Farmland, 1897.
If ever a people were sorely fire tested it is certainly the enterprising people of Farmland. Many times in that pushing city on our west have men who with the true American hustling qualities labored honestly for years, and then defenselessly watch the proceeds of their enterprise, thrift and economy, go into the insatiate maw of the fire fiend, but never before has that fiend's visitation been so destructive as on last Sunday night and Monday morning, when the block of buildings just south of the depot was laid in ashes.
The facts of the fire as our reporter learned are: About 11:30 o'clock Sunday night Nightwatch Elza McNees discovered the rear end of Robert Meeks' drug store, which is located in the lower floor of the Odd Fellows Block, on fire. He immediately gave the alarm by ringing the fire bell. When he returned to the fire several were there attempting to put it out. While thus working some fireworks in the front part of the store were discovered to be on fire. This made entrance to the room impossible as the back and front parts were both blazing too strong, hence the chemical engine which the city owns was of no avail. The flames rapidly spread and in a short time the entire room was ablaze, which soon caught other parts of the building, and the united effort of every man, woman and child of Farmland, working heroically, could not stay its course until the entire block was consumed. On the north by hard work the depot was saved, and hard fighting only saved the buildings on the east. The Opera House block caught many times but the flames were stopped before the damage was great. George Watson's building, just behind the Odd Fellows block, and all the other buildings west, including Wilson's carriage shop, were saved, although only after a hard fight, and some of them, being damaged.
Meeks' drug store is valued by him at $3,000, with insurance, but we could not learn what amount: none of the stock was saved. Andrew McNees' harness shop, just south of the drug store, was burned, only a few articles on a front counter being saved; loss $1.400, insurance $800. The furniture and fixtures of King & Jordan's barber shop was saved except about $50 worth; no insurance. The Odd Fellows owned the brick block in which these store were located, occupying the second floor thereof. The lodge and the Rebecca Degree lost all of their fine paraphernalia, furniture and charter, but the books, which were kept in a safe, were found in good condition when the safe was opened after the fire, but all records have to be recopied. This is the third time they have suffered from fire, but Phoenix like have risen from the ashes and gone foreward in their good work. $3,000 insurance was carried, but will not cover their loss by many hundred dollars.
Watson's two-story brick building on the north, was consumed next and with it the Grand Army of the Republic and Women's Relief Corps furniture, and paraphernalia, valued at $500 with no insurance. Also in the second story was a lot of queensware and $1,000 worth of unopened groceries owned by George Watson & Co., which is a total loss. Their grocery and bake shop on the lower floor was also consumed, only a few articles being saved and many of these ruined after being taken from the fire. In the store was a hundred bushels of hickory nuts which were to have been shipped Monday, 2,000 pounds of spring wheat and much Christmas goods, all of which were consumed. The company, which is composed of Mr. Watson, his son and Charley Litschert, have been buying big bills of goods this fall and were arranging to take out insurance in a few days, but were only carrying $1,000 at this time. On the building Mr. W. carried about $1,400, which makes him one of the heaviest losers. Mr. W. was totally burned out in 1875. His loss will amount to $8,00 or $10,000. On the north in the two-story brick building owned by John F. Wood, the hardware stock of Henry Branson was consumed, except a few stoves and a show case of cutlery; loss $5,000 with $2000 insurance. Mr. Wood's building was valued at $4,500, with $1,000 insurance. The goods in James S. Davis' dry goods store on the north were all removed, but in packing and repacking will make him lose something; he carried $2,000 insurance. The brick building occupied by him was owned by John Clayton, valued at $3,500, with no insurance. The second floor was owned by the Masonic lodge, and occupied by them and the Order of the Eastern Star. Both Orders suffered a complete loss of their furniture and paraphernalia; loss $1,200, with $800 insurance.
The corrugated iron Postoffice building, owned by Thomas Wilson, was consumed. Here the fire was placed under control. The Postoffice building was valued at $300, with $300 insurance on it and the fixtures, but the fixtures were saved, also the mail, and Mr. Worl, the P. M. is using Meeks' furniture store for Postoffice purposes.
The restaurant of M. M. Boots was damaged $50, insured; Mrs. Ollie Jones, milliner damaged $200, no insurance; Opera House $150, insured; the Kramer block $50, insured; W. W. Wilson was damaged $200.
When it was seen that the fire could not be controlled, the Muncie Fire Department was telegraphed for, but owing to delay in getting railroad transportation did not arrive until after 3 o'clock, but on account of no water supply they were of no use. Not until after 5 o'clock did the citizens breathe easy, at which time the fire was under control.
The loss is a serious one to Farmland, but with pluck deserving of success the burnt district will be replaced by three-story blocks, work for which will begin immediately.
The businessmen who suffered by the fire have already resumed business.
J. S. Davis has moved to the Addington building, Branson to the Nate Gray residence, Watson & Co. to Willard Thornburg's implement room, McNees and King & Jordan to the Opera House basement. The Odd Fellows, G. A. R. and auxiliaries will meet in the room over the bank. Winchester Journal, Dec., 1897.
Ridgeville, 1940.
After several weeks of work, the new remodeling program which was started in September at the Franklin Township school building is now completed and will be ready for occupancy on December 30 when school convenes for the second term. The remodeling was far behind schedule due to a delay of materials and the fact that school was being held at the same time. The upper story class rooms have been rearranged to make for more efficient high school arrangement.
The assembly which was located on the north side, on the top floor running the full width of the building from east to west, has been divided into two rooms, which consists of a Science room and a Library and study hall. The Science room which was formerly on the southwest side of the building on the second floor, and the room directly east of it have been made into one large room which will hold the Home Economics department. The Home Economics department will be fully equipped with sinks, cabinets, stoves, refrigerator etc. The Library has been furnished with new tables and chairs, the commercial department has been equipped with new typewriter desks and chairs and the room that was the former Home Economics room will be made into a combination kitchen and dining room which can be used for the public as a place for dinners, banquets, suppers and for the school cafeteria.
Some of the things that have been done in the way of remodeling the building are as follows: a complete new roof has been put on, new lathe and new plaster on all the rooms, both upper and lower floors, the hall floors have been repainted, the class room floors have been sealed with two coats of sanding sealer and two of wax, windows have been repainted and new sash and sash cord and weights have been put in. An entrance has been made on the east side of the gym and a balcony around the gym proper, which is furnished with new opera seats. New bleachers installed and an acoustic ceiling put on the gym ceiling. The playing floor has been refinished and varnished. The high school basketball team will play their first game in the new gym on January 3 when they meet Madison. There has also been installed a time clock and an electric fire alarm system. Lockers have been placed in the upper hall on the second floor for the high school students, numbering 94 all told.
The Randolph County News, December 27, 1940.
City Lights. 1978.
As the current electric energy crisis causes the lights to slowly dim throughout Randolph County and the rest of Indiana, this month will mark the 89th anniversary of Winchester's decision to illuminate its streets with electric lights.
Winchester in 1889 was not yet a boomtown. It was, however, a solidly established, steadily growing community. The railroads were already here to provide transportation; the gas boom, with all its promise, was just beginning; and electricity, the wave of the future, had just arrived. It was inevitable that a progressive town like Winchester would take advantage of this new and revolutionary source of power.
Electric lights were not the only item on peoples minds in Winchester at that time, however. Indiana also had another shining light which to be proud. Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry, had just been elected President of the United States - "Our President," the Hoosier newspapers called him, with emphasis on the "Our." The Hoosier president had put Indiana on the map, and now the editor of an Indiana newspaper, such as the Winchester Journal, could go to the White House when he was in Washington in order to shake hands with "His President."
The light from the new natural gas fields of Central Indiana was also brightening Randolph County at this time. The largest reserves of gas were just to the west of the county, with Muncie, Kokomo and Peru among the towns which were benefiting from the boom the most. But Randolph County was trying. Wells were sunk in the Farmland area, and although five out of eight which had been drilled by the spring of 1899 were dry, this did not deter other communities from following suit.
Ridgeville drilled two wells that spring, and when they both turned out to be dry the news was soon released that a third well was under way. There was small reason for congratulations to the town, but the Journal could at least express its admiration for the ambition of the people, and its hope that the new well would turn out to be a "gusher." When a well near Lynn came through with a supply of gas, the event warranted a prominent display in the newspaper. Even Union City, the Journal reported, had passed an ordinance regulating natural gas. All the town needed now, the paper remarked of its rival city, was the gas.
But for a project as important as lighting city streets for the safety of its citizens Winchester chose to go with electricity rather than gas. This was a fortunate choice, for the boom, and the gas itself, scarcely outlived the term of Indiana's Republican president, who entered the White House on March 4, 1889.
There was much support in the town for the new electric lights, but just how the system was to operate was open to debate. An item in the February 13, 1889 edition of the Journal states, "Electric lights are the best light out, but if our Town Council decides to use them, they should contract for all night service and not merely until midnight."
Apparently there was some basis for this feeling, but whether because of economical or other reasons the final contract called for service only until 1 a.m.
The Winchester Town Council met on the night of March 3, 1889, just one day before the inauguration of President Harrison, and closed a contract with the Winchester Electric Light Company for 20 arc lights of 2,000 candle power each. They were to burn from sundown to 1 a.m., more or less, according to the moonlight, fog or clouds. The town was to pay $80 per lamp for 2,500 hours of use each year.
The new streetlights would be spaced 150 feet apart on 30 foot poles, which were to be sunk 5 feet into the ground. "The lights furnished to be as good as the best lights of their kind in the United States." The contract was to go into effect in May of 1889, following a 30-day trial period.
The trial was passed successfully, and Winchester took one more step towards becoming a fully modern town. There was only one problem, and that was that the number of lights provided would be insufficient. The Journal for May 29 of that year reported that "It will take twice that number to light up a live and growing town like Winchester and then have no lamps in the new additions."
Some of the things that have been done in the way of remodeling the building are as follows: a complete new roof has been put on, new lathe and new plaster on all the rooms, both upper and lower floors, the hall floors have been repainted, the class room floors have been sealed with two coats of sanding sealer and two of wax, windows have been repainted and new sash and sash cord and weights have been put in. An entrance has been made on the east side of the gym and a balcony around the gym proper, which is furnished with new opera seats. New bleachers installed and an acoustic ceiling put on the gym ceiling. The playing floor has been refinished and varnished. The high school basketball team will play their first game in the new gym on January 3 when they meet Madison. There has also been installed a time clock and an electric fire alarm system. Lockers have been placed in the upper hall on the second floor for the high school students, numbering 94 all told.
The Randolph County News, December 27, 1940.
City Lights. 1978.
As the current electric energy crisis causes the lights to slowly dim throughout Randolph County and the rest of Indiana, this month will mark the 89th anniversary of Winchester's decision to illuminate its streets with electric lights.
Winchester in 1889 was not yet a boomtown. It was, however, a solidly established, steadily growing community. The railroads were already here to provide transportation; the gas boom, with all its promise, was just beginning; and electricity, the wave of the future, had just arrived. It was inevitable that a progressive town like Winchester would take advantage of this new and revolutionary source of power.
Electric lights were not the only item on peoples minds in Winchester at that time, however. Indiana also had another shining light which to be proud. Benjamin Harrison, grandson of William Henry, had just been elected President of the United States - "Our President," the Hoosier newspapers called him, with emphasis on the "Our." The Hoosier president had put Indiana on the map, and now the editor of an Indiana newspaper, such as the Winchester Journal, could go to the White House when he was in Washington in order to shake hands with "His President."
The light from the new natural gas fields of Central Indiana was also brightening Randolph County at this time. The largest reserves of gas were just to the west of the county, with Muncie, Kokomo and Peru among the towns which were benefiting from the boom the most. But Randolph County was trying. Wells were sunk in the Farmland area, and although five out of eight which had been drilled by the spring of 1899 were dry, this did not deter other communities from following suit.
Ridgeville drilled two wells that spring, and when they both turned out to be dry the news was soon released that a third well was under way. There was small reason for congratulations to the town, but the Journal could at least express its admiration for the ambition of the people, and its hope that the new well would turn out to be a "gusher." When a well near Lynn came through with a supply of gas, the event warranted a prominent display in the newspaper. Even Union City, the Journal reported, had passed an ordinance regulating natural gas. All the town needed now, the paper remarked of its rival city, was the gas.
But for a project as important as lighting city streets for the safety of its citizens Winchester chose to go with electricity rather than gas. This was a fortunate choice, for the boom, and the gas itself, scarcely outlived the term of Indiana's Republican president, who entered the White House on March 4, 1889.
There was much support in the town for the new electric lights, but just how the system was to operate was open to debate. An item in the February 13, 1889 edition of the Journal states, "Electric lights are the best light out, but if our Town Council decides to use them, they should contract for all night service and not merely until midnight."
Apparently there was some basis for this feeling, but whether because of economical or other reasons the final contract called for service only until 1 a.m.
The Winchester Town Council met on the night of March 3, 1889, just one day before the inauguration of President Harrison, and closed a contract with the Winchester Electric Light Company for 20 arc lights of 2,000 candle power each. They were to burn from sundown to 1 a.m., more or less, according to the moonlight, fog or clouds. The town was to pay $80 per lamp for 2,500 hours of use each year.
The new streetlights would be spaced 150 feet apart on 30 foot poles, which were to be sunk 5 feet into the ground. "The lights furnished to be as good as the best lights of their kind in the United States." The contract was to go into effect in May of 1889, following a 30-day trial period.
The trial was passed successfully, and Winchester took one more step towards becoming a fully modern town. There was only one problem, and that was that the number of lights provided would be insufficient. The Journal for May 29 of that year reported that "It will take twice that number to light up a live and growing town like Winchester and then have no lamps in the new additions."
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