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Transcribed  2008 from History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana by B.F. Bowen & Co, 1914

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CHAPTER 1.

 

GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

 

That the reader may have a general idea of the surface and geological formation of the county, it will be well to take up such natural features by townships as follows:

 

PERRY TOWNSHIP.

 

Perry Township affords the best soil within the county. Clear creek, a clear, fine stream, having its source in the township, together with its many small branches, has heavy deposits of mingled silica and alluvium, fitted for the best production of cereals and grasses, especially for timothy and clover. No better soil is found for wheat, but corn, for the lack of certain elements, does not thrive so well, though parts of the township have deep, black soil such as is found in the great corn belt of Illinois. Springs abound in the township, some being sulphur.

 

BEAN BLOSSOM TOWNSHIP.

 

This portion of Monroe County is rough and stony. Outcroppings of fine stone were discovered by pioneers and as the county developed it was found that great wealth was their inheritance. No finer quality of limestone can be found in Indiana. This is of the Warsaw division of the Lower St. Louis group, and has taken the name of American marble, which is susceptible of high polish. See township history concerning this stone industry, as well as the chapter on Stone Industry.

 

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP.

 

This Section of the county possesses interesting features as it came from Mother Nature. Here one finds the bluffs, with soil of semi-sterility; then the lower lands, where the farmer reaps his best harvests; there are also timber tracts of great value. The lower land is a rich combined soil of sand, lime, clay and alluvium. An abundance of excellent lime rock is found near the surface, and has for years been a source of much revenue to the owners and workers of the vast quarries. Many years since the state geologist stated that "The Oolitic limestone of Monroe County, by reason of its accessibility and other valuable considerations, is of vast importance to the material prosperity and progress of the state of Indiana." This stone extends, with other grades of stone, from sixty-five to three hundred and seventy-five feet in depth from the surface.

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP.

 

Here the surface is less rolling than in other portions of the county. It is well watered and drained, however. Several small streams take their rise here, and hence we find numerous cooling springs throughout the domain, that make glad the heart of man and beast. Originally there were found large bodies of timber, including both species of walnut, hard and soft maple, oak, chestnut, elm, beech, sycamore, all kinds of poplar, cherry, gum, sassafras, dog-wood, spice-wood, etc., but long since this timber has been cut away—too much, in fact. In the northwestern part is a large natural cave; its depth, which has often been tested, is yet not fully known. It covers at least a mile in extent. Here many lovers of nature and geologists find pleasure in making wonderful explorations, and from its caverns have been taken many rare and valuable mineral collections. It is known as Puitt's Cave. Once a party of students became bewildered and finally lost in this cave, and had it not been for the teams they drove out there having been seen by a neighbor, who rescued them, no telling what might have been their fate.

 

INDIAN CREEK TOWNSHIP.

 

Here one finds one of the richest Sections for soil of producing qualities to be found in Monroe County. There is more loam in the soil than is usually found in any Indiana county. Indian creek and Clear creek water and drain this township. Chester sandstone appears at the surface, and consists of gray and light red colored laminated stone, irregularly imbedded. The iron deposit on Section 6 and parts of 7 is unusually rich and heavy, yet hardly rich enough to work, when there are better mines to draw from, The main stone of the township lies next underneath the sandstone and belongs to the Upper St. Louis group of limestone, there being a total of sixty-six feet. Both sand and limestone are found here in great quantities. The iron furnishes the springs of this Section of Monroe with plenty of excellent blood tonic.

 

CLEAR CREEK TOWNSHIP.

 

This, agriculturally speaking, is one, if not the best, for general use in Monroe County. It has an abundance of low lands and lies chiefly in the forks of Clear and Salt creeks. The soil is excellent for all kinds of crops grown in this latitude. The geological formation is revealed in quarries along the old New Albany railway right-of-way. At Harrodsburg the elevation is 510 feet above sea level, and at Smithville, 710 feet. Northwest of Bloomington, the highest elevation is 883 feet. Near Smithville the Keokuk group laps onto the knob stone strata. Wonderful geological specimens are taken from this Section of the county. A strip along the west side of this township is covered with the St. Louis limestone. Hence the township has three distinct strata of stone, all excellent and workable.

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.

 

Here one originally found excellent growth of timber, much of which, with passing years, has been utilized by the numerous mills. The surface rocks of the township belong to the knob stone and Keokuk groups. There ' are faint traces of the action of the glaciers.

 

BENTON TOWNSHIP.

 

This part of Monroe county is, generally speaking, rough and stony, with many steep hills and huge bluffs, and is cut by numerous ravines, where small streams of pure water find their 'cool beds. Clay is too common to make it a first-class producing township; even on the lower lands this holds true. Yet within the township may be seen a goodly number of fine producing farms, well kept and paying. It is better adapted to grazing. Good stone is found here, as nearly every place in the county—the home of superior stone for commercial and building purposes. Traces of more valuable minerals, such as copper, gold and iron, are also found, but not in paying quantities.

 

SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP.

 

Here there is much good soil, but it is scattered here and there in small tracts. The lower lands and slopes are best for farm purposes. Hillside land is usually found the best for .cultivation.' The higher lands are usually seeded down to profitable pasture grasses. Good springs of hard water abound everywhere, while in the western portion are seen fine sulphur springs, excellent for medicinal uses. An abundance of good stone can be had easily. Lime was manufactured in the seventies and eighties in great amounts in this township.

 

POLK TOWNSHIP.

 

Monroe County is generally very rough in its topography, and the soil none the best. Other portions are more fertile and rolling, containing numerous springs of excellent water, with a soil practically inexhaustible. Much of the land here, owing to its poor grade, was not entered from the government until the seventies. But with sturdy, scientific work the domain has come to be very valuable in these days of high- priced lands.

 

MARION TOWNSHIP.

 

Some of the finest, most valuable farms in the county are to be viewed here. It is generally a rolling upland, largely of a clay, while along the numerous streams there may be seen rich alluvial soil, mingled with sand. The best source of wealth in early years was the fine timber. Fine springs everywhere are the rule here. They are pure and almost ice cold. The formation is six feet of clay, seven feet of dark blue limestone, one foot of bluish gray clay, and five feet of light gray Keokuk limestone. Near Monroe's mills, on Hacker's creek, the bed and banks are thickly strewn with granite boulders. A mile east is found knob stone one hundred feet thick. On Honey creek black sandstone (magnetic iron ore), similar to the gold-bearing sand of Bear creek, Brown county, may be seen. Granite boulders strew the ground. Black sand containing gold deposits is found in Wolf creek, which rises in Brown County.

 

Chapter 2

INDIAN OCCUPANCY AND FIRST WHITE MEN.

 

It is not the province of this work to treat what is termed the Pre-historic race, who possibly inhabited this portion of the country long years before the territory was held by the North American Indian tribes, but in compiling the annals of any county, in any state in this Union, it is of interest to the reader to know something concerning the Indian occupancy of the county, or group of counties, to be written about, hence the following brief account of the tribes who once held as their own the lands within what is now Monroe county, Indiana.

 

The territory now comprising Monroe County was formerly the rightful property of the Miamis. The same is also true of all Indiana, for at the treaty of Greenville, Ohio, in 1795, Little Turtle, or Mish-e-ken-o-quah, the head chief of the Miamis, and one of the most brainy and famous Americans of any tribe that ever lived, stated to the government commissioners that the Miamis formerly owned all the territory within the following /bounds: From Detroit south to the Scioto river and down the same to the Ohio, then down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash, thence up the same to near Covington, thence north to Lake Michigan, thence east to Detroit. Soon after the war of the Revolution, the efforts to colonize the lands west of the Atlantic coast were so extensive and persistent that the natives inhabiting those regions were forced back into the wilderness upon the territory of their western brethren, and thus the broad domain of the Miamis was invaded by homeless natives of various tribes, who were given tracts of territory upon which to hunt and live. At what time the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, Pottawattomies, Piankeshaws, Weas, Kickapoos, etc., gained a footing upon the soil of Indiana cannot be stated for a .certainty, but there seems no doubt that Little Turtle stated the truth when he claimed all the lands of the above bounded territory as the former domain of his people, the Miamis. It is possible that some of the tribes named above occupied portions of Indiana before the Revolutionary war. The former home of the Delawares was on the Delaware River, and later in western Pennsylvania -and eastern Ohio, and still later in Indiana. The original home of the Wyandots was in Canada and later in Michigan and northern Ohio, and still later in southern Indiana. The Shawnees were of Southern origin, and also occupied a Section of country on the Wabash about Lafayette. The Pottawattomies seem to have owned territory in northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and to have gained from the Miamis at some early period by invasion or conquest much of the land north of the Wabash. The Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws and Paincashaws seem to have owned lands along the western boundary of the state. At the Fort Wayne treaty, September 30, 1809, the second article was made to read as follows: "The Miamis explicitly acknowledge the equal rights of the Delawares with themselves to the country watered by the White river. But it is also to be clearly understood that neither party shall have the right of disposing of the same without the consent of the others, and any improvements which shall he made on the said lands of the Delawares or their friends, the Mohicans, shall be theirs forever." As to the Territory of Monroe County, it seems to have been on the boundary line between the lands of the Delawares and that of the Piankeshaws, so that it was the home and hunting ground of the three tribes as well as the Miamis.

CESSION TREATIES.

 

The lands now composing Monroe County were not obtained from the Indians wholly at one time. The old Indian boundary which extends from near Gosport in a southeasterly direction, leaving the country on Section 26, Benton Township, divides two important Indian cessions. The territory of Monroe county south of that division was part of Harrison's Purchase, obtained from the Indians by the treaty of Fort Wayne, September 30, 1809, and all of Monroe county above that treaty line was part of the New Purchase, obtained from the Indians by the treaty at St. Mary's, Ohio, October 2 to 6. 1818. As Monroe county was organized before the last named treaty was effected, it will be seen that all the present county north of the Indian boundary was not at first a part of the county. The exact boundary of the county when first formed will be seen from the act creating the county, which act is quoted further on in this work.

 

FIRST APPEARANCE OF WHITE MEN.

 

The survey of lands in this county, south of the Indian boundary, was executed in the fall of 1812, with Arthur Henrie and William Harris as government surveyors. All that portion to the north of this Indian boundary was not surveyed until 1819 by Thomas Brown and J. Hedges. There was no land thrown open to the public until 1816, when many entries were made. None were entered before September, 1816, and all were within what is now styled the civil townships of Clear Creek, Indian Creek, Van Buren, Richland, Bloomington and Bean Blossom. Several tracts were entered by speculators, but, generally speaking, the land was taken up by actual settlers, or by those who at once sold to actual settlers.

 

 

CHAPTER III.

 

ORGANIZATION OF MONROE COUNTY.

 

January 14, 1818, was the date on which the act authorizing the organization of Monroe County was signed, hence from that day and date all legal matters within the county must conform to such period, for it was then that the first foundation stones of a civil organization were laid by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana. The act reads as follows:

 

"An Act for the Formation of Monroe County Out of the County of Orange:

 

"Section I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, that from and after the 10th day of April next, all that part of the county of Orange enclosed in the following bounds shall form and constitute a new county: Beginning on the line of Orange and Jackson counties where the line dividing townships 6 and 7 crosses the same; thence west with the last mentioned line to the line dividing ranges 2 and 3 west of the second principal meridian; thence north with said range line to the Indian boundary ; thence southeastwardly with the said boundary line of Orange and Jackson counties; thence south with the same to the beginning—to be known and designated by the name and style of Monroe. And the said county of Monroe shall enjoy all of the rights, privileges and 'jurisdictions which to separate counties do or may properly belong or appertain.

 

"Section 2. John Penicks and Jonathan Jones, of Orange county; Daniel Connor, of Daviess county; David Fouts, of Washington county, and Samuel Burcham, of Jackson county, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners for the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice in Monroe county, agreeably to an act of the Assembly, entitled 'An act fixing the seat of justice in all new counties hereafter laid off.' The commissioners above named shall convene at the house of Abner Blair, of the said new county, on the first Monday of April next, and then proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law.

 

"Section 3. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of the said new county to notify the above named commissioners, either in person or in writing, of their said appointment and of the time and place at which they are required by this act to meet, at least six days previous to the day appointed for their meeting, and the said sheriff shall be allowed a reasonable compensation for his services out of the first money in the treasury of the said county of Monroe to be paid as the county claims usually are.

 

"Section 4. The board of county commissioners of said new county shall, within twelve months after the permanent seat of justice shall have been established, proceed to erect the necessary public buildings thereon.

 

"Section 5. Until suitable accommodations can be had (in the opinion of the circuit court) at the seat of justice for said county, all the courts which by law become necessary to be held at the county seat shall be holden at the house of Abner Blair aforesaid, or at any other place in the same neighborhood to which the circuit court may, for the purpose of getting better accommodations, think proper to adjourn to, after which time the said courts shall be adjourned to the seat of justice established as aforesaid.

 

"Section 6. The agent to be appointed for the county of Monroe shall reserve in his hands ten per centum out of the net proceeds of the sales of lots, which may be made at the seat of justice of said county for the use of a county library, which sum, or sums, of money so reserved shall be paid by said agent or his successor in office over to such person or persons as may be authorized to receive the same, in such manner and with such installments as may be directed by law. This act to take effect from and after its publication in print." (Approved January 14, 1818.)

 

The first election for the newly created county was held under supervision of the sheriff who had been appointed, in the person of John W. Lee, commissioned by the governor of Indiana. This election took place in 1818, but no records were preserved permanently, hence details cannot be here made use of, interesting though such records might be. It is known that at this first election the following officials were elected: Bartlett Woodward, Michael Buskirk and James Parks, county commissioners; William Love, county clerk; he was also auditor; Chesley Bailey, recorder: Joseph Berry and Lewis Noel, associate judges.

 

The first "court house" was the residence of Abner Blair, but Bloomington was immediately laid out as the county seat and a log court house was soon erected. The county seat locating commissioners, appointed by the governor and Legislature, met and deliberated, and finally submitted the following report of their work to the first county board of commissioners:

 

"To the Honorable Board of Commissioners for the County of Monroe: We, the undersigned commissioners, appointed by the act of the last General Assembly, for fixing the permanent seat of justice in and for said county, having met agreeable to the above recited act, and after being duly sworn, proceeded to business as the law directs in such cases, to receive donations from persons offering lands to fix the county seat on, and after examining the same and taking into contemplation the future as well as the present weight of the population, together with additions and divisions that may take place hereafter, do agree that the southwest quarter of Section 33, in range 1 west, township 9 north, is the most eligible and convenient place for the permanent seat of justice for said county, and have accordingly purchased the same of D. Rogers, at one thousand two hundred dollars; also have purchased one hundred and fifty acres out of the northeast quarter of Section 32, of Robertson Graham, for nine hundred dollars, in the same range and township above mentioned, the said Robertson Graham reserving the balance of the above described quarter Section of land to himself in the northeast corner of said quarter Section of land, beginning at the northeast corner and running south twenty poles, thence west eighty poles, thence north twenty poles, containing ten acres.

 

"Given under our hands and seals this nth day of April, 1818.

"David Fours,

"Samuel Burcham,

"Jonathan Jones,

"John Perkins,

"Locating Commissioners."

 

FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS.

 

At the first session of the board of county commissioners the following townships were laid off as civil sub-divisions of Monroe County:

 

Bloomington Township.—beginning at the corner of Sections 18 and 19. where they intersect the line dividing ranges T and 2 west: thence north on said range line to the boundary line; thence southeast with said line to where the Jackson line intersects the same; thence south of the Jackson line to the middle of fractional township 8: thence through the middle of township 8 to the place of beginning.

 

Bean Blossom Township.—Beginning at the line dividing ranges 1 and 2 west, at the corners of Sections 13 and 14, where they intersect the same; thence north on said line to the boundary line; thence northwest on the boundary line to the northwest corner of Monroe county; thence south on the Daviess county line to the middle of township 8; thence through the middle of the township to place of beginning.

 

Indian Creek Township.—-Beginning at the corner of Bean Blossom and Bloomington townships, on the line dividing ranges I and 2 west; thence south on said line to the line of Lawrence county; thence west on said line to where it intersects the county line of Daviess; thence north on said line to the corner of Bean Blossom township; thence on the line of the last mentioned township to the place of beginning.

 

Clear Creek Township.—Beginning at the corners of the townships interlocked on the line dividing ranges 1 and 2 west; thence south on said line to the county line of Lawrence; thence north on said line to the place of beginning.

 

Granville Ward was appointed inspector of elections in Bloomington Township; John Cutler, in Bean Blossom township; James Trotter, in Indian Creek township, and John Storm, in Clear Creek township. Elections were held in the townships just enumerated on May 9 for two justices of the peace in each, the elections ordered to be held at the following places: In Bloomington township, at the house of David Rogers; in Bean Blossom township, at the house of Coleman Peets; in Indian Creek township, at the house of John Berry; in Clear Creek township, at the house of Thomas Graham. The above were Monroe County’s original townships.

 

Lamb Township was organized in May, 1821, in the New Purchase. Its bounds were fixed thus: Beginning at the old Indian boundary line, where the line of township 10 intersects the same; thence east on the line of township 10 until it intersects the meridian line; thence north with said line to the southeast corner of township 13; thence west on the line between townships 12 and 13 until it intersects the said boundary line; thence to the beginning. Subsequently, this township composed the southwestern portion of Morgan County, and derived its name from old Mr. Lamb, who settled in Lamb's Bottoms, that county, in 1819, before it was a county. At the same date Walnut Creek Township was created or erected, as the record has it. Its bounds were fixed thus: Beginning at the northeast corner of Lamb township on the meridian line; thence north on said line to the northwest corner of township 15 north; thence west on the line dividing townships 15 and 16 until it intersects the boundary line; thence southeast on said boundary line until it intersects the line of Lamb township. This township composed the northwest portion of Morgan County.

At the same session of the commissioners' board, Raccoon Township was created and was given the following bounds: All of Wabash County north of Walnut Creek Township. The Legislature had attached all this territory to Monroe County. Reuben Fullen was appointed inspector for Lamb township and Samuel Rogers the same for Walnut Creek township.

 

March 1, 1825, it was ordered that "a township be laid off in the northeast corner of the county, to be known by the name of Jackson, and designated by the following bounds, to-wit: Beginning at the northeast corner of said county, thence west eight miles to the meridian line; thence south to the line dividing townships 8 and 9, thence east eight miles to the county line; thence north on said line to the beginning."

 

The election was held the last Saturday in April, 1825, at the house of Banner Brummett. Then a strip on the west side of Brown county, three miles in width was a part of Monroe County.

 

In May, 1825, Salt Creek Township was created. It began at the southeast corner of Monroe county; thence west to where the meridian line intersects the same; thence north on the meridian line to where the corner of townships 8 and 9 intersects the same; thence east on the line dividing said townships 8 and 9 to where the same intersects the county line; thence south on said line to place of beginning. Elections were held at the house of Boston Bails. John Pollard and Ezekiel Hendricks were appointed fence viewers, and George Todd and Solomon Butcher, overseers of the poor.

 

ANOTHER CHANGE IN TERRITORY.

 

In July, 1828, it was ordered that all the territory attached to Monroe county (on the east), by an act of the Legislature of 1827-28, should be attached to the townships of Salt Creek and Jackson, as follows: Beginning at a point on the line dividing townships 7 and 8, range 3 east, where the line dividing Sections 31 and 32 intersect the same; thence north to the line dividing townships 8 and 9; thence west to the former county line on Monroe county; thence south to the line dividing townships 7 and 8; thence east to the place of beginning—such territory to form a part of Salt Creek township. Also, beginning at the northeast corner of Salt Creek Township, as above enlarged; thence north to the line dividing Johnson and Bartholomew counties; thence west to the northeast corner of Monroe County; thence south to the northern boundary of Salt Creek Township, thence east to place of beginning. Such territory was to form a part of Jackson Township. The territory thus attached to Salt Creek and Jackson townships now constitutes much of the western half of the present county of Brown.

 

Two new townships were erected in Monroe County in July, 1829, as follows:

 

Washington Township.—Beginning at a point on the meridian line between townships 10 and n north; thence west with said line dividing townships 10 and ii aforesaid to the line dividing ranges 1 and 2 aforesaid to Bean Blossom creek; thence in an eastern direction with said creek to the meridian line; thence north with said line to place of beginning.

 

Richland township (the other newly made).—Beginning at a point where the line dividing ranges 1 and 2 west intersects the line dividing townships 9 and 10 north; thence west with said line last mentioned to the Owen county line; thence south with said last-mentioned line to a point where the line dividing Sections 18 and 19, in township 8 north, range 2 west, intersects the same; thence with said line last mentioned to the range line between ranges 1 and 2 west; thence with said range line to place of beginning.

 

At the January, 1830, meeting of the commissioners' board, it was ordered "That all territory attached by legislative enactment to the county of Monroe subsequent to the original formation of townships therein be and is hereby attached to and included and shall compose parts of said townships in the following manner: By extending the boundary lines of the townships which run in a direction perpendicular to the county boundary entirely thereto, and thereby attaching to the respective townships all such territory as lies adjoining thereto."

 

By petition of seventy-five citizens, the townships of Perry was formed in May, 1830. Its boundaries were fixed as: Beginning at the line dividing Sections 12 and 13, township 8 north, range 1 west; thence west along said line to the west line of said township 8 north, range 1 west; thence south to the line dividing Sections 6 and 7, township 7, range 1 west: thence east on said line of said township to place of beginning. An election was held at the old Clearwater place at the home of Benjamin Kenton.

 

In May, 1833, on petition of Jacob Romans and others, Jackson township was divided and Benton township was organized from a part thereof as follows: Jackson to be divided into two portions by the line dividing ranges 1 and 2 east, the eastern portion to retain the name of Jackson and the western portion to be known as Benton township, in honor of Thomas H. Benton, United States senator from Missouri.

 

Van Buren Township was formed in March, 1837, and was to comprise all and no more than congressional township 8 north, range 2 west.

 

Salt Creek Township was divided in September, 1849, and Polk township created as follows: Commencing in the bed of Salt creek on the line dividing township 7, range 1 west and range 1 east; thence due south on said township line to the county line; thence due east to the southeast corner of the county; thence north on the county line to Muddy Fork or Salt creek, or where the same crosses the county line; thence down said stream to the main Salt creek; thence down said stream to place of beginning. An election was ordered held at the house of John Todd, at Big Springs, with Peter Norman as inspector.

 

MORE TERRITORY ATTACHED TO MONROE COUNTY.

 

By legislative act, dated December 31, 1821, all of Monroe County lying west of White river was attached to Owen. The second Section of this act reads as follows: "All that part of Monroe County lying west of the White river be and the same is hereby attached to Owen County, and that all suits, pleas, plaints, actions and prosecutions whatsoever shall be conducted in the same manner as if no change had taken place." Section 3 of this act reads as follows: "So much of the New Purchase as is contained in the following boundary, to-wit: Beginning on White river where the line dividing the townships 10 and n north crosses the same; thence east with said line to the corners of Sections 4 and 5, township 10 north, range 2 east; thence south to the Monroe county line, shall form and constitute a part of Monroe county." It will be observed that this Section attached to the county all of the present county north of the old Indian boundary, together with a strip three miles wide now a part of Brown County. By an act of the Legislature approved January 16, 1828, the following territory was attached to Monroe county: Beginning at a point on the line dividing townships 7 and 8, where the line dividing Sections 31 and 32 intersect the same; thence north with the last mentioned line to the line dividing the counties of Johnson and Bartholomew; thence west with said line to the northeast corner of Monroe county; thence south to the line dividing townships 7 and 8; thence east with the last mentioned line to the place of beginning."

 

CHAPTER IV.

 

EARLY SETTLEMENT-—GENERAL HISTORY.

 

The statement of old Colonel Ketchum, who settled in the northwest corner of Clear Creek Township in 1817, shows that he believed the first white settler within Monroe County to have been David McHolland. Mr. Mc- Holland's wife, who was still living, at a very advanced age, in the eighties, says her husband came to the county when Indiana was yet a territory, in 1815. Mr. Ketchum, just mentioned, came two years later and was well acquainted with the first settler, as it appears from many incidents. Of course prior to the settlement of David McHolland, there had been transient hunters and trappers, but, so far as is known, no white family had ever before invaded this county for the purpose of making permanent settlement. He was also a famous hunter and it is said supported his little family chiefly with his trusty rifle. He killed many bears at different points within what is now Monroe County, often under great difficulty and personal danger. His wife was frequently heard to boast of baking the first corn pone in Monroe county and doubtless she was correct. Clear Creek Township upon which they squatted, and after a few years went to the northwestern part of the county, where they continued to reside many years.

 

Settler number two has slipped from the records and from the memory of anyone now living here. Bartlett Woodward came to Clear Creek Township in 1816 and entered a large amount of government land. He built a log house for himself and family. He reported several families as being in Clear Creek Township when he came. Pioneer Woodward was a prominent citizen and was elected one of the county commissioners in 1818.

 

Colonel Ketchum built a grist mill on Clear creek as early as 1818, which was for many years famous in all the surrounding scope of country. Other mills were Greene's and Chambers' and Shirley's, each being waterpower mills. The Taylors sent the first flat-boat loaded with pork and grain down the stream of either Clear or Salt creeks from Monroe county.

 

By the time of the first land sales in the county, there had come to what is now Bloomington township more than a dozen families. During the first four years after the land sale in 1816, the persons who entered land were inclusive of these: David Rogers, Section 33, in 1816; Joseph Taylor, Section 33, 1816; George Ritchey, Section 33, 1816; George Hendrick, Section 33, 1816: John Ketchum, Section 6, 1816; Henry Wampler, Section 6, 1816; Adam Bower, Section 6, 1816; Thomas Smith, Section 7, 1816; William Julian, Section 7, 1816; William J. Adair, Section 7, 1816; John Griffith, Section 15, 1817; James Matlock, Section 18, 1817; James Wood, Section 19, 1817; John Buskirk, Section 25, 1817; William Goodwin, Section 13, 1818; Thomas Barker, Section 19, 1818; Abraham Buskirk, Section 24, 1818; Stephen P. Sealls, Section 26, 1818; George Whisenand, Section 6, 1820; Thomas Hardy, Section 24. 1821. These and a few more were the only ones who entered lands in Bloomington Township before 1822.

 

In Bean Blossom Township the first settler is not now fully known, but certain it is that John Fullen and Nathaniel Gilbert located in 1816. Other carry settlers of the county are given as from this township, in the township history in this volume.

 

In Richland Township, many land entries were made in 1816, and it is usually believed that the first family to locate permanently was that of William Edmunson, near Ellettsville, where he built a small log cabin. It is not believed that he was a land owner at that date—simply a squatter. Later he bought his claim from George Cutler on Section 9.

 

In 1815 there were a few white settlers in what is now Van Buren township, but just who is entitled to first place among the pioneer band is now unknown. The chief settlement and land entries here were made in 1816.

 

In Indian Creek Township the first settlers were the Lambs and Walkers. The first settlers were scattered here and there throughout the entire township, living in rude log huts, many miles apart, though all did their part toward developing the country.

 

In Clear Creek township, the first settler was also the first in the county, as before stated—David McHolland who came in 1815.

 

Washington Township the first to enter land and effect his settlement was James Bennington, who entered at the land office at Vincennes, September 12, 1817, the southwest quarter of Section 30, township 10 north, range 1 west. The next settler was John Patterson in 1823, on Section 3-1.

 

In Benton Township the first land entry was made by Elisha Pollard, on Section 34, September 27, 1822.

 

In Salt Creek Township, Moses Williams purchased the first land on September 9, 1817 in Section 7.

 

Polk Township the first to enter land was Elijah Elliott, who bought ninety odd (fractional) acres in congressional township 7 north, range 1 east, on Section 4.

 

In Marion Township, the first to enter land was Osborn & Brown, merchants, who claimed land on Section 6, but not with the view of becoming actual settlers. This was in 1823. This township was among the last to be settled.

 

The various township histories, found elsewhere in this work, will give more in detail of the settlement of the county; hence need not here be mentioned further. This county has been settled almost one hundred years, and has made a wonderful history and its development will rank high among the sister sub-divisions of the great state of Indiana.

 

CHAPTER V.

 

COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

 

After the organization of Monroe county, the locating of the county seat at Bloomington, by the locating commissioners appointed by the governor of Indiana, and the holding of the original general election, at which officers, including the first board of county commissioners, were chosen, the real machinery of the county .government commenced to do active service. The first meeting of the first board was held at the house of Abner Blair on April 10, 1818. The board consisted of Bartlett Woodward, Michael Buskirk and James Parks. The time which each was to serve was determined by the number of votes each had received when elected—a very fair manner of disposing of such choice, instead of drawing lots, as is the usual modern-day process for choice of long and short terms. Mr. Woodward received the highest number of votes and hence served three years; Mr. Buskirk had the next highest number and served two years; Mr. Peck, having the lowest number of votes, received the shortest term, or one year as member of the county board.

 

The first official act of the newly elected board was the appointment of William Lowe as county clerk, pro tempore, and the second was the appointment of Capt. James Bigger as lister or assessor of the county for the year 1818, his bond being fixed at one thousand five hundred dollars. Roderick Rawlings was then appointed by the commissioners as county treasurer, and he was required to put up bonds in the sum of twenty thousand dollars.

 

The second day of the board's meeting, they adopted a county seal, which was only intended to be temporary, and was simply a scrawl enclosing the words "Temporary Seal of Monroe County."

 

William Milliken was appointed superintendent of the sixteenth section (school section) in township 10 north, range 2 west; George Parks the same in township 8 north, range 2 west; John Storm, the same in township 7 north, range I west; William Matlock, the same in township 9 north, range 1 west.

 

Benjamin Parks was appointed county agent, with bond fixed at twenty thousand dollars. By order of the board, the county seat was to be styled and known as "Bloomington." The locating commissioners, who had served by appointment of the governor, were allowed the sum of thirty-three dollars to David Fouts; thirty dollars to John Pernicks; thirty dollars to Jonathan Jones; thirty dollars to Samuel Burcham.

 

The first road petition in the county was headed by William Hardin, and the highway sought was to extend from Bloomington to Scott's Ferry on Salt creek, and thence on to the Lawrence county line. The viewers appointed were William Jackson, John Scott and William Craig. This wagon road was ordered constructed and was the first wholly built by Monroe County.

 

The town of Bloomington was then ordered to be surveyed and laid off into lots, the whole matter being left in the hands of the county agent.

 

On the third day of the first session of the board of county commissioners, a log house was ordered constructed known as a "double-log house," which was to be used as a court house, and it was specified that it was only for temporary use.

 

The board also, on the third day of its first session, selected the first grand jury of Monroe County, which was composed of the following gentlemen: Dudley Carl, William Chambers, David Chambers, John Scott, John Mercer, Thomas Grimes, John Berry, William Newcomb, Jesse Tarkington, Solomon Green, Jonathan Nichols, George Sharp. William Millikan, George Parks, Sr., Coleman Puitt, Eli Lee, William Hadin and Henry Wampler.

 

The sheriff in attendance, John W. Lee, was ordered to notify these grand jurymen to meet for action at the house of Abner Blair. The traverse jury was then selected as follows: William Matlock, George Burdrick, John Thompson, Samuel Scott, Thomas Clark. Jonathan Rains, John Storm, Jr., John Couch, John Matlock, John Cutler, Joseph Peeshaw, David Sears, Elijah Morgan, James Wright and James Matlock.

 

Jonathan Rogers, Robert Russell and Samuel Scott were appointed first road supervisors. John W. Lee, sheriff, was paid eighteen dollars for notifying the locating commissioners of their appointment, and was also allowed seven dollars for making returns of the first election held in the county.

 

LATER PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD.

 

A full report of the sale of town lots in the newly located seat of justice will be found in the chapter on the township and city of Bloomington. In passing it may be said, however, that the money received from the lot sales was the chief source of revenue to the county for a number of years. From the start the county board were compelled to issue warrants or orders at a discount, which were later ordered, received for county dues. Wild-cat bank issues were the only paper money then, and almost every report of the treasurer of the county exhibits an entry of certain depreciation on the bank bills in possession of the county. A holder of a "bank note" those days was not sure in the morning that it was worth anywhere near as much as the night before. The contrast with today is indeed marked—now every bill, and every coin, whether copper, silver or gold, is worth what it carries in denomination upon its face.

 

EARLY TAX LEVIES.

 

When the county was first organized the rate of taxes en various articles was as follows: On each horse, thirty-seven and a half cents; on each hundred acres of first class land, fifty cents; on each hundred acres of second class land, forty cents; on each hundred acres of third class land, twenty-five cents; and many other items in like proportion.

 

The license fixed on tavern keepers in February, 1819, was seven dollars and fifty cents in Bloomington and five dollars in the country. The board also fixed the charges of tavern keepers (a thing that now might be considered "unconstitutional" by landlords) which run thus: For breakfast, twenty-five cents; for dinner, twenty-five cents; for supper, eighteen and three-fourths cents; lodging, six and one-fourth cents; corn or oats, per gallon, twelve and a half cents; horse at fodder or hay, twenty-five cents; one half pint of whisky, twelve and a half cents; same quantity of brandy, eighteen and three-fourths cents; one half pint of French brandy, thirty-seven and one- half cents; same amount of wine, same price.

 

In the summer of 1820 County Agent Benjamin Parks reported the total sales and rents of town lots and other donated lands amounted to the sum of $27,874.58. He had paid over, $9,383.73; discounts on bad currency, $98.80; balance on hand, $32.51. A fine financial showing for early- day Bloomington, indeed.

 

Addison Smith succeeded Benjamin Parks as county agent, in August, 1820, and later in that year James Boreland succeeded Roderick Rawlins as county treasurer. The census enumerator in 1820 was Addison Smith.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS COURT HOUSES, ETC.

 

As has been shown, the first business of the county was transacted at the private residence of Abner Blair, where the first courts assembled, but the order of the commissioners was carried out, in the erection of the double- log court house—two cabins, one being twenty by twenty feet and the other twelve by twenty feet in size. These structures were ten feet apart, with a covered "entry" connecting the two buildings—really the two houses and entry-way were all under one roof. The houses were to be built of round logs and later to be hewed down flat. Each was to be ten feet high to the eaves, each to contain one door and one window. The contractor was Samuel Elliott, and the price paid was about four hundred dollars.

 

Mr. Elliott also contracted to clear away the trees and bushes from around the pioneer court house. The work was pushed along so rapidly that the building was occupied in August, 1818.

 

 

THE SECOND COURT HOUSE.

 

Monroe County’s second court house was planned for in February, 1819. The specifications as prepared by William Low stated that the structure was to be of brick with a stone foundation. It was to be two stories high and forty-five feet long, east and west, and forty feet wide, north and south. It was in May, 1819, when Robert Stafford took the contract, but failing to put up security—the bond being fixed at twenty thousand dollars—the contract was re-awarded to John Ketchum, for seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-five dollars. Work was commenced in June, and in August the first installment of one thousand dollars was paid the contractor. At this date posts and railings were placed around the old court house. Samuel Harry- man was one of the brick-layers on the court house. In February, 1820, County Treasurer Rawlins donated certain commissions due him on receipts for lot sales, provided such donation should go toward the purchase of a clock for the new court house. His offer was thankfully received and accepted by the county commissioners and taxpayers of the county. It was not until 1824 that all the trees had been cleared from the public square, and such work was finally completed by David Teague, who received for such work the sum of twenty-four dollars. In February, 1820, the plans for the court house were somewhat changed, but the main work went forward. In August, 1821, Mr. Ketchum was paid four thousand dollars on his contract, the rough work having all been completed at that date. David Armstrong was contracted with to build what the county clerk wrote in record as a "cupola" to the building. For three years prior to December, 1822, the clerk's office was maintained at the house of Jacob B. Lowe, and he was paid sixty dollars as rental money. Early in 1823 the court house was nearly completed and ready for occupancy. But as it was not fully finished it was not occupied for a long time afterwards, notwithstanding the county had paid the contractor for all the work. In 1824 Edward Borland was paid three hundred fifty-two dollars and twenty cents for additional work on this building, and David Armstrong the sum of one thousand five hundred five dollars and twenty cents; Benjamin Neeld, twenty-four dollars and other parties eighty-one dollars. Mr. Ketchum was never paid quite his full contract price, but nearly that amount. The court house was not completed, inside and out before 1826, and its cost was eight thousand three hundred dollars.

 

Lightning rods were then termed "Franklin rods.'' in honor of Benjamin Franklin, inventor of the lightning rod. The county board had great faith in such electric conductors and purchased rods for the new court house, and by this act they had an endless amount of trouble. Austin Seward was engaged to paint the building a fire red and to pencil it off in white, and such work was all to be finished before September, 1826. In 1825 Samuel Dunning engaged to build a county clerk's office and county library room, which work was performed before November that year. At that date the public square was neatly fenced. Z. Williams executed the wood work on the clerk's office, while Ewing & Montgomery did the plastering. The finished building was occupied in May, 1826, and occupied for the first time that same month. Z. Williams was handed the keys to the court house and instructed by the board to keep it locked, permitting it to be occupied only by the courts, county commissioners, taking of depositions. Fourth of July celebrations, elections, "when any person shall want admittance for the purpose of acquiring agricultural knowledge, and in the discretion of the keeper to any preacher of the gospel.''

 

This court house was a fine structure for that early day and was the pride of Bloomington and this portion of Indiana. Bloomington, the county seat, was looked upon as one of the most promising towns in all the Hoosier state.

 

THE BUILDING TO BE FENCED.

 

In March, 1827, the citizens petitioned the county board as follows: "To the Honorable Board of Justices of Monroe County: The undersigned petitioners respectfully represent that they conceive that the honor of the county and the future interests and importance of Bloomington, which now ranks among the best villages in the state, imperiously requires that the court house should be surrounded by a permanent enclosure, which would add to the convenience and beauty of our public square, and at the same time hold forth a powerful inducement to the citizens of the town to make corresponding improvements in the streets and alleys." The long lot of suggestions as to how such fence should be constructed wound up by saying the same "should be built of brick on a stone foundation." The petition was heard and granted. The honorable petitioners were as follows, names still familiar in Monroe county: Thomas Graham, William Alexander, Edward Borland, John Hight, George Henry, James Whitcomb, Edmund Wyman, Granville Ward, Richard Hardesty, William S. Wright, James Slocum, Robinson Farmer, George H. Johnson, Frederick Butler, Jacob Harsh, John S. Barnes, "and others." William Bannister and John Robinson did the work of fencing the square. The final settlement with contractor Armstrong, builder of the court house, was not made until 1829.

 

In 1856-58 this court house was remodeled, the work being performed by John F. Rogers, who built the two brick wings at a cost of about seven thousand dollars. A few more changes were made on the property up to 1884, when it was stated that it was in as solid a condition as when first built, sixty years before. It served the purpose of Monroe County as a temple of justice until the erection of the present magnificent stone court house.

 

THE PRESENT COURT HOUSE.

 

The following tablet adorns the wall of the lower story (basement) of the present court house, and it gives much history in a condensed form:

 

Building ordered March 6, 1906.

 

Completed June 1, 1908.

 

County Commissioners—1906, James W. Davis, Isaac Mitchell, Jacob Miller;

 

1907, Jacob Miller, Isaac Mitchell, Benjamin F. Cooter.

 

Isaac C. Batman, County Attorney.

 

Auditor, Samuel M. Kerr.

 

Citizens' Advisory Board—Fred Matthews, M. H. Bogemann, J. D. Showers,

 

S. C Freese, P. K. Buskirk.

 

Architects—Marshall S. Mahurin, Guy M. Mahurin, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

 

Contractors—George W. Caldwell and Lester Drake, Columbus, Indiana.

 

Secretary—August H. Knosman; Superintendent, Herman Vergin.

 

The cost of the above structure was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Its corner stone was laid with impressive Masonic ceremonies on the 10th day of May, 1907. It stands in the center of a beautifully kept public square, with stone and cement walks running to all the entrances. A rest room is found for ladies in the northeast corner of the cool basement. The room opposite is used by the Grand Army of the Republic. The county officers are found on the second floor, while the law library, jury rooms and court room are found on the third floor, as well as many of the county officers' rooms, such as school superintendent, etc. A fine tower surmounts this massive stone building, in which is hung a great bell and clock that sounds the hours as they go by, year in and year out. The dials of this clock are illuminated and face each direction, and may be seen at a great distance.

 

COUNTY JAIL HISTORY.

 

In October, 1818, it was deemed a necessity to provide this county with a suitable and safe jail. Roderick Rawlins was engaged to draw plans for such a building. It was to be built of oak timbers, one foot thick, and was to stand north of the court house; was to be twenty by thirty feet in size; to be provided with a dungeon and a criminal's room, and a jailor's room, the latter to be constructed on the east side of the jail proper. Roderick Rawlins took the contract and hurried the building along to completion. John Rawlins built a "stray pen" for the town, for which he was paid the sum of twenty-three dollars. Joel Woodward and others dug a well on the public square. Early in 1819 it was ordered that the square be fenced in, but this work was delayed some time.

 

The jail was reported finished in February, 1820, but the inspecting committee found that the debtor's room was incomplete, and David H. Maxwell was employed to remedy the objections. So be it remembered that Monroe's first jail had a debtor's room, and that, too, in Bloomington, only ninety years ago!

 

The first jailor was Enos Blair. We have no records of the men and women who were from time to time placed in this jail; however, it matters not now, for long years since they have been numbered among the dead!

 

In 1837 the county concluded to build a new jail and appointed John Bowland, E. T. Butler, William S. Wright, Samuel Hardesty, Joseph Baugh and John W. Lee a committee to remove the old wooden jail and build on the same lot a new one. The contract was awarded to Hardesty, Graham and Chapman, but the price is not now known. The new jail was a strong brick structure, costing five thousand dollars, and was not fully completed until early in the forties. That jail did duty until 1869-70, when bids were invited looking towards the erection of a new jail, which had really .been needed since 1856. Four bids were received, and that of George Finley & Company being the best, it was accepted, the same being to erect a jail and sheriff's residence, all of stone work, for the sum of six thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight dollars. That prison house was thirty-four by forty- one feet; the residence was to be twenty by forty-four feet, with a kitchen and guard-room fourteen by thirty-three feet. It was to be brick, on stone foundation.

 

The next jail was the present one, on Walnut Street. It has a jailer's residence and jail proper. The former is a three-story brick structure, while the remodeled prison, or jail, in its rear, is constructed of stone, the chief product of the county. Its walls are very thick and heavy steel grating, set back to the back sides of the deep window openings, affords a safe retention of prisoners there incarcerated.

 

CARE OF THE COUNTY POOR.

 

Nothing speaks better for any county or state than to note that the unfortunate poor within their boundaries are well and humanely cared for. Of this one thing Monroe County may justly boast. No sooner had this county been organized than it commenced to look toward the care of the poor and distressed within its bounds. In every township overseers were appointed to look after the wants of the poor—those claiming citizenship. These officers reported to the county board and the commissioners allowed the necessary bills, same as any other claims against the county. It is now seldom that children are "farmed out," but in an early day this practice was quite frequent. The keeping of helpless children was put up at auction, and he who would provide for their necessary wants for the least money was burdened with the responsibility. Much care had to be exercised, other-wise children would fall into the hands of cruel and hard-hearted men and women, who might half clothe and feed the little innocents. The whole system was bad, and but little comfort ever came to the children thus put into strange hands. It was, however, more humane than to let them die for lack of any care whatever. Much temporary and sometimes permanent relief was furnished by the townships, and no call made on the county board for reimbursement. Among the first orders for such relief for the poor reads as follows: "State of Indiana, Marion County.

 

"Monroe County, Debtor to Solomon Green for an allowance for an injury sustained to his bedding in keeping, laying out and burying Louis Lee, a poor person.

 

"February 5, 1824.

 

"David Sears,

"William Moore,

 

 

"Overseer of the Poor."

 

As the population of the county began to increase, naturally the expense of keeping the poor became larger. In 1827, the county paid $46.20 and in 1830, $75. Later in the thirties the expense was $200 annually. In 1836, it amounted to $204.63. These amounts did not include cases cared for by the individual townships. Some extreme years the county's expense ran as high as $500. It ran so high that in 1836 the project of establishing a county poor farm was agitated. A petition was presented to the county board in November, 1836, praying for a poor farm, and, in response to this, John Kite, John Owens, and Jesse Davar were appointed a committee to inspect various farms with a view of purchasing. Nothing further was done until 1838 and in May of that year another committee, consisting of John Owens, Edward Borland and John Hite, were appointed for the same purpose, the farm to cost not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars. The purchase price was to be paid in three equal annual payments. But for some unknown reason, the matter was allowed to rest until 1846, when another committee was appointed in the persons of Elias Abel, Henry Tanner and another, to inspect some half dozen farms for sale. The one owned by John Acuff was selected and bought at nine hundred dollars; half down and balance in one year. It was situated five miles from Bloomington and consisted of one hundred and twenty acres. Upon the farm was an ordinary dwelling house, and the county board ordered an additional log house. Mr. Acuff was appointed superintendent and allowed one hundred dollars to look after the farm and care for the unfortunate poor that might there be assembled. The first pauper Crazy Betsey, was taken to the asylum in June. 1846. Acuff continued superintendent until 1849 and was succeeded by Robert Ray. John N. York was the third superintendent and he found only three inmates to care for. During the fifties, some years the expense to this county at the farm was upwards of three thousand dollars. As high as eight inmates were at the place at one time. The greater expense, however, fell upon the several townships. Later in the fifties it was found that some better system must obtain to care successfully for the pauper element in the county. In 1862, a new farm of one hundred and sixty-eight acres was bought from Samuel A. Smith for six thousand dollars. It was parts of sections 30 and 31, township 8 north, range 1 west. One member of the board, Mr. Small, protested against the purchase, for various reasons, but his objection was of no avail and the land was bought. A building known as the Asylum was constructed by Milburn & Phetridge, for one thousand six hundred and eighty-eight dollars. It was a frame structure, about thirty-five by seventy-five feet, and contained nine rooms on each side. The property was paid for on the installment plan and not seriously burdensome to the tax-payers. After three or four years the objections made by Mr. Small, member of the county board, were felt with much force. That the board made a mistake was then acknowledged by the people generally. In December, 1865, the farm was advertised for sale and soon sold to John F. May for nine thousand one hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. May became superintendent, he agreeing to keep the paupers for two dollars a week each. Samuel A. Smith had just preceded him as superintendent. A new poor farm must now be purchased and in March. 1866, the board bought of Peter Bollen- backer six seminary lots known as the Cuff farm, a mile and a half west of Bloomington each lot containing ten acres, for three thousand dollars. In May 1867, sealed' bids were received to build a brick asylum on this land. Samuel A. Smith's bid of five thousand eight hundred dollars seeming the best bid of the lot offered, it was accepted. A fine building was constructed within about two years.

 

The present county asylum, or poor house, was erected on the one hundred and sixty-acre tract of land owned by the county, four miles out from Bloomington, in Van Buren Township, in 1892. It is a brick structure, with a deep stone basement. The work and kitchen affairs, etc., are in the large basement, while the two upper floors are used for the convenience of the unfortunate poor, who in 1913 amounted to about thirty-six, divided about equally between the two sexes and nearly all aged persons. Thomas A. Cunningham, the present efficient superintendent, has been in office since 1907, and during his incumbency the average number of inmates has been about thirty-six yearly. The farm is well tilled and produces much of the meat and vegetables consumed by the inmates and the superintendent's family and hired help. About five hundred dollars surplus each year, after keeping the superintendent and family, is turned over for the maintenance of the institution, the balance having to be made up by the county fund set apart for such purpose. Here the poor are well cared for.

 

FINANCES OF THE COUNTY.

 

The records show the following concerning the finances of Monroe county from its organization, in 1818, to February, 1819, the first year: Total expenses of the county, $3,685. In i§2/ the expenses amounted to $858; in 1836, $1,364; in 1839-40, $2,450; in 1842-43, $3,411; in 1846, $3>955; in l852-53- $6,446; in 1860-61, $15,612; in 1864-65, $106,054. Of this latter amount, the poor cost $5,693; county officers, $3,023; military bounties, $81,000. This left the county in debt about $88,250. In 1872-73 the expense was $49,000. In 1876 the county owed, in round figures, $10,000. In 1883 the county issued bonds to the amount of $50,000 to aid in building a university building. Each bond was for $500 and it ran six per cent, redeemable in ten years.

 

Thirty years ago—1883—the total state taxes of this county were $8,525; the state school tax was $10,945; the county tax was $32,785; township taxes $3,863; tuition tax, $3,294, all of which shows a lively interest taken in educational matters.

 

On January 1, 1912, there was on hand in the county treasury the sum of $63,334.85. The receipts for the year 1912 amounted to $310,274.74, making a total in receipts up to December 31, 1912, of $373,609.59. The disbursements of the county for that year were $344.693, leaving a net balance of $28,916.38, January 1, 1913.

 

ASSESSED VALUATION — ABSTRACT FOR

 

The subjoined shows the taxable property, of all kinds, in the county, by townships and incorporations:

 

Bean Blossom township __ $ 489,080 Polk township _________ 135.315

 

Washington township ___ 228,020 Clear Creek township ____ 526,515

 

Marion township _______ 109,150 Indian Creek township ___ 302,410

 

Benton township _______ 223,120 Part of Bloomington city_ 3,469,000

 

Bloomington township ___ 738,850 Part of city in Perry twp._ 1,187,755

 

Richland township ______ 608,545 Ellettsville, town of ----- 198,455

 

Van Buren township ____ 469,265 Stinesville, town of _____ 58,350

 

Perry Township -------- 1,273,135

 

Salt Creek township _____ 2I-355 Total ____________ $10,181,430

 

THE OLD COUNTY LIBRARY.

 

When the Legislature authorized the organization of Monroe County, one of the considerations was that ten per cent, of the proceeds of the town lots at the county seat to be located was to be used to found and maintain a county library. A treasurer was appointed to take care of the funds thus derived. In 1821 the first books were bought, when sixty dollars was spent for a few dozen standard books (not cheap yellow-covered books), which laid the foundation for a good library in later years. In July, 1830, $2,428.14 had been paid to the library treasurer, the most of which had gone toward the purchase of good books, and the library then boasted of eight hundred volumes. The ten per centum on the receipts of town lot sales in Bloomington proved a munificent fund for library purposes in those early days. In 1884, there were over two thousand volumes (some having been rebound several times) of standard works, and they occupied the old office building that was erected in the twenties. At present there is a small circulating library in one of the basement rooms of the new court house.