Eighteen 73 Directory
Greencastle History – “The Advantages of Greencastle” – Manufacturers’ Union 1873 -from Indiana State Library Digital Collections
OFFICERS. DIRECTORS. R. L. HATHAWAY, E. D. ANDERSON, A. BROCKWAY, GEO. W. WHITWORTH, THOS. C. HAMMOND, WM. H. THORNBURG. WILLIAM DAGGY, JAMES A. CURTIS, J. F. DARNALL. All communications addressed to the Secretary will receive prompt attention. THE CITY OF GREENCASTLE. the Capital of Putnam county, Indiana, is situated in the Central Western part of the State, and upon the 4 great railroad routes between New York, Philadelphia, and other cities in the East, and St. Louis and the Pacific coast in the West, being about forty miles West of Indianapolis, and thirty-three miles East of Terre Haute ; one hundred and forty miles from Louisville, Kentucky, on the South, and one hundred and forty-eight miles from Michigan City on the North, and having direct and regular railway communication with all of the above named places. The city is located upon a high and beautiful table land, upon the Eastern margin of the famous block coal fields, and about one mile East of the Walnut Branch of Eel River, a large and valuable mill stream. The city contains a population of about four thousand, with eight Churches: Two Methodist, one Baptist, one Christian, one Catholic, one German, one Presbyterian and one Colored Methodist. Its Public Schools, in new and beautiful houses, are among the best in the State, which has a larger school fund than any other State of the Union. . Indiana Asbury University, which has a larger library and greater, number of students than any other like institution in the State, is situated in the city. An additional and beautiful edifice, for the use of the University, has been commenced. A Female College has been established, by the Presbyterians, and is in successful operation. There is a street railroad, several banks, mills, and manufactories of various kinds. Many miles of turnpike roads radiate from the city in every direction, through the county, which is one of the most beautiful in the State and excelled by few in any State or country. The surface of the county is generally undulating, and, where not cultivated, is covered by a carpet of blue grass, upon which feed all kinds of farm stock, including fine wooled sheep, excellent horses'. mules, and some of the finest cattle the Union, of which the yearly shipments exceed in value those of any other county in the State. The primeval forest once occupied these grounds, and many of the gigantic trees are still left, giving to these pastures the appearance of vast parks of a thousand years growth. Thousands of springs of clear, pure water issue from the hillsides.
Greencastle is very healthful, as much so as any part of the Atlantic States, and the citizens have a good reputation for morality and intelligence. As a place for the cheap production of all articles made of iron and wood, it can not be excelled, and we think it can not be equaled. The country around abounds in coal, iron ore, limestone, sandstone, clay, etc. Upon the West, and within convenient distance, lies the celebrated splint, or block coal fields, the coal of which, without, being coked, will make iron almost equal to charcoal iron. and is now being so used in the city by the rolling mill and nail factory. Almost everywhere around, there are immense quantities of good limestone, from which the furnaces for the West, at Hazelton, Knightsville, Brazil and Terre Haute, obtain their needed supplies, (one ton of which is said to be equal in value to two tons of the kind used at Pittsburgh). Iron ore is found in many places near the city. It is also brought from Lake Superior to Michigan City, and thence transported to Greencastle direct by railway. Domestic ore is also obtained along that road, and transported over it to the city, and we believe there is no point in the State where all the various iron ores, and other materials required to melt them, can be brought together at a less cost than at Greencastle. Excellent sandstone, suitable for grindstones, furnaces, building, etc., is near, and in great quantity, and there has been lately discovered, near the city, ate excellent kind for making glass, specimens of which, now before the writer, have been examined by glass manufacturers, and decided to be of superior quality. A few miles from the city there is a quarry of stone, of fine grit, which has been pronounced by good judges as only slightly inferior to the Turkey oil stone. The city is located in the midst of the last belt of superior timber upon this side of the Mississippi river. This belt runs in nearly a North and South direction, and to the West the forest trees gradually dwindle in size and kinds, until the approach of the grand prairies of the Wabash and Illinois terminates the forest growth. The timber (or wood) of Putnam county and vicinity, is equal, if not superior, to that of any part of the West, and disinterested judges have said, that it is unsurpassed in the State.
Below is given a list of the kinds which are indigenous, and may be used in manufacturing, marking the kinds that are abundant, with italics, and those that are very abundant, with capitals, viz: ASH: BLUE, BLACK, and WHITE. BEECH: WHITE and RED, Basswood or Linn. Buckeye, Buttonwood, or Sycamore. Cherry, Wild, Coffee Nut. Cottonwood, Dogwood. ELM: WHITE, RED, and HICKORY. Gum Black and Sweet. Haw: Red and Black. Hackberry. Hickory: SHELLBARK, and White, or Pignut. Ironwood. Locust: Honey and Black. Maple: SUGAR, or HARD, &ft, and Birdseye. Mulberry. Oak: WHITE, Burr, Red, and Chinpas. POPLAR: (Tulip tree) WHITE and YELLOW. Sassafras: Red, and White. WALNUT: BLACK (excellent) and WHITE. Willow: Yellow, and Black. These trees are of very much larger size than the same kinds grown in the Eastern States, except the second growth, which still exceeds the Eastern grown trees. The Black Walnut, Poplar, Beech, Oak, Sugar, Maple, Ash, Hickory, and Elm, are, in quality, very superior, and not excelled, if equalled, by any such kinds in the West. Fuel of coal and wood are cheap, and in the greatest abundance ; so much so, that it is found to be cheaper to manufacture by steam than water power. The wool product of the country is large, and much of it is of so fine a quality, as to have taken the first premiums at all the fairs in this and surrounding States. The home market for all articles manufactured out of the substances mentioned, is good ; but a good and unlimited market can always be found in the great prairies of Illinois, and the vast region beyond the Mississippi river.
The prairie regions having none of the material suitable for the manufacturing of iron, glass, and wooden articles, must ever be dependent for their supply upon those parts of the country nearest to them, where they are found in the greatest abundance ; and, taking all things into consideration, it will be found, on close examination, (which we invite,) that no place has, in this respect, advantages superior, if any equal to Greencastle. There are no commercial or manufacturing points in the West, that are so favorably situated as to compete with this place in the production of good and cheap goods of the kinds named. Our railroad facilities are all that can be desired, for the importation of the few materials we lack to complete the variety, and to transport to market our manufactures. The Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Rail Road, extends from Louisville, through Greencastle, to Michigan City, a commodious shipping point at the south end of Lake Michigan, and thence to Chicago. The rich, magnetic and specular iron ores of the Lake Superior region, can be, and have been, delivered at Michigan City, direct from the mines, at the same rate of freight, as they can be delivered at Chicago. These ores and the bog ores along the line of the road, have, for some two years past, been transported over this railroad to Greencastle, to the Ohio river, and to those places west of here, which depend upon the Greencastle limestone, for the smelting of these ores. There are two consolidated competing lines of railroads, extending from the Eastern Cities through Greencastle, to St. Louis, and the Great West.
The oldest road, the Terre Haute & Indianapolis, the line passing through this city, is one of the best and most remunerative to stockholders, of any in the Union. The other, the Indianapolis & St. Louis, not surpassed by any railroad in the State, passes through the Northern part of the city, and offers most excellent sites for the erection of furnaces and mills, between it and the mill stream alluded to, for a distance of several miles. No part of the whole country offer more inviting sites for manufacturing with steam. The railroad South, from Greencastle to New Albany, below the Falls of the Ohio, connects with several railroad routes from the South, as well as the great river, at a point approached by the largest steamers, at all seasons of the year, affording intercourse with all the South Western States, from which cotton can be cheaply shipped to Greencastle for manufacture. The advantages offered by Greencastle as a manufacturing point, are: First, and most important, Remarkable healthfullness of position. Second. Proximity to the materials to be manufactured. Third. Cheap fuel, and consequently, cheap and constant power. Fourth. Proximity to a good and reliable market. Fifth. Facilities of transportation. Sixth. Cheap living. Seventh. Good building material. Eighth. Excellent and cheap educational privileges. We state these advantages under the full conviction, that those who will test them, will not be disappointed. Our citizens desire to build up and enrich the place and the country around, and will heartily welcome skillful and competent manufacturers among them, as well as assist them in establishing their business in our place. All communications ad dressed to the " Manufacturer's Union," Green_ castle, Ind., will be promptly and fully answered, and persons visiting the place, in search of a manufacturing -location, will be welcomed by the members of the " Union " and citizens generally. r. a