Terre Haute, 1823-1893

According to the History of the Public Library in Vigo County, provisions for libraries were made in the first state constitution of 1816. At least ten percent of the sale of lots was to be set aside for a library. In 1822, Joseph Jenckes began the purchase of books and John Britton was the librarian. The books, close to eight hundred volumes, were selected from Providence, Rhode Island and the collection was nearly equal to one book per citizen of the village of Terre Haute at the time.

In 1824, Terre Hauteans proudly welcomed the arrival of the steamboat known as the Ploughboy, the second steamboat to arrive in Terre Haute. The first steamboat, the Florence, arrived at Terre Haute on May 7, 1823 and docked at the foot of Oak Street. As is evident in this newspaper account, the steamboat was an amazing sight to Terre Haute citizens and also helped build the foundation for trade and industry in the city.

Travel along the Wabash was dangerous for many reasons, especially due to the spread of infectious diseases. With limited ability to treat an outbreak of illnesses like smallpox, the recently formed board of health was forced to pass an ordinance in 1832 which would issue a very heavy fine of $500 for any boat captain who knowingly permitted infected persons to travel across the Wabash.

On January 31, 1835, the Terre Haute merchant and statesman William C. Linton passed away. His obituary attested to the great esteem and prominence he held within the Terre Haute community. Linton’s contributions to the city were many. As Vigo County Commissioner, he oversaw the construction of the first courthouse and was president of the first Terre Haute library.

Advertisements from April 1839 welcomed Terre Haute citizens and travelers to the magnificent and newly opened Prairie House and announces employment opportunities at the hotel. Built by Chauncey Rose in September 1838, the hotel was set on a 320-acre farm that stretched from Walnut to Locust Streets and was the precursor to the Terre Haute House. While the hotel was known as one of the finest in the area, the advertisement also alluded to the sense of convenience and comfort it provided to its tenants.

An important milestone in the commercial life of Terre Haute occurred when Thomas H. Blake sold the entire stock of his dry goods to William J. Ball in July 1841. Thomas Blake’s political career focused on urging funding for the completion of the Wabash & Erie Canal through Terre Haute. William J. Ball, a native of Virginia, had been commissioned to work on the Wabash and Erie Canal as the resident engineer. The management of Thomas Blake’s dry goods store was assisted by Alexander Beard.

A year after the founding of what is now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in 1840, new pupils were being recruited. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and five other Sisters of Providence embarked on a journey from their convent in Ruille-Sur-Loir, France in 1840 to establish an academy for young women in Indiana. Advertisements from October 1841 gave a glimpse into the quality education offered by the academy and the rare opportunity it provided to young women living in this time period.

The Vigo Collegiate, something like an early experiment in higher education for Terre Haute, was set to open its doors on January 10, 1848. The school was located in the old seminary building, now part of the grounds of Indiana State University. Its first principal was E.T. Baird. Several scholars who took teaching positions here became well known.

The 4th Indiana Volunteer Infantry had several reliable men willing to join the fight in the Mexican-American War, some of them from Vigo County. An announcement in late July 1848 indicated that these men were waiting to be mustered out. Though held back by finances and infrastructure, several volunteer regiments formed during the governorship of James Whitcomb.

When the 73 mile stretch to Indianapolis was concluded, a trip across the steel ribbon was taken by Chauncey Rose, mechanic Charles Peddle, and engineer William Baugh on February 14, 1852. By the time trains were steadily moving about the stretch, the Terre Haute Journal was hailing it as a new outlet which labor and goods could be transported that would aid in making Terre Haute “the largest and most flourishing” city in the state. The celebration of the railroad’s completion would not be celebrated until May 1853.

The first Vigo County Fair was held on Saturday, October 16, 1852. According to the Friday, October 22, 1852 Terre Haute Journal, the fair was not widely attended and “few articles were brought forward for exhibition.” However, interest and attendance was expected to grow for the following year’s fair.

On Monday, May 30, 1853, Terre Haute held its first municipal election to appoint individuals to serve as city officials until the second Tuesday of May 1854. The officials elected consisted of a Mayor, a total of ten Councilmen (two from each Ward), Clerk, Assessor, Civil Engineer, Street Commissioner, Marshal, and City Attorney. William K. Edwards was elected Mayor and a message for the city first appeared on page 2 of the June 10, 1853 issue of the Terre Haute Journal.

Upon accepting the nomination for Mayor, Chambers Patterson declared that as a life-long democrat he was proud to “defeat this beautiful Whig City.” The Wabash Express was founded in 1842 by a prominent Whig citizen, Thomas Dowling. The Wabash Express admonished Patterson to tread lightly lest he “rouse the sleeping lion,” evidently an allusion to the Whig Party.

The Terre Haute Female College was dedicated on Thursday, September 2, 1858. Terre Haute’s R. W. Thompson delivered the address, and music was provided to attendees. The college began accepting pupils on Wednesday, September 8, 1858. The school was founded in hopes of being an alternative for young women who would otherwise travel abroad for their studies.

An advertisement from the Ulyssean Debating Club in the January 28, 1859 edition of the Daily Wabash Express informs readers of the speaking engagement of George D. Prentice, the controversial editor of the Louisville Journal and backer of the Know Nothing Party. Debating clubs helped foster discussion and public education on relevant social and political topics. They were also a forum for hearing different speakers who could alter one’s world view.

In mid-April of 1861, the newly formed Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina in an act of aggression against the Union. Four days later, the citizens of Terre Haute rallied at the Court House in order to show support for the Union and their wishes that “no traitorous hands…break it down.” The meeting was bi-partisan in nature and it was asked that all “paltry differences…about matters of politics” be forgotten.

The notice of Charles Cruft in November 1861 that his business would be attended to by another man was due to his active engagement as Colonel of the Thirty-First Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Cruft’s law partner, John P. Baird, also became active in the Civil War when he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 85th Indiana Volunteer Regiment.

Adolph Herz and David Arnold purchased Benjamin Weisz’s hoop skirt factory on South Fourth Street in February 1869. A German Jewish immigrant to Terre Haute, Herz became one of the best known retailers in downtown Terre Haute and was the founder of the Terre Haute Commercial Club. His store thrived after its move to the northeast corner of Sixth and Wabash. Herz’ business served the community for almost half a century.

Indiana State Normal School, later Indiana State Teacher’s College and then Indiana State University, received its first students on January 6, 1870. It was founded with the intent that those in attendance could “fit themselves for the teacher’s profession.” There were 135 students enrolled in the school. The timing of the institution’s founding was very fortunate for if it had “been founded sooner its progress would have been painfully slow…” and if later, “it would have missed the chance to pass its initial stage during the years when the free, public school system of the state was coming into being with miraculous rapidity.”

The Terre Haute Opera House opened to the public on Monday night, December 19, 1870. Nationally renowned comedian John E. Owens appeared in both plays shown on opening night, “Everybody’s Friend” and “Salon Shingle.” Seats in the family circle were available this night only on a first come, first serve basis.

On June 30, 1872, Providence Hospital was dedicated by the city. The hospital, designed by architect J.H. Vridagh, took two years to build and was located in the northwest part of the city. A “goodly sum” of the $50,000 fee to construct the Catholic hospital was donated by Chauncey Rose. The rest was either donated by others or raised by Catholics.

In late October 1874, Chauncey Rose and 13 individuals selected by Mr. Rose founded the Vigo County Orphan Home. Thirty acres of land were obtained for the home itself, which would also be home to “aged females, crippled persons, and…aged males” which were all to be residents of Vigo County. Rose had bequethed $150,000 to the organization at his passing in 1877, so by the time the cornerstone of the building was laid on May 19, 1883, enough interest had accrued to fund the completion of the buildings and grounds.

The week prior to August 7, 1875 was a difficult one for the city of Terre Haute. Heavy rains and flooding cut off railroad transportation and made many roads in the country impassable.

On August 13, 1877, Terre Haute philanthropist Chauncey Rose died. Born December 24, 1794 in Wethersfield, Connecticut, he found success in the milling business of Parke County, Indiana before residing permanently in Terre Haute in 1825, where he earned great financial success through real estate. Besides establishing the Prairie House, later the Terre Haute House, on Seventh and Wabash, Rose was best known for his investments in the railroads, seeing them as a way to increase Terre Haute’s role as a center for commerce. He donated a sizable portion of his wealth to organizations in the area, namely the Rose Orphan Home, Rose Dispensary, Rose Ladies’ Aid Society, and Rose Polytechnic School.

Terre Haute lost one of its greatest benefactors, Curtis Gilbert, in 1877. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, on June 8, 1795, Curtis came to Terre Haute in 1814 at the age of 19 following a short stay in New Orleans with his uncle. Before the organization of Vigo County, he was the first postmaster at Fort Harrison. He was well known for his perfectionism both as county clerk and the president of the Terre Haute branch of the State Bank. He died on October 30, 1877 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. W.S. Warner in Manatee, Florida.

In 1833, the agents Thompson and Condit were seeking steersmen and oarsmen for their flat boats. The flat boat was the major form of transportation for means of trade. Even during the time of the steamboat, the flat boat trade was “too firmly established to be entirely supplanted.” The flat boat was a “veritable ark made to float with the current, and wonderfully adapted to carrying large cargoes of corn, pork, lard and all kinds of country produce down the river to New Orleans.”

On October 11, 1889, Axtell, a three-year-old stallion, set the world record for trotting at the world-famous harness racing track at the fairgrounds, located at Brown and Wabash. Axtell trotted a 2:12 mile while being driven by C. W. Williams of Independence, Iowa. Later that evening, Axtell was sold to a syndicate run by William Putnam Ijams and John Conley for the sum of $105,000, $30,000 more than had ever been paid for any other horse.

Herman Hulman, born in Lingen, Germany in 1831, immigrated to the United States in 1854 at the request of his brother, Francis. While living in Terre Haute, he became the proprietor of the Hulman grocery store after his brother’s death. Herman Hulman’s grocery business expanded into a complex of buildings whose construction was completed on September 28, 1893. The city honored this accomplishment in a testimonial dinner with Eugene V. Debs as the guest speaker. Hulman and Company was known for baking products as well as its coffee. Its legacy has been carried on through the Clabber Girl Baking Company.