families as the Haldermans and Van Buskirks, the community became the business center of Paw Paw Township. The railroad made the community an active shipping point for grain and livestock. The State Exchange Bank was established in 1882 and marked. An opera house was built by George Oren in 1883 and was used for entertainment purposes until 1910 and later used as a gym. Yet again it was used as a welding and repair shop. By 1886 Roann had a population of 700. Businesses included Aukerman and Gipe Livery & Feed Stable, 2 drugs stores S.M. Baker and C.L. Murray, Black & Votaw Furniture Dealers and Undertakers, Gidley & Brower Hardware, Drs. Jones & Kidd, Miller House run by R. Miller, 2 dry goods & Clothing stores R. Murphy and L. Patterson, R.K. Rhodes harness maker, 2 millineries Rudy & Mead and Mrs. S.A. Williams. There was also three saloons in town "one for each three hundred and thirty three inhabitants of the town." There were also a graded school and an elevator and three churches; the Christian Church, the Methodist Church and the Universalist Church. In 1887 the Universalist Church had a Rev. John, a missionary, preaching. It also allowed the Christian Church to meet and hold their regular services which repairs were being made to the Christian Church. In July of 1887 fire struck the community. At about 5 a.m. a fire was discovered in the grain elevator owned by the Wabash Western Railway. The fire was caused by sparks from the engine of a freight train, which had been sidetracked to allow a passenger train to pass by. When the freight train started up the grade sparks flew from the engine in great profusion and ignited a quantity of chaff which had collected there. Three cars which had been loaded with wheat by Patterson & Shoemaker were standing on a siding near the elevator. They were pushed down the track and saved. The elevator contained between 6,000 and 7,000 bushels of wheat principally owned by Patterson & Shoemaker and Gidley and Brower. There was also a carload each of salt and lime owned by George Shillinger & Son. It required great effort to save the train depot building. The residence of A.M. Oswald located near the elevator, narrowly escaped destruction although one side of the building was badly blistered. Despite the fire, the people of Roann rallied and rebuilt the elevator and continued to grow. Roann appeared to be on the eve of a manufacturing boom. In 1888 the Roann Manufacturing Company organized. With a beginning capital stock of $4,000 its directors for the first year were R.G. Arnold, J.E. Tilman, Thad Hoke, R.J. Brown and H. Reahard. Hoke & Reachset began erection of an elegant dwelling house, with a slate roof, for J.J. Lukens on South Main St. Court Williams established a second barber shop in town with room over Myers drygoods store. Harry Bowman opened a carriage repository in the Lavengood building south of the meat market. The Roann schools were in excellent condition under the direction of Prof. W.W. Black. New walks were even built around the school house grounds adding much to the appearance of things. The Roann Band had organized and performed concerts in Roann and Urbana as well By 1894 Roann had the following businesses 2 drugstores S.M. Baker and W.H. Weber, H.I. Bowman livery & feed barn, B.F. Boyer shoemaker, Dr. George H. Brodbeck, Maude Cannon millinery, a newspaper, the Clarion, run by L.M. Spotts, Colt & Dedrick saw mill, Colt & Oswald furniture and undertaking, E.F. Conner jewelry, the Exchange Bank, 2 general stores run by Foglesong & Co., J.C. Gochenour, 2 hardware stores A.T. Gidley and Oaker & Stone, 2 grocery stores Amos Gipe and C.B. Girt, The Squires House hotel run by M.H. King, harness shop Lavengood Bros., 2 meat markets Jacob Myers and J.E. Ross, 2 blacksmiths John Oblenis and Willian Ranck, saloon run by Minor Retherford, the Roann Creamery, Shillinger, Lukens & Co. Elevator Another disastrous fire occurred in 1901 which began in the furniture store building destroying much of business section of the town. The bank corner was wiped out - the only item that survived was the safe. The bank rebuilt their building with the IOOF upstairs. On the east Frank Schuler rebuilt his and the rest farther north were built. The only thing left to remind the community of its pioneer days is the restored log house built by an early town settler, Alexander Abshire The first telephone exchange was installed in 1902. In 1957 Roann residents had dial telephones installed by United Telephone Co. In 1903 cement sidewalks were laid and in 1913 the town bonded for a water works. Electric lights were brought to the town a year later through the efforts of citizens who organized a local company buying power from the power company in Wabash. In 1913 Mrs. Martha Van Buskirk wrote to the state library asking for direction and assistance to establish a library in Roann. Land was purchased and a library operated from the school house with books donated and some borrowed from the state library. Sufficient funds were pledged by citizens of Roann and Paw Paw Township. Consequently on January 16, 1914 the Wabash Circuit Court legally determined the Roann public library's establishment. Mrs. Van Buskirk obtained a $10,000 Carnegie grant for the building of a library. She was selected as president of the first library board. Other members were Dwight DuBois, W.H. Weber, Mrs. Lessie (Wiley) Wirt and Miss Jessie harris. The corner stone for the Carnegie Library was laid in 1916. Librarians since 1918 have been Daisy Schrader, Ethel Flora, Nora Story, Minnie Mull, Turee Coblentz, hazel Day and marie Hunter. By 1976 the library had 5,485 adult books and 2,887 juvenile books plus reference books and periodicals. By 1921 the town had paved streets. Fire protection for both Roann and Paw Paw Township is located in Roann. By 1928 the population was 490 in the incorporated town. S.M. Baird was president of the town. J.E. Turner was postmaster. The community also had a bank, weekly newspaper, the Clarion, and three four churches the Christian, Dunkard, Methodist Episcopal and Progressive Brethren. The town was tied to the outside world by the American Express and Western Union telegraph. The first school in the area was a log cabin in 1837. The first school building in Roann was built in 1885. In 1892 Noble Harter a teacher at the school began preparing the high school. In 1895 the high school graduates were Daisy Gidley, Edith King, Edith Van Buskirk, Fay Spotts, Dow Van Buskirk, Alice Harris and Ross Lockridge. In 1899 the school building burned but was rebuilt in 1900. A modern school was built in 1941 fianced jointly by the township and the WPA. The schools were closed in 1962 and became part of the Wabash County Metropolitian School District. Students attend Northfield High School and Sharp Creek Elementary School. One of Roann's more prominent citizens was Ross Franklin Lockridge who graduated from Roann High School in 1893. He taught school in the area and later became the official state historian for Indiana and author of numerous historical works. Early in this century Lockridge was largely responsible for promoting the study of pioneer Indiana history. His son was Ross Lockridge, Jr. who wrote the book Raintree County which was made into a movie. Ross, Jr. said that the setting for the mythical county was the area around Roann and Eel River that he had visited with his father as a child. In 1959 the town was governed by a board with Melvin Yocum, president, Ross Watson and Charles York. There were approximately 35 business establishments. A booster Club converted a former furniture store into a Community Center that has become the general meeting place for many of the community's organizations. It is also utilized by individuals for such events as committee meetings and reunions. Probably the greatest project of the 1950s was the banding together by the community residents to establish the Roann Medical and Postal Building. Located on Main street and fronted with sandstone. Dr. Richard and Robert LaSalle occupied the medical rooms. From 1875 to 1923 the medical needs of the community had been taken care of by Dr. G.P. Kidd and then his son Dr. J.G. Kidd who served from 1926 to 1956. Dr. G.P. Kidd owned the first Oldsmobilie in town in 1905. Social organizations found in Roann in 1959 were the Masonic Lodge, Easter Star, IOOF, Rebekahs, Lion's Club, Robert H. Bowman Post of the American Legion. The post was named for Robert H. Bowman a young man who was called to service in his senior year of high school. He was assigned to the USS St. Louis. He lost his life in a sneak attack Nov. 27, 1944. He was the son of Hubert and Hazel Bowman. Other organizations are the American Legion Auxiary, Roann matrons Club, Town and Country Club, Shiloh, Paw Paw and Happy Homemakers Home Demonstration Clubs, boys and girls 4-H Clubs, Epsilon Sigma Alpha sorority, boy and Cub scouts. There were five churches, the Methodist, Church of the Brethren, First Brethern, Christian and the Evangelical Methodist. The latter started during the 1950s and has erected anew cement block church structure. Once the highlight of the civic activity, the Booster Days have been discontinued but given way to a street festival in September when the covered bridge as its theme. The 1960s saw continued growth in Roann. The Christian Church built a new building(1964), Roann merchants Association formed, the water tower was constructed with R.P. Draper town board president and water mains installed (1965), THE Methodist Church built a fellowship hall, a new grocery store opened, The 1970s saw continued growth new bridge at Stockdale(1970), natural gas piped into the area, first FHA housing units built sewage plant negotiations completed by Raymond Steel town board president, Bridge View Restaurant opened with Dennis Eller owner. By 1976 Roann had 18 businesses, four industries, five utility services, more than a dozen services including doctors and a veterinarian. There were more than 25 organizations, schools and churches. The town board consisted of Raymond Steele, president, Dennis Eller and Edward Beam; Paw Paw Township trustee Howard Stone; advisory board Tom Krom, John Dyson and Harold Richard. The population of Roann was 509 and of the township 1107.