WABASH COUNTY
HISTORY
There are four
hundred and twenty-six
square miles in Wabash county, the surface of which
is generally level. There are no very high hills, notwithstanding the
land is rolling or undulating, near all of the water courses, excepting
at the head of them, where it is generally level, and taken as a whole
the face of the country is very pleasantly diversified. Almost the
whole county is abundantly supplied with water by fine springs and
running streams. The northern portion is watered by Eel river and its
tributaries. Wabash passes through the center, and is intersected by
the Salamonie, four miles from the county line on the east, and
Mississinawa runs through the southern part of the county. Among the
larger streams are Josina, Grant and Ten Mile creeks, emptying into the
Mississinawa, Rush. Lagro, Treaty, Mill and Charley creeks which empty
into the Wabash; Clear. Paw-Paw and Squirrel creeks emptying into the
Eel river. These rivers and streams are of sufficient size, and finely
adapted for manufacturing purposes. The land north of Eel river
being about fifty-five sections, is composed of prairie barrens,
interspersed with small and beautiful lakes. The
balance of the county was heavily timbered with walnut (black and
white), hickory, oak maple, beech, poplar, linn, cherry,
etc. Along the Wabash and Mississinawa there are many
fine quarries of limestone, suitable for building purposes. The
soil is rich and very productive. There are few, if
any counties in the State that promise a greater reward to the
manufacturer or husbandman
than this. The county was organized in 1835, and is divided into six
townships.
Not long after the general treaty
with the Indians, in 1813. a mill was erected in the agency of Benjamin
Level, on Mill creek, by order of the general government. This mill was
located about four miles and a half southwest of the present town of
"Wabash, and was intended for the use of the Indians. The place of its
location is known by the name of the Indian Mills. The mill was kept up
for several years, and proved efficient for the purposes designed by
its projectors, but it has long since been demolished. In the autumn of
1826, General Tipton and Mr. Barron, the Indian interpreter, selected
the Paradise Springs, on the north bank of the "Wabash, as a suitable
place to hold a treaty with the Indians. James H. Kentner (now of
Logansport) was present when the location was made. Suitable buildings
were erected for the accommodation of the commissioners, military, etc.
The treaty was signed on the sixteenth and twenty-third days of
October 1826, respectively by
the Pottawatomies and Miamis. The commissioners for the United
States were General Lewis Cass. General John Tipton and Governor James
B. Ray. The site of the treaty grounds and Paradise
Springs are those near the residence and now owned by
Colonel Hugh Hanna, on the east side of the town of "Wabash.
The land south of the Wabash river and west of a line
running due south from the mouth of the Salamonie, were reserved for
the Indians, and constituted a part of the thirty miles reserve. In the
year1827, the land between the Wabash and Eel river
was surveyed, and the following year that north of Eel river was
surveyed. On the fifteenth day of January, 1827,
three months after the treaty, Samuel McClure moved from Ohio into the
cabins at the treaty grounds, and during that winter he cleared fifteen
-acres of ground, and in the spring planted it in corn, and in May.
when the section reserved to the Indian, Charley. was surveyed,
McClure's clearing was included in its eastern limits. On the tenth of
June of the same year, McClure built a log house on the north bank of
the "Wabash, three miles below the treaty grounds, where his
son-in-law, Jonas Carter,
now lives. This was the first house
built within the limits of this county for a permanent residence. In
the spring of the same year, Champion and Joseph Helvy arrived at the
treaty ground, and shortly after settled opposite the mouth of the
Salamonie river. The next settlers were Benjamin Hurst and Robert
"Wilson, who arrived at the treaty grounds in May of the same year;
soon after Mr. Wilson was employed as government blacksmith at the
Indian Mills. The next settlers were David Burr, who settled at the
treaty grounds, Jonathan Keller at the Indian mills, and Frederick and
James H. Kentner, who settled at the mouth of Kentner's creek, and
established a saddle and harness shop (the first in thevcounty).
In 1830 a post office was established at the treaty grounds. David
Burr, postmaster, and Jonathan Keller had a contract to carry a weekly
mail from the treaty grounds to Marion, Grant county. Samuel McClure,
Jr., now a citizen of Marion, opened the first dry goods store on the
twenty-eighth day of August, 1827, in a log building at the bluffs,
where Jonas Carter now lives.
The town of Wabash was laid off in
the spring of 1834, by Colonel H. Hanna and David Burr. It is situated
on the north bank of the Wabash river, at the treaty grounds, partly on
the first and partly on the second bottoms. The, latter is elevated
about forty feet above the former, and contains an abundance of
excellent building stone but a few feet below the surface of the
ground. It is about ninety miles northeast from Indianapolis. The sale
of town lots was on the fourth of May, 1834. The first settlers in the
town were George Shepherd, Colonel William Steel, Allen Smith, Alpheus
Blackman, Jacob D. Cassett, John Smith, Zara Sutherland, Michael Duffy,
Andrew Murphy, Dr. J. R. Cox, Colonel Hugh Hanna, David Cassett, Dr. I.
Finley, Dr. James Hackelman, and James W. Wilson.
The first lot cleared and enclosed
was lot number 22, improved by Colonel Steel and Allen Smith. George
Shepherd built the first house, which was on lot 63. Colonel Steel
built the second on lot 22. These were built in May, 1834. This same
year Alpheus Blackman made a kiln of brick, and Dr. Finley built a small brick
house (in the fall) on lot 54:. This house is still standing, and
occupied by William Ditton; Colonel Steel and Colonel Hanna built of
the same kiln of brick. Colonel Steel opened the first provision store,
and Colonel Hanna the first dry good store; this was in the spring of
1S34. From this time forward the town improved rapidly. The first
tavern was kept by A. Murphy, on lot 37. The first lawyers were Colonel
Steel (still a resident) and William H. Coombs, now a resident of Fort
Wayne. Colonel Steel was elected the first justice of the peace, in
June, 1834. By an act of legislature, Gillis Smith, of Grant county,
Daniel Worth, of Randolph county, Jesse Carter, of Clinton county.
Bartholomew Applegate, of Johnson county, and Thomas Watson, of
Tippecanoe county, were appointed commissioners to locate a seat of
justice for said county of Wabash. Said commissioners met at the house
of David Burr, at the treaty grounds, on the third Monday in May, 1835,
and after examining different locations, selected Wabash as the
permanent seat of justice for this county. The present population of
this town is 1,522.
A log jail was built on the northwest
corner of the public square, in the fall of 1835, by Jonas Carter and
J. H. Keller. (It was destroyed by fire some years ago.) The present
courthouse was built in 1839 and 1840, under the agency of Colonel Hugh
Hanna. It is a square building, two stories high, forty feet front, and
terminates with a spire on the center of the building. Court-room in
second story, and' jury-rooms below. The present jail was built in 1853.
The Wabash circuit court met for the
first time at the house of David Burr, on the fourth Monday (24th) of
August, 1835. Present, Hon, Augustus A. Everts, judge of the eighth
judicial circuit, also Hon. Daniel Jackson and Hon. Daniel Ballanger,
associate judges; Samuel C. Sample, Esq., prosecuting attorney; William
Steel, clerk; and William Johnson, sheriff. After calling the court,
they adjourned to the house of Andrew Murphy, in the town of Wabash, on
lot number 37. Charles W. Ewing, S. C. Sample, Thomas
Johnson, J.
W. Wright and William 0. Coombs
were admitted to practice as attorneys in this court.
We have no space in this work to
mention the early settlers of all the towns in Wabash county. The
county is thickly settled. The farmers are all prosperous and wealthy
and intelligent. The district schools are in an excellent condition:
good buildings and teachers are supplied in all parts of the county.
The city of Wabash has grown to be
quite a flourishing center, and is to-day one of the most thrifty
places in the State of its size. The Union high school at Wabash is an
excellent edifice. It is situated on the summit of the hill, in the
upper town, with a commanding prospect. It is three stories high, and
contains six rooms, and is of sufficient size to accommodate six
hundred pupils. It was erected in the year 1858, at a cost of thirteen
thousand dollars.
On a Saturday afternoon the streets
of Wabash present a lively appearance. There are to be seen on every
hand evidences of thrift and prosperity. The population is
between four and five thousand
