| To jump to the topics, click on the following: The Indians | The First White Men | Organization of County | The County Seat | The First Elkhart County Court House | Elkhart County Courthouse | The County Jail | The Elkhart County Infirmary | Origins of Names of Towns | Goshen | Elkhart | Benton | Nappanee | Middlebury | Bristol | New Paris | Wakarusa | Millersburg | Vistula | Waterford | Dunlaps | Jimtown | Baintertown | Foraker | |
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It is believed that the first inhabitants of northern
Indiana, including what is now Elkhart County, were the mound builders.
In some parts of the county are elevations which are thought to be the
work of that primitive race, but as none of them have been explored,
there is no positive evidence to confirm the supposition. After these
come the Miami Indians who occupied this territory for a time, possibly
two centuries, when they moved elsewhere. When the first settlers come to make their homes here the land was occupied by the Pottawattamie Indians. Elkhart prairie was dotted with their wigwams and those primitive dwellings were to be found in other sections of the county. There were several Indian villages along the Elkhart river. The Wesley Carry, two or three years before his death, told the writer that when he came here as a boy in the early thirties there was a village within the limits of the present city of Goshen. It is to be regretted that its name has been lost. The location of it was just south of Monroe street and between Main street and the Elkhart river. Another was located at Waterford. Of this one nothing more is known than its approximate location. The third one is the only one which is known by name, Aubenaubee, and was on the land which afterward became the Mark B. Thompson farm, and later for many years the John E. Thompson farm, and now owned and occupied by Edward Schleeter. The village was a short distance south-west of the buildings and the ground which it occupied is an open field. This was the village which was destroyed by the soldiers of Col. Jackson, (then Lieutenant Jackson) and mentioned in the next chapter. The chief of this village was Five Medals, whose Indian name was Onoxsee. Quite a number of these Pottawattamies were still here when the first settlers came. In an article written for the Goshen Democrat in 1866 Col. Jackson tells something about them and their visits to the homes of the settlers. He says, “Some days they come by dozens to trade or ‘swap’ as they called it. They brought venison, fish, cranberries, moccasins, dressed deer skins and other articles to swap for flour, meal, bread, pork or anything they could eat. We could get all the venison and cranberries we wanted at out own terms—they were very friendly. The wife and children of the old chief Five Medals were here. Five Medals was dead. He was the chief of the village that I helped to destroy on the prairie in 1812. I felt a little fearful that some person might let them know that I was one of the party that burnt their town and I feared they might do me some harm. I cautioned my neighbors not to let them know anything about it and I supposed they never did as they never did me any harm.” In an address to the Elkhart county pioneers September 22, 1891, John H. Violett described the Indians that he knew when he was a boy. Quoting his own words, “But few of us can recollect seeing the Indians who occupied this land before us. The Pottawattomies were a very peaceable tribe and the whit man had very little reason to fear danger at his hands. I have seen them crowd my father’s house, bring articles for trade, such as deer saddles or hams, cranberries or honey. My mother became so well acquainted with them that she could carry on a conversation with them with but little difficulty. It was no uncommon thing to see from ten to fifty of them, mostly on ponies, passing along the road, generally chattering as they went. There was one that visited our house frequently by the name of Meneshaw. He lived south of here and became the owner of many acres of good land, which in great part fell to his son-in-law Peashwa. The last I saw of the Peashwa family was after they ad moved down about South Bend and drew corn in their wagons from their lands in Kosciusko county.” When the writer lived in Warsaw, the names of Benac and Peashwa were frequently mentioned by some of the older residents. Benac lived not very far from Leesburg and Peashwa still further south. The Red Mens’ lodge or tribe in Warsaw is called Peashwa tribe, named in honor of that chief. Another Indian chief who lived in Kosciusko county and who frequently roamed as far north as Elkhart county was Monoquet. His name is perpetuated in the deserted village of Monoquet about half way between Leesburg and Warsaw. Before the coming of the white man an Indian village, the home of the chief was located there. Monoquet died in 1836 and was buried on the bank of the Tippecanoe river near the village. The Indians said he was poisoned by a daughter of the famous Indian chief Tecumseh for refusing to join him years before in the war against the whites. The late Dr. W. H. Thomas of Elkhart related to his friends his mother’s experience with a big Pottawattomie Indian when she and her husband. Thomas Thomas, were living on Two Mile Plain. This Indian came to the cabin when nobody was there but her children and herself. He had been drinking and was bent on mischief. He pounded on the door and demanded something to eat. Mrs. Thomas had the door barred and remained quiet inside. Several times the Indian partly forced the door in but each time she replaced the fastening. Then she hurriedly ran out of the rear door and seized a heavy hoe, probably one of those which some of the pioneers called ‘nigger hoes’. When the ‘brave’ finally succeeded in forcing the door, she rained blow after blow upon his head until he fell unconscious. While he was lying there a dozen or more Indians came along and she feared that she and the children might be murdered or carried into captivity. But the Red Men only gazed upon her victim with a sort of disgust and when he became conscious he sneaked away. As he went they taunted him for being whipped by a “white squaw”. Mrs. Thomas presence of mind and bravery won for her the respect of the Indians in that region. (The writer is indebted to Frank J. Stahr, of the Elkhart Truth, for this story) About the time that Elkhart county was created by the state legislature a part of the territory which the city of Elkhart now covers was owned by Pierre Moran, also called Pearish, or Perig. On Page 219, Volume 7, United States Statutes a Large appears the following statement: To Pierre Moran or Peerish, a Pottawattomie chief, shall be granted one section of land and to his children two sections of land at the mouth of the Elkhart. In an interesting article in the Indiana Magazine of History for June 1927, John Wesley Whicker of Attica says that Constant Moran, a Frenchman, married a Kickapoo squaw and lived along Pine and Kickapoo creeks, just about straight across the river Attica. There he raised a family, one member of which was Pierre Moran of Chief Peerish, who was born some time during the War of the American Revolution, in Warren county Indiana. He lived in Elkhart county only a short time. After disposing of his land he returned to Warren county and from there went to Benton county, where he took up two section of land which is still known as Parish Grove. Ex-County Auditor Charles A. Croop told the writer an Indian story which was related to him by his grandmother when he was a boy. One night she and her husband looked out from their cabin near Waterford and saw southeast of them a fire which they knew meant that Indians were camping some distance away. Presently they heard a pack of wolves howling in the same direction and they knew that the wolves were likely to attack the Indians. Two hours later they heard guns for a little while and then the firing ceased. They were well satisfied that the Indians had been attacked by the wolves and judging from the brief time that the firing had continued they suspected that the wolves had gotten the better of the Indians. The next day the boys, one of whom was Mr. Croop’s father, went down to the Indians’ camping place and there they saw the bones of the Indians from which the wolves had eaten the flesh. It was a blood curdling sight but the pioneers had frequent experiences of that kind and had to get accustomed to them. Mr. Croop also told about an Indian who died and was buried on Elkhart prairie. He was placed in a sitting posture, as Indians frequently were placed for burial and with his gun beside him. He said that the Indians were not thievish and that they never destroyed anything for the settlers. They occasionally came to the house to beg something to eat. When they were given food, no matter what it was, they went away peaceably. When traveling they always followed their trail which crossed the Elkhart river not far from the Croop home and extended southeastward not far from the river and which is described more fully in the chapter on Indian Trails. The Indians used to hunt and fish along the river and were seen there often by members of the Croop family. Mrs. Samuel McDowell, who was a daughter of William Pearman, one of Clinton township’s pioneers, once told about some Indians who came to her father’s home when the parents were away and she and her brothers were at home alone. They demanded something to eat and made the children sit on a bench while they ransacked the cupboard in search of food. They took everything they could find and went off with it. The children were greatly frightened but the Indians did them no harm farther than that. It was an experience which they never forgot. Mrs. Mc Dowell was quite aged when she told about the incident, but it was still indelibly impressed upon her memory. Mrs. Francis Light, who resides near Elkhart, told the author of an incident in which two of her uncles figured. Mrs. Light is a daughter of the late Michael Mitchell, for many years a prominent citizen of Concord township. Her mother, Elizabeth Mitchell, was a daughter of John Middleton, who settled on the edge of Two Mile Plain in 1829. His two sons, Elias and Joseph Middleton, were the uncles of whom Mrs. Light spoke. They were only boys when the incident took place. As is stated elsewhere the pioneer settlers had to go to White Pigeon, Michigan, to get blacksmithing done. While on a trip of that kind the two Middleton boys encountered a band of Indians, who had been drinking, but were not drank enough to be ugly. They surrounded the boys and began to dance and sing. Naturally, the boys were very much frightened and feared for their lives. The old Indian chief, who was not as drunk as the others, stepped up near them and told them in English that they should not be afraid, that the Indians would not harm them, but were only having a little sport. This partly allayed their fear, but they were not wholly over it until the Indians ceased their frolicking and dispersed. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County Indiana, 1930) |
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It requires some use of the imagination to picture Elkhart county as
it was before the coming of its first settlers. The greater portion of the
territory which is now included in the county was covered with dense forests.
The open spaces in the woods were Elkhart prairie, Two Mile prairie or Two Mile
plain, as it was sometimes called and Pleasant plain. The first of these is south
and southeast of the present city of Goshen, the second east of Elkhart and the
last south of Elkhart and is now almost a suburb of Elkhart. Most of the north
half of the county was covered with oak, while the timber on the greater part of
the south half was beech and maple. The southwest corner where are some of the
most fertile farms today and including the site of Nappanee was largely swamp.
The extreme north part, which is a light sandy soil, was covered chiefly with
scrub oak. Traversing the county in several directions were Indian trails, the
best known of which extended from southeast and portions of which now coincide
with the Lincoln highway. Along the streams, particularly along the Elkhart
river Indian villages, the most notable of which and the only one whose name
has been handed down to the present generation, was Aubenaubee. The red Men
were the sole possessors of the land and roamed at will through the forest and
over the prairies. The first white people who passed over any portion of the territory now included in Elkhart county were French explorers and missionaries, who traveled up and down the St. Joseph river. It is believed that the great Frenchman LaSalle passed over that route, although there is no positive evidence in proof of the supposition. The writer saw the statement somewhere, but cannot remember where or by whom the statement was made, that on one of his journeys LaSalle went from the present site of South Bend up the St. Joseph river to a point about opposite Detroit, then overland to that city. If he ever traveled over that route, it took him through the northern part of Elkhart county which the St. Joseph flows. There are others who think that Father, Marquette the French missionary, may also have come as far as Elkhart county in his journeys to visit Indian villages in Indiana and Michigan. Some years ago David Walter of Elkhart, while excavating for a boat house along the Elkhart river, unearthed a silver cross of antique form apparently inscribed with Greek letters. He showed it to a number of people in Elkhart and by some of them the theory was advanced that the cross might have been carried by Father Marquette and lost on one of his missionary journeys. This, too, is wholly conjecture and there will probably never be any positive proof produced that either of these two great Frenchmen came into our county. The first white man who set foot upon Elkhart county soil and afterward became a resident of the county was Col. John Jackson, who was destined to become one of the county’s pioneers and to play an important part in its early development. His first appearance in the county was in 1812 with a detachment of Gen. Anthony Wayne’s troops in pursuit of the Indians who had been committing depredations on the white settlements in northeastern Indiana. At that time Gen. Wayne was stationed at Fort Wayne which was not yet even a village. Col. Jackson was a lieutenant in one of the companies of Col. Well’s regiment which was sent out to drive the Indians away and put a stop to their attacks upon the settlers. They traveled over the Indian trail known as Dragoon’s Trace. The soldiers came as far as Elkhart prairie crossing the river some distance below Benton and near what afterward became the Matthew Rippey farm. On the south side of the prairie they found the Indiana village of Aubenaube from which the Indians had fled. They had left over their fires kettles of soup, besides other provisions which were found in their camp. Some of the soldiers wanted to taste the soup but Lieut. ackson forbade them to do so, fearing that it might have been poisoned. The soldiers burned the village and destroyed some corn which the Indians had planted on the prairie. This ended the attacks by the Indians. That night Lieutenant Jackson made his camp about a quarter of a mile east of the village which his soldiers had destroyed. Many years afterward he told the late I. N. McCann that he awoke the next morning and saw the sun rising above the trees east of the prairie, he thought it was the most beautiful sight he ever saw and that he resolved then to make that spot his future home. He visited the prairie again in 1825 and found the land still in possession of the Indians. In 1828 he learned that the Indians titles had been extinguished by treaty and that the land in northern Indiana had been thrown open to settlement. Very early in the spring of 1829, he came with teams and farming implements, expecting to take up a homestead and put out corn. By this time several families had settled on the south side of the prairie. Elias Riggs and his son-in-law, William Simpson had laid claim to the land which he had selected and had built a cabin a short distance from where he had slept. He had driven a stake into the ground before he left his camping place in 1812. This he found only a few feet from the cabin which Riggs and Simpson had built. He felt very much disappointed over losing the place upon which he had set his heart for a home and started to leave. Riggs followed him and they struck up a bargain, whereby Col. Jackson paid Riggs and Simpson $50 for their improvements and the two families moved about two miles northeast and took up another claim, which in after years became the farm of John Longacre, Jr. Col. Jackson broke up a part of the prairie sod and planted it to corn When that was done he went back to his ole home in Ross county, Ohio, to bring his family. They moved to this county in the fall, making the trip in a covered wagon, and over roads which nobody would care to travel today. Some of he roads were newly made, having been cut through the heavy timber and even the best of them were poor enough. Upon their arrival here they began at once to assist in the work of transforming the new country into a place which should be fit for the habitation of civilized people. They labored incessantly, not only for themselves but for the building up of he new community of which they had become a part. They had to endure for a number of years all of the trials and privations incident to pioneer life. However, they were foremost in every movement which had for its purpose the improvement of conditions. At first they lived in the cabin which Riggs and Simpson had vacated. In 1832 they built a substantial frame house, which is still in use. It was remodelled in 1851 and again several years ago, but in the main it is the same house which they built almost a century ago. As is told elsewhere Col. Jackson was the principal mover in securing a postoffice for the new colony on Elkhart prairie and served for a time as postmaster. He was chosen justice of the peace and became a member of the board of justices which then transacted the business which afterward devolved upon the board of county commissioners. While serving in that capacity he had to do with the selection and establishment of the county seat. When the legislature created the office of county commissioner he was elected as the first commissioner for the southern district of the county, and became a member of the first board of commissioners. He was serving on the board when the first court house was built, in 1833. Later he represented Elkhart county in the legislature. In all of these positions he served his constituents faithfully and his official record is on of which his descendants have abundant reason to feel proud. For more than 40 years after he had settled here Col. Jackson was one of the leading citizens of Elkhart county and doubtless had more to do with its upbuilding than any other one man of his day. During all those years he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, for whose welfare he had labored and for whom he had made sacrifices innumbererable. He lived until 1872 and until the county which he had helped to establish had grown to be one of the best in the entire state. The township in which he settled as a pioneer and where he labored so long bears his name as does the little city of the dead to which he was borne by loving hands more than a half century ago. His work was well done and the narrative of his labors and his achievements should be told to future generations. So long as the nation honors the pilgrim fathers and the heroic men who were its founders, so long should the people of Elkhart county honor the name of Col. John Jackson. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County Indiana, 1930) |
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Elkhart county began its organized existence in 1830. In the three or four
years from the time that its first permanent settler, Andrew Noffsinger, located
on the north bank of the St. Joseph river, within the present city limits of
Elkhart, people had been coming in, some from the eastern states and some from
the southern states until the territory now included in the bounds of the county
numbered several hundred inhabitants. The author of the history published by the
Chapmans’ in 1881 gives the population as 950. No documents of any kind have been
found to substantiate this statement and it seems incredible as there were only
two little settlements, one on Elkhart prairie and one at the site of the present
city of Elkhart. It may be correct, however, as new settlers came in quite rapidly
in the spring of 1829. There is nothing in the county’s public record to show what
was the method of procedure to bring about the erection of a county out of this
portion of the state. In his personal reminiscences Col. John Jackson says that
petitions were gotten up simultaneously for the formation of St. Joseph and Elkhart
counties and presented to the legislature of 1830. The legislature acted favorably
and passed an act entitled, “An Act for formation of the counties of St. Joseph
and Elkhart.” The act received the signature of the governor, James B. Ray,
January 29, 1830. That part of the act, beginning with section, which provides for
the erection of Elkhart county follows: “That form and after the first day of April next, all that tract of county which is included within the following boundary, shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Elkhart, to wit: Beginning at range three east, and thence running with the state line twenty-four miles east, thence south twenty-four miles, thence west twenty-four miles, thence north twenty- four miles to the place of beginning. “That the said new county of Elkhart, shall, form and after the first day of April next, enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdiction, which to separate and independent counties, do, and may properly belong and appertain. “That William G. Ewing and Hugh Hanna of the county of Allen, Samuel Fleming and John Bishop of the county of Wayne, and Joseph Bennett of the county of Delaware, are hereby appointed commissioners agreeable to the act, entitled ‘an act for the fixing the seats of justice in all counties hereafter to be laid off.’ The commissioners so named shall convene at the house of Chester Sage, in the said county of Elkhart on the fourth Monday in May next, and shell immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Allen county to notify the said commissioners, either in person or by written notification, of their appointment, on or before the first day of May next. “The circuit court of the said county of Elkhart, shall be holden at the home of Chester Sage, in said county of Elkhart; Provided however, That the circuit court shall have authority to remove the court from the house of Chester Sage, to any other place in said county, previous to the public buildings being completed, should the said court deem it expedient; after the completion of which, the court of the said county of Elkhart shall be holden at the court house at the county seat of said county of Elkhart. “It shall be the duty of the qualified voters of the said county of Elkhart, at the time of electing a clerk, record and associate judges, to elect three justices of the peace, who, when elected and qualified, shall have all the power and perform all the duties prescribed by law, as relates to boards of justices, in the several counties; and said board, shall have power to hold special sessions and to do and perform any duties required at any previous session. “That all the territory lying east of said county to the state line, be, and the same is hereby attached to the said county of Elkhart, for civil and criminal jurisdiction; and the citizens residing in the bounds so included, shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities, and be subject to all taxes, impositions, and assessments, of the citizens of the county of Elkhart.” Shortly after approving this act Gov. Ray appointed three justices of the peace who were authorized to organized the county, provide for holding an election, appoint election inspections, designate voting places and to transact any other business which might come before them. These justices were James Mather, Arminius C. Periwell and John Jackson. On the 28th of June, 1830, they met and organized Elkhart county, dividing it into two townships, Concord and Elkhart. Concord township included the present townships of Cleveland, Osolo, Concord and Baugo. All the rest of the county was included in Elkhart township. All of the land lying east of the county, which afterward became LaGrange and Steuben counties, was called Mongoquanong township, but it remained a part of this county only a short time. The first Monday in August was set for the election and one voting place was fixed for each of the two townships. The voting place in Concord township was at the home of Chester Sage, a log cabin located on the north wide of the St. Joseph river and about a quarter of a mile below the mouth of the Elkhart river. The voting place for Elkhart township was in the school house on the farm of Col. Jackson, across the road and a short distance west of the Jackson cemetery. Benjamin Galbreath was appointed election inspector for Concord township and Azel Sparklin inspector for Elkhart township. At the election John W. Violett was elected recorder, Thomas Thomas clerk, James Frier treasure, George Crawford surveyor, William Latta and Peter Diddy associate judges and the three justices appointed by the governor were elected justices. The justices appointed constables for the two townships. Howell Huntsman was named constable for Concord and James Beck for Elkhart township. The justices at that time acted in the same capacity as the county commissioners do now. The early records show that the sheriff received only $43 as salary the first year and the clerk still less, $30. The allowance for postage and stationery for the clerk’s office was $1.87. The first man to pay taxes was James Compton. His tax amounted to 37 ½ cents. The treasure’s first annual report that the receipts for the year were $198.82 ½ and the expenditures 187.47 ½, leaving a balance of $15.37 ¼. The first fine was paid by Matthew Boyd, who was fined two dollars for assault and battery. The next was James Compton, who was fined eight dollars for using profane language. John Compton was fined one dollar for running Joseph Dome with a pitchfork. Another source of revenue in those days was the license charged for selling foreign merchandise in the county. The records show that Dominique Rousseau was charged ten dollars for a license. The late Lou W. Vail had in his possession at the time of his death and for many years before, a receipt, showing that his father Jesse D. Vail, had paid seventy-five cents for the privilege of vending foreign merchandise in the town of Benton. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County Indiana, 1930) |
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As already stated in another chapter, the legislative act which created Elkhart
county, also provided for the selection of a county seat and named five
commissioners to make the selection These commissioners met according to
their instructions on the 24th of May 1830 at the home of Chester Sage on
the north side of the ST. Joseph river and about a quarter of a mile below
the mouth of the Elkhart river. After inspecting several sites they again
met on May 26 to make a report of their proceedings. As there was at that
time no organized county government and no county officers to receive
their report, they adjourned to meet again July 12. Before the last named
date three justices of the peace had been commissioned by Gov. Ray and
these justices acted at that time in a similar capacity as the board of
county commissioners does now. These justices were James Mather, Arminius C.
Penwell and John Jackson. The justices met for the first time June 28, 1830
at the home of Chester Sage and organized by electing James Mather chairman
of the board. They adjourned to meet July 13, at which time the commissioners
appointed to select a site for the county seat submitted their report. The controversy over the county seat which lasted for almost three-quarters of a century, had already stated at that time. The two groups of settlers which have been mentioned elsewhere, were both anxious to have the county seat. The prairie group desired that it should be located near the center of the county and the group at “the forks” of the two rivers wished it to be located there. At the special session of the board of justices July 13, the commissioners reported that they had inspected the several sites proposed for a county seat, but did not choose either of the sites which have been mentioned. Instead they selected a site approximately half-way between the two and described as a part of the southwest quarter of section 24 in Township 37 north of Range 5 east. The place selected is on the north side of the Elkhart river west of the Sugar Grove school house in Concord township. In an early day the land was purchased by Daniel Spohn, Sr., and was the boyhood home of Mayor Samuel F. Spohn of Goshen and Dr. G. W. Spohn of Elkhart. (later of California and now deceased), two of Elkhart county’s most prominent Citizens. Col. Jackson expressed the opinion, which was also held by a number of other old settlers who were familiar with the transaction of the commissioners, that they were influenced in their choice by William G. Ewing, one of their number. Ewing, who was a resident of Fort Wayne, was a standing candidate for the legislature and did not wish to offend either group of settlers. This county was at that time a part of the Fort Wayne legislative district. The location selected displeased everybody but one man, John Andrews, who shortly afterward erected a brewery in that vicinity. Both groups of settlers decided to petition for a re-location of the county seat and their petition was granted. About that time it was learned that a similar situation existed in St. Joseph county. The county seat of that county had been located about six miles down the St.; Joseph river from the present city of South Bend, which also led to a petition for a re-location. The prairie settlers in this county ascertained by some means or other that they could secure an advantage by uniting with those at South Bend. A petition was presented to the legislature asking that a strip three miles wide be cut off from Elkhart county and attached to St. Joseph county. The petition was granted. This brought the site of the prairie settlers very near the exact geographical center of Elkhart county and it also brought the South Bend site nearer the center of St. Joseph county. The prairie settlers had another advantage. The site which they wanted was on government land which, by virtue of a law passed by congress in 1824, was subject to preemption county seat purposed. The other site was on an Indian reservation which belonged to Pierre Moran. Moran had sold it to a man named Godfrey, but had not given a good title to it and the matter was then in litigation. After granting the petition for a re-location, the legislature of 1830-31 passed an act, approved February 10, 1831, entitled “An act for the re-location of the county seat of Elkhart county.” Another set of commissioners was named. These were to examine the site which had already been selected and also such other sites as might be considered eligible for a county seat and decide whether or not the public interest demanded a re-location. The commissioners appointed were L. G. Thompson and Anthony L. Davis of Allen county; Hiram Todd and Walter Wilson of Cass county and David Miller of St. Joseph county. They were instructed to meet at the mouth of the Elkhart river on the third Monday in March 1831 and to proceed immediately to the discharge of the duties. The records of the board of Justices show that but three of these commissioners met at that time. These were Anthony L. Davis, L. G. Thompson and David Miller As they constituted a quorum, they proceeded to view the several sites and make a selection. By this time the prairie settlement had grown in number and those people determined to make every effort to secure the location of their choice. It had been arranged that all who were interested should be on hand at the appointed time. Several of them had become acquainted with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Davis and were to use all the influence they could with those two. Mr. Miller, the third commissioner was a member of the Dunkard church as were Messrs. Weybright and Cripe who were to use their influence with him. In describing the transaction Col. Jackson says; “At length the time arrived. All were present according to arrangements. Old Father Cripe invited the commissioners to dinner. I also was invited. He brought out a little keg of wine that he had for his own use (being an old man) and treated us all. “George Crawford was our most prominent opponent. After viewing the sites proposed and also the site of the first location and after hearing some loud speeches from the different parties the commissioners agreed unanimously to relocate and establish the county seat at its present location.” The commissioners did not submit their official report to the board of justices until the 26th of May, 1831. At that time they reported that they had examined the several sites under consideration, including the one previously selected, and recommended that it be vacated and the county seat re-located. The site which they selected is described as the south fraction of the northeast quarter of Section 6 in Township 36 north, Range 6 east. The record shows further that the commissioners recommended Goshen as a suitable name to be given the town which would be built at the proposed seat of justice. The report was accepted and approved by the board and the name of Goshen was officially given to the site which had been selected. The meeting at which this report was made to the board of justices was held at the house of Thomas Thomas. While the county seat had been definitely located, the troubles were not all over. The land had to be entered at once, as the land sales were to be held soon and there was danger that somebody else might buy the new county seat site. Nobody in the community had any money and the situation was discouraging. Again fortune favored the prairie settlers. Samuel Hanna, who was a rival candidate of W. G. Ewing for the legislature, when passing from Fort Wayne to South Bend, stopped over night with Col. Jackson. The colonel told him of the situation and he voluntarily offered to loan the necessary sum of money until the town was laid out and enough lots sold to pay it back. Col. Jackson gave his personal note for the money. The next day he started for Fort Wayne on horseback and entered the land. Although the county seat was located in 1831 the first court house was not completed until 1833. The first session of the circuit court held in the county was at the residence of Chester Sage in accordance with a provision of the law which authorized the formation of the new county. That session convened November 30, 1830, and was held by the two newly elected associate justices, William Latta and Peter Diddy. But one session was held at the Chester Sage residence, the court availing itself of the authority granted it to remove to other places for holding its sessions. The second session was held at the residence of Thomas Thomas, the county clerk, about three miles east of the present city of Elkhart on Two-Mile plain. At this session the Honorable Charles H. Test, the president judge, presided and the two associated judges were also present. The third term was held at the residence of James Frier on Elkhart Prairie, at that time called Elkhart plain. This place has been known for three-quarters of a century as the McConaughy farm and is now owned and occupied by Leonard McConaughy, a grandson of Mr. Frier. Tradition has it that the session was held under the trees in front of the log house in which Mr. Frier lived at that time. The fourth term was held at the residence of Henry Dusenberry, located on the east side of Main street a short distance north of Washington street in Goshen. The court records do not state where the fifth term was held. The sixth term convened at the home of Henry Dusenberry. Why the sessions were not continued there is explained in the following item taken from the court records. “The court met at the home of Henry Dusenberry May 20, 1833. Present, Honorable Gustavus A. Everts, president judge; William Latta and Peter Diddy. Associate judges; Thomas Thomas, clerk, and James Beck, sheriff of said county. The sheriff informed the court that a new court house is now in readiness for the reception of the court and thereupon the said court adjourned from the house of Henry Dusenberry to meet and hold its session at said court house. And the said court, now, to wit: at the hour of 11 o’clock on the said 20th day of May, 1833 convened in said court house to hold its session. Present, the same judges and officers aforesaid.” |
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There is apparently no record of any contact for the building of the county’s first court house.
The public records, from the time the county seat was established in 1831, up to
the time when the court house was ready for occupancy have been searched diligently
and no such record has been found. The late P. M. Henkel, who served as county
auditor eight years, in a paper read before the Elkhart County Historical Society
in 1905, states that the contract was awarded to Jacob Studebaker, who modeled the
building after the court house at Dayton, Ohio. The late Dr. M. M. Latta, several
years before his death made the same statement, and he also stated that the Dayton
Court house was modeled after the main building of Princeton University as it was
nearly a century and a quarter ago. There is also a tradition that Mr. Studebaker
walked to Dayton and took exact measurements, inside and outside, of the court house
there in order to build the Elkhart county court house just like it. Whether this
tradition is correct or not can not be said. In the absence of any public record,
the words of Mr. Henkel and Dr. Latta, both of whom were reputed to be men of
absolute truthfulness, are the best authority that can be cited in the matter. It
might be added that Mr. Henkel was a resident of Goshen for fifty years and Dr. Latta
nearly sixty years, both locating there about 1840. About a year after the foregoing statements were written an article on “Early Days in Elkhart County”, written By Col. Jackson, was discovered in the old files of the Goshen Democrat. Along with much other information concerning the county’s early history is the following account of building the court house. “When it became necessary for the commissioners to build a court house, we were at a loss to know how to go about it. We knew of no architect that could draw a plan or no workmen that could build it if they had a plan, and making some inquiry among the people, at last we were referred to Jacob Studebaker as a good home carpenter. We applied to him for advice on the subject and we found he was a pretty good architect. We told him what we wished to build and then he drew up a plan which we considered as good as any we could get under the circumstances. We made an agreement with him to do the whole woodwork agreeable to the plan he suggested and depended on his honesty to do it right. We had determined to build with brick and engaged Henry Davis to make the brick, find lime and put them in the building. Then another difficulty arose. What shall we put in the foundation? As there was but one stone or brick mason in the county, Henry White, we consulted him about laying the foundation with “nigger heads”. He said he could do nothing with them; that if we undertook to build a brick wall on them, they would crash apart and the wall would fall down. We then determined to select the hard burned brick at the bottom of the kiln and put them in the bottom of the wall, the best thing we could do under the circumstances.” Col. Jackson does not mention Mr. Studebaker’s trip to Dayton or his modeling the building after the Dayton court house. That information was obtained from some of Mr. Studebaker’s descendants who were reputable citizens and there is no reason to question their statements. The building served its purpose well and was considered a model public building in its day. The writer was a small boy when it was torn down but has some recollection of its exterior appearance, but none concerning its interior. It was a square brick structure with a square cupola on top. There was a wing at the south and one at the north. The main part was not much larger than one of the additions which were built in 1904-05 to the present court house. That building stood for thirty-six years, from a833, when it was completed, until 1869, when it was torn down to make room for the one which we now have. Like its successor, when it was built the supposition was that it would be sufficient for the needs of the county for several generations, but in three decades the county had outgrown it. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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Of all the public buildings of Northern Indiana, the Elkhart county court-house is, perhaps, the
most beautiful. Twelve years ago (1869) the county business was transacted in
very humble offices; but the people sharing in the busy activities of the time,
resolved to substitute for the antiquate building one in every way worthy of
this progressive age. In this laudable enterprise they met with some opposition
from many tax-payers, who failed to see the existing necessity for such a building
as was suggested; but in this matter, as in all others, fogyism was subdued, and
subsequently an edifice was raised upon the public square of Goshen, which, in
itself, is a tell-tale monument of the extraordinary progress made by the people
of the county within a period of half a century. This beautiful building was opened
for public business in 1870. Messrs. Jacob Bechtel, J. E. Thompson and Nathaniel
Thompson were the Commissioners who inaugurated the work in 1868. The building
stands in the center of spacious grounds extending north and south from Clinton
to Market streets, and east and west from Main to Third streets. Shade trees lend
their aid in making the site more beautiful, and already there are 6,000 feet of
concrete walk leading from Main street to the eastern entrance of the building,
with a corresponding number to be laid down on the west side. The grounds are
enclosed with a net work of iron rail. There are eight gates leading form the
encircling streets to the main promenades, and one large gate to admit vehicles.
Outside this palisade is another wide gravel walk surrounded with a chain fence,
and he who would desire to entertain an idea of the utility of this first line of
defense, must positively come here on market or other days set apart for a meeting
of the people; for then these chains offer a comparatively secure hitching place
for the thousand horses and vehicles which are attached to them, the whole presenting
a rare scene of rural greatness. Architectural Design. The design of the new court-house was drawn by Barrows & Garnsey, architects, of Chicago, and adopted by the commissioner of Elkhart county June 11, 1868. The building as represented in its front elevation is most imposing in appearance, and strikes the observer as chaste in design, massive, and of great strength and delicacy of finish. It stands 52 feet in height from base to cornice, its broadside 82 feet in width, presented to Main or Fourth street, with a grand entrance, its roof supported by four Corinthian pillars. The tower, which rises from the south end, adds greatly to the appearance of the building, and is exceeding chaste in its proportions. The basement story, 12 feet in height, is designed for heating apparatus, storage for fuel and two offices. The entrance to the basement is in the tower, with east and west doors leading to the hall under the steps leading up to the grand entrances. The width of the building east and west is 72 feet, and the rear entrance on the west side is precisely similar to that on the east. The second or main story is 16 feet in height, with offices for the clerk and recorder, each 26 x 22 feet, on the south side of the hall; and offices for the auditor and treasurer, each 22 feet square, on the north side. Each office possesses fire-proof vaults of some extent, for the better protection of the valuable records. The third floor, 24 feet in height, is devoted to the court, jury and commissioner’s rooms, with the sheriff’s office. The court-room is a thing of beauty. It runs from east to west the entire width of the building and occupies its entire southern end. The material used in the construction is brick with stone trimming, slate roof, and cornice of galvanized iron. Now the foregoing brief notice would of course convey a fair idea of the extent of the edifice and the salient points in its architecture; but it deserves a more precise description. The east and west frontages are similar in style. Three great doors or gates resting between massive square columns are approached by a flight of steps, which are as solid as artifice and nature combined could render them. Springing from the Romaic columns are a series of Corinthian pillars with capitals of the order, all forming a facade on which rests the front of the well proportioned roof of the central section. The tower at the southern extremity is beautiful proportioned. Springing from a substructure, in keeping with the architectural style of the main building, it is carried upward in pure style, giving position to the great clock section, bell floor, lookout chamber, capital turret, and all surmounted with a monument, in iron, representing the water lily. From the very summit of this tower the indomitable lighting-rod man succeeded in carrying the electrical conductor down, down to mother earth; and though the wire interferes somewhat with its true outline, or architectural beauty, its supposed utility may be considered a set-off. Editor’s note. In 1916, Weaver had this to say about the tower: At the south end was a clock tower, which was twice the height of the main building and which became so oppressively imposing that in 1905, when the court house was lengthened at both ends and generally remodeled, that obtrusive feature was eliminated. A dome like and moderate tower, in proportion with the dimensions and in harmony with the general architectural lines of the body of the court house, was substituted, so that the present structure is really imposing and creditable to the judgment and taste of design and builders. About $100,000 was expended in the well-conceived and executed work of addition and reconstruction in 1905. (Weaver, History of Elkhart County, 1916) Beneath the tower proper and in its substructure are rooms devoted to the law library and judges’ chambers, county clerks’ private office and library, and, in the basement, an entrance to the office therein situate; so that this elegant appendage of the county building is a once useful and ornamental. The county offices are well arranged. A spacious hall occupies the entire center of the main floor. Entering from the east, the auditor’s and surveyor’s office occupy a position on your right, and the clerk’s office on your left; further on, the great iron stairway, leading to the second floor, is on your right hand, while at the western side the county treasurer’s office holds the north quarter section of this floor, and the recorder’s office the south. Ascending the stairs, the hall of justice is entered from the main lobby, the sheriff’s offices are on the left, and the Commissioners’ Court on the right. While conceding that these offices are well arranged, neatly kept, and remarkably well adapted for the transaction of county business, it must be confessed that the magnificent hall of justice casts them all into shade. This great room has been improved beyond the original plan; the furniture is immeasurably superior to anything that may be found in some of the greatest court-rooms of state; the decorative work is chaste and characteristic. In rear of the judges’ position is a representation of the “Elkhart Circuit Court Seal,” an elk, with the words just written encircling. The ceiling is a work of art. The representation of the four seasons is xceedingly good, and would lead the stranger to think that the bronzed, blue-eyed maid of the aborigines, the industrious girl of 1830, the fairer maid of 1860, and the elegant, accomplished and more slender beauty of 1870, formed subject for the painter. Guarding all these, as it were, are very good portraits of Washington, Stephen A. Douglas, Chief Justice Chase and Abraham Lincoln. In a word, nothing is neglected or forgotten that should be identified with such a work. (Chapman, History of Elkhart County, 1881) |
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The stranger arriving at the county seat of Elkhart, and visiting the court-house,
may see a building of a very pretentious character, just opposite, with an eastern aspect.
That stranger will never dream that such is the county jail! He may credit it to the
enterprise of some millionaire citizen; for it looks to be the home of such; but not until
some philanthropic soul comes forward to assure him that it is the county jail can he
believe the fact. The present building is as modern in appearance as architecture will
permit, and in point of time, claims 1879 as the date of its reconstruction. All that
red brick, stone facing, concrete walks and green parterres can do to render it exteriorly
beautiful, has been done, and so in its front elevation it may be considered complete.
Within are the apartments of the officials,—all neat and orderly, if not actually luxurious
in their furnishings; to the rear are the cells of the prison proper. Of these cells there
are 19, all regularly embedded in a massive masonry of iron, steel and stone. The window
bars are steel, the partitions steel, and there is so much steel in connection with all
its surroundings, one would be led to think that steel formed the food of the prisoners,
did not the genial countenances of the officials present themselves to dissipate such an
anti-humane thought. The floors of the prison are solid stone, 11 inches thick, the roof
of heavy tin, and cornices of galvanized iron. The institution is heated by steam, and at
present offers a very healthy, if not pleasant home, to two unfortunates, who fell before
the onslaught of justice. The rebuilding of the old jail is said to have cost the county
$22,000; so that were Ira Storr—the first prisoner incarcerated in it on May 23, 1845,
long years before its restoration—to return, his desire to re-enter it might lead to a
serious breach of the peace as well as to his taking up a temporary residence there. Such
a small trade in jail-birds is promising. (Chapman, History of Elkhart County, 1881) |
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“In the early forties,” according to P. M. Henkel, “there was no asylum for the care
of the poor and indigent persons. Such as were dependent upon public charity were
farmed out by the county commissioners for their support by the year to the lowest
responsible bidder. At this date (1845) but two persons in the county were provided
for. The first farm purchased by the county to be used as an asylum for the poor
was located in Jefferson Township and consisted of eighty acres. A superintendent
was appointed and all indigent persons transferred to his care.” This farm was 21/2
miles northwest of Goshen, and was known as the Adam Harman Farm. In 1847 Miss Dix, the eminent philanthropist and reformer of prison conditions, visited on her tour of inspection the institutions of Elkhart County, and her strictures relative to the county poor farm were specially severe. “The poor house,” to quote Miss Dix’s report as it appeared in a local paper of the year, “is situated several miles from Goshen, and has a farm of eighty acres, forty of which are cultivated. No dwelling is as yet constructed for the poor of sufficient capacity for their suitable accommodation. The situation of this establishment is remote and difficult to access.” Only three individuals were kept there at count expense at that time, so that it is hardly surprising that the home had not yet reached the dignity and efficiency of a public institution. Perhaps this criticism led to the action of the county board in 1853 by which a substantial building was planned for the accommodation of the county’s almoners. This house was erected on Elkhart Prairie, five miles southeast of Goshen, on the old Fort Wayne Road. The poor house was burned in February, 1871, but was replaced by another in the summer of that year. In 1882 the county commissioners traded with W. D. Platter for a marsh farm of 453 acres between Bristol and Elkhart on the St. Joseph River. This trade was rescinded by the new board of commissioners elected in 1882, and Platter refusing to surrender the old farm, a lawsuit followed. The case was in the courts two years, was tried in the Circuit Court at LaGrange before Judge Robert Lowry, of Fort Wayne, who decided in favor of the county. Platter took an appeal to the Supreme Court, where Judge Lowry’s decision was affirmed, so that the county continued in the possession of its farm on Elkhart Prairie several years longer. In 1885 the farm on the prairie was sold, and the site of the present Elkhart County Infirmary was bought of David Rupp, for the sum of $5,000. The farm is located at Dunlap, in Concord Township, half way between Goshen and Elkhart, and is reached by the interurban electric line. It contains 110 acres, of which eighty acres are tillable land. As to live stock, there are 18 head of cattle, 7 horses, 40 hogs and 200 head of poultry of all kinds. The asylum, as it was then known, which was erected in 1886, is a brick building, two stories and basement, and contains sixty-five rooms. The east side is for the women and the west for the men. An addition to the main structure, 31 by 60 feet, was made in 1905, which provides for a hospital, and rooms and cells for the several classes of insane patients. Since that year improvements in the buildings, farm and grounds have been continuous, so that Elkhart County Infirmary meets every requirement. As an institution it cares for forty males and twenty-three females. (Weaver, History of Elkhart County, 1916) |
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Goshen was the first town to receive a permanent name. As stated in
the chapter on locating the county seat, the legislature of 1831, appointed
five commissioners to examine eligible sites for the purpose of re-locating
the county seat which had been selected in 1830. Three of these commissioners
met as they were instructed to do, on the third Thursday in March, 1831, but
did not make their final report until May 26. On that date they reported to
the board of justices that they had selected a site and recommended that it
be named Goshen. The report was accepted by the board and the name was officially
confirmed. Just how and why this name was selected is told by Col. John Jackson
in the Goshen Democrat for December 20, 1865. Col. Jackson was a member of the
board of justices at that time. After describing the spirited contest over the
location of the county seat he concludes by saying: “The place had no name and the next question was, what should it be called? Major Violett proposed to call it Savannah (synonymous with prairie) which name suited me very well. David Miller, one of the commissioners, named Goshen, and the county justices, of whom I was one, concluded unanimously to call it by that name in honor of David Miller, who has been dead a number of years.” There is a tradition which is traced back to the time “when the memory of man runneth not to the contrary” that the name of Goshen was chosen by Oliver Crane, one of the first settlers on the site of the present city and the first agent for the sale of lots in the newly chosen county seat. The reason assigned for the choice is that he came from Goshen, Orange county, New York, and wanted the new town named in honor of that place. Among those who knew of this tradition was John W. Irwin. In a series of personal memoirs written by his own hand he says: “Among the principal men who were early settlers and that were here before 1832, the time of the coming of Alexander Irwin, was Oliver Crane, who had come from Orange county, New York, the county town of which county was named Goshen. It is understood that he was mainly influential in inducing those who had charged of laying out our county town, for the name given it. My father claimed to have been consulted about the name in 1831, and favored it not from the standpoint of Crane, to follow a town name to which he was attached from local consideration but from the fitness of the name as being a country rich and productive as that of Goshen in Egypt, occupied by the designation of Joseph, by his kins-people during their sojourn in that country.” It is possible that Oliver Crane was the first to propose the name as the time honored tradition has it and that he might have suggested it to the commissioners at their previous meeting. But it seems quite unlikely that he was present when the commissioners made their report to the board of justices and when the place was officially given its name. Had he been present and proposed the name at that time Col. Jackson would doubtless have mentioned him, as he mentions Maj. Violett, who proposed another name. In the absence of any other evidence, the signed statement of Col. Jackson, whose word never was questioned by anybody who knew him, ought to be accepted concerning the official act of giving the new town its name. Notwithstanding the tradition concerning Oliver Crane, the honor of naming the place doubtless belongs to David Miller, who, according to the same authority, had much to do with the selection of the site in preference to the other sites that were proposed. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The name Elkhart was first applied to the river and its origin goes
back a long way. The population tradition is that Elks were abundant
throughout this territory when it was occupied by the Indians, the finding
of elk horns being cited as proof. At the mouth of the Elkhart river is an
island shaped somewhat like a heart and the two are combined to make the
name. This tradition is derived from an old Indian chief and assuming it
to be correct, the name should be spelled Elkheart. At one time it was
spelled that way as will be observed when following the transformation
through which it has gone. We must go back to pre-historic times to find the real source of the name. The first occupants of this land of which we have any knowledge were the Miami Indians. How long those dusky sons of the forest roamed over this fair land we do not know but to them we must go for the origin of the name of Elkhart. The called it Mishiwa-Teki-Sipiwi, “Mishiwa” standing for elk, “Teki” for heart and “sipiwi” for river. The Miamis were followed by the Pottawattamies, who are said to have come here early in the eighteenth century. They took the Miami name and translated it into their own dialect making it Mishiwa-Odaik-Sebe, “Mishiwa” for elk, “Odaik” for heart and “Sebe” for river. The first white people to venture into this region were the French who adopted the Indian name but translated it into their own language, when it became Couer-de-Cerf, (Heart of a Stag). This name is found in an official report of a council held at old Fort St. Joseph (not far from Niles) between the white people and the Indians. This report was made by Major A. S. DePeyster to Captain Alexander McKee, and is dated, Detroit, June 11, 1782, a century and a half ago. The author of the report says in part, “Before this reaches you the Lake Indians will all have joined and I shall send a reinforcement of Pottawattamies from Couer-ed Cerf.” The Rev. Isaac McCoy, the Baptist Missionary, who traveled many times through northern Indiana, going from Fort Wayne to the Cary Mission, as early as 1822, accepted the name but made another translation, this time into English, and first wrote it Elksheart. At a treaty made a Carey Mission, September 29, 1828, the “s” is dropped and the name becomes Elkheart. This is the spelling which Rev. Mr. McCoy, uses in his book, “A History of Baptist Indian Missions.” In an account of one of his journeys to Carey Mission he says, “At Elkheart river we halted and made a pirogue or large canoe out of a single tree, intending to transport some of our loading down the river and the St. Joseph to our place.” When the legislature of 1830 passed the act creating the counties of Elkhart and St. Joseph, there is another elimination dropping the “e” from the second syllable. Thus the “Mishiwa-Teki- sipiwi” of the Miami Indian has become transformed in the course of several centuries into “Elkhart river.” When the first little hamlet was settled on the north side of the St. Joseph river near the mount of Christiana creek it was named Pulaski and bore that name for several years. When Dr. Havilah Beardsley laid out a town on his own land he named it after the river instead of adopting the name selected by the settlers on the other side. For a time the postoffice, which had been established before the coming of Dr. Beardsley, was called Pulaski, and the town Elkhart, but Elkhart finally superseded Pulaski altogether. So we see that had Dr. Beardsley accepted the name selected by the earlier settlers and had Maj. Violett’s suggestion been accepted by the board of justices when the county seat was located, Elkhart would have been Pulaski and Goshen would have been Savannah. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The next town to receive a name was Benton. The village was laid out in
1832, by Captain Henry Beane, the famous early day school teacher and
Matthew Boyd, who kept a tavern and operated a ferry there. Captain
Beane was an ardent admirer of Col. Thomas H. Benton, and gave the
name of the Missouri statesman to his town. When the redoubtable
captain taught school there the school and the teacher were fully as
far famed as the town. In an early day Benton was quite a thriving
village and gave promise of becoming an important business center,
but the building of the Air Line branch of the old Lake Shore railroad
and the founding of Millersburg, destroyed its future prospects and
it went backward instead of forward. Since the paving of the old Fort
Wayne road, it has become a desirable place of residence for quite a
number of people who like to live away from the noise and din of the
city and with easy access thereto. Located seven miles from Goshen
and about ten miles from Ligonier, and on one of the country’s great
highways, it has advantages which many towns and cities would covet.
(Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The smallest of the three cities is also the youngest. In fact it is
younger than any of the incorporated towns. Its existence dates back
only to 1874, so it is but little more than half as old as Goshen or
Elkhart. The original town site was laid out by Daniel Metzler, John
Culp and Henry Stahly, Sr., and occupied a part of the farm of each
one. It was surveyed by George T. Ager, the county surveyor at that
time. When the railroad station was established it was first called
Locke Station, but that proved to be confusing on account of the little
town of Locke, about four miles away. Most of the people who were then
living there had come from Ohio, and from time to time names of their
old home towns were suggested. These names were duplications of town
names on the B. & O. railroad, so none of them were accepted. The writer
was told years ago that George W. Eby, Who had come from Napane, Canada,
suggested that name, but it did not please the farmers of that community,
so the name Locke Station was applied to it for a year or more. When the
postoffice was established the name Nappanee was again suggested and was
officially confirmed by the postoffice department at Washington. The
railroad accepted it and gave up the name of Locke Station. The postoffice
spells the name with two p’s while the railroad spells it with one. IN
Canada the name is spelled Napane. That town is located near Montreal and
was named after a tribe of Indians. Last winter a son of Daniel Metzler, wrote a letter to the Nappanee Advance-News in which he claimed that it was his father who proposed the name Nappanee, and insisted upon it until it was chosen. He also claimed that the Ebys, Henry and George, who had a store at Locke, contended for the name Locke Station. However, it seems reasonable to infer that one of the Ebys must have mentioned the name Nappanee at some time, because it is scarcely probable that Mr. Metzler would have heard of it from any other source. It is a matter of regret that a permanent record of the naming of the town was not made at the time the name was chosen. Then there would have been no occasion for either doubt of controversy. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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Middlebury township was given its name before the town was laid out.
The first settlers in the township were Enoch Woodbridge and his family,
including his two sons-in-law, John C. Holmes and George Buffum. They
come from the vicinity of Middlebury, Vermont, and were related to Gov.
Woodbridge of that state. When the township was organized in 1834, it was
named in honor of the place from which they come. The town of Middlebury
was laid out in 1836, and was given the same name as the township. In the
obituary notice of Solomon L. Hixon, published in the Middlebury Independent
in 1893, the statement is made that he was the man who gave the name to the
town. While this can not be verified, neither does anybody now living know
of evidence to the contrary. Mr. Hixon settled near the town site in 1834
and at the time of his death was the township’s oldest resident. Mr.
Woodbridge moved farther west in 1835, the year after Mr. Hixon settled
there. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The exact date of the laying out of Bristol is not known, but it
was some time in the 30’s. That part which lies on the west side of the
Goshen and Bristol road was laid out by Dr. H. H. Fowler, one of the very
early settlers in Washington township. He named it Sydneyham, after the
town in England from which he had immigrated. In 1834, Samuel P. Judson,
a merchant who came from Buffalo, N. Y., located there and some time
afterwards he and Hiram Doolittle laid out that portion of the town on
the east side of the road. The two rival villages existed for a short
time and then were merged under the name Bristol and the name Sydneyham
was dropped. Benjamin F. Cathcart, who came from Wayne county with his
parents in 1833, when he was a boy, said that the name was given to the
town for Bristol in England, from which some of the early settlers came.
When the Cathcarts came they settled on a farm, a part of which is now
within the corporate limits of Bristol. There were then four log houses
on the site of the present town. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart
County, 1930) |
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The town was laid out in 1838, by Isaac Abshire and Enoch Wright, who
named it for New Paris, Ohio, both of them having come from the vicinity
of that town. A number of years ago The Milford Mail published the
following paragraph concerning the beginning of the town. “One cold night in January these two men sat in the log cabin owned by Abshire and by the light of a fat lamp (it was before the day of candles) and considered the advisability of laying out a town. On the morning March 1, following they began with their poles to make a survey of lots and six years later the town plat was recorded.” The official survey was made by James R. McCord, who at that time and for twenty years thereafter was the county surveyor. Although located only six miles from Goshen, it is one of the thriving small towns of the county. The farming community surrounding it supports the only co-operative creamery in the county. The town also supports a bank. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The town of Wakarusa was first called Salem. It was laid out in 1852.
In 1849, a postoffice had been established two miles farther north and
named Mt. Olive. After the town of Salem was laid out the postoffice
was moved to that place. Salem bank was located there in 1856, and
was moved to Goshen in 1865, and until a few years ago retained the
original name. Since the merger with the Elkhart County Trust Company,
the merged bank is known as the Salem Bank and Trust Company. The
removal of the postoffice to Salem caused confusion on account of the
county seat of Washington County having the same name. In 1850, the
Indian name of Wakarusa, was given to the town and there are few
people now living who remember it by the old name. There is a
tradition that when the site of the town was surveyed it was a pond
covered with ice and an Indian maiden was hired to carry the chain.
When about half way across she broke through and cried out “Wakarusa”,
which meant in the Indian tongue “hip deep.” This is said to be the
origin of the name. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The town of Millersburg, was built on land which was owned by Solomon Miller,
and the present name was given it in Mr. Miller’s honor. The town
was laid out in 1856 and a railroad station was established there
in 1857. The railroad gave it the name of Cook’s Station, after
Michael Cook, a prominent farmer and one of the county’s most
respected citizens who lived on a farm adjoining the town. This name
was retained until 1861, and the place became well known under the
name. It continued to be so designated until J. L. Davis, succeeded
James Elliot as postmaster on March 27, 1861. Since that date it has
been known as Millersburg. Why the change was made at that time has
not been ascertained. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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There are several smaller villages and hamlets in the county which deserve
brief mention. Vistula was known for many years as Middlebury Station
or The Station. It is located about five miles north of Middlebury
and previous to the building of what is generally known as the branch
railroad (also pumpkin vine railroad) the mail was brought from “the
station” to Middlebury via a Star Route. About fifty years ago the
village was first called Vistula, but the name Middlebury Station was
also used for fully ten years after that, the place being known by
both names. Today Middlebury Station as a name is almost forgotten.
The name Vistula is derived from the Vistula road which leads to what
was in an earlier day Vistula, Ohio, now Toledo. This information was
obtained from a citizen of Howe when the writer was a resident of
LaGrange county. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The little village of Lock in Locke township once promised of becoming
an important town, but with the establishment of Nappanee, which had
the advantage of being located non the railroad, it began to wane and
today there is but little left there. Many of its leading citizens and
business men moved to Nappanee a few years after that town was started.
Judge E. A. Dausman, whose boyhood days were spent in that community,
once told the author he had heard that both the village and the township
were named after the celebrated philosopher, John Locke. Some years
afterward the information was obtained from an old file of the Elkhart
Review, that it was named after Samuel Lockwood, an early settler in the
township. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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This is one of the old villages of the county, almost as old as Goshen.
It was so named because of the ford in the Elkhart river over which the
early settlers crossed. In the latter 30’s and during the 40’s it was
quite a manufacturing center and was a thriving town. Cephas Hawks, Sr.,
located there in 1835, purchasing a flour mill which had been erected a
year earlier by Elias Baker. At one time Mr. Hawks had, besides his flour
mill, a saw mill, a tannery, an ashery, a distillery, and a general store.
These mills all gradually disappeared, except the flour mill, which was
moved to Goshen after the canal was built. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History
of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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The name Dunlaps was given to the railroad station which for many years
was located in front of the farm which is now the county infirmary. The
late Eugene Davis, who was telegraph operator there for a number of years,
said it was given that name in honor of one of the officials of the Lake
Shore Railroad. For some years the village was called Middleport. Previous
to that it was called Cat Town, a name which was quite familiar when I was
a boy. In fact that was the first name I ever heard for the place. I do
not know why it was ever given that name unless there might have been one
or more superannuated spinsters in the village who kept cats. (Bartholomew,
Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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This village had almost creased to exist except in name but the building
of a consolidated school there partially revived it. (Bartholomew,
Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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Baintertown was once called Wyland town and Wyland’s mills, after
proprietor of the mills there. After the change of proprietorship the
name of the village was changed also. (Bartholomew, Pioneer History of
Elkhart County, 1930) |
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Foraker, which was begun when the Wabash railroad was built, was
named after Senator Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio, who was then at the
zenith of his popularity. It is a thriving little village, having a
store, a bank, a lumber yard, a garage and a church. (Bartholomew,
Pioneer History of Elkhart County, 1930) |
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