WABASH COUNTY
P. 546 FOUR TOUGAS BROTHERS, FIRST SETTLERS—
THE THREE BLOCK FORTS—
TIMBER AND SAW MILLS—MILK SICKNESS—
SHIFTINGS OF THE COUNTY SEAT—
ABORIGINAL REMAINS—NOTES FROM NATURE—
THE WABASH AND MOUNT CARMEL—LIVE STOCK RAISING
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| City Hall, Mt. Carmel, Wabash County |
FOUR TOUGAS BROTHERS, FIRST SETTLERS
The first white people in the county were four brothers, August, William, Joseph, Francis Tougas. They settled in 1800 where the river village of Rochester now is. It is said that the Indians held them in great respect. The first English settlers were Levi Compton and Joshua Jordan. They settled in 1802. Levi Compton built Fort Compton in 1810. It had a palisade and contained building to accommodate people and stock. He also built the first mill in the county at his fort in Wabash precinct. John Stillwell came from Virginia in 1804, bringing a negro slave whom he freed in 1822. Enoch Greathouse, a native of Germany, settled where Mt. Carmel is, in 1804. He moved to Centerville where he died at the age of 110. In 1816 a little band left Alleghany county, New York, to try their fortunes in the great west. They came by water all the way and landed at a point on the Wabash called old Palmyra. Here they suffered from privations and sickness, losing many of their numbers, after which they moved to different parts of the county. One of that band, Rozander Smith, now 95 years old, still lives in the county. He wrote with his own hands a very full sketch of his county for which the author wishes to thank him.THE THREE BLOCK FORTS
Rozander Smith says there were three block houses or forts in Wabash county. One on Barney‘s Prairie, seven miles north of Mt. Carmel. The fort was sixty by one hundred feet. The palisade was of split logs, four feet in the ground and fifteen feet above ground, and enclosed about one-half acre. The palisade and fort would P 548
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| The Methodist Episcopal Church, Mt. Carmel |
P 549 accommodate about 50 families in times of danger. There was one in the south part of the county, and another called the Bon Pas block house, not far from the village of Lancaster. In the stockade there was a well which is still there. In addition to these three there was the Compton fort, making four in all.
Mr. Theodore Risley, who has written a very excellent history of Wabash county, tells of a horrid massacre which occurred in Copper precinct in 1815. A Mr. Cannon came into this precinct out of Indiana and built a cabin. The first day they occupied the house, while Mr. Cannon was cutting a bee tree, Indians fell on the settlers and killed all except Mrs. Cannon, a son and daughter. These were carried away into captivity. The mother and daughter were subsequently ransomed.TIMBER AND SAW MILLS
Wabash county was quite heavily covered with timber, and the early settlers were accustomed to all of the activities we find among settlers in timbered regions. The whipsaw, a thing unknown by many people of today, was the first saw mill. Later the water mill was installed. The people constructed their own furniture and utensils and farm implements. Most of the farms had to be cleared and log rollings were very common, and many thousands of dollars worth of lumber was burned up in the logs.MILK SICKNESS
Milk sickness was common in Wabash county. People took the disease if they drank the milk or ate butter of milk-sick cows. It was also claimed that the beef of milk-sick cattle would when eaten, poison the system of people, and they sometimes died. It was therefore customary to run an ox or cow a half mile before deciding on killing it for beef. If the brute was trembly and exhausted and lay down, it was not killed, but if there was no sign of exhaustion, the beef was killed. The symptoms in people was sickness at the stomach, indigestion, fainting spells, nervousness, and extreme langour. The old settlers thought that whiskey was about the only remedy for the disease.SHIFTINGS OF THE COUNTY SEAT
Edwards county, when created by proclamation of the governor in 1814, included all territory east of the third principal meridian and north of the present counties of White and Hamilton. The county seat was fixed at Palmyra. This future town was two and a half miles north of the present site of Mt. Cannel. It was a very unhealthful place and in 1821 the capital of Edwards was moved to Albion. The Mt. Carmel people were very angry at the removal of the capital to Albion and actually organized four companies of militia to recapture the records. Albion compromised by promising to assist in securing a division and thus create Wabash county. The division occurred in 1824 and Centerville chosen as the county seat. This town was to be three miles northwest of where Mt. Carmel now is. The county seat remained at Centerville till 1829 when it was removed to Mt. Carmel. P 550
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| Big Four Depot and W.M.C.A. Building, Mt. Carmel |
P 551
ABORIGINAL REMAINS
This county is rich in prehistoric and Indian remains. There are several mounds in the county which are thought to be of the Mound Builders type. From these mounds and from other sources large collections of stone axes, pipes, vases, bowls, etc., have been made.NOTES FROM NATURE
Rozander Smith was 23 years old when the deep snow came in 1830. He writes an account that agrees with all accounts that have been given of it. The snow covered the fences and people traveled on top of it and were not conscious that they were crossing fences, streams, etc. He says some animals lay frozen to death in the snow and that the carcass was well preserved in the spring and the flesh eaten. He also says that the Indians who were in that region had a tradition that seventy-five years before, another deep snow came and that animals and people suffered as did those of 1830. In 1877 a cyclone passed over Mt. Carmel and almost swept the town away. The court house was blown down, much property destroyed and eighteen lives lost. The county had suffered so heavily that the general assembly appropriated $15,000 to compensate the county and individuals.THE WABASH AND MOUNT CARMEL
The Wabash is an interesting stream. It has had so much history. One thing that is interesting now is the Grand Rapids dam. This is a piece of government work, and is located about two and a half or three miles above Mt. Carmel. It contains locks and furnishes the best fishing place on the Wabash. The dam is 1,100 feet long and eight feet high. It was built at a cost of $340,000. Another thing is interesting. That is pearl fishing along the Wabash. More than a million dollars worth of pearl has been taken from the Wabash in its course along this county. Mt. Carmel is a city of 6,934 inhabitants. The railroad shops of the Big Four are located here and have a payroll of $54,000 per month. A railroad bridge spans the Wabash and ferries accommodate the general public.LIVE STOCK RAISING
Considerable attention is given to stock raising. For 1,092 farms reporting domestic animals the value was placed at $870,786. This gives about $870 as an average for the value of stock per farm. This appears small in comparison with most counties, but more than half of the 1,092 farms reporting contain less than 100 acres. There is a stock breeders association and interest in pure-blooded live stock is growing.
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