EARLY
BY
LELAND S. CUNNINGHAM
In 1948 Leland S. Cunningham submitted these articles on the early
history of
His own purpose is not known. Perhaps in sharing them with us he satisfied
his need to teach, and in so doing has made his contribution to the students of
history. Whatever his reason, the people
of
For me, the task of getting the material from a
collection of yellowed, fading newspaper clippings has
been a joy. More and more I realize how
much I owe to this man whose great knowledge of his story and literature and
his orderly sense of things past he shared with me and with many others who
spent their teen-age years in
I am indebted to Miss Hallie
Cunningham, who graciously loaned me her treasured clippings.
Madge M. Steelman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Early
Pioneers
1. Andrew Cunningham----------------------------- Page 1
2. Stewart and Georgiana Cunningham------------- Page 5
3. David Hazleton----------------------------------- Page
9
4. John Reel and Richard Sloan------------------- Page 12
II Hazleton
1. Platting the Town------------------------------- Page 15
2. Additions---------------------------------------- Page
17
3.
III Early Schools
1. The
2. The
3. The
IV Railroads
1. Early Railroads in
2. The
3. The
V River
Traffic
1. Flatboats---------------------------------------- Page
37
2. Steamboating on
3. Life on the River I------------------------------- Page
46
4. Life on the River II------------------------------ Page 48
5. Life on the River III----------------------------- Page
49
6. Life on the River IV----------------------------- Page 50
VI Business
1. Robb's Mills------------------------------------ Page
52
2. The
(Continued)
VI Business (Cont.)
3. The Hazleton Milling Company------------------------ Page 54
4.
5. The First Cooper Shop---------------------------------- Page 59
6. The Klein Stave and Reading Factory----------------- Page 60
7. The
8. The Depauw Mill--------------------------------------- Page
63
9.
10. Gervase Hazleton's
11. The
VII Addenda---------------------------------------------------- Page
71
1
EARLY PIONEERS
ANDREW CUNNINGHAM
Andrew Cunningham was the pioneer of that family in
the
Soon after his marriage the subject of this sketch
joined a colony of Scottish and Scotch-Irish folk bound for
Andrew Cunningham settled
in Militia Donation #79, in what is now
2
leading from Decker's Ferry, (Giro) on
Andrew Cunningham was proud of his Scotch-Irish ancestry,
and spoke the Irish brogue, a peculiar dialogue of the English Language which
anyone unused to him could hardy understand.
He and the relatives that came after him were Protestants, and firm
believers in education. For many years
his vacated cabin was used for school and church purposes, Probably
the last term there was it 1840, taught by John L.
Key, great-great grandfather of John Earl and Margaret Ann Key. It was a subscription school and Andrew
Cunningham paid $1.93 ¾ tuition for his youngest daughter, Nancy. A
The plantation farm of Andrew Cunningham was nearly self-sufficient. The clearings yielded fire-wood for the big fire-places and the house was lit with home-made tallow candies. Food stuffs and raw materials were produced on the farm, and most articles in common use were made in the home or in the workshop. His sheer produced wool which was processed by his wife and daughters and woven into blankets and cloth for winter clothing, Flax raised on the farm furnished fibers for thread and linen cloth used for underwear, shirts, collars, table cloths, sheets, and other household uses.
Beef hides and other tannable skins were sent to the
3
tools in the workshop, and in case none of the family could
cobble an itinerant or a local cobbler was hired to make shoes for the entire
family. When everything was furnished
then the cobblers charged 25¢ for making children's
shoes, and 50¢ for making adult shoes or
boots. Shoes of that day bore little
resemblance to the comfortable footwear of today, but there was one advantage
--- you could wear them interchangeably on the feet without discomfort. A blacksmith shop was maintained in connection
with the workshop.
During his lifetime Andrew Cunningham followed the
peaceful occupation of the farmer and never aspired to political office. However, on the formation of the townships
and county in 1813 he and William Price were appointed Overseers of the Poor in
White River Twp, which at that time included the present township, Washington
Township, and that part of Pike County west of Congress Creek. There was no red tape or work connected with
relief work then, for the overseer aided the needy at his own expense and filed
a statement with the court for reimbursement.
Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham raised a family of eight children, and as they
were born pioneers in this county, their names and order of birth are given
here, Joseph (1807-1877), Sarah (1809-1846), Samuel (1811-1865), Green
(1813-1844), Stewart Clark (1815-1867), Eleanor (1818-1865), John (1820-1860),
and Nancy (1822-1871). These children
reached maturity, married, and raised families.
Mrs. Cunningham died
4
before his death he called in Jonathan Gullick
and his son Samuel Cunningham to witness his last will and testament. The will provided that the eldest son, Joseph
should administer the estate, and the family doctor, V. T. West, who had
treated both Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham through several months of declining health
filed a bill for his services amounting to $45.50 with the administrator.
On
A perusal of inventory and bill of sale shows many
interesting things about living conditions and the customs of that time. Stored in his barn were hay, fodder, corn,
wheat, wool, flax, potatoes (2¢ per bushel), and
tobacco. To utilize the flax and wool
there was a flax brake, a flax hatchel, spinning wheel and loom. Domestic animals included horses, oxen ($35
per yoke), sheep, cattle, hogs, geese (25¢
each),
and chickens ($1.00 per dozen). There was a rifle and accoutrements for
hunting, a trot line, hook and gig for taking fish, and three saddles, (one a
side-saddle) for travel on horseback. To
maintain the "lighting plant" there were candles, tallow, candle wicks,
candle molds, candle sticks and snuffers.
In addition to the usual earthen and wooden
kitchenware this family was the proud possessor of a set each of pewter plates
and
a luxury, was taxed 75¢
annually. The entire tax on the estate,
real and personal, for the year 1840 was $8.05.
5
STEWART AND GEORGIANA
CUNNINGHAM
The century-old residence of the late Stewart
Cunningham, located about three miles south of
Stewart Cunningham was born in Edwards County
Illinois
Georgiana Robb was born in
6
to ministers of all faiths. Political meetings and Territorial elections were held there, and it was a rendevous for the Territorial Militia. A part of this old building, weatherboarded over and with additions added to it is still standing on the original site and in owned by Clarence and Othniel Hitch, great grandsons of James Robb Jr.
Stewart Cunningham and Georgiana Robb were married
With Mr. Brown's loan, the young couple had enough to meet their
requirements. They purchased Militia
Donation #39 in White River Twp. It was
100 acres at $3.50 per acre. They set up
housekeeping in a small log house near the north end of the tract. He spent a few years improving his land and
getting together the timbers for his now home.
When all was ready m house raising was held and
the two storey house in which they were to spend the rest of their lives was
erected.
Uncle Stewart and Aunt Georgie, as they were called by a host of relatives and friends, were noted for their hospitality and generosity. They reared several orphans along with their own children and took in many adults until he or she could find a home or employment. Every year
7
on August 12th they celebrated their birthdays together by providing a dinner for family and
friends. Indeed,
anybody who wished to coma was welcome. They came in buggies, wagons, and on
horseback. Same old friends without transportation came a-foot the day before and
stayed all night in order to be there.
Their son, "Doc" B. F. Cunningham always brought several dozen
water melons for the children. Many of
them, now past middle age, can vouch for the good food and good cheer.
Stewart and Georgiana lived at a time when the price
of existence was hard work, and social security was found only in
well-provisioned cellars and smoke houses.
By thrift they saved a little each year, and later bought a part of
Militia Donation 36, which adjoined their land.
This gave them 150 acres, which was about all one man could manage when
the work was done with scythes and flails.
Later, Stewart purchased lard in
Georgiana Cunningham was a
religious woman and rode long distances on horseback to attend services. Her favorite meeting place was
8
The writer has Mrs. Cunningham's old hymn book,
which was used as a reader in the early schools. It is dated 1828, and its thumb-worn pages
show the effect of perspiration, rain and time.
The book is 5"x3"x1½", bound in leather, and containing
about 350 hymns, most of which are
no longer sung. The words were not to
music, but the metrical structure of each song is indicated. The singing master of that day knew little of
the rudiments of music, but it was his practice to "make up" or improvise a tune. Attuning his voice with a tuning fork, he led the singers to pour forth
torrents of melody.
Georgiana Cunningham died
9
DANIEL
When Jarvis Hazleton came here to settle he was
accompanied by his father, his mother, Betsy (Elisabeth), and his sister,
Deborah. The father purchased Militia
Donation #17 from Captain Toussainte Dubois, the
noted scout and Indian fighter of
Daniel Hazleton and his wife assisted their son in
operating a tavern and a ferry. Most of
the early ferries were nothing more than rafts of logs with puncheon floors,
and this ferry was probably no exception.
They were propelled with long poles in shallow water, and in deep water
with oars pivoted to the ends. When
carpenters were available, good boats of hewn or whipsawed lumber were constructed. Carpenters in the area were paid 50¢ per day,
and common laborers $7 per month, with one ration per day in each case. A ration consisted of 1½ lbs. of corn bread,
1 lb. of wild meat, vegetables, and one gill of whiskey. The old Jarvis Hazleton ferry was in
operation here until 1826, at which time the
Betsy Hazleton was a well known pioneer woman, noted for her courage and self reliance. She had great strength. She could easily perform a man's work with an axe, and often operated the ferry when they were away.
It was late in the month of March 1800 when David
Robb arrived with his wife at the Hazleton Ferry. They had come down the old Red Banks Trail
from
10
that he pay for the crossing in advance. Being a well bred gentleman, he showed no
sign of anger, but jingled the coins in his saddle-bag and assured her that he
was able to pay the ferriage. But Betsy
was inflexible, and Mr. Robb saw that he must give in or swim the river. In conversation with Betsy on the way over he
discovered that she had ferried several over the river, only to find that they
had no money, or refused to pay. She had
been cheated by others who had offered her undersized pieces of cut money. There was no fractional money minted at that
time and silver dollars were cut into halves, quarters (2 bits), eights (1 bit)
and sixteenths (6¼¢). A few dishonest persons
cut the dollar into five pieces to start with, thus realizing $1.25 for each
dollar.
A warm friendship developed between the two
families, and in later years Deborah Hazleton and David Robb's daughters took
many trips together on horseback, visiting friends or going to
In 1820, realizing that the end was near, Daniel
Hazleton had Samuel Hazleton of Palmyra, Ill, to write his last will and
testament. It was drawn up on
11
Jarvis Hazleton sold his part at the property to his son Daniel W. in 1830. The latter was
married in
The south part of the property went to Mrs. Boles, who later married
Joseph Payne. At her death in January
1861 she left it to her daughters, one of whom was Mrs. Robert Fullerton,
mother of Mrs. Carrie Fullerton McGinnis, an aged lady now living in
Daniel and Betsy Hazleton lie in unmarked graves in the old
12
JOHN REEL AND RICHARD SLOAN
Early in the last century John Reel and his family
came on horseback and pack horses from near
John Reel cleared the land on the south end of
Militia Donation #10 and built his house there.
He built a dam across the south fork of Robb Creek which flowed through
his land and erected a water powered sawmill there about 1820. This mill stood about one eighth of a mile
from and almost due east of Brown's Railroad Crossing, and traces of the old dam
can still be seen. This and the David
Robb Mill (1814) were the first and
for a long time the only mills in this part of the country. Mr. Reel died in 1826, and for many years one
of his sons and a son-in-law operated the mill.
By 1813 John Brown had bought all the land from the heirs, and the
improvements thereon.
John Reel reared a family of four sons and three
daughters, and it is said that some of the Knox County Reels are his
descendants. The father and two sons
were in the Battle of Tippecanoe, serving in Captain Robb's company.
Marriages of the Reels were among
the first to be performed in
13
The old Reel mill proved quite a convenience fen the early settlers,
providing them with lumber for buildings and flatboats. John Brown operated the mill until his death
in 1852, after which it was abandoned.
Several years later, Samuel Milburn, son-in-law of John Brown, built a
mill a few yards south of the old site and installed a steam engine. The mill was in use until the 1880's, sad at
different times Albert McNeece was the head
sawyer. In rebuilding
the town after the great fire in 1881. Theodore Wheeler built the Shorty Peppers store building from lumber supplied by this
mill.
Sometime after the arrival of the Reels, Richard Sloan,
great-great-grandfather of the Sloans (merchants) in
Patoka came on horseback from
Mr. Sloan eventually located in
14
the bullet passing under the right arm and out through
the shoulder. Such a wound,
today would sees like a minor one, but these were the days before antiseptic
surgery.
At
an early age both of these men passed from the stage, but while
they were here they did their share to
overcome the wilderness and the
pitiless Indian. John Reel and his sons
helped repel the Indian so that
settlers no longer feared to come to
John Reel, his wife, and other members of
their family are buried in the Brown cemetery on the Nile Weitzel
place.
15
Jarvis
Hazleton died in
In
1840 Daniel W. sold his one third interest in the
Hazleton Ferry farm to John Brown. The
survey line was not run until the death of Mr. Brown in 1852, which event made
the survey necessary to settle the estate.
The next year Joseph Kimmel set a heavy post on the bank of the river on
what is now the White River Sand and Gravel lot, from which a line was run
southward through the farm, the Brown heirs taking all the land west of the
line and David and Gervase Hazleton the land east of
it. From that day to this the old
Brown-Hazleton line which runs down the center of
David
and Gervase Hazleton were closely associated in
business throughout life, and continued to hold their inheritance jointly. David never married, and when living in this
part of the country he made his home with his brother's family. During the 1850's David lived in Dldordo and
Lucius B. French, of
Patoka, who had helped to build the railroad, was employed to plat the
town.
16
wide, all other streets two poles wide. A pole is one rod.
The survey of the original town, containg 32 acres, was completed early in 1856, and lots sold readily. The writer has an original deed, written in longhand, signed and sealed by Gervase
and Lucinda Hazleton
17
PLATTING THE TOWN--ADDITIONS
Brown's
first addition, recorded
Brown's secondition lay went of Robb Creek, and was known for years
as
The Eastern
Enlargement, platted by Lunsford J. Thorne and others, was by far the largest
addition made to the town. It lay east
of the original town and the
Thorne's
addition, platted by members of that family was quite a large addition, but
much of it was never laid out in town lots.
It is the extreme eastern part of town and includes both of the Odd
Fellow Cemeteries. This addition gave
the town an area of 1142 acres.
Brown's second addition was for many years
not connected with the town, since it lay across Robb Creek. The people came to town along the old Warth road which forded the creek near the old Cumberland
Presbyterian Church. There was also a footlog crossing
18
for pedestrians.
About the year
19
This
decade was probably the most important in the history of
The
In
1850 there were only a few cabins here, and except for the
small clearings around them
Wages were high during the project and all
kinds of produce brought good prices.
This made good times, and many a
house was built and farm paid for with these earnings. New businesses were started
20
and old ones expanded, which caused, numerous
immigrants to locate in
By
the year 1852 nearly all of the original settlers and early leaders had passed
as and a new generation was taking over.
Gervase Hazleton founder of the town, was born
in
Others locating in
Hazleton during the fifties were James Robb, P. S. Fuller, Thomas Johnson and
David Wardord, merchants; John Breedlove and Warren Hudspedth, blacksmiths; William Mc Kinley
and Cunningham Allen, carpenters; Ellridge C. Gardner and Daniel Knight, mill managers; Henry
Clay Young and John F. Scherer, physicians; Fleming Miller, sawmiller;
Ed Sweetland, head sawyer; Jacob Curtis and LaFayette Johnson, teachers; Abraham Westfall, ferryman;
Charles Cox, engineer, Elizabeth Phillips, milliner, and Stephen Durkee, grist miller.
The Paula came from
21
THE
One
other building was used for school purposes at Robb's Mills. This community was called Robb's Mills until
the platting of the town in 1856. The
building was a log house similar to the first school building but was a little
better constructed. It had been used for
flax storage, but sometime around 1840 it was fitted for a school room. It had a puncheon floor and the fireplace was
of stone. A few glass windows were
installed, and writing shelves were made of sawed boards instead of riven slabs. The
school stood across the creek from the home of Noel Krug, where the road
crossed the creek. A large beech tree
stood on the bank, and from its base flowed a spring of clear water which never
went dry. The "drinking
fountain" consisted of this spring and a gourd dipper. The trunk of the tree was covered with names,
initials, hearts etc. carved with pupils jack knives.
In
the year 1846 a young man came to Robb's Mills and decided to stay for a few
days. He had a good education for his
time, and was endowed with good judgment and understanding, and possessed a lot
of good common sense. He was of jolly disposition, was fond of music, and played
skillfully upon the flute and fife.
A
teacher was needed at that time and he was encouraged to set up a school. Although
all schools were on a subscription
basis then, he soon had sixty pupils enrolled, ranging in age from six to
thirty years. This was probably the
largest enrollment up to that time in Robb school. Geography and History were taught in addition
to the three R's and Spelling. There was
a feeling of friendship between the teacher and his pupils and the year was a
very successful one.
The teacher boarded
around among the patrons, but stayed at
22
the Robb Inn most of the time. The attraction was a young lady
who, with her mother, was living there.
She became the bride of the young school master, Robert T. Henderson,
and the mother of Cash Henderson who will be remembered by most of our
citizens.
Near
the close of the gay nineties, over fifty years after the closing of the
school, the writer was engaged in plowing on the site of the old school
building. Upturned brick bate and rocks
showed where the old school building had stood.
The venerable and beloved Uncle Bobby Henderson came slowly up the road. He was nearly eighty years old. He approached the boy and the plow and said,
"I taught a subscription school here in 1846,
the year the Mexican War began." He related the story of the school as it is
related here, but with many things omitted because they are forgotten.
There are no landmarks left of the old
school. Only the creek remains. The spring flowed slower and slower and
finally dried up. The beech tree was
felled by lightning in 1900. The
building was used as a residence until the great flood of 1875 washed it away.
Uncle Bobby Henderson served as musician in
Company H, 130th Illinois Regiment during the Civil War, and with his fife,
aided by the drummer, cheered the soldiers on their matches.
23
THE
The
In
many communities the boys and girls were not allowed to attend the same school,
Great
strides were made during the 1850's toward the betterment of the schools. In the
The last year of the Barnett school was one of strife and turmoil. For some reason the teacher was very unpopular with the pupils and patrons. The pupils took advantage of this state of affairs by annoying the teacher in every way possible. They played truant,
24
locked him out of the building, tried to smoke him out by
putting boards over the chimney, but the teacher refused to leave. The larger boys decided to give him a good
thrashing. He took them on one at a time
and licked the lot of them. The parents
finally stopped the teacher's pay, which meant, of course, that he had to
leave. The late Robert Fuller finished
out the term.
John Will
Brown and George V. Curtis attended this school. When they met in later years they used to
talk over old times at the
According
to Dr. Howard's diary the school burned in 1866.
25
THE
Following
its founding in 1856
The
citizens raised money by popular subscription to build a building for school
and church purposes. The site was on the
hill a little to the northwest of the old P. C. Brice home. The lumber was furnished by the
Hazleton-Williams Mill on Mill
Robert F. Fullerton was the architect.
The building was eight aided and for that reason was called the
The building was
completed during the school year 1860-61.
Prof. Johnson led his pupils two by two to the new building. For the first time the Eight Common Branches
were taught. Professor Johnson kept his
violin at school and often played for the
26
children at recess.
Sometimes when the weather was too bad to go outside the benches were
pushed back and the children danced to the music of his fiddle.
The
next teacher was a Mr. Jones. He was followed by Mrs. Elmira Williams, wife
of Fleming Williams who was Gervase Hazleton's
partner in the saw mill. She was the
first woman to teach in the community, and was a member of the first Class of
Methodists organized by Josiah Kightly in 1864.
The
27
EARLY RAILROADS IN
The internal improvement craze struck
This article treats briefly of the railroad
construction and equipment in
The early branch railroads were laid with wooden
rails with long flat strips of iron spiked to their bearing surfaces. Until the late 1840's the usual locomotives
weighed about 15 tons. The tender was a
small flat-car carrying two or more water barrels and the wood for fuel. Fuel wood could be bought for 900 a cord
stacked along the track. There were no
regular water stations and leather bags were carried to dip water from ditches
along the track.
Hence the term "Jerk-water Railroad."
Passengers were expected to "water-up"
and "wood-up" the tender.
The first steam Railroad of any importance in
28
via the
By
the year 1850 great improvement was made in equipment. In that year the largest locomotive west of
the Alleghenys arrived by boat from the
By the time the Railroad was built through
29
THE
In
the beginning the railroad which eventually passed through
The
citizens of north
Then
began the rivalry between
Meanwhile, the
30
To
expedite the building the right-of-way was laid off in reaches. These reaches were long or short, depending upon the amount of work to be done. A contractor could take as many reaches as he
could supply men to do the work. The
flat country north of
A
little old lady in
The
cut through the Miller hill was one of the heaviest works on the line and
required a great amount of excavation.
At this point a large group of men worked a number of months. The dirt was loosened with a heavy plow drawn
by several yokes of oxen. It was then
shoveled into carts and dumped on the
right-of-way south of the cut where large embankments
were required. The spade work was done
by Irish workers who lived, in shanties west of the railroad. Most of the shanties were small, but the
larger sleeping houses contained twenty bunks for lodgers. These workmen were contentious fighters. Feuds sprang up between persons, families,
31
and groups which came from different parts of
The
heaviest work was between
The
track was laid as fast as the grading was completed, mudsills were used over the
marshy places, but on most of the road ties were set on dirt ballast. Strong stringers were used, requiring no
support other than the ties. Rails were
50 pound iron T-rails imported from
32
The road was completed to Robb's
Mills about 1854. A depot was built
there, a turntable installed, and provision made to water-up and wood-up. Most of the track between
All business was conducted at Robb station until the depot was built within the town limits. The wood yard remained at Robb's Mills until the locomotives changed to coal burning about 1880.
The station remained at Robb's
Mills for many years. Freight was taken
there for shipment and passengers entrained at the depot. Many of the "Boys in Blue" departed
from there. Uncle Ike Westfall
remembered walking out there to board the train, but on returning from the war
they detrained at the new station in
The railroad bridge at
A schedule for through trains was
drawn up in July 1855. There were to be
four trains a day. A passenger and mail
train left
33
the
same time. The passengers were expected
to make 20 miles an hour, the freights 11, but they were seldom on time because
of derailments, broken couplings, and hot journal-boxes. There were no night runs, and it is doubtful
whether trains were lighted at that time.
Great
improvements had been made in the rolling stock and the company bought the best
available. It was crude, however,
compared with that in use today. The
engines were small wood burners with two pairs of driving wheels, enormous cowcatchers
and smoke stacks. The latter were
inverted cones about three feet across and covered with heavy screen. Wood burners
were notorious for scattering fire-brands along the track and causing
destructive fires. Passenger and freight
cars were small, made mostly of wood and coupled with link, and pin. The brakes were hand brakes. Cars were heated with wood stoves, and after 1860 lighted
with coal oil lamps. Double windows and
vestibules were unheard of, so cars were always filled with smoke and dust and
wood ash. Freight cars carried 20 tons,
and 25 cars was considered a heavy haul for even the
best engines.
Railroading
was a far more hazardous occupation than it is today. Many brakemen were maimed or killed in
setting brakes or couplings. George Kelte, a brakeman was decapitated in front of the depot
here
In
March 1877 the name was changed to the
34
THE
At
The
The
breach beneath the wrecked cars was rapidly widened by the current and in the course
of a few hours the wreckage broke loose and plunged into the yawning gap. Few people realize the power of impounded
water when it breaks its leashes. It
tossed the demolished care about like feathers.
When the wreckage washed away and was torn apart by the current, a limp
arm in a blue sleeve, supposed to be that of the conductor, George H. Sears,
was seen hanging from one of the windows.
35
When the engine turned over it is supposed to have
fallen on the fireman, but the engineer was thrown clear of the wreck and into
the deep water beyond. John McCutchan had been an engineer nineteen years and this was
his first wreck. He first realized what
had happened when he found himself submerged in deep water. The current carried him against the engine. His call to the fireman brought no
response. He could see the outline of
the embankment and leaped for it, landing on dry ground. Before him lay the mass of
wreckage. He called loudly, and
this time a voice answered him.
Harry
Hill was baggage man on the ill-fated train.
There was a large shipment of empty mail sacks in transit
and he had piled them in the end of the car.
He was dozing in a chair when the crash came, and was thrown
against the pile of mail sacks. This
probably saved his life. He found
himself enclosed in a small space surrounded by broken timbers and twisted
iron. He found an opening at the top and
had crawled out when McCuchan called. John told him he was on solid ground and told
him to jump, but Harry told him there was something between him and the
bank. John found a protruding timber and
worked it loose until Harry was able to leap to safety. There were no other sounds from the wreck, so
the men assumed they were all dead. They
walked to
The most harrowing experience was that of
"Dutch" Schoultz, the flag man. He was sitting in the seat of the smoking car
and the car was smashed to within a few feet of where he sat. He was unhurt, except that one foot was
caught between the timbers at the bottom of the car, and could not be pulled
loose. The space was too small for
rescuers to chop or pry him loose. Rinkey Kinman, Herb Trickett, and several other young men risked their lives to
try to rescue this young man. As a last
resort,
36
Dr. Royce Davis was
brought from Decker to amputate the foot, but as Dr. Davis and Herb Trickett entered the car the front end began to sink, and
both men hurried back into the smoking car.
Herb turned to bid the flagman goodby, and
almost collapsed when he saw the flagman coming out behind him. The movement of the wreckage had released his
foot.
Those who heard him said the
young man had prayed beautifully and earnestly for deliverance, and his prayers
were answered. A few seconds later, the
car tore loose and was swept down the river.
The number killed was a matter of conjecture. Some estimates were as high as twelve. Only one body, that of W. H. Lange, a sales-man
from
37
FLATBOATS
The
The
early boats were made of sawed or whipsawed lumber, and as iron nails were not available they
were held together with "tree nails", wooden pegs made of white
oak. They were square, flat-bottomed
barge-like vessels, about sixteen feet wide and eighty feet long. Flatboats were made on heavy sills
strengthened sleepers, with sides extending two or three feet above the water line. Usually a
roof was built over all or part of the boat, or canvas streched
on stanchions to protect the cargo. A
square, shallow box provided a place for a fire when filled with sand. Some boats were equipped with wooden pumps. The rudder was made by tree-nailing a wide
board pivoted to the stern. Oars were
pivoted to the side and were used to keep to the channel and to make
landings. There was no propulsion. Flatboats simply drifted with the current.
Few men made flatboating a regular
occupation. Crews were made
up of men from all walks of life. Men
who did devote their lives to the river were much in demand an pilots because
of their
38
knowledge of the river.
A crew consisted of six or seven men, one of whom acted as pilot or
captain.
The
following is taken from the diary of John Cunningham's pilot of
"
Feb. 1845 Landed one
flatboat at
Paid
Capt, George Canada $40, Wm. McCallister, Henry
Miller, Jacob Elliott, John Cunningham each $25."
In the early days the flatboats carried only corn
and pork. Later, the cargoes included
wheat, lumber, staves, and shingles.
Flatboats reached their peak in 1846-47, when 2,792 boats arrived in
Prior to his death in 1852 John Brown was the
largest shipper in the area. He owned
much of the land on this side of the river between
39
John Sullivan lived East of Hazleton on what is still called the Nancy
Sullivan farm. In 1840 he loaded a
flatboat with pork and employed Caleb Trippett, an experienced pilot to pilot
it to
After the Civil War loads of horses, cattle, and poultry were floated
down river. "Did" Darius Horrall bought these and other products and transported
them. He also ran the Hazleton Ferry,
and after the flatboat era continued to ply the river in his own steamboat, the
Piankeshaw.
Boats owned by the Bingham Brothers, James
Cunningham and others left from Cunningham's Ferry piloted by David Hoy. Hoy left his home in
40
tales of the sea, all told in a rivh
Irish brogue, were indeed something to hear.
James
Cunningham, called" Old Sutterfield" by his
friends, was born near Steelman Chapel and began
boating when he was a boy. Once he
piloted a boatload of miners from the diggings in
Although
flatboats first appeared on the
Many early families came as passengers, but some
came in their own boats, constructed especially for that purpose, strongly made
and fitted for family living, sometimes even with brick fireplaces and
chimneys. The boats were loaded with household goods,
tools, and even cattle, pigs and poultry.
From the East they came down the
41
If
a settler wished to locate on one of the streams the boat was
towed to the chosen place and moored to be used for a home until enough land
had been cleared for building a house.
Then the boat was taken apart and the lumber used for the building.
When
Joseph Neely decided to leave
Waitman Trippett, founder of that family in
His
son, Caleb Trippett, was a noted river pilot and flat-boatman. He was interested financially in many of the
packing houses on the White and
Edward H. Hitch, a minor and an orphan, left his home
in
42
and went down the
John
C. Sisson piloted his flatboat down the
Much
has been written about the importance in settlement growth, and in the
development of the country. Coming down
the
A
flatboat trip south during the ante-bellum days was a trip to a foreign
country, and nearly everyone made one or more trips. It has been estimated that 10,000 young men
of the upper
43
STEAMBOATING ON
The first steamboat was "The Traveler" in
1829, piloted by Capt. William Sanders.
His route was on the
44
alternating each hour at the wheel With cargo and several
passengers aboard, they started down stream.
After several hours of blind travel on the swift river, the pilot said
he heard the most welcome sound he had ever heard ---the sound of a rooster
crowing. He knew that the dawn was
breaking. About an hour and a half later
they glided out upon the
The
steamboat "Cleopatra" was the first to stop at
There
were three or four boats each year until 1850, when steamboats became more
common. It is hard to imagine the rush
of steamboats and the jam of shipping which crowded the river before and after
the Civil War.
At
that time James W. Cunningham piloted the Hunter on the river here. Then there was the Trias,
owned by
In 1880 Hugh Ghormely
leased the Emma and hired Albert McNeece, Robert Fraker and Rinkey Kinman as crew. This was Rinky's
first venture on-the river, and Ghormely had to get
his mother's permission to take him. He
followed steamboating several years as engineer or
cook.
45
Packet
service discontinued about 1886, but boats continued to ply the river,
gathering up grain or other cargo.
Tow boats came here and towed great
rafts of logs to the mills at
The
following is an incomplete list of the steamboats on
Other steamboat men not mentioned before are: Harvey Phillips, Joe A. Davidson, Charles Pearson, Napoleon Gobble, engineers, Charles Knight and Charles McNeece, firemen, George Cain, roustabout, and Charles Ehlers, cook.
46
LIFE ON
THE RIVER.
The life on the river, whether flatboater,
keeler, steamboatman, or raftsman was full of danger and excitement. They lived
a hard, rough life, and were exposed to injury and death at all times. It was a common thing to lose one or two
crewmen out of six. Drowning was a
constant peril.
Diseases
lurked everywhere, and the boatmen suffered not only the usual ailments, but
were exposed to yellow fever, typhoid fever, cholera, and small pox. There would be times when so many rivermen were sick that the hospitals would be crowded, and
the government built marine hospitals in the port cities to relieve the situation. The old
The
flatboat season was during the flood stages of the river. Drinking muddy river water and the change
from the cold in the north to the warm, damp
south caused intestinal problems, colds and pneumonia. For this the cure was onion syrup and
whiskey. Much suffering was caused by aguem for which early doctors prescribed sassafras
tea. The boatman's remedy was whiskey
mixed with salt and pepper. If they had
known that many of there problems were caused by the mosquitoes they might have
accomplished more by spraying the mixture on the mosquitoes.
The
winters of pioneer days were much more severe than those of the present, and
there were weeks of winter during which the rivermen
suffered exceedingly from the cold. In
an early day during an especially cold winter, (probably the one the
Ice was one of the most destructive agents
encountered. Ice often blocked the
47
in
winter. Often the streams would be
frozen so solid that teams, wagons, horse-drawn sleighs and cattle could be
driven over them. Spring thaws resulted
in break-up of the ice, accompanied by flood waters. The power of great masses of ice carried on
the swift current was very great, and did much damage to shipping. Boats, rafts, and other craft were torn from
their moorings, crushed, sunk, or carried away.
During an ice-flood a boatman would often tie his boat in a sheltered
place and fell a tree to protect it from the ice floes. If he allowed his boat to became
frozen in the ice and the river fell, leaving it suspended, there was no way to
save it.
In anticipation of an ice flood, all' boats were
taken to the Knox County side away from the swift current, ice floes and drift wood that swept past the Hazleton side of
the river. In 1884, Wm. L. Bobbins was
operating the sawmill at the foot of Mill St. The thaw
came earlier than expected that year, and swept away his logs, boats, rafts,
and other equipment, leaving him bankrupt.
But him high business standards, acquired
through honesty and fair dealing, enabled his to keep right on and recoup his
losses.
Many
years ago, during an ice flood, the
48
LIFE ON THE RIVER II
A
storm was one of most dreaded perils on the river. Flatboats and rafts could weather a rather
rough gale from any direction except upstream.
A storm blowing against the current whipped up waves called white-caps by the rivermen,
high enough to run clear over a raft or flood a low-gunneled
flatboat. In this case a pilot was
compelled to tie up some place, sometimes for a week or more. Some men would pass the time by hunting in
the woods, and others would look for a family nearby to get up a dance.
Caving or sliding of the river bank was another
danger. The swift current would under
cut the bank and undermine it by erosion.
Then, too, the banks were soaked and softened by water, and would slide
into the river carrying trees with the slide. Any boat moored there was destroyed, and
seldom was a crewman left to tell the tale.
Cave-ins, while the greatest danger in themselves,
were responsible for that great danger to the rivermen,
snags.
When
a large tree drifted out into the river the trunk, or
bole of the tree floated so low that the tree was almost upright in the
water. The bole imbedded in the mud, and
the alanting limbs became snags. A sunken tree was known as a planter, and if
the free end bobbed up and down with the current it was called a
"sawyer. A sleeping sawyer was one
so deep in the water that it never broke the surface. Snags were a problem in all the rivers, and
were sometimes so thick that navigation was impossible. Snags near
Eddies,
ranging from small to great whirlpools whirled in the pockets of the winding
river. A whirlpool has a tendency to
draw all things into
its center, and the stronger the
current the greater the force. A boat
which, allowed itself to get caught in one of these eddies must spend a great
amount of effort and time to get out.
49
LIFE ON THE RIVER III
Islands
or season of driftwood often separated the channel into two or more channels or
chutes. A good many years ago there was
such a place a mile or so below
Rapids
and riffles were other dangers of navigation, the former being more dangerous
because the river was filled with obstructions.
Kelly's riffles were about a mile below Cunningham's
Ferry and was a great hindrance to navigation. The river ran swiftly over rough bottom
shallow water, ruffling and fretting the surface. The government succedded
in blasting a channel to minimize the danger, but it was too late to help the
steamboat pilots, for soon after, the river ceased to be used for navigation.
Between
Cunningham's Ferry and Kelly's Ripples was a dangerous course known as
"nine tucks." Here the river ran
in serpentine manner throwing the channel first on one side and then on the
other. These dangerous caused many boats
to stop at
Rivermen gave odd and unusual names to things they saw on
the river. A sharp point of land was
called a "paddy nose" and Muscle Shoals was so called because of the
amount of effort it took to put the boat over the shallows. Dangerous and difficult
50
places were often named far His Satanic Majesty -- The
Devil's Hake Oven, The Devil's Teapot, The Devil's Elbow, etc.
The Indians gave the boatmen plenty of trouble
along the
River
pirates infested the area during the flatboat and rafting area. They hid in the forest, on rock bluffs, and
on the islands. Many were Tories driven
from their homes during the Revolution, some were
criminals who had fled the Eastern States to escape punishment. They murdered the crew, took the cargo, and
sank the boat. The loot they disposed of
by selling it to allies in the river ports.
LIFE ON THE RIVER IV
Rivermen referred to homeward journeys as "Up-river walks." In the
early days they walked the entire distance, carrying their own supplies and camping out
at night. Each man carried his own
emergency ration of a pint of finely ground parched corn, two tablespoons of which
was supposed to sustain a man one day.
Sometimes two of them would buy a mule and stagger their way home. One would ride ahead ten miles and tie the
mule near the trail, then the other would come up and ride the same
distance. If they took passage on a
keelboat, they actually walked the distance in poling or towing the boat. On all steamboats the passengers were
expected to help wood-up the boat.
Because of his skill and reliability Paddy Hoy was
paid better than most pilots on the White River-New Orleans run. Consequently, he always came home by
steamboat, and could tell many interesting stories of steamboating. Swarms of pick-pockets followed the river,
51
knowing that all the passengers carried more or less
cash. When returning flatboatmen
were helping wood up a steamer, they put their valuables under a barrel and
took turns sitting on the barrel head armed with a six-shooter. The
The life of a boatman was not all hardship and toil, for they had many
pleasures and amusements. In down-river
floats they often lashed two or more boats together for protection and
sociability. In groupings of this kind
there were boats loaded with wheat, pork, and sometimes one carrying apple
cider and whiskey. The inference is that
they ate, drank, and made merry.
In
a group of this kind there were always some good fiddlers, singers, dancers,
and story-tellers. No crew was complete
without a fiddler, who often was accorded privileges not enjoyed by other
boatmen. Sometimes he "rozumed" up his bow and sawed a tune while the others
danced, sang, set poles, or beat out time with the oars.
It was said that the Hoosiers and Kentuckians were
the best boatmen and the French Canadians the best singers and rowers. The river songs were famous, a popular one
being "Floating Down the
52
ROBB'S MILLS
About
the year 1814 David Robb impounded the waters of the creek that flowed through
his land about a half mile south of
During
the 1830's the mills were operated by Mr. Robb's son-in-law, William
McClure. He devoted most of his time to
sawmilling and specialized in yellow poplar lumber, the finest to be found
anywhere. His home, the first frame
house to be built here, was built where the Roscoe Cunningham house now stands.
In 1850 John Brown leased the mills from the
Commissioners of the David Robb estate for $200 annually. The lease included the mills, a log lot, and
a log house formerly used as a school.
Mr. Brown transported most of the lumber from the mill down the river in
flatboats. His last river trip before
his death was in 1852.
We have reason to believe that the grist miller was
Stephen Durkee, who, with his wife, Sally, came to
this neighborhood in 1851. The late John Will Brown told of watching the
Miller grind the burrs with chisel and mallet.
An old burr stone from this mill is now in the yard of the Eagle's Home
in
Following the death of John Brown the mills were
taken over
53
by
John L. Key, who operated a mill at
There was quite a settlement at Robb's Mills. The large brick house served as an
inn and a stage station. There was a
carpenter shop. blacksmith
shop, store and distillery. East of the inn was a race track where horse
races were held, with stables for race horses and stage horses.
Business began declining at Robb's Mills as business in the new town
increased. After the railroad depot was
moved to
54
THE
During
the years between the founding of the town and 1870 the population of
About
1863 the
Bingham Brothers ranked next to
The Atlanta Flour Mill was a three storey building
completely equipped with the finest machinery for making high grade flour,
meal, and other products. The mill did a
lucrative business, supplying the local demand and shipping by rail and
steamboat great distances.
By
the middle 1870's both the Binghams were dead and
their businesses came to a standstill.
The mill changed ownership several times but with little success until
it was purchased by Kightly and West.
Alex West was a hustling young business man who soon had the flour mill
going full blast. He operated
55
the mill until 1888 when it was destroyed by
fire along with 30,000 bushels of wheat.
The town was slow to recover from this blow, because it was six years
until the mill was replaced by another.
The Atlanta Flour Mill brought a lot of trade and
money to
HAZLETON MILLING COMPANY
After
the destruction of the Atlanta Mill the
A meeting of interested persons was held here
56
On
Hazleton
had several good carpenters at this time and most of them worked on the
building, under the direction of Peter M. Snyder, who, it was said, expertly
read the carpenter's square and knew more about its uses than any other man in
the area.
The
mill opened for business in 1888 on the site now occupied by the Lowell
Armstrong business. Charles T. Meehan
was manager, H. G. Claypool, miller, and Jefferson Camp, engineer. The mill produced high quality products, and the demand for "Cream Loaf"
flour couldn't be supplied.
Mr. Meehan quit because of ill health and Herb
Brown was in charge until it was taken
over by Alonso J. Murray. The mill and its contents burned in 1985, and
57
The
first grain elevator was located north of town near the section house where
the railroad runs close to the river.
Although it was called an elevator, it was merely a makeshift
arrangement to transfer grain from river barges to railroad cars. A large building with grain bins was beside
the track, so two cars could be loaded at once.
The
power driven sheller was set on a barge. An inclined tram way led to the
bins. The tram car holding about 30
bushels of grain was operated by a power windlass. Wheat was trammed
directly into the bins, but corn was shelled on the barge, the cobs dropped
into the river. In the storage bins
grain was shoveled by hand into the cars.
During
the 1870's steamboats ran almost the year round boating grain to this mill. Uncle Bill De Priest and a Mr. Wills took
over this mill and did a thriving business until the works were lost by fire in
1887. The fire bankrupted the firm, as
well as many farmers who were unable to collect on their grain. The farmers in the river bottoms were hard
hit, since they had lost the crops the year before in the August flood. Many of them had to sell all or part of their
land.
Once
an out of town grain buyer, wearing store clothes and a business air had a
close call at the sheller barge. There was a strip of dead water between the
barge and the bank, so the cobs, corn silks, husks, and grain settled there
giving the appearance of solid ground.
The young man attempted to board the barge by walking over this
accumulation instead of using the gang plank.
Of course he went under, and was rescued by a bargeman with a spike pole
before he went under the barge.
58
When
pulled from the water he was shivering with cold and fright, his teeth
chattering, his dripping garments covered with grain dust and slime clung to
his body, giving him the appearance of a
rained-on fowl. He
was a comical eight, but nobody laughed openly.
A bystander pulled a flank of the universal elixir from his pocket and
administered first aid on the spot. Then
he led him to the warmth of the boiler fire, wrapped him in gunny sacks, wrung
out his clothes and domed him so regularly with the elixir that the soused man
was soon re-soused.
The
second
59
THE
The
building of the Atlanta Flour Hill, the Distillery, and the Packing House in
Along
the north side of the building work space was assigned to each cooper, who was
provided with work bench, shaving horse, and keg trestle, but was required to
provide his own tools. The management furnished
all the materials and the floor was piled high with rough heading and stave tomber, hooppoles and stacks of tattail flag. Most
of the materials were brought in from the local farms, but large quantities of hooppoles
tied in bundles were cut and shipped from Pike and
Some
of the coopers were local men, but many of them came from distant states. James T. Gardner, born in
After the Atlanta Mill burned and the Distillery
closed the Cooper Shop was closed in 1885.
60
THE KLEIN STAVE AND
HEADING FACTORY
The early cooper had to fashion his hoops, staves
and heading out of rough lumber. By the
time the cooperage in
Early in 1882 Philip Klein of
A factory building large
enough to house the boilers and machinery was built along the river. The dry kiln, steam boxes and drying sheds
wore located on the
By the time the factory was in operation there was
little demand for its products here, but during the, twenty years it was in
operation it produced an immense amount of hoops, staves, and barrel heads
which were shipped to all parts of the country.
The cooper's work was simplified.
All he had to do was assemble the parts.
61
During
the 1890's Mr. William Rich came here, leased the plant and installed the
latest improved stave cutter, which he had invented and patented. He received financial aid from several local men. This cutter turned out a stave in one operation,
cut, trimmed and grooved for the barrel head.
The firm flourished for quite awhile, when for some unknown reason, it became
insolvent and paid out 50¢ on the dollar. Mr.
Ed Gaddis and Mr. Jack Haefele took over
the lease and operated the factory until it closed in 1908 for lack
of timber.
Charles Mc Guire has
"an old painting painted from a photograph by Oliver "Pat"
Phillips. The names of those
who appear in the photograph, all workers and bosses at the stave factory, are
as follows: James Bogard, John McKinley, John Heacock, Bert Reynolds, Ed. Wilson, Harve
Raring, John Lane, Eth Curtner, Fiddler Bill Snyder,
Bill Spain, Bona Tramper, Al Warrington, Bill Moore, Carl Meehan, Herb Trickett, Bill Masterson, Bill Rich, Bill Higgons, Pat Phillips, Joe Davidson, Charles Kneir, Tom Brown, Fred Hambarger,
Bud Hayes, Jim Brice, Jay Robb, Austin Snyder, Pop Thorne, Brude
Cox, Azzie Briner, Sam Felts, Charles Mc Guire and George Knight,
62
Fleming Williams, partner of Gervase
Hazleton in the sawmill, was born in
Their son Sammy was a boon companion of the unstudious Billy Hazleton, who, at the
David Hazleton, co-founder of the town, was a
silent partner in the milling business.
He owned a half interest in the real estate and had several thousand
dollars invested in the mill proper. The census of 1860 shows
that he had returned from
63
The
Hazleton-Williams Mill stood at the foot of
Mr.
Hazleton ran the mill until 1882, then leased it to
Wm. Robbins, who conducted business there about eighteen years. Then the old mill was abandoned, the building
razed, and the machinery junked.
The
whistle from the Hazleton Mill called and dismissed workmen for more than fifty
years, and it would be impossible to estimate the worth of this mill to the
community.
THE DEPAUW MILL
Washington
C. DePauw built a saw mill here in 1850.
It was located on the river on the Hazleton Milling Co. lot. The building
was similar in structure to the Hazleton-Williams Mill. The lower floor was set against the bank, so
that from the front it gave the impression of being a one storey building. A tramway brought the logs from the river,
and push carts on tracks carried the lumber to the dry-yard.
In so far as the writer knows, Mr. DePauw never
lived here. He conducted his business
through an agent, Mr. Ellbridge Gardner of
64
and their daughter, Hannah Elizabeth was the first
child born in
Eldridge
Gardner was the son of Andrew Gardner, founder of the
Daniel Knight succeeded Mr. Gardner as manager of
the DePauw mills. He was in charge
fifteen years, or until Mr. DePauw leased his mill to out of town sawmillers. These
were Moredock and Son of Vincennes, and later Kinsey
and
The mill was destroyed by fire in 1884 and was
never rebuilt.
65
The neck of land between the river and the railroad in the north part of
town, called the strip, has been the site of several homes, several portable
sawmills, and two grain elevators, The river at that time ran closer to the
railroad than at present, so that the strip about 300 feet wild ran from the
Peter Snyder home to Bridge Street. This
street ran east and west under the trestle north of town. The main channel of the river forty feet deep
ran close to the
The strip was a handy place for transfering
cargoes from boats to railroad cars, and a switch was built along the track for
this purpose. Water Street, now washed
away, ran from the ferry landing north to
From
1865 to 1890 there was usually a portable sawmill or two on the strip. Little is known of these mills, except that
they produced a great amount of lumber and the payrolls strengthened the town's
economy.
The
portable saw mill had very little equipment other than the necessary steam emgine, log deck, saw and saw carriage, which were set of
the ground and covered with slap shelters.
Logs were delivered by wagons or by the river. There was no special handling equipment and logs
were moved to the mill by oxen.
Captain David M. Lewis and Jasper Phillips, after
returning from the Civil War, operated a saw mill here for several years.
66
Phillips sold out to
Samuel Cobb, and the firm operated under the name of Lewis and Cobb.
Henry
P. Borders brought a mill here from
The
best known of these sawmillers was John Drennon, who, with his broad rimmed black hat, black silk
neck kerchief, and black boots polished to the tops and pulled over his
trousers, was a colorful character. He
was a brother of Ben Drennon, who built the Elza Byrd
home and reared his family there. Miss
Stella Drennon was
the last survivor.
67
GERVASE
This
saw mill wasn't located in
The River Du Chien (De Shee or Du Shee) ran in a westerly direction
and passed under the railroad about half way between Decker and
The level land lying along Route 41 from Dicksburg
Hill several miles northward was once a swamp timbered with great
Gervase Hazleton owned about 300 acres of this land. In 1882, in order to devote all of his time
to cutting, milling and shipping the timber from this land, he leased his
Mr. Hazleton then proceeded to established
a loggong-lumbering camp on his property. There was a primitive road
68
through his swamp running
northward west of Decker. Eastward from
this road a road was built to the railroad.
Along this new road was the
Many
After the swamp was de-forested, a levee and
new drainage ditch were built, the River Du Chien now running south to carry the water into
69
THE
The White
River Distillery, a three storey building much larger than the Atlanta Flour
Mill, stood just west of the mill site and was completed in 1865. It was equipped with steam power and the
latest approved machinery, and a 90 foot brick chimney conducted the smoke from
the boiler fires to the outer air. This
old smoke stack was left standing until recently, the only reminder of early
Auxiliary
buildings erected in connection with the distillery were a liquor house, a
bonded ware house, and a pork packing plant.
All of these except the packing plant were two storey buildings, sealed
inside to keep an even temperature. The
rectifying house was located across from the elevator, and was blown down in a
wind storm. The liquor house was near
the distillery and was consumed by fire at the same time the Atlanta Flour Mill
and the Distillery burned. The bonded
warehouse was moved to the present Elevator site, where it became the seat of
learning known as Hogan's
In
distillation, after the grain is fermented and the alcohol removed, the mash
contains considerable nutriment. To utilize
this by-product, stock pens were built and the mash piped to the pens. A packing house disposed of the porkers. There was still a demand in the south for our
pork products during the time the Binghams operated
the packing house, and the lard and processed meats
were shipped by rail and flatboat or steamboat.
70
Kightly and West purchased the Bingham property in 1879, and the
distillery was never operated again. The
building, neglected and unused, was
broken into a number of times and
valuable copper utensils and machine parts carried away. Mr. West installed Mr. Lewis Vinyard as night watchman, and in no time he marched two
culprits into Justice Knight's court at the end of a shotgun.
With the distillery not operating there was no reason to keep hogs there,
but Mr. West operated the packing house in season and farmers often drove their
hogs there for butchering. They shared
the work, each man to the task for which he was best fitted, Edwin Robb did the
shooting, Ben Hayes and Ike Mauck were usually in charge of the lard kettles,
and William Collins was known as the fastest meat dresser in the country.
The Bingham enterprises also included a general store and a shipping
business to the New Orleans Market.
Sylvester Bingham was in charge here.
A bachelor, he made his home with the Pap Johnson family. He died in 1871 and is buried in the
71
ADDENDA
Mr. Cunningham's stories are mostly concerned with
the early settlers of the area and with the business and Education of early
The
farmers, lumbermen and construction workers, store-keepers and rivermen came from all sections of the country and from
The singing school was a serious effort to learn to read music and to
sing four-part harmony by note instead of by ear. Most of the teachers taught music reading by
the so-fa- syllable method, but there are a few old
singing school books around which have the shaped note system in which each
syllable had a different shape. The
people attended singing school because of their hunger for music and for the
pleasure of singing with a group. The
benefits they received carried over into the church, the school, and into their
daily lives.
Among the blessings of that early day was the reed
organ. The organ was inexpensive and
light in weight, so it could be shipped
72
by boat or rail.
Families scrimped and saved to add the organ to the treasured horse-hair
furniture in the parlor and young ladies began to take music lessons. A Mrs. Gaddis owned a square rosewood piano
and gave lessons at her home at the west end of
Both
men and women were interested in singing and there were some fine quartets in
the area. A Mr. Babcock came to
The
"Opera House" over Thorne's Store never saw an opera, but it provided
a place for concerts and plays for years.
There was a small stags lighted by oil lamps with tin reflectors. The slanted floor made seating uncomfortable
until someone thought of sawing off the back legs of the chairs to accommodate
the floor slant. Traveling troupes of
players and musicians always played to packed houses in
The Lyceum Course
brought more sophisticated entertainment by presenting a good quality of music
and some fine lectures during the winter. Families bought season tickets to guarantee
the success of the program and the events were selected by a booking company in
the East. The fact that a small town
could support such a venture was a 'tribute to the cultural interests of its
people.
73
THE
Many
people will remember the Hazleton Concert Band. Albert Trippett remembers a reorganization of
that band about 1910, but there must have been an older organization, since
Will Sweetland left
In
the 1910 reorganization the director is believed to have been a Mr. Evans who
came from
Mrs. Lee was
also a musician and her Methodist Church Choir will be remembered as one of the
finest around.
Some
of the members of that early band are as follows: Dr. Harry Gudgel,
Salvan Pearson, Carl Snyder, Fred Steelman,
Gardiner Briner, Albert Trippett, Everett Trippett, Herschel Trippett, H. A.
Thorne, Hovey Edwards, Overton Decker, John Thomas,
Theo Thomas, Frank Cassidy, Louis Ferguson, Frank Ferguson, and Walter
Ferguson. Albert Trippett left to play
with show bands and the army band in World War I. He later organized bands in
The Hazleton Concert Band was one more bit of
evidence of the interest in cultural growth shown by the people of a little
town so long ago.