MONTGOMERY
COUNTY
EARLY HISTORY
MONTGOMERY county was named in honor of the
distinguished General Richard
Montgomery, who gave his life for the American cause at the
battle of Quebec. It was first settled in 1822-3. In the latter year
the county was organized, including a much larger tract of country than
that now embraced within its limits. Crawfordsville, the county seat of
Montgomery county, was early a central point on the Wabash, and for
several years the principal town in that section. It is one of the
oldest settlements in the valley. It was the depot from which the early
settlers of La Fayette and Tippecanoe county, drew their supplies from
1823 to 1826-7. Until 1826, all the settlements for thirty, and even
forty miles in any direction, were compelled to visit Crawfordsville
for judicial purposes.
Among the
prominent early settlers was Major Ambrose
Whitlock, who located in Montgomery county in 1822. This pioneer
laid off the town of Crawfordsville in 1823. He was appointed receiver
of public moneys by John Quincy Adams
in 1825, one year after the land office was opened in Crawfordsville.
Major Whitlock was one of. the leading men of the olden time; he was an
active and efficient officer under General Wayne, and a useful man in
the town which he assisted in founding. He died in Crawfordsville in
June, 1864, leaving a widow, who lived until ninety years of age. She
died in Crawfordsville in 1873.
In 1824, or about
two years after the county was first settled, and one year after the
county was organized, the land office was opened at Crawfordsville. The
first general land sale took place on the twenty fourth of December of
that year. Up to this date the numerous settlers were mere "
squatters," having no title to the land which they occupied, and, as a
consequence, there was considerable rivalry at the sale. At this period
Crawfordsville was a small settlement, surrounded on every side by a
dense wilderness.
The first white
settlers in Montgomery county were William
Offield and William Miller.
Mr. Offield settled near the mouth of Offield creek in 1822, where he
built a rude cabin and began pioneer life with energy. Mr. Miller
settled near the present town of Crawfordsville in the same year. He
erected a round log cabin, which was the first building of any kind
erected in the vicinity. Both of these pioneers have passed away. Mr. Offield left the county in 1836,
and Mr. Miller died in the
city which he was useful in founding, early in 1874.
Among those who
settled in 1823, in the vicinity of Crawfordsville, was John Beard. He was born in North
Carolina in 1795, and at the age of twenty seven, came as a pioneer to
the State of Indiana. He became prominent in the affairs of Montgomery
county at an early day. In 1822 he was elected
representative of the county in the State legislature, and was
continued for fifteen years, with the single exception of one term, as
a representative either in the Senate or in the House. Mr. Beard distinguished himself in
legislative duties, rendering an effective support to the bills for the
abolition of imprisonment for debt, liberal exemption of property from
execution, investing the governor with power to commute capital
punishment to imprisonment for life, and for the construction of the
Wabash and Erie canal.
There is no better
tribute to the memory of the public services of Hon. John Beard than that which has been
contributed by Hon. John Coburn,
of Moorsville, Morgan county, Ind., which is in these words: "I venture
to say again, that not one man in a hundred in our State knows the name
of him who proposed that the surplus of the proceeds of the stock of
the State in the State Bank of Indiana should be appropriated as a
school fund. He is one of our greatest public benefactors, a venerable,
simple hearted, clear-headed, sound minded old gentleman, living in
Montgomery county, named John Beard.
His name ought to be precious in the heart of every boy and girl who
enjoys the benefit of free schools. When he proposed the measure, it
was hardly treated seriously. Nobody thought anything would be left as
a surplus; he himself, doubtless, did not realize its importance. But
so it was he put the net where it caught the golden fish, and we thank
him for it ten thousand times; and we thank those steady,
straightforward, strictly upright financiers who husbanded these funds
for us. This measure has been the means of producing our present fund
of eight hundred thousand dollars for the support of common schools."
But we must
discontinue our sketches of biography, and refer the reader to the
regular department of biographies in this work for life sketches of Messrs. Beard, Lane, and many other
pioneer settlers of Montgomery county.
Montgomery county
was organized in 1823, with the following county officers: John Wilson, clerk of the circuit
court, recorder of deeds, and clerk of the
commissioners' court; William
Offield, James Blevins, and John
McCullough, county commissioners; Samuel D. Maxwell, sheriff.
Montgomery county is located in the
western part of the State, having good facilities for the
transportation of its merchandise. The soil is well adapted to the
cultivation of the various kinds of grain indigenous to the northwest.
" It borders upon those fertile prairie lands in the northern part of
the State, and partakes partially of both timbered and prairie soils.
Indeed, the northern portion of the county contains several small
prairies, which give to it the appearance of having been settled much
longer than it really has. The soil of these prairies is very rich and
productive, yielding in favorable seasons, very profitable crops of
corn, wheat, rye, oats, and barley. Considerable tracts of this prairie
remain uncultivated, being used principally for pastures.
Nearly two thirds
of the county was originally very heavily timbered, but much of it has
been consumed; yet there is an abundance remaining for all immediate
needs. The county is laid out into eleven townships, and is twenty four
miles long north and south, and twenty one miles wide. The soil is
watered by Sugar creek and its tributaries. This stream used to be
known by the name of Rock river. There are a considerable number of
mills located on this stream. The next principal stream is the Walnut
fork of Sugar creek, which empties into the main stream near
Crawfordsville. "The county,'' says Mr.
James Heaton, Sen., "is well supplied with good public highways.
The public improvements', in the way of school houses and bridges, are
of the most substantial character. There are but few counties in the
State so well supplied with railroads. Every township in the county,
except two, has a railroad; and the two exceptions are so near to a
road that it may be said that every township has a direct advantage in
the way of railway traffic. These roads all center at Crawfordsville,
making that city a desirable location for manufacturing enterprises."
Crawfordsville is
the county seat, and the principal business center of the county. It is
an enterprising city of over four thousand inhabitants, many of whom
may be ranked among the most enterprising citizens of the State. The
city has three railroads, giving six different directions of railroad
transportation. These roads have constructed a very fine Union Depot at
the junction, about one mile from the city.
Crawfordsville is
taking great pride in her streets, expending considerable means in
grading and paving them. They are very broad, and are bordered on
either side with beautiful shade trees, which lend an enchanting scene
to the place. Good turnpike roads lead from the city in almost every
direction.
The medical, or
mineral springs, just northwest of the town, promise to become no
inconsiderable attraction to this city, and seem to add another
assurance that the future of Crawfordville will partake largely of a
resort for summer recreation and literary pursuits. These springs are
already enclosed in light and airy summer houses, and the gentlemen who
have control of them contemplate erecting a five story hotel just north
of the springs. The waters of these springs are said to contain
ingredients of great medical importance.
The material
resources of Crawfordsville for manufacturing purposes are equal to
those of any town in the State of its size. There is an abundance of
good timber, coal, iron ore, limestone and sand, and brown stone.
In educational and
religious enterprises, Crawfordsville is not behind any other point in
Indiana. She has nine churches, most of which are constructed in an
attractive and substantial style. The public schools are well conducted
in one of the finest school buildings in the State, having been erected
at a cost of over sixty thousand dollars.
Wabash College is
the pride of the city, and is one of the finest educational
institutions in the West. It is located just west of the city limits, "
in a campus containing thirty three acres, shaded with beautiful native
forest trees, affording to the students a healthful atmosphere, as well
as abundant space for drill and field sports." There are four
buildings, viz.: Central Hall, the Academy, the Dormitory, and the
Polytechnic Building, all of which are tastefully appointed and well
equipped with all modern appliances.
This college was founded in 1832-3, and in the
latter year the institution was opened with only twelve students.
Through a long and tedious effort, however, it has reached a firm
financial footing.
