On Oct. 25, 1849, the E.A. Hannegan and the G.R. Walker shared the honor of being the first line boats to arrive at the Terre Haute basin of the Wabash & Erie Canal.
Townsmen greeted the vessels, and the political notables aboard, with volleys of rifle fire, bands and a parade.
A feast at the Prairie House — appropriately accompanied by toasts and eloquent orations — followed.
Though no record was kept of the toasts, it is likely that the gathering saluted at least two Terre Haute men: William Crawford Linton and Thomas Holdsworth Blake.
On Feb. 22, 1832 — during the first year of Indiana Gov. Noah Noble’s administration — Grand Marshal Jordan Vigus symbolically launched construction of the long awaited manmade waterway at Fort Wayne by turning the first shovel of dirt.
By the end of the year, 32 miles had been placed under contract. Uninterrupted canal navigation between Fort Wayne and Huntington was available during 1836.
Gov. Noble named Linton, state senator and prosperous merchant, to the inaugural three-man canal fund commission. The native of Lancaster, Pa., was dedicated. When gold specie had to be delivered to eastern banks as security for canal bonds, Sen. Linton toted it alone by horseback, stagecoach, steamship and canal boat. Fearful of robbery, he did not sleep.
On Jan. 31, 1835, during one of those trips, Linton died of a violent heart attack on a stagecoach in Philadelphia. He was only 40 years old.
“No man did more for Terre Haute than William Crawford Linton,” Capt. William Earle wrote in his 1871 reminiscences.
Linton Square and Linton Street were once Terre Haute landmarks. Linton Square no longer exists, released by Linton’s heirs for use for Andrew J. Crawford’s iron works. Linton Street has been renamed Tippecanoe. Linton Township in Vigo County and the City of Linton in Greene County honor his memory.
Blake, oldest son of Dr. James Heighe Blake, third mayor of Washington, D.C. (1813-1817), married Linton’s sister Sarah but she died in 1831, leaving an infant daughter.
Having already served as U.S. District Attorney for Indiana, chief judge of the First Circuit Court, Indiana state representative and state senator and U.S. Congressman (1827-1829), Blake was one of Indiana’s esteemed pioneer statesmen.
In 1836, he was chosen by Gov. Noble to serve on the first six-man board of internal improvements.
That was the year construction began on “The Cross-Cut Canal,” a waterway intended to connect Terre Haute with the proposed Central Canal, linking the Wabash River near Peru to Point Commerce in Greene County and Evansville via the thriving towns of Marion and Indianapolis.
Thanks to effective lobbying by Blake, the legislature agreed to extend the Wabash & Erie Canal south from the Tippecanoe River, its original terminus, to Terre Haute.
Mismanagement and the Financial Panic of 1837 impeded progress. Work was halted on all canal projects in the state but the Wabash & Erie. In 1838, the state recklessly issued $5,627,000 in internal improvement bonds, $1,327,000 solely for the canal.
The state declared fiscal insolvency in 1841.
On May 19, 1842, canal proponents received a severe setback when Blake accepted an invitation from President Tyler to head the U.S. Land Office in Washington, D.C., succeeding Elisha Mills Huntington of Terre Haute. Judge Huntington resigned to accept an appointment as the sole federal judge in Indiana.
Commissioner of the national land office was a coveted post but Blake was devoted to Indiana’s internal improvements. His decision to accept the prestigious position in his former home was based upon the needs of his 11-year old daughter Glorvina.
In Terre Haute, he enlisted friends to assist in her upbringing. In Washington, Blake could turn to three brothers — primarily Dr. John Bond Blake, an eminent District of Columbia physician — a one sister — Glorvina Gordon — for support.
Without Blake, the canal struggled. At a canal convention in Terre Haute during May 1845, delegates decided to try to lure Blake back to Indiana. Charles Butler, a New York lawyer representing London and New York bondholders, attended.
More than $4 million of delinquent interest had accumulated on $11 million in canal bonds. Butler negotiated with the Indiana state legislature for seven months. When the General Assembly approved a settlement proposal, Butler went to Washington to plead for Blake’s help, convincing the former Terre Haute resident to accompany him to London as Indiana’s financial agent. While in England, Butler beseeched Blake to return to Indiana.
Blake responded with ambivalence. Glorvina’s basic needs were being met by his sister and brother. She was a teenager and he was devoted to her. If she were to return with him to Indiana, he would need to rely upon friends to help care for her.
Blake resigned as Commissioner of the U.S. Land Office effective Dec. 29, 1845. His decision to return to Indiana alone had ominous consequences.
Canal headquarters were moved from Fort Wayne to Terre Haute to accommodate Blake as resident trustee. He built offices at Fourth and Ohio streets and became immersed in his duties. The canal began harvesting a modest profit.
There were some health concerns. Driftwood floating in the canal seemed to cause disease. No one had yet discovered that mosquitoes were disease carriers.
On Nov. 24, 1849 — only 34 days after the first canal boats arrived in Terre Haute — the man most responsible for making his home community a center of the nation’s transportation focus died in agony from cholera in a Cincinnati hotel. Col. Thomas Holdsworth Blake fell victim to the ditch he was committed to save.
Glorvina Gordon, Dr. John B. Blake and Jacob H. Hager, chief clerk of the Wabash & Erie Canal, arranged to have Col. Blake’s body transported by steamer down the Ohio and up the Wabash to Woodlawn Cemetery in Terre Haute for burial.
Heartbroken by her father’s death, Glorvina Durham Blake died in Georgetown in December 1852, three months before her 21st birthday.
History
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Wabash & Erie Canal reaches Terre Haute 160 years ago
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GENEALOGY: Columnist seeks info on families from Dana
Perhaps someone out there can help me with something I’ve been working on for quite a few years
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Early Terre Haute theater includes Billy Emerson
Traveling theater troupes performed in Terre Haute before the village was incorporated on Jan. 26, 1832.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Radiant heating — a hot idea
This week’s Historical Treasure is a bit out of season, but a wood stove will help drive away the morning chill and you can make breakfast on it.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: Record-breaking temps hit Vigo
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSON: Emperor Constantine changes the world
The Emperor Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and the man who ended that empire’s persecution of Christianity, died this week (May 22) in 337 AD, having lived a life that would change the world.
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GENEALOGY: Library archives contain tons of information
Inside the archives room of the Vigo County Public Library, row after row of fragile documents, rare out-of-print books, and historic photographs are kept on shelves in a humidity and temperature-controlled room.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Historic efforts to open Center Street from Cherry to Swan
Efforts to open Center Street, from Cherry to Swan, spanned a half century or more.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002 — Valley drenched in wettest spring in 107 years
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star. -
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Some history wreathed in hair
From the unfortunate occurrence of Prince Albert’s death in 1861 came the social mores of proper mourning practices and accoutrements witnessed and endorsed by the admirers of Queen Victoria in her reign-long state of grieving.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: League of Women Voters reorganizes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Here comes the bride
The newest major exhibit at the Historical Museum, which opens Tuesday, showcases wedding gowns worn by Vigo County residents.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Downtown changes featured in early 1927
During March and April of 1927 – about 85 years ago – the owners of interests in four major downtown Terre Haute theaters were negotiating to transfer their interests to representatives of Paramount Studios.
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GENEALOGY: Genealogy isn’t for the easily embarrassed
The saying goes, if you’re easily embarrassed or afraid of what you’ll find, don’t start doing genealogy.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The long, lost, last — the 27th —Amendment
Our very last constitutional amendment — the 27th Amendment — was ratified this week (May 7) in 1992 when Michigan became the 38th state to approve it.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: The Haymarket Square Massacre
One unhappy byproduct of the Industrial Age was the growing discontent of its industrial workers, who constantly agitated for better pay and more humane working conditions.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Stands packed as Wiley takes county track title
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and the Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Death of Terre Haute jeweler gains national headlines
Terre Haute sought national publicity in 1910 through “Boosterism,” lauding the city’s significant advancements during the decade ending Dec. 31, 1909.
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GENEALOGY: Cemetery Committee to conduct restoration workshop
The Wabash Valley Genealogy Society’s Cemetery Committee will conduct an all-day cemetery restoration workshop on Saturday at the Smith Cemetery near Youngstown, Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, Ind.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Harmonious history
In 1923, a group of singers calling themselves the Harmony Four entertained regularly over the radio and at civic and various club events.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Cleveland observes Lincoln’s funeral
The death of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln, resulted in an outpouring of national mourning, the apex of which came in late April of 1865 when a specially outfitted train carried his body on a thirteen-day, 1,700-mile, eleven-city funeral procession from Washington, D.C., to his home and final resting place in Springfield, Ill.
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GENEALOGY: Many people can trace ancestry to Titanic
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which occurred on April 14-15, 1912.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: ISU bowling team at nationals again
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Sullivan County mine explosion kills 8 in 1878
Shortly after 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, 1878, an enormous explosion rocked the Handford Brothers mine about one-half mile north of the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad depot in Sullivan County.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A common feature, but memorable
As an absolute architecture nerd, I tend to look at buildings noticing the odd ball things such as door hinges and door locks in addition to admiring the overall building.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSONS: MLK’s letter written from a jail cell in Birmingham
This week (April 16) in 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., having been arrested for violating a trumped-up court order that prohibited him and his followers from conducting various protest activities, most of which you can read about in the First Amendment.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Swope celebrates 20th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: 1955 Babe Ruth League championship team to be feted
Currently in his 25th year as a college baseball coach, Rick Heller is in the midst of his third winning season at Indiana State and has embraced the university and the community.
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GENEALOGY: Long-awaited 1940 census is now available for the public
The long-awaited release of the 1940 census took place on April 2.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Memories baked from scratch
On my Historical Treasure hunt, I was drawn to a pasteboard barrel 28 inches high and 18.5 inches across with the words “Calumet Baking Powder Bakes Best, Received Highest Award” on one side and “Calumet Baking Powder Always Pleases, Try It” on the other.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Thomas Jefferson's flights of fancy
Thomas Jefferson, born this week (April 13) in 1743, is — deservedly so — in the pantheon of American heroes.
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GENEALOGY: Columnist seeks info on families from Dana
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