WASHINGTON is the northwest corner township of Delaware County. A portion of Grant County behinds it on the north, Union Township on the east, Harrison Township on the south, and a portion of Madison County on the west.
SURFACE, SOIL, ETC.
The general nature of the surface is flat, except in the vicinity of the principal streams, where it is broken by picturesque hillocks, sloping gently upward from the level lands surrounding, and in some instances terminating in bluff banks, forming a natural defense against the overflow of the river and its tributaries.
There is a marked diversity of soil--black loam, underlaid with clay, and clay with a substratum of sand being sometimes found on the same farm. As we approach the vicinity of the streams--especially the Mississinewa River--this admixture of sand becomes a more prominent feature. Throughout the township the soil is uniformly fertile, but a great amount of underdraining has been rendered necessary by the extreme flatness of the country, and notwithstanding the extent of this improvement, there are still some lands whose usefulness is materially impaired during wet seasons by the absence of tile. A thorough system of ditches, while they have been of great benefit, have yet proved inadequate in very wet seasons.
The pioneers who formed a colony along the river in the early days, were confronted by forests in which black and white walnut, red elm, gray, blue, and black ash, maple, beech, red, black, white and burr oak, poplar, cottonwood and sycamore were the prevailing varieties. In the process of clearing lands for cultivation a large amount of valuable timber was treated as useless material, and met an inglorious fate in the log-heap. Fine walnut timber was used for fence-rails, and other materials now equally valuable, was quite as little esteemed; and many years elapsed before a timber-market was opened by the introduction of the saw-mill enterprise.
The principal streams of the township are the Mississinewa River, which flows throngh the northeastern portion; Lick Creek, which joins the Mississinewa above Elizabethtown; Pike Creek, which flows in a northwesterly direction, forming a confluence with the Mississinewa near the town of Wheeling. Besides these there are several minor streams or branches of little consequence.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
In 1823, David Conner entered a tract of land in Section 15. and, in the same year, a man by the name of Brodcrick came and settled on the land. He was not a pioneer in the true sense of the word, although he was probably the first white man who located permanently within the limits of this township. The extent of his pioneer labors was the clearing of a small space near his cabin, upon which he set out an orchard. His occupation was that of a trader, and with a few articles of merchandise, some notions, and a stock of ammunition and whisky, he carried on a successful traffic with the Miamis, Delawares and Pottawatomies, who inhabited this neighborhood at that time.
For a period of three years, he was the only white resident in the township. Then, the term for which he had engaged the land having expired, he was followed by Robert Sanders, who came from Connersville, Ind., and engaged in the stone business, on the same tract of land. after which Mr. Broderick removed to another locality.
At a later date, Mr. Sanders became a tiller of the soil, and cleared and improved a farm; but at first his time was devoted chiefly to his traffic with the Indians. He kept the first tavern in the township, on the Government road, and derived a considerable revenue from this source. He adopted the vocation of farming, and was an industrious member of the community for many years.
After the decease of his wife, he went to reside with his children. and died in Grant County about the year 1861.
About the year 1829, William McCormick purchased the land upon which Mr. Sanders had formerly carried on his trade with the Indians,
and it was after this event that thle latter entered land in Section 14, where he developed a farm.
Mr. McCormick came to occupy his land in 1830 or 1831.
In the early part of the year 1829, William Heal started on foot from his home in Muskingum County, Ohio, to select and enter a farm in Indiana, and finally decided upon the tract in Section 15, which he entered at the Fort Wayne Land Office on the 12th day of September of the same year. He returned to Ohio for his family, and, with three two-horse wagons, they set out on their journey.
At Columbus, Ohio, they formed the acquaintance of Thomas Littler, who, with his family, was on route from Virginia to the prairies of Illinois. The two families became companions on the journey, and as Mr. Heal was the first to reach his destination, reluctant farewells were about to be exchanged, when Mr. Heal suggested to his friend that this would be quite as good a location as the point upon which he had decided. Pleased with the location, and unwilling to sever a friendship so firm as that which had been formed between the two families, Mr. Littler went to Fort Wayne and entered land adjoining Mr. Heal.
These two were the first real pioneers of the township. Their entire attention was occupied in the development and improvement of their respective farms, and their labors were bestowed upon this object with an energy that brought about rich results. Both improved large farms: Mr. Heal occupied his during the remainder of his life; Mr. Littler sold out in 1865, and removed to the State of Iowa, where he still resides.
In the spring of 1830, John Graham came to the township and leased a small tract of land of William Heal. He was a millwright of fine attainments, and formerly resided in Guernsey County, Ohio. Some place near Winchester, Ind., he procured a pirogue, or ""dugout,"" and floated down the Mississinewa with his family and the articles of furniture he possessed. It is by no means discreditable to him to say that he was very poor when he came to the settlement, but he came with the determination to better his fortunes, and he succeeded in the effort. During the three years that he lived on the land of Mr. Heal, he saved his money, and finally entered a tract of land in Grant County. After he became a freeholder his fortune began to improve, and before he left the scene of his struggles with poverty, he was a man of wealth. At a later date he sold his property, and removed to Wisconsin, where he erected a mill. He died while visiting some of his former neighbors in Grant County, about the year 1861. He was buried in Olive Branch Cemetery. John Dille and his sons, Cephas and Silas, came with their families in the summer of 1830, and settled upon a tract of land in Section 12, entered by the father in 1829. They cleared and improved farms upon which they resided until death.
In the fall of 1830, Joseph Wilson, from Guernsey County, Ohio, entered the north half of Section 12, where he developed a fine farm, making it his home until death.
In the same year (1831), Eli Lansing settled on a tract of land in Section 11, and Thomas Wharton, John Ginn and James Watson settled in Section 12. Thomas Reynolds entered land in Section 13, and settled upon it in the same year.
Up to this time the settlements had nearly all been made along the bank of the Mississinewa-induced by the inviting appearance and the well-known fertility of the bottom-lands--and the work of improvement in the interior of the township was inaugurated about the year 1832. Some time during that year, Thomas Beouy and John Dunn entered land and settled near the center of the township, and cleared large farms, which they cultivated until death.
John K. and Thomas Wharton came about the same time, and settled upon land in Section 14, from which they developed fine farms. David Buoy entered land in Section 15, in 1832.
Samuel Carmen settled on a tract of land in Section 22, in the year 1833, and Samuel Moore, John Punn and James Ashcroft settled at various points in the township in the same year.
In 1834, the settlers were William Wharton, William Richardson and John Kain. There were others whose experiences would perhaps add interest to the details of the settlement, but their names are not now
at hand.
EARLY ROADS.
Before any settlements were made in this neighborhood, there was Government road that had been cut out from Columbus, Ohio, to the prairies of the West. It passed through a portion of this township, through the towns of Marion and Logansport, and thence west. It was scarcely more than an opening in the woods, and had but little appearance of a national highway, although it was extensively traveled by emigrant trains. During wet seasons, it was used more as a guide to the proper course than as a road. Teams were driven through the woods on either side, in search of solid ground. The extensive travel over the road only served to cut the ruts deeper every day, and there was no civil government at that time--at least in this locality--to keep it in repair. A tavern on the route was the first attempt made to ameliorate the condition of the emigrants. From Columbus west there were a number of such institutions, and, about the year 1826 or 1827, Robert Sanders embarked in the same enterprise. His house was a double log cabin, and was never devoid of guests. Often his patrons were so numerous, that they were compelled to sleep on the floor, rolled in blankets. The property upon which the tavern was situated, was purchased by William McCormick, who came and took possession in 1831, superseding Sanders as proprietor of the tavern. Sanders immediately entered eighty acres adjoining McCormick on the east, and cut a by-road at his own expense, in such a manner as to shorten the distance about a mile, thereby diverting custom from McCormick's tavern to his own. Both gentlemen were long identified with the tavern keepers of this road, and are remembered by many of the early settlers of our Western States.
Mowry H. Thompson also kept tavern on this road, about a mile south of McCormick. All received their proportion of patronage, and only abandoned the enterprise after it ceased to be profitable. The course of the old road is almost unknown to-day, except where the Surveyor's lines proved it to be right. This is the case in this township, where it varies but little from the old route.
The second road was surveyed about the year 1830, from Muncie to the old Government road, intersecting the latter at a point near the farm of Robert Sanders. It was eighty feet wide, and was surveyed and cleared at the expense of tile State.
About the year 1833 or 1834, a road was laid out from the junction at Sanders' farm, running east through the present site of Eaton and Albany, and terminating in Randolph County, Ind.
The road from Muncie to Wheeling was the first post-route in the township. William McCormick was the first Postmaster, and kept the office at his house. It was known as the Cranberry Post Office, and retained that name until it was removed to Wheeling, at a later date. At first the mail was carried on horseback from Muncie to Logansport, and afterward by a mail-hack or stage. The latter is still the method of conveyance employed between Muncie and the towns to the north.
As the township became more generally populated, county roads were laid out one by one, to facilitate the transportation of farm goods to market, and there is now a road on every section.
EARLY BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS.
In a new settlement these events possess a peculiar interest, and confer a degree of notoriety. Death's first victim becomes a martyr, and the first native white child a hero ""to the manor born;" and their names are justly commemorated by their fellow-citizens, and find a place in the history of the locality in which they lived.
John W., son of William and Oliver Heal, was the first white male child born in the township. The date of his birth was February 12, 1831. About the same time, Mary Graham, the first female white child, and daughter of John Graham, was born at the home of her parents, on William Heals farm. John W. Heal grew to manhood in this township, and is now one of its respected citizens. His farm lies adjoining that of his brother David. Mary Graham removed with her parents to Grant County, Ind., and afterward to the West.
In January, 1831, the first marriage ceremony was performed at the house of Robert Sanders. His daughter, Nancy, and Nathaniel McGuire, were the contracting parties, and the matrimonial knot was
tied by a Justice of the Peace from Muncie. In 1834, his house was a second time arranged for the celebration of a nuptial ceremony. On this occasion his daughter Amelia bestowed her heart and hand upon Josiah McVicker. The first death was that of Robert Wharton. He came to the township in 1830, and had only succeeded in getting the improvement of his farm fairly under way, when he was called from earth in 1831. There were at that time no cemeteries in the township, and his remains were consigned to rest in a corner of his own farm, which was still further consecrated by the burial of his son, and James Watson, within a few weeks after his own demise.
The first cemetery was donated to the township in the year 1836, by William Heal. It contains one acre, and is located north of the site of his residence, and was called the Olive Branch Cemetery. The first corpse buried here was that of John Watson, who died in 1837. The remains of the donor and his wife, Olive, are also among the occupants of this silent city.
J. Wilson set apart one acre from his farm near Elizabethtown, and, in 1836 or 1837, donated it to the township for a cemetery. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1838, and was the first occupant of the inclosure thus consecrated.
EARLY MECHANICS--THE FIRST WORK, ETC.
Mrs. Olive Heal and Mrs. Martha Jobes were the first weavers in the settlement, and perhaps the only persons who made the products of their looms a pecuniary enterprise. The neighbors brought their wool to the ladies, who manufactured it into ""homespun" jeans, charging a certain amount per yard for their work. This article became quite a usefull commodity in the settlement, and to some extent a medium of trade. It was taken by the local agents in exchange for merchandise, and found its way to the Cincinnati market, where it was sold for cash, or exchanged for more goods.
Thomas Dunn, who came to the township in 1832, was the first carpenter. His first work was the erection of a frame barn on the farm of Benjamin Reasoner, in Blackford County, Ind., and soon after that date he erected a similar building for Thomas Wharton, in this township. He was a skilled workman, and his services were in great demand.
About the year 1835, Peter Culp settled in the township, and erected a blacksmith's forge in the southeast corner of Section 12. He had formerly worked at the trade in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was unusually proficient. He proved a valuable acquisition to the settlement, and derived a fair revenue from his labor. The hinges for the door of Olive Branch Methodist Episcopal Chltrch were manufactured by him, as were many of the agricultural implements which may now be found in the stock of any hardware dealer, but for which, in those days, the farmer depended upon the skill of a neighboring mechanic. He subsequently removed his shop to Grant County, where he continued his trade until death.
PIONEER STORES.
The first stock of merchandise was opened and exposed for sale in 1834 or 1835, on the farm of Joseph Wilson. Uriah Powers was the first merchant, and his establishment was located in a hewed-log house erected for the purpose. About the same time a similar establishment was kept by Jacob Powers, on his own farm, and another by Jacob Newberger, on the farm of Robert Sanders. Mr. Newberger kept his stock in a portion of Mr. Sander's dwelling.
There was but little money in the settlement, and, really, little need of it. Furs and hides, butter and eggs, and other farm produce were the medium of trade, and the substitutes for currency. In exchange for these the farmer received such articles of merchandise as he desired, and the merchant hauled them to Cincinnati, there converting them into cash or more goods.
About 1840, the canal was completed to La Gro, Ind., and the farmers began hauling their grain to that market, receiving cash payment for it. About this time, too, Fort Wayne became a great hog market, and a large amount of money was derived by the farmers of the township from the sale of their hogs. Money began to circulate and to be exchanged for merchandise, and the homespun and farm produce became possessed of a cash value, and no longer stood in lieu of currency. One of these pioneer stores still survives, and is conducted by the original proprietor, Jacob Newberger, in Grant County, Ind.
OTHER EARLY ENTERPRISES.
About the year 1832, William Heal constructed a brick kiln on his farm--the first of its kind in the township. He did not, however, make this a speculative enterprise. His object was to manufacture only a sufficient number of brick for his own use. The kiln contained 7,000 brick, about four thousand of which were used by him in constructing chimneys for a two-story house which he erected about that time. He sold the remainder to Thomas Littler for a similar purpose, and then destroyed the kiln. He was a practical brick and stone mason, and often superintended the construction and burning of other kilns in the township.
About the year 1835, Uriah Powers erected the first distillery in the township. It was situated near the flouring-mill in which he was then interested, and was operated by hand-power. Its capacity was limited, as was also the sale for the article manufactured. He afterward abandoned the enterprise, and converted the distillery into a dwelling.
About the same time, James Hamilton started a small distillery within a mile of the Powers' still. This passed through the hands of various owners, and proving scarcely self-sustaining, was abandoned.
One hot day in August, about ten years ago, it took fire and burned. This was supposed to be the deed of an incendiary, but the person arrested was promptly acquitted. Owing to the close proximity of mills in Grant County, the early settlers suffered but little inconvenience for want of the facilities for reducing their wheat to flour. The first home mill was erected by Jacob Powers in 1835 or 1836. It was erected on the bank of Pike Creek, in the northeastern part of the town ship, and received its motive power from the stream on which it was situated. A saw was attached to its machinery, and it was considered a first-class mill. Mr. Powers sold the mill to John Henley, who added a tan-yard and carding-mill. After his decease the property passed to his heirs, by whom the business was continued for a number of years, and finally abandoned.
In 1835 or 1836, a flouring and saw mill was built near Elizabethtown by Uriah Powers and Joseph Wilson, Jr. It was a substantial frame building, and was situated on the bank of the Mississinewa, from which stream it received its power. The first run of stones were native ""nigger-heads,"" or bowlders, taken from the river and dressed down. It is said that they made good flour.
Subsequently the firm changed to Powers, Polsley & Rockenfield, and improvements were made in the machinery. Two runs of buhrs for wheat and one for corn were put in to replace the old dressed bowlders and increase the utility of the mill.
Mr. Rockenfield subsequently sold his interest to Mr. Powers, by whom the mill was operated until his decease, shortly after which it was sold to the present owners, Dunn & Son. It is a first-class custom mill.
Eli Lansing erected a flouring-mill on Pike Creek, about the year 1836. It had one run of buhrs, made of ""nigger-heads," and ground flour, corn and buckwheat, all on the same stones.
It was operated by a wheel designed and patented by the proprietor, but which was so much like the Parker wheel, that Parker afterward collected a royalty from all the mills using the Lansing patent. Lansing operated this mill until it outlived its usefulness, after which he abandoned it.
SCHOOLS.
The first steps toward the education of the children of the township were taken about the year 1833. Mrs. Olive Heal converted a room of her home into a schoolroom, and for the sum of $1.25 per scholar, undertook the instruction of her neighbors' children. She was thus employed during two winters, and after she retired from this occupation the township was without a school until the year 1838. In that year William Wharton was employed as a teacher, and had his school in the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1839, the first schoolhouse was erected, and Ezra Maynard engaged as teacher. The second schoolhouse was erected at Wheeling in 1840, and, during the next three or four years, similar buildings were erected at various points in the township. As was usual at that time, all the schools were maintained by
subscription, assisted by an appropriation from the public funds of the township. This appropriation, however, was only sufficient to maintain the school for about thirty days, or one third of the term; but while the funds lasted, tuition was free, and the money for the balance of the term was made up by private subscription. About the year 1858, the provisions of the act 1851-52, relative to the establishment of free schools, were adopted. The old buildings were used for a number of years, and afterward replaced, one by one, by better houses. The district schools of to-day are well managed institutions, and are presided over by teachers of acknowledged ability. The total number in the township is twelve--three of which are substantial brick buildings, the balance frame.
The following named persons are the teachers of the several schools in the township:
J. W. Butcher, Heal Schoolhouse, District No. 1; W. W. Polan, Wheeling Schoolhouse, District No. 2; Jennie Jones, Beuoy Schoolhouse, District No. 3; J. L. Hoover, Washington Schoolhouse, District No. 4; C. O. Swingley, Zion Schoolhouse, District No. 5; Isaac Gray, Prairie Schoolhouse, District No. 6; J. W. Harmon, Carman Schoolhouse, District No. 7; Kate Stradling, Thompson Schoolhouse, District No. 8; Ira Crampton, Hard-Scrabble Schoolhouse, District No. 9; O.H. Sharp, Eva Hessler, New Corner Schoolhouse, District No. 10; L. E. Shirey, Maynard Schoolhouse, District No. 11; John Z. Barrette, Baltimore Schoolhouse, District No. 12.
The Township Trustee's report for the year ending August 31, 1881, shows the following condition of the schools: Number of white pupils admitted within the year, 530; average attendance 267.5; length of school term, 140 days; number of brick schoolhouses in township, 3; number of frame schoolhouses in township, 9; estimated value of schoolhouses and grounds, $5,700; estimated value of school apparatus, $240.
ACCOUNT OF REVENUE FOR TUITION.
Amount on hand September 1, 1879 ............................$2,125.48
Amount received in February, 1880 ...............................1,282.40
Amount received in June, 1880 ......................................1,596.03
Miscellaneous receipts ........................................................39.36
Total ...........................................................................$5,043.27
Amount expended since September 1, 1879 ................$2,824.25
Amount on hand at date of report ................................$2,219.02
ACCOUNT OF SPECIAL SCHOOL REVENUE.
Amount on hand September 1, 1879 .............................$ 745.49
Amount received within the year ......................................752.71
Miscellaneous ......................................................................5.26
Total ...........................................................................$1,503.46
Amount expended since September 1, 1879 ...............$1,007.14
Amount on hand at date of report ..................................$496.32
CHURCHES.
Methodist Episcopal.-- In the year 1830, the first religious meeting in the township was held at the house of William Heal. The services were conducted by Rev. Robert Burns, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On this occasion a class was organized, consisting of William Heal and wife, Thomas and Susannah Littler, and Mrs. Martha Jobes. Regular meetings were afterward held at the house of Mr. Heal, and the class received some additions to its numbers. In 1837, Thomas Littler donated an acre of ground from his farm, upon which the society erected a hewed-log house of worship, twenty-four feet square, and called it Olive Branch Church, in honor of Mrs. Olive Heal, one of its most active and earnest members. The log building served the purpose for which it was erected, until 1863. By that, time the congregation had so increased that the little church was too small for its accommodation, and the present house of worship was erected. The latter is situated in the southern extremity of Grant County, and just across the line dividing that county from this. The church has been prosperous ever since its organization, and is now in a flourishing condition. Rev. J. L. Ramsey is the present Pastor.
Wheeling Church.--The Methodists organized a class in Wheeling in 1839 or 1840, and held meetings in the schoolhouse at that town until 1871. In that year they erected a brick church in the east part of the town, at a cost of $1,800. The present membership is about fifty. Rev. J. L. Ramsey is tile present Pastor.
Presbyterian.-- In 1833, Rev. Robert Irwin conducted services at the house of Joseph Wilson, and on the same day the first Presbyterian organization in the township was formed. Among the first members were Joseph Wilson and wife, Joseph Reasoner and wife, Jacob Reasoner and wife, Robert Wilson and wife, and Peter Reasoner and wife. Regular meetings were kept up at private houses for several years, when the society erected a frame house of worship at Elizabethtown. Their membership extended over a large territory, and the site selected for the church was not central. Some of the members found it very inconvenient, at times, to attend the services, and it was decided to remove the church to a more convenient location. New Cumberland, in the adjoining county of Grant, was the site chosen for the church, and thither they removed, after selling the house at Elizabethtown. They still have a prosperous church at this point.
Harmony Baptist Church was organized in June, 1834, at the house of William McCormick. The meeting for business was held June 21, 1834, and the title Regular Predestinarian-Baptist Church adopted.
William McCormick and wife, Thomas Buoy and wife, John Richards and wife, William Hollis and wife, and Mrs. David Buoy were among the first members, and Rev. Abraham Buckles and Elder Willis Hance were the first ministers. For several years the society worshiped at the house of Mr. William McCormick, and subsequently erected a house of worship in the southern part of Grant County, where they still have a prosperous church.
Mississinewa Valley Church was organized December 22, 1861, with seven members, viz., Alfred Cmnpbell and wife, J. W. Harmon and wife, M. H. Thompson and wife, and Harriet Rigdon. The council consisted of delegates from Muncie, Granville and Pisgah Churches, and the ministers were Revs. Abel Johnson, Jas. E. Ellison and John Forest.
Rev. James E. Ellison was chosen Pastor, Alfred Cmnpbell, Deacon, and J. W. Hannah Clerk and Treasurer.
July 12, 1862, the church applied for membership in the Judson Association, and was received at their next meeting, Rev. Ellison served as Pastor of the church for three years, and was succeeded by Rev. McKee, of Muncie, who served only three months. Rev. Howell, of Granville, was then called to fill the place. Alfred Campbell was licensed to preach, on March 9, 1867, and was called as a supply to the church. In November of tile same year, the church called for his ordination, which took place in February, 1868. Shortly after his ordination, he was called to the pastorate of the church, and has served in a pastoral relation, with brief intermissions, ever since. In April, 1868, Rev. Joseph Nicholson was invited to preach for the church one-fourth of the time, and acted in this relation for little less than a year.
In February, 1869, Rev. Bennett, of Muncie, assisted Mr. Campbell in conducting a protracted meeting, during which there were fourteen accessions to the church.
In 1876, Rev. Langdon became Pastor of the church, and, in 1877, Rev. Alfred Campbell was again called to the charge.
In 1878, they erected their present house of worship, on land donated by Samuel Knight. The building is frame, 24x36 feet, and cost $400. It was dedicated October 18, 1878, by Rev. Storm, who remained three weeks with the congregation.
In 1879, Mr. Campbell was again chosen Pastor, and still stands in that relation to the church. In 1873, a Sunday school was organized in connection with the church, and J. W. Hannah was the first Superintendent. The school is discontinued during the winter, but re-organized every spring. It has now an attendance of forty scholars. B.H. McKinley is the present Superintendent.
New Corner Methodist Protestant Church---The class was organized in the year 1854 or 1855, at the house of James Burgess, by Rev. Joseph Boxley. For several years after the organization the regular meetings were held at the house of Mr. Burgess. In the meantime new members were added to the class, and the place for holding meetings was changed
to the schoolhouse, where they worshiped until 1870. Rev. James Harrison was the Pastor at that time, and took an active part in securing a permanent house of worship for the congregation. A lot was purchased in the town of New Corner, upon which the present church was erected in the same year, at a cost of about $900.
Regular services have been conducted ever since, by the Pastors of
the church. Rev. Jones is the present Pastor.
New Corner United Brethren Church.--In the year 1874, twelve
members of this denomination met at the shop of Frederick Huber, in the town of New Corner, and organized a class under the ministrations of Rev. Arthur Rector. Two years later they purchased a lot of Frederick Huber, upon which they erected their present house of worship-completing it before the close of the year 1876. It is a frame building, and was completed at a cost of $600.
Mr. Rector remained three years, and was succeeded by Rev. William Mosier. Mr. Mosier continued as Pastor of the church for one year, and was succeeded by Rev. William Hall, who also remained one year. His successor was the present Pastor, Rev. T. J. Halstoad. The church now has a membership of twenty-three. The church officers are: F. Huber, Jackson Brock and Jackson Losh, Trustees; Charles Rector, Class-leader, and F. Huber, Steward.
SOCIETIES.
Wheeling Lodge, No. 325, L O. O. F:, was instituted May 26, 1869, under charter. There were seven charter members, viz., R. W. Rigdon, David W. Reynolds, J. P. Williams, J. C. Ginn, William Lewis and Liberty Hamilton. The first officers were: J. C. Ginn, N. G.; R. W. Rigdon, V. G.; William Lewis, Secretary; J. P. Williams, Treasurer.
In 1871, the lodge added a story to the schoolhouse, which they fitted up for a lodge-room, and in which the regular meetings are now held every Saturday evening.
The present membership of the lodge is thirty-nine. The present officers are: Joseph Clark, N. G.; Henry L. Watson, V. G.; John Clark, R. S.; R. H. Trout, P. S.; Eli Hamilton, Treasurer.
New Corner Lodge No. 425, L O. O. F., was organized August 20, 1873, under a dispensation granted by the Most Worthy Grand Master of the State of Indiana. The original members were: J. W. Hannan, W. F. Null, Jesse Meyers, Adam Moody, B. F. Beouy, J. T. Broyles, M. V. Rhodes, Joseph Burgess, B. H. McKinley, Benjamin Bartlett, Samuel Gruver, John McKinley, David Vannata, Thomas Stubbs, Ezra Woodring, Madison Bryar and J. H. Boyle. The first officers of the lodge were: J.W. Hannan, N. G.; B. F. Beouy, V. G.; Adam Moody, R. S.; W. F. Null, P. S.; Jesse Meyers, Treasurer. The lodge continued to work under dispensation until November 20, 1873, when it received a charter from the Grand Lodge of the State. During the year 1875, the order erected the neat brick building in which the lodge meetings are held on Saturday evening of each week.
The officers for the present term are: James Hendricks, N. G.; William Winton, V. G.; J. W. Hannan, Secretary; August Ebenstein, Treasurer. The lodge is in good working order, and has an active membership of thirty-five.
New Corner Lodge, No. 1324, Daughters of Rebecca, was organized in 1873, in the room occupied by New Corner Lodge, No. 425. The first officers were: J.W. Hannan, N. G.; Mrs. R. A. Hannan, V. G.; Mrs. F. S. Clemens, Secretary.
The lodge is now in good working order, and has an active membership of twenty. The present officers are: Mrs. F. S. Clemens, N. G.; Mrs. Maggie Anderson, V. G.; J. W. Harman, R. S.; Mrs. S. J. Needham, P. S.; Mrs. R. A. Hannan, Treasurer.
Wheeling Lodge, A., F. & A. M., was organized at the village of Wheeling, with the following charter members: Jacob C. Polsley, Liberty Ginn, John H. Rutter, John W. Pugh, James Lyon, William Adsit, Lorenzo Watson, Jesse Nixon, John W. Frey, and John T. Gothup. This meeting was held November 10, 1859, and the first stated meeting of the lodge was held on the 12th day of December following. The first officers were: J.C. Polsley, W. M.; John W. Pugh, S. W.; Liberty Ginn, J. W. At the session of the Grand Lodge in May, 1860, a charter was granted
to this lodge, which until that time had worked under dispensation,
They worked harmoniously until 1865, when disaffections arose among the members, culminating inthe surrender of the charter on the 3d day of March, 1866.
In October, 1865, a meeting of Masons was called at the house of John C. Polsley, in Elizabethtown, for the purpose of organizing a new lodge.
The petitioners for the second dispensation were twenty-four in number, viz., H. D. Reasoner, Otho Hardy, James Lyon, John T. Gothup, J.W. Pugh, George W. Stephenson, J. S. Kirkwood, William Cox, G. W. Thomas, William Adsit, John Frey, Obediah Flinn, Joseph Hinton, James C. Stephenson, W. F. Reasoner, J. E. Deviney, William T. Wright, Benjamin Nixon, Amos W. Kirkwood, J. C. Polsley, Lewis Bernard, C. A. Harper, Mahlon Pugh and David M. Kirkwood; and the officers of this lodge were: J. C. Polsley, W. M.; G. W. Thomas, S. W.; and Lewis Bernard, J. W.
On January 27, 1866, the lodge met in the former hall of Wheeling Lodge, No. 265, and, from that time until June 15, 1866, worked under dispensation. At the date last named they received the charter, by virtue of which the lodge is still working.
The membership at one time was fifty-six, but in consequence of some of its members having been demitted, it is now reduced to twentyone. The officers for the present term (1880) are: J. S. Kirkwood, W. M.; J. F. Wright, S. W.; Henry Hazelbaker, J. W.; Joseph Hinton, Treasurer; W. F. Reasoner, Secretary; Henry Hire, S. D.; Benjamin Nixon, J. D.; E. H. Spencer, Tiler; Mark Powers and William Cox, Stewards.
ELIZABETHTOWN.
The remains of this town on the Mississinewa indicate the site of a place that once aspired to the honor of being a county seat. It was rumored that a new county was to be formed from portions of Grant, Delaware and Jay Counties, which would make the site of Elizabethtown nearly central, and therefore the most eligible. A public square was laid out by Joseph Wilson, the original proprietor of the town, and the lots sold readily at fancy prices. Uriah Powers removed his store from the Wilson farm to this point; a grocery was established a short time subsequently, and blacksmiths, carpenters and cabinetmakers added the impetus of their industry to the growing prospects of the town.
The new county (Blackford), was duly formed in 1839; but alas! for the hopes of Elizabethtown; the line stopped within half a mile of the proposed county seat, and four townships of Jay constituted the county, the prospect of which had caused such a flutter. An immediate decline was the consequence. Merchants removed to more favorable localities, mechanics followed the example, and almost like magic, Elizabethtown became a thing of the past. To-day the plowshare turns the sod of the public square, and farms are cultivated where once the lines of a busy metropolis were to be. Two or three houses are all that is left to indicate the site of the embryo city, and the stranger, unfamiliar with the details, would pass the spot without a suspicion that he was within the corporate limits of the town.
Wheeling was laid out by William McCormick, on a portion of his farm. The business of the town is transacted by the following firms: Ephraim Smith, general merchandise; Dr. J. E. Hoover,and Dr. Anderson physicians; John Mattox, blacksmith; Henry Sutton, carpenter; R. H. Trout, proprietor flax-mill; Henry Johnson, proprietor of the hotel.
New Corner was laid out by David L. Jones in February, 1855, on the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 33. The following is the business directory of the town: Reasoner & Knight, dry goods and groceries; Vinton Nickey, drugs; Dr. W. D. Clemens and Dr. D. O. Munsey, physicians; George Brady and S. J. Fradley, blacksmiths; D. M. Rowlet, shoemaker; Frederick Huber, proprietor of sawmill; E. H. Case & Co., proprietors tile-factory.
Culbertson's Corner, in the southwest part of the township, and Cologne Post Office, in the northwest, are small post office villages.
POPULATION.
