Thru the years, in any town, there are outstanding families. The small village of Zionsville was no exception. There were four families who could be called "Plutocrats of Zionsville" during the years of 1888 and on into the 1890's.
    Banker William Alford (he was called "Banker Bill") was a tall, thin man with sandy hair, piercing eyes, and a very stern face. His wife had an hour-glass figure and wore very stylish clothes and hats. Their two children were Harry and Blanche. The children were conservative in their actions and talked softly. They went away to school and mixed very little with the other young people. Their house was large with beautiful bay windows and a surrounding porch. Now this building is used for business. Bill drove a high stepping team of horses, hitched to a shiny black carriage. He probably did little for the community, but he and his family certainly gave the town class.
    James Rickey was a "Lumber Baron.". The white house where he and his family lived is still being lived in. James' wife was a stately lady and the society leader of the town. Madge, the oldest daughter, was a black eyed beauty. She was a genius in music and could play the piano by note or by ear. Her voice was beautiful and she gave piano lessons and had many pupils. Madge married and moved to Colorado where she was an organist for a large church. Paul was the only son. He worked for his father, then moved to Indianapolis. Jessie was younger, she was a sweet frail girl. Her activities were limited by a heart aliment and she died in her teens.
    Along the railroad tracks stacks of freshly sawed lumber were stacked up eight to twelve feet high, one stack after another. On the railroad tracks were waiting long strings of flat cars and box cars. Into these the lumber was loaded. Then a large steam engine was attached and off they went to distant cities for building all sorts of buildings. This lumber belonged to Mr. Rickey.
    There were several vacant lots in front of the piles of lumber. On one of these was located the old "gas well". This well was really a flowing well of artesian water. Over the hole where the water came up was a large cylinder of iron sunk deep into the ground. This cylinder was tree feet above ground and 12 inches in diameter (give or take a few inches A hollow iron pipe was welded into the front of the cylinder, it extended about two feet, long enough to keep the gushing water from splashing the persons who came to fill their utensils.
    Half the population would come in the cool of the evening, two to three times a week, to fill jugs, bottles or pans with the gas water. Many folks thought drinking the water was more beneficial to their health than doctors’ pills or portents. The smell alone would make one “high’ or almost faint. Children would play up and down on the lumber piles and tramps would come out of the empty box cars and watch and sometimes speak to them.
    In the 1880’s natural gas was discovered in Indiana, Wells were drilled in Anderson, Muncie, and many other cities and towns. The gas well’ was the result of drilling for gas in Zionsville, a flowing artesian well. In a short time, trenches and furrows were dug and pipes were soon laid and gas piped into town. Natural gas was used for cooking, hear, lighting and also to run machinery. The cost to use was very cheap and the supply seemed endless. When a leak was found in the pipe line, gas would burn for three or four days before the leak would be plugged. The gas used in Zionsville was piped from Noblesville. This clean and cheap service lasted not more than ten years.
    Ball Brothers had a small factory in Buffalo, New York. They came to Muncie to inspect the source of heat and were so impressed they bought a large amount of land surrounding the well and moved their plant there, The heat was ideal for making molded and pressed glass for “Ball Brothers Jars. “ Arcadia also had a glass factory, as did Greentown. The items of pressed glass made in Greentown today are collectors’ items.


    Benjamin Gregory was the third Plutocrat. He was called the “timber king. ‘ His office was downtown and many men were employed. Benny and Sue Gregory were well liked in the town. They lived in a large home, with fine woodwork, a large hall and two large parlors. The two large front windows had curved panes and a porch surrounding three sides was large and spacious. She was known for the wonderful parties she gave for the society girls of the town. She would hire help to serve exotic refreshments she prepared. Her silverware and china were just right. Mrs. Gregory was a social leader and the town people were proud of her. She lived many years after Benny died and became a remarkable old lady and her hair never turned gray. Every winter Sue and Benny, along with the Benjamin Booher’s would spend their winters in Florida, a very rare trip in those days.

    In the days before Indiana became a state, this part of the territory was noted for verdant and heavy forests of hardwood trees. “From a high hill the green leaves on the trees seem like a rolling sea, one author wrote. These trees were of oak, maple, walnut, hickory and tulip. Many grew from 150 to 190 feet tall. The pioneers who owned trees would sell for a small sum, as they wanted the land cleared for crops. Lumber brokers, like Benny Gregory, bought the valuable trees, sent men in to saw them down and take the timber to the mills to be made into lumber, At that time wood was used for making everything from houses, barns and all other out-door buildings, tools, household appliances, even to potato mashers and butter paddles and, of course, all furniture. Like the gas, there was much waste and wanton destruction. At one rime there was a sawmill located on the banks of Eagle Creek.

These two men were business men who lived in Zionsville, but were not business men of Zionsville. such as doctors, lawyers, and merchants. Benjamin Booher was a wealthy retired farmer. He always wore a long beard and a heavy watch chain across his vest, Ben was prominent in town affairs. At that time there was no trustee and the three member school board hired teachers and governed all the school business. For many years, Mr. Booher was a member of the school board and with Dr. Jim Hurst and John Hussy served on the board of governors for Zionsville Assembly (camp meeting). Benjamin and Mae Booher were faithful members of the methodist Church. They lived in a hugh house on the outskirts of Zionsville. Their two children were Benny and Myrtle. Both were very frail and had weak lungs and both died in their teens. Ben and Mae did all they could to make their children happy. Benny was a talented violin player. He had a pony and cart to drive, as did Myrtle.
    The Gregory and the Booher families were the only ones who went to Florida every winter. Myrtle would leave school and go with them. She was a friendly girl and never complained of her weakness. At her funeral, her mother asked eight of her girl friends to sing ‘Beautiful Isle of Somewhere’ and at the time of the high school graduation, Mrs. Booher sent each of the eight girls a silver and pearl necklace.
    Mae took embroidery lessons from the nuns at a convent in Florida. She formed a class of girls from the Methodist Church and taught them the embroidery work she learned. Each girl could embroider any number of articles, but each was required to make one piece for the church Christmas bazaar. Mae was a good teacher and taught beautiful stitches, heavy solid stitches with padding. french knots, shadow, rope. outline stitch and the edges were always buttonhole stitched, twice around. This work had little resemblance to the modern styles. Mae also taught china painting: whole sets of dishes were painted wit beautiful designs and compotes and goblets of china. Mae, like Sue, lived to be an old lady and her mind was keen and her memory remarkable.


    The Leibbart family lived in Zionsville but their woolen mills were several miles out in the country. The owner of the mills was supposed to have emigrated here from Switzerland. He was a small man, with black eyes and hair. Every morning the hired man would hitch up his horse to his buggy and he would drive out to the mills. The mills must have been a large concern, for he had several workmen. The wool was brought in fleeces, then carded and dyed and made into yarn then put on looms and woven into soft blankets.
The youngest Leibharr daughter was named Nina. She was a beautiful blonde and was a star in the early theatricals. She gave piano lessons on a black grand piano and the home was furnished in grand style. Nina married Dr. W. H. Green, a successful dentist from Lebanon. Her home was a large white house and she was known to be a lovely hostess. Her sister Inez was opposite Nina in that she had black eyes and hair like her father. She was killed in an accident. Another sister. Josie, was also dark, She married a man, “Moscow,” and lived in Europe. Once a year she came home for a visit, then finally came back home to live. Elmer was the youngest boy. And the other boy was named Raleigh but was called “Skid.” He lived alone in the family home. Later in life he became an invalid and had a nurse to care for him. When he died, he left a sum of money for the library. The Leibharts were related to the Cross family and inherited the large Cross home. Inez and Josie moved to this home. After Inez’s death, Josie built a small home.

    Zionsville was fortunate to have families interested in high morality, thrift and community concern. Two of the most outstanding were the Cropper and the Mills families. Edmond Cropper was born in 1822. He came from Kentucky to Indiana. He bought a farm on the edge of town; retired from farming and bought a large building. There he opened a dry goods store. Afrer one of his daughters married John Mills, the name became Cropper-Mills.
    Mr. and Mrs. Cropper were the parents of six children. Two daughters, Nettie and Alice, never married; and one son, Oliver, never married. All helped in the store. Anna was the youngest daughter and she married Biwood Conrad. Their children were Freda (Silvers) and Selby. Selby died as a child. Margaret married John Sparks. They were the parents of three children and the family moved to North Salem. All are now dead. Ella, who married John Mills, had seven children. Clark, Ruby, Keith and Charles all lived to adult life in the Zionsville area. Three died tragic deaths. Raymond and Nona died in the same year of typhoid fever and Myron was killed by a train when he was only seven. The accident happened behind the present drug store on Main Street.
    Mr. Cropper and John Mills enlarged their enterprise after John took a course in undertaking. Their corporation grew. The whole family worked, making a unique business. They made their own coffins and Alice trimmed all the coffins. A large barn was built to house the shiny black hearse and the four large horses; white for the dray to haul merchandise and black horses for the funerals. Charley Schenks took care of the horses, dray and hearse. Mr. Cropper soon retired and turned the business over to John who continued the Cropper image, which was honesty, thrift and community spirit. All his life John was known as a man of high integrity, honest in business and charitable towards his fellowmen. A member of the board of Zionsville Assembly many years, John helped many people in need. One time he cared for an actor and his wife who had come to the camp meeting. He was ill with tuberculosis. A theater in Indianapolis put on a benefit for him to play his famous role “Rip Van Winkle,” The rickets sold for one dollar, a large sum in those days. John purchased a large number and gave them to friends. He always made up the deficiency in salary for the Methodist ministers before they left for a new assignment He was a very modest man, and no one knows how much help he gave to people when they were down and out. He took care of his stepmother until her death. John was a good husband and father.
    Ella, his wife, was an intelligent lady. She raised her children to be modest and truthful. As a worker in the church, she was president of the Ladies Aid Society for many years. It was their custom on nice Sunday afternoons, for John and Ella to hitch up his carriage with the fringe on top and take their children for a drive in the park and country. They always had room for the neighbor children, too. Several times a year he took the family to the English Hotel for dinner. Then they would walk around the monument and some side streets to see the city before taking the train home. It was on such a trip that the new electric lights were pointed out to the children. Everyone seemed welcome in the Mills home, There were games to play and always a large bowl of crackers on the dining room table. A large swing was in the back yard. Children could play in the big barn and climb into the hayloft, but they were not allowed in the area where the hearse was kept. John and Ella would take trips away from Zionsville. Some would be for business, others for pleasure. Sam and Mary Bussel would stay with the children This couple was elderly and had no children of their own. They expected the Mills children to obey their strict rules and, as Ruby once said, ‘We were treated as if we were babies. The Mills children were all musical. Ruby was a fine piano player and played for church and many social gatherings. Clark, Keith and Charles all sang and with Harry Pock (Ruby's husband) formed the Mills quartet. This quartet sang for several years. A cousin, Bert Mills, sang with them. Clark married Bessie Murphy and they lived in Zionsville all their lives. He was in business with his father until the business was sold to Jess Phillippi. Later he worked in the bank and then was elected recorder of Boone County. Jis children were Milton, Edith, Mary Amy, Lois, and Louis. The youngest boy, Louis has stayed in Zionsville all his life and served as president of the Town Board. Charles, John's youngest son married Edna Powell and had one daughter, Janet. Keith, a graduate of Northwestern University, married Ruth Neidlinger. He and Ruth were both leaders in all community affairs. He was president of the Lions club and worked on many projects for the good of the town. He was active in the Methodist Church until his death.
    Keith and Glen Cruse owned and operated the "Home Store", like the old Copper-Mills store, it was known for its good business policies and charity. Keith's two children are Jack and Anne Louise Miller still living in Zionsville. Jack and his wife, Helen had one daughter, Sue Ann, Charles Louis, Donald F. and Sara Jane. These grandchildren and great grandchildren have inherited the strong sense of right and integrity from their ancestors. As years passed, old businesses went and new ones came into being. James Brendel and Mark Harvey were partners in the bank. Omer Stultz opened a lumber yard; Hussy and Hussy, a hardware store; Jefferson Knox, a drug store; and the Smith Brothers added a grocery store to the dry goods store. New doctors were Dr. Elmer Johns, Dr. S. F. Brendl.
(Dr. Onis Brendel’s father), and Dr. M. Deer, who moved away in a short time. Minnie Atcheson be-came the post office mistress and remained there for for many years. Names of some of the old families are as follows: Starky, Swaim, Avery. Combs, Cotton, Weighan. Heighew, Dobbinspeck, Marsh, Murphy. Mains, Culley, Northern, Shaw, Pitrer. Gregg, Bragg, Swingran, Wright. Gates, Alford, Calvin, Hobbs, Conrad, Peters, Stiliwell, and others, Some of these names are yet found in Zionsville.
    Zionsville had many men who were nor professional or business men, but who were workmen. Brick masons, plasterers, carpenters, well diggers, painters blacksmiths, harness makers, barbers, clerks and railroad crew members. Some owned their own businesses and were prosperous. Others worked by the week, day or hour. Others worked nor at all, but eked out a living some way. Food stamps and welfare were unheard of. All charity was given and taken without being made public. Many retired farmers who lived there either sold their farms or rented them to tenants. A small part of these spent much of their time talking about the high cost of living and the high taxes needed to build a high school, town hail, new sidewalks and other improvements.
Zionsville had a saloon (at one time two were doing business). The word alcoholism was unknown; if a man became intoxicated, it was from a weakness of will. His fellowmen were very tolerant. They sobered him up in the back room and took him for a walk before he went home.

These were “Edwardian" times in England and morality was very lax all over Europe. In the states the “Robber Barons” had proved they were above the law. The supremacy of the male was not questioned. “Der Kinder” (children) were supposed to be the whole life of a woman. Zionsville was no exception, If a man was a good father and husband he had certain privileges. He could gamble, go to “girlie” houses, bet on horses and drink moderately. But if he attended church on Sunday and put his money in the collection he felt no guilt. The way you conducted yourself was your own private affair. There might be rumors, but that was all. As long as the public only suspected everything was all right. Oscar Wilde, in England, found this out to his sorrow. Violence, as of today, was unknown. When Joe Pitzer, of Zionsville, shot a burglar, the whole town was shocked and this incident  became almost a legend over the years. How times had changed! Now everyone wants to hear and read about the private lives of everyone else.
    Zionsville, which has expanded from rural to urban to suburban with each new addition of schools and shopping centers and extensions of business, is on the way toward metropolitan. The "village" of Zionsville is far in the past and remains only in memory.

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