Platting of Fort Wayne and the First Local Government
While the traders, large and small alike, were thus successfully evading
any effective control over their operations, Fort Wayne was developing
from a frontier army post and portage center into a very prosperous
community. Its strategic location, the opening of a land office in 1822
and its selection as the county seat of Allen county brought many new
settlers to the area.
The land office was established at Fort Wayne by an act of Congress on
May 8, 1822.[1] The coming of Joseph Holman of Wayne county, appointed
by President Monroe to serve as the first register of the land office,
and Captain Samuel C. Vance of Dearborn county, as the receiver of the
public moneys, was the signal for great activity in securing the
choicest sites when the sale should open in the fall of 1823.
Register Holman and Captain Vance established their office in the old
fort where much of the clerical work of the business came under the
direct supervision of a young man who accompanied Captain Vance as his
assistant, Allen Hamilton. Hamilton later became one of the most
foremost merchants in the Fort Wayne area. He was born in Tyrone county,
Ireland in 1798 and came to America in 1817 to retrieve the family
wealth which had been lost by his father. In this he was quite
successful after arriving at Fort Wayne. As a trader, he became a good
friend of the Miamis, and in particular Chief Richardville. In this
manner he was generally able to obtain choice land sites from the
Indians in exchange for payment of their debts. He and Tipton later
became partners in buying and improving Indian lands for speculation. In
political affairs he was not so successful, later incurring the powerful
opposition of the Ewings by reason of his friendship with the American
Fur Company.
The act that set up the land office at Fort Wayne provided that all
public lands for which the Indian title had been extinguished and which
had not been granted to or secured for the use of any individual or
individuals or appropriated and reserved for any other purpose were to
be opened for sale. It was necessary to make some decision about the
fort and public buildings which had been used by the Indian agency since
the withdrawal of the garrison in 1819. Upon the recommendation of Lewis
Cass, the site of the fort and thirty acres additional were withheld
from the sale in order that the Indians assembling for councils or
annuity payments might have a place for encampment. The land speculators
were bitterly disappointed and made periodic efforts to secure part of
the valuable reserve. Tipton was one of the principal opponents of its
sale as long as the agency remained at Fort Wayne.[2]
On October 22, 1823—the thirty-third anniversary of Harmar’s defeat on
this same spot, and the twenty-ninth anniversary of the dedication of
the original fort—the government land sale was opened in the fort. John
T. Barr, a merchant of Baltimore, Maryland, and John McCorkle, an active
citizen of Piqua, Ohio, combined their resources and purchased the tract
which is known as the Original Plat.
Neither of these original proprietors of Fort Wayne chose to make his
home here. Nothing is known of the activities of John T. Barr in
Baltimore, beyond the showing of the Baltimore city directories of his
period, which refer to him as a merchant. More is known, however, of the
activities of John McCorkle. He was born at Piqua in 1791. As the owner
of a carding mill, gristmill and oil mill, he laid the foundation for a
prosperous future and became Piqua’s most enterprising citizen. In 1819,
together with John Hedges, he furnished supplies of beef and bread to
the Indians at Fort Wayne while they were awaiting their annuity
payments. Two years later he founded St. Mary’s, Ohio. He was actively
engaged in state and national politics in 1829, when he died at the age
of thirty-eight.
Barr and McCorkle came to the Fort Wayne land sale together, in a
bateau, which they propelled down the St. Mary’s river. For the original
tract, they paid twenty-six dollars per acre, in that year an
extravagant price for western land.[3] They took immediate steps to plat
the property and to offer it for sale in the form of business and
residence lots. A surveyor was employed to lay out the property which
today would include that part of Downtown Fort Wayne bounded on the
north by the Nickel Plate Railroad, on the east by Barr Street, on the
south by Washington Boulevard, and on the west by the alley between
Calhoun and Harrison streets. The plat consisted originally of 110 lots.
There were four north-and-south streets and five east-and-west streets.
Alexander Ewing secured eighty acres of ground immediately west of the
Barr and McCorkle tract. This later became known as “Ewing’s addition”.
The tract known as “Wells pre-emption”, lying between the forks of the
St. Mary’s and St. Joseph rivers, having been set aside by Congress for
Captain Wells as early as 1808, was purchased by his heirs at the
minimum price of $1.25 an acre.
The land offices were continued at Fort Wayne during the period of
twenty-one years. The positions connected with it were considered
excellent rewards for political service. Thus, with the inauguration of
Jackson in 1829 Holman and Vance were removed. Later appointees were
also appointed or removed according to the political fortune of their
parties.
While the proprietors of their newly purchased land were busy preparing
for the sale of lots, the state legislature on December 11, 1823, passed
an act creating the county of Allen, with jurisdiction over what is now
Wells, Adams, DeKalb, and Steuben counties and portions of Noble,
LaGrange, Huntington, and Whitley counties.[4] This area included
practically all of northwestern Indiana. The name of Allen county was
suggested by John Tipton, who was an ardent admirer of Colonel John
Allen, the gallant Kentuckian who, after aiding in the relief of Fort
Wayne in 1812, lost his life at the battle of the River Raisin in
Michigan.
Barr and McCorkle awaited the organization of the county government,
after which they proceeded with the work of securing returns on their
investments. At this time there were no streets beyond beaten paths and
driveways which had, by chance, come into accepted use whenever one man
chose to walk or drive over a route taken by another before him.
However, with the laying out of the streets for the future town, the
site assumed an air of order and enterprises. There was work for all.
The legislative act creating Allen county took effect April 1, 1824. Six
days previous to this date, four state commissioners arrived to select
the seat of government for the new county. Throughout the West the
various town promoters frequently fought vigorously to have _their_
community selected as county seat. This usually led to fierce rivalries
between neighboring towns. However in the case of Allen county, Fort
Wayne faced no competition due to its dominant position in location and
population, it being the only village of any size in northeastern
Indiana. These commissioners, in accordance with instructions from the
state legislature, held their session at the tavern of Alexander Ewing,
known as Washington Hall, and soon completed the formalities of their
mission.
The first election of county officers occurred on May 22. Previous to
this, Governor William Hendricks had named Allen Hamilton to serve as
sheriff of Allen county. The election of county officers was held in
accordance with the sheriff’s proclamation. Although partisan politics
did not enter into it, the race was a heated one, as indicated by the
attempt of the defeated candidates to contest the election.
The voters selected Samuel Hanna and Benjamin Cushman for associate
circuit court judges; Anthony Davis for clerk and recorder; and William
Rockhill, James Wyman, and Francis Comparet for county commissioners.
Alexander Ewing, a rival of Samuel Hanna, and Marshall K. Taylor, who
ran against Comparet, contested the election, claiming that there was an
unfair count of the ballots. However, they failed to prove their
charges.
At the first meeting of the commissioners, John Tipton was appointed to
the important post of county agent. The commissioners also fixed the
following figures to regulate the rates to be charged by tavernkeepers,
who were required to pay an annual license fee of $12.50 to conduct
their business: Dinner, breakfast, and supper 25 cents; keeping horse,
night and day, 50 cents; lodging per night 12½ cents; whiskey, per half
pint 12½ cents; brandy, per half pint, 50 cents; gin per half pint, 37½
cents; cider, per quart, 18 cents.
The board also decided upon the following rates for assessment on
personal property for the year of 1824: Male person, over the age of 21
years, 50 cents; horse or mule, 37½ cents; work oxen, 19 cents; gold
watch, $1; silver watch, 25 cents; pinchbeck watch, 25 cents; pleasure
carriage, four wheels, $1.50; pleasure carriage, two wheels, $1.00.[5]
Treasurer Holman reported that in 1824 the county was entitled to
$111.62 from taxes. The state at that time, and for a long period to
follow, paid a bounty on all wolf scalps taken; the certificates thus
issued were receivable for tax payments. For the first years, nearly all
the taxes of Allen county were paid off in these certificates, a clear
indication of the wild nature of the Fort Wayne area.
The first session of the Allen County circuit court was held beginning
August 9, 1824, at Ewing’s tavern, with Judges Cushman and Hanna
presiding. The records of the opening years of the county’s judicial
history reveal the fact that very few of the leading citizens escaped
indictment on charges of selling liquor illegally, larceny, assault and
battery, gambling, defamation of character, or trespassing, while the
civil and chancery cases were numerous from the beginning.[6]
The report of the first grand jury, which was received no doubt with
complacency by the community, would if duplicated at the present time
precipitate official investigations and loss of positions. But it
reflects the spirit of the time in early Fort Wayne. Both of the
associate judges were indicted for minor offenses. Of the nine
defendants charged with illegal sale of liquors, the large part were men
whose names are synonymous with the builders of early Fort Wayne. Six of
those accused of the illegal sale of liquor paid fines of three dollars,
while the remaining three drew fines of four dollars each. Apparently it
was well worth such small fines to be able to trade with the Indians,
and the practice continued.
The most important matter to come before the county commissioners in
1824 was the proposition of John T. Barr and John McCorkle in regard to
the town plat which they had laid out in August. The offer included a
grant to the county treasury of $500 cash and the donation to the county
of one square for the use of public buildings (the present Court House
square), one lot for a school building, and one lot for a church of no
particular denomination, but free to all. In addition to this, Barr and
McCorkle offered various other lots located throughout the plat to be
disposed of by the county.
The commissioners lost little time in accepting this offer, and the town
of Fort Wayne consisting of about sixteen square blocks came into
existence. The deed was made out to John Tipton, the county agent. The
first lots were sold September 18, 1824, under the direction of Tipton.
The buyers were Francis Comparet, William Barbee, William Suttenfield,
Edward Mitchel, Thomas Rue, Charles W. Ewing, Rees Goodwin, John J.
Griggs, Benjamin Kercheval, Christopher Vallequitte, Jean B.
Richardville, Alexander Ewing, William Murphy, Benjamin Archer, Moses
Scott, James Scott, William N. Hood, Jacob Everly, Walker and Davis,
Samuel Hanna, and Benjamin and Jacob Glossbruner.[7]
Some of these lots, in the heart of the present city, sold for $10.25;
the highest brought only $25. The entire thirty-six lots comprising this
original sale netted only $690.50, an average of less than $20. per lot.
Most of the purchasers made a down payment of half the purchase price.
After the sale of some of the remaining lots, Tipton resigned as county
agent on September 5, 1825, and Charles W. Ewing was appointed to fill
the vacancy.
With the selection of Fort Wayne as the county seat and the improvement
and sale of the public lands, new settlers began to arrive in 1824. One
of these was Hugh Hanna, the brother of Samuel Hanna, who established
the first cabinet and carpenter shop. The villagers were becoming
prosperous enough to build more permanent homes and furnish them with
better furniture. Chief Richardville and Samuel Hanna, following the
best tradition in the East, imported most of their household furnishings
from France.
Another indication that Fort Wayne was becoming a village for the more
permanent type of settler was the establishment of a small brick factory
north of the town by Benjamin Archer who also arrived in 1824. From the
products of his yards the first brick building at Fort Wayne was
constructed near the end of that year.
Other settlers of 1824 were Mrs. Peter Edsall and her nine children. At
Fort Wayne the family purchased a farm. Later her sons—Samuel, John
Simon, and William—became identified in the developments of the town,
establishing saw mills, laying plank roads, and finally contracting for
the construction of the first railroad to reach Fort Wayne. William
Stewart, Smalwood Noel, John Bruno, Charles and Francis Minie, Richard
Chobert, and Joseph Barron also came to the village in 1824. Most of
these people came from Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia by way of the Ohio
and St. Mary’s rivers. A few of them came from the Detroit region or
from New York state by way of Lake Erie and the Maumee river.
[1]_U. S. Statutes at Large_, 3: 701-2; 6:448.
[2]At a later date part of the reserve was taken over by the state in
connection with the opening of the Wabash-Erie canal; the remaining
twenty acres were purchased by Cyrus Taber and opened for sale in
1835. It appears from John Tipton’s correspondence at the time that
he and Allen Hamilton also had an interest in Taber’s purchase.
[3]_John Tipton Papers_, II, _IHC_, XXV, p. 18.
[4]_Revised Laws of Indiana, 1823-24_, p. 109. This legislative act took
effect April 1, 1824.
[5]Treasurer’s Report for Allen County, 1824, Allen County Historical
Society Archives.
[6]Judge Allen Zollars, “Bench and Bar of Allen County” quoted in
Charles Slocum, _Valley of the Upper Maumee River_, II, p. 439.
[7]_Tipton Papers_, I, _IHC_, XXIV, p. 405.