AS A WHITE COUNTY TOWNSHIP--NATURAL FEATURES--DRAINAGE THROUGH MOOTS AND SPRING CREEKS--PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL--EASTERN TIMBER LANDS FIRST SETTLED--GENEROUS BILL OF FARE--THE PIONEER LANDLORDS OF 1829-34--HARD TIMES RETARD ENTRIES--ROYAL HAZELTON, FIRST PERMANENT SETTLER--SAMUEL ALKIRE--THOMAS KENNEDY--FIRST VOTERS AND OFFICIALS--EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS BEGINNINGS--J. C. MOORE, PROSPEROUS FARMER AND INVENTOR--OTHER EARLY LANDHOLDERS--LOREN AND RALPH A. CUTLER--FIRST SAWMLLLS--BROOKSTON, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTER--VILLAGE OF SPRINGBORO--IMPROVEMENT IN RURAL CONDITIONS--LEADING GOOD ROADS TOWNSHIP.
Prairie Township comprises sixty-six square miles in the southernmost portion of White County, with Carroll County to the east and Tippecanoe to the south. It is in the shape of parallelogram, eleven miles east and west and six, north and south.
The present township is the remnant of one of the largest civil divisions in the State of Indiana. When attached to Carroll County, before the organization of White, Prairie Township had an area of 2,000 square miles, or more than five times the area of the county to which it was attached for judicial and political purposes. Its territory comprised all of White County west of the Tippecanoe River, Jasper and Newton counties as a whole, and a part of Benton and Pulaski counties. That was the very cream of the prairie country in Northwestern Indiana; hence the name which is still attached to the reduced township.
At the first meeting of the Board of Commissioners of White County on July 19, 1834, an order was issued creating Congressional Township No. 25, to be known as Prairie. The new division contained 102 square miles, and was bounded on the north by Big Creek Township, on the east and south by Carroll and Tippecanoe counties, respectively, and on the west by Benton County. Thus the boundaries remained until 1854, when West Point Township was taken from Big Creek and constituted the northern boundary of nine out of the seventeen sections then forming its northern tier. In 1858 Round Grove Township was carved from the western portion of Prairie Township, thus reducing its area by thirty-six square miles and forming it as at present.
From the very first, Prairie Township was considered an agricultural star of the first magnitude. The prime reasons for its superiority were that it had not only richness of soil, both in its western prairie sections and its eastern areas of timbered lands, but a splendid natural drainage and a gently undulating land surface, which made it unnecessary to resort to artificial means to realize handsomely from the first fruits of the land.
Probably three-fifths of the entire township is prairie land, its eastern half being comparatively level, with gentle undulations here and there and timber areas and stretches lying adjacent to the streams. The western part is almost barren of timber, save the Round Grove and a stretch of timber reaching into the township by that name; this is called by the settlers Slim Timber, and is one of several similar wooded fingers which protrude into the Grand Prairie from West Point and Princeton townships. The soil of the prairie portions of the township is a rich black loam, with a subsoil of sand and gravel; in the timbered tracts the loam has a clay subsoil. There are no high ridges of sand anywhere, such as are found in the northern townships of the county. Yet, after all has been said as to the appropriateness of the township's name, it must be admitted that it was more to the point before Round Grove was lopped off.
The eastern portion of Prairie Township is timbered chiefly with white oak, though there are other varieties of wood found near the borders of the Tippecanoe and along Moots and Spring Creeks, its tributaries which are the natural channels for the drainage of the township. Moots Creek has its source in the extreme northwestern sections, winding in a general southeasterly direction to the southern boundary of the township, about a mile from its eastern line, and thence passing into Tippecanoe County on its way to join the Tippecanoe. Spring Creek rises in the northern part of the township. It also flows southeast and empties into the Tippecanoe River at Springboro, the oldest town in the township, where the first postoffice was established on the stage line from Lafayette to Michigan City. It was five miles east of Brookston, one of those several "paper towns" in White County, crumpled up by the lack of a railroad. Its site, where the creek joins the river, with a series of bluffs rising from the smaller to the larger stream, was picturesque, and still is; but natural beauty could not make Springboro grow.
Spring Creek itself is not as long as Moots, but, by reason of the living springs which feed it so abundantly and unvaryingly along its entire course, its volume of water is probably much greater. Both streams have made the township ideal for stockmen, and in the early times many large tracts of land on their banks were fenced off for the pasturage and raising of cattle.
The native grasses have almost disappeared from the township, the area of prairie land having been broken up and cultivated to corn, oats and other grain. Timothy is largely cultivated, yielding two or three tons to the acre, and after the crop is removed the meadow land is utilized for pasture until the stock is housed for the cold months. Red clover is also cultivated to some extent. Corn is the principal grain product of the township, and it can be grown both on prairie and timber soil. The yield from the open lands, however, averages sixty bushels to the acre, while that of the timber tracts is not quite as much. Oats, rye and buckwheat are other cereals which do well, while grapes and other fruits are raised with profit on the hills, which lie chiefly in the southeastern part of the township where the creeks empty into the Tippecanoe.
In view of the natural features of Prairie Township, it is easy to understand why its eastern sections were quite well settled before the fertile prairies of the west were scarcely scratched. The explanation is so well put by one who wrote from observation that we quote: "The first settlers of Prairie township were mainly from Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, and it is not a matter for wonder that they preferred the wooded section for a dwelling place. Grubbing and clearing the land of timber was a familiar pastime with them in the states whence they had moved, but ditching and breaking the tough sod of the prairie was work to which they were comparative strangers. They knew how to cut down a tree and make rails from the body to enclose their land, and cord wood from the top for fires in the winter, and to cook their meals at all seasons, but ditching and breaking prairie sod were altogether out of their line of work, and, besides, after the ditches were completed and the land ploughed, the fencing of the fields remained. Why not clear out this timber land at once and leave the prairie for a later but more unfortunate emigrant to subdue? The choice was between labor with which they were familiar and that to which they were unaccustomed, and was quickly and easily decided in favor of the timber section.
"It was of small moment to them what part of their real estate was cultivated, whether timber or prairie. Either would produce more than was sufficient for their wants, and there was no market for the surplus grain and vegetables at home, and the price offered in the distant markets would not repay them for the time, labor and expense required for transportation. The yield from a very small field was sufficient to supply the necessary food for the family and stock, with which latter every farmer was provided. The hogs required little attention, as they roamed at will in the woods, and grew and fattened on the mast, principally white oak acorns, of which nature afforded an ample supply. The cattle, in summer, fattened on the rich grass of the prairies and required in winter only the same grass made into hay. Horses, too, gained a rich living in summer on the grass of the prairie, and in winter the prairie hay, with oats and corn added, kept them in good condition for the next season's work.
"Not much attention was given by the first settlers to the raising of wheat for bread. It was a long distance to a mill which would make flour, and when procured it was far inferior in quality to that made in the roller mills of today. Corn meal and hominy was an excellent substitute. Hog and hominy was the main food of the family throughout the winter, though a great variety was easily obtained at the will of the settler. Game was abundant; deer, squirrels, wild turkeys, geese, ducks, quail and prairie chickens, were found without hunting, and the settler need not go beyond the limit of his clearing to procure a supply. Wild honey was found in the woods and fish in the stream. The sugar maple furnished the settlers with molasses and sugar for the household, though there were not many children old enough to enjoy the delights of a sugar camp. In the summer, the wild strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and whortleberries, plums, grapes and other small fruits, were added to the larder; and melons of all kinds, pumpkins, squashes, citrons, Irish and sweet potatoes, came in their season--the berries and fruits to be had for the gathering and the vegetables for the planting of the seed, with little attention afterward.
"With this array of luxuries, there was small danger of the settlers suffering anxiety from the distress of any probable famine overtaking them in their new homes."
The first lands entered in Prairie Township, generally with the intention of establishing homes upon them, were in sections 3, 5, 17, 20, 22, 26, 29, 31, 33 and 34. With the exception of the tract entered in section 33, all of the lands filed upon previous to the organization of the township in 1834 were not located west of the present site of Brookston. The following are the names of these pioneer landlords, most of whom became settlers: in 1829--Jesse L. Watson, 80 acres in section 3; William Phillips and Jesse Johnson, each 80 acres in section 26; William Kennedy, 80 acres in section 34; and Robert Barr, 80 acres in section 36.
1830--Bazil Clevenger, 80 acres in section 33; Charles Wright, 80 acres in section 22; Frederick Smith, 146 acres in section 31; Christian Church, 80 acres in section 32; John Graham, 80 acres in section 5; Samuel Alkire, 80 acres in same section.
1831--Robert Harvey, 80 acres in section 31.
1832--Solomon McCollach, 78 acres in section 29; William Gay, 160 acres in section 29; James Gay, 40 acres in section 32; William Gay, 40 acres in section 31; William Gay, Jr., 40 acres in section 31.
1833--John Beecher, 40 acres in section 31.
1834 John Young, 80 acres in section 17; Daniel Brown, 50 acres in section 18; Jacob W. Brooks, 80 acres in section 20; Isaac Thomas, 80 acres in section 29.Land entries and settlements did not commence in the western, or prairie, part of the township, until the late '40s, and little real estate was purchased anywhere from 1837 to 1842, which may be termed the period of hard times and readjustment of values. As payment for Government lands were made in gold and silver during the first period of the township's settlement, and "hard money" was very scarce, the entries languished during the reaction from wild cat methods of finance.
The first settlers in what is now Prairie Township do not appear in its list of land owners. Royal Hazleton [sic] is credited with being the leader of the procession of permanent residents in that section, and some claim that Joseph H. Thompson, of Big Creek Township, must yield the honor to him as the pioneer of the entire county. Mr. Hazelton settled upon the southeast quarter of section 22, about a mile southeast of the present site of Brookston, in the early part in 1829, and there erected a round-log shanty, with a roof of clapboards and a floor of puncheons, 16 by 14 feet in dimensions. He was elected a justice of the peace before White County was organized, the returns for which are still on file at Delphi, the county seat of Carroll County. Mr. Hazelton's name appears in the list of voters who cast their ballots at the second election held after White County was organized, in August, 1835; also as the second schoolteacher in the township. Which is all that is of record regarding the first housekeeper and permanent settler in Prairie Township.
It is said that about the time of Hazelton's coming, one John Ault built a pole cabin in the northern part of the township, lived with his family therein for about three months, and moved thence to Big Creek Township.
In the list of those who entered land in 1830 has been noted the name of Samuel Alkire, who took up eighty acres in section 5, the extreme northeastern corner of the township adjoining Big Creek Township. He was an Ohio man and brought his family to that locality, where they remained for about a year and then moved to Illinois. But evidently the Prairie State did not satisfy them as well as Prairie Township, for they were all back within twelve months and the father was prospecting near his former entry. He finally entered 600 acres, the line between Prairie and Big Creek townships cutting his domain; but he erected his cabin on the Big Creek portion, so thereafter was a non-resident of Prairie Township. His worthy descendants are still in that part of the county, his son John being six years of age when the family settled in section 5, Prairie Township.
Although it is recorded that William Kennedy entered eighty acres of land in section 34, on the 13th of November, 1829, his location being about three miles southeast of the present site of Brookston, he did not settle on his tract until about two years afterward. The parents brought with them an infant son, Thomas, who is now in his eighty-fifth year and a resident of Brookston. As no one living in the township has a better claim to being a connecting link between the old and the present, the editor takes pleasure in presenting the following sketch:
One of the last surviving members of the group of earliest settlers in White County is Thomas Kennedy, now living retired in Brookston. He is past fourscore years of age, and more than eighty years of his lifetime have been spent within the limits of White County. His earliest associations and memories are with conditions and people which have long since passed away. He is now living quietly at Brookston, enjoying the fruits of the labors of earlier years and a freedom from the more active cares of life. No family has lived for a longer time with more usefulness and honor in Prairie Township than the Kennedys.
Thomas Kennedy was born near Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio, November 22, 1831. In 1833 his parents, William and Marie (Montgomery) Kennedy, with their only son, Thomas, moved by wagon over corduroy roads and trails to Indiana, finally locating about 3 1/2 miles southeast of Brookston in Prairie Township. There William Kennedy bought for himself and his brother, Graham Kennedy, 400 acres at public sale. What he paid for this land is unknown, but $1.25 an acre was the minimum price and it was not more than $2.00 an acre. He later entered eighty acres from the Government. For temporary purposes he lived in a round-log cabin owned by Robert Barr, and on his own land subsequently built a hewed log cabin with stick and mud chimney, puncheon flooring laid (not nailed) down and an open fireplace. A part of the land he secured was wooded and part prairie. There William Kennedy began to farm, raising wheat and enough corn to feed hogs. On one occasion, in the fall of 1845, he drove his hogs to Lafayette, where he had them slaughtered for the by-product, and then sold the dressed meat at $2.25 net per hundred weight. On another occasion he sold a bunch of cows for $8.00 per head:
William Kennedy and wife had two daughters born to them after coming to White County. One died when about eight years of age, and the other married Dr. William H. Ball, by whom she had a family of children, some of whom are still living in this section of Indiana, though she is herself deceased. William Kennedy was born in 1794 and died in 1848, at the age of fifty-four. He was about thirty-nine years of age when he came to White County. He was a man five feet ten inches high, square built, weighed about 170 pounds and was alert, hard-working and progressive. Both he and his wife were of Irish ancestry. In polities he was a whig, and his death occurred before the dissolution of that party and the rise of the republican organization.
Thomas Kennedy, the only direct issue of his father's marriage now living, is eighty-four years of age and with the exception of two years has spent his entire life in Prairie Township. He grew up at home and helped in the work of the farm and has spent many weary days in the arduous toil of wood and field. He attended his first school in 1839. There was no schoolhouse, and a room at the home of Robert Barr was utilized for that purpose, a Miss Rothrock being the teacher. Later a cabin schoolhouse was built. In 1852 Mr. Kennedy taught a term of school in Tippecanoe County, and in 1857-58 taught in Prairie Township. His examination for a certificate was wholly oral, and covered the subjects of orthography, reading, writing and arithmetic. Thus at an early age he began bearing his part of the responsibilities of community life.
After his father's death he took charge of the home farm. His mother died in 1862. Prior to this time, on November 11, 1858, he married Catherine Bushong. Their six children now living are: John C., a resident of Brookston and owns 240 acres of land in Prairie Township. He married Elizabeth E. Wolever and has no children. They are members of the Presbyterian Church and Mr. Kennedy belongs to the Knights of Pythias and politically is a democrat. Jacob B., who is an active agriculturist, married Nellie Wolever and has two children, Thomas W. and John T. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church and in polities he is a democrat. William S., an agriculturist and stock raiser, is a resident of Kirby, Arkansas. He married a Miss McCauley. Thomas J. is a resident of Oklahoma and a farmer. Mary E., who has resided in Chicago ten years, is a professional nurse, having taken her course of instruction at the Passavant Hospital. She is a member of the Methodist Church and fraternally an Eastern Star. Martha J. is also a professional nurse, having received her training in the Home Hospital at Lafayette, Indiana.
In the spring of 1861, having sold the old homestead, Mr. Kennedy moved to a place about two miles northwest of Brookston, where his wife died in the fall of 1881. November 22, 1891, he married Elizabeth Hay. In January, 1896, Mr. Kennedy moved to Brookston, where he has sinee lived retired. He still owns 240 acres, which is operated by his son, Jacob B. Mr. Kennedy is a democrat in politics and served as assessor of Prairie Township from 1886 to 1895, inclusive. In 1855 he joined the Masonic fraternity, and has always kept up his membership, being now one of the oldest Masons in this part of Indiana.
At the first meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, held July 19, 1834, the civil organization of Prairie Township was furthered by their order that all elections during the first year should be held at the house of William Woods. Solomon McColloch was at the same time appointed inspector of elections; Samuel Smelcer, supervisor of roads; William Walter, overseer of the poor; and Samuel Alkire and William Phillips, fence viewers.
The first election, as provided for by the board, was held at Mr. Woods' house on the 6th of April, 1835, under the direction of Mr. McColloch. The following men voted and it is safe to say that the list comprised most of the landholders and citizens in the township: Charles Wright and Thomas C. Smith (judges), John Barr and William Gay (clerks), Solomon McColloch, George Brown, William Gay, Jr., Daniel Brown, Ezekiel W. Brown, William Woods, William Watson, William Sill, James Gay and Henry Smelcer. Mr. Woods was elected justice of the peace; Daniel Brown, constable; William Gay, inspector of elections; Solomon McColloch and John Barr received fourteen votes each for supervisor of roads; William Gay and William Phillips, fourteen votes each for overseers of the poor; and William Smelcer and John E. Metcalf, thirteen votes each for fence viewers.
The following cast their ballots at the house of William Woods in August, 1835: Royal Hazelton, John Barr, John Young, John Barr, Jr., Simon Hornbeck, Oliver Hammond, James Barr, Robert Barr, William Woods, Benjamin Newell, John Blair, Elisha Bowles, Joseph Bostick, Solomon McColloch, Willis Pherly, James Gay, John Price, William Gay, James Kent, John Gay, James C. Moore, Simeon Smith, John E. Metcalf, Joseph Sayre, Thomas Sutton and Samuel Smelcer.
The first schools and religious organizations were established in the several log cabins which were built just southeast of what is now Brookston, in the early '30s. One Harrison taught the pioneer school in that locality, and he was closely followed by Royal Hazelton, who had erected the first house on the southeast quarter of section 22.
The religious pioneers of Prairie Township were the Methodists, who held services in the house of J. C. Moore, then a young carpenter and mechanic who had accompanied his parents from Wayne County, Indiana, in 1832. Near the same place, in a hewn-log schoolhouse, also built by him, the first class of Methodists was organized; its members included Philip Davis, John Davis and wife, and Joseph Bostick, wife and son. In 1844 the Methodists also erected a frame church about two miles southwest of Brookston's future site.
J. C. Moore, who thus came into early notice, became widely known in the county as a builder, farmer and inventor. He assisted in erecting the second building in Monticello and in constructing the first courthouse, and in his earlier manhood his services as a carpenter and mechanic were in constant demand. Residents for miles around would come to his home farm and plough, or do other work for him, while he did their repairing or made new implements. He thus followed farming and mechanics for fifteen years; then gave most of his time to his inventions, which included a hay and straw stacker, a machine for loading and unloading cars and vessels, and a steam ditcher and grader. He became prominent and well-to-do, owning 460 acres of land in White County and more than 500 in Missouri.
Besides those already mentioned, the following are recorded in the tract book in the county recorder's office as having entered various parcels of land in Prairie Township: Lewis Watson, in 1829; William Ivers, Robert Graham and Barney Davis, in 1830; Joseph Parker, James K. Woods, Robert Barr, Jacob Klepinger and Jesse L. Watson, in 1831; John E. Metcalf and Joseph Bostick, 1832; Adam Best, Samuel Best, Samuel Smelcer and Thomas C. Smith, 1833; R. P. Wilson and George P. McColloch, 1834; John Davis, James H. Moore, James Kent and Aaron Yarnell, 1835; Benjamin Creamer, Thomas Hazelton, Van McCullough, William H. Watson, Charles M. Watson, John Metts, John Beauchamp, Moses Beauchamp, Risden Beauchamp, James Beauchamp, Cyrus Barr, Ranson McConahay and Alexander Redding, 1836; Jonathan Birch, 1837; Samuel Ramey, Manly Ramey and H. Alkire, 1841; Jesse W. Robinson, Nelson Hornback, Asa Haff, John Matthews, George Shigley, Jackson Alkire, John Parrish, John Russell, John Ramey, John Thichart and Zadock Russell, Jr., 1846; Jason Alkire, John Price, John Kious, Milam A. Kious, John Davis, John Mahin, Solomon Hays, Samuel Batchelder, John C. Hutchins, Richard Eastman, Thomas Chilton and Jason Alkire, 1847; John Ramey, James Smith, James Griffith and Henry C. Parker, 1848; Joseph W. Davis, 1849; John P. Carr and Solomon Carr, 1850; Andrew Swearingen, 1851.
Ralph A. Cutler, who is now a resident of Brookston in his eighty-sixth year, is the oldest member of a family which has been identified with the progress of various townships in the eastern part of the county for a period of sixty-three years. When a lad of twelve years he was brought by his parents from his native county of Pickaway, Ohio. Loren Cutler, his father, had loaded his family, consisting of wife and five children, into a strong emigrants' wagon, which, in due time, landed the household and all its effects on what was known as the Cochran place, a short distance from Idaville, Jackson Township. After living there for two years as a renter, Mr. Cutler bought eighty acres on Pike Creek, Union Township, paying $300 for the tract. There he lived until his death in 1882, his family having in the meantime increased by the addition of five children. Although over six feet in height, the deceased was of frail health. Five of his sons are yet living in White County, of whom the eldest is Ralph A., who has been a resident of Prairie Township since 1852.
Mr. Cutler has spent the greater part of his life as a farmer, his only real venture into side channels being when he hauled all the timber which went into the construction of the Monticello dam. When he located in Prairie Township in 1852 he bought 160 acres of land, which he subsequently sold and purchased 100 acres in Liberty Township. He well remembers when he was a boy of marketing corn which had been raised by himself and brother, at Monticello, for 16 cents per bushel. In 1862 when in his prime as a farmer, he raised 6,000 bushels of corn, for which he received 11, 17 and 22 cents per bushel, in three lots of 2,000 bushels each.
Mr. Cutler is the father of five children (his wife dying in 1912), of whom a son and a married daughter are living.
Moots Creek furnished water power for the two early sawmills which supplied the settlers in the eastern part of the township with lumber for their houses and farm buildings. The first industry in that line was established by Robert Barr in 1838. He dammed the creek about a quarter of a mile above where the mill was located, in section 31, and constructed a race which worked well when the water was high enough, usually in the spring months. The saw was one of those up-and-down arrangements and was kept quite busy when there was power for about a decade. For many years some of the old timbers remained to mark the spot where the first sawmill of the township was erected.
The second and last sawmill was erected in the Gay settlement, in the southeastern corner of the township, about 1862. It was built by P. M. Kent, who also attached machinery for grinding wheat and corn. The grist mill was discontinued after about a year of well-meant efforts, and the sawmill struggled along for five years, when the entire enterprise was abandoned.
Since that time the industries of the township have centered at Brookston, now a village of 1,000 people, situated on the main line of the Monon route and surrounded by a beautiful and productive country of fruits, grains and live stock. It is to the southwestern part of the county what Monon is to the northwestern--the chief trading and banking center for a prosperous country covering a radius of several miles.
Brookston was platted in April, 1853, when the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad was put through that section of the county, and was named in honor of James Brooks, who was then president of the railway company. It has grown steadily, which fact largely accounts for the increase in population of the township as a whole. In 1890 there were 1,885 people in Prairie Township and in 1910, 2,181.
Some time during the prosperous days of the Wabash and Erie Canal, probably just a few years prior to the Civil war, while Pittsburg, over on the Wabash, was an important trading point, there sprung up in the little valley at the mouth of Spring Creek, in the eastern part of Prairie Township, a little village called Springboro. The first house was probably built by a German from the wine producing countries of Southern Europe, who planted an extensive vineyard on the southern slope of the hill on the north side of the valley and engaged extensively in the production of wine. He also kept a general store which was used as a distributing point for the neighborhood mail sent out there from the regular postoffice at Pittsburg. This, with a blacksmith shop, a cooper shop and two or three dwellings, constituted the village in its most prosperous days.
Springboro was located on what was known as the Finch Grove Road, leading from Pittsburg to Brookston, only a short distance from where that road crossed the Tippecanoe River, and first became generally known over the county in December, 1869, when Asa Haff and others filed a petition asking that a bridge be built at that point. As the river here forms the boundary line between the counties of Carroll and White, a joint meeting of the boards of commissioners of the two counties was held "at the house of Lucas Trontle" February 9, 1870, at which it was ordered that a bridge "be built of wood, covered, weatherboarded and painted." On March 8th this order was set aside and another joint meeting called for March 30, 1870, also "at the house of Lucas Trontle." This meeting was held under considerable difficulties. The roads were almost impassable and the White County officials were compelled to go to Brookston by railroad and thence to Springboro in a wagon drawn by six horses, arriving there late in the evening. There were present from Carroll County James W. Glasscock, John A. Troxell and Warren Adams, commissioners; John A. Kane, auditor; John W. Jackson, sheriff; Barney Daily, county attorney; and several other interested parties from Pittshurg and Delphi. From White County there were Christopher Hardy and James C. Gress, commissioners Theodore J. Davis, the other White County commissioner, not being able to reach the meeting--George Uhl, county auditor; William E. Saunderson, deputy sheriff; and Thomas Bushnell, county attorney. It was then ordered that an iron bridge be built, Carroll County to pay in round numbers seven-elevenths and White County to pay four-elevenths of the cost. A contract was later let and the bridge built at a total cost of $22,540.98; and Charles Angel, Lucas Trontle, Isaac Wilson, Levi Riley, James Gay, John W. Jackson, John Gay and Cyrus Barr bound themselves to pay the first year's interest on this amount.
This old history is of special interest at this time, as the bridge here mentioned has been condemned after forty-five years of service and a petition for a new structure is now pending, again requiring the joint action of the two counties.
While there has been little, if any, increase in the population of the rural districts in the township, those who have remained to improve their homesteads and raise their grain and live stock have reached a high grade of comfort and contentment; for to the natural fertility of the soil they have added such artificial developers as fertilizers, crop rotations and scientific drainage. What is as much to the point, in the way of bringing comfort and contentment to the farmers of Prairie Township they can now get their produce to market, even if they are raised miles from the railroad.
In the early days before the inauguration of the Good Roads Movement, it was almost impossible for the farmers to market their products in the western or prairie districts--in the very sections of the bumper crops. The fall, winter and spring rains, which rarely failed, made passage over the dirt roads with loaded wagons almost an impossibility. It made little difference how much work was done in the way of grading and ditching. As one who has floundered through those muds remarked in disgust, "the higher the grade the deeper the mud." Until the surface of the prairies was frozen over in winter or dried by the summer suns, the farmers were forced to allow their grain to lie in the cribs and bins, awaiting a favorable time to deliver it to market.
The last thirty, especially the past twenty, years have brought a radical change for the better in the construction of roads which enable the farmers to readily get everything they raise to the desired market. Among the townships of the county, Prairie leads in the progress of the Good Roads Movement within her bounds. The bonded indebtedness incurred in the construction of fine macadam or gravel roads which thus accommodate her farmers and residents as a whole, amounts to $85,570, divided among the different roads as follows: Schneider, $2,400; Kelley, $6,400; Dobbins, $3,600; Carson, $4,000; Sleeth, $2,750; Nagle, $2,850; Vanderbilt, $5,000; Redding, $3,780; Holwerda, $2,650; Anderson, $4,500, Younger, $4,500; Brackney, $13,600; Gay, $17,640; Krapff, $5,400; Fewell, $6,500.