The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-09
THREE or A KIND
Men Who Remained Friends Through Life
Superstition and Crime.

Men Who Remained Friends Through Life
Superstition and Crime.
Townsend (Pa.) Letter
In the days of stage coaching this village was
on the old State road, and was an important
coach station, known as THE Corners" In 1910
Cyrus Miller came here and put up a large tav-
ern which made lbs owner rich Miller was one
of three men who came to this place together,
the other two being John A. Merritt saver,
and Lewis Dorr, a carpenter. Miller also erected
a saw-nill near the village, and made Merritt his
sawyer The three men were singularly init
mate, and for over forty years they spent every
evening, except Sunday, together Dorr
is a widower, his wife and two children
having been lost by the sinking of propeller
on Lake Erie in 1889. With the decay
of stage coaching, owing to the building of rail
roads, the business Of the Miller tavern only
consisted of limited local trade. The mill also
ceased to be profitable years ago, but the owner
kept it running, and it never knew day of rest.
Merritt had grown gray, as the saver, and no
other person had ever sawed a foot of lumber IN
the mill. Two years ago old Mr. Miller retired
from business, owing to failing health and
decided his tavern and mill to his only son, Will
lam. The small amount of business the Corners
brought did not satisfy the younger Miller, and
he decided to sell the property and go elsewhere.
This was strongly opposed by his father, who
said that he had but one wish, to die in the
old tavern, which he had never changed in
any respect and which is one of the few
typical stage-coach taverns remaining in the
country. On Monday of last week, how
ever, the son concluded a sale of the tavern
and mill to George Henderson,, and when old
Mr.. Miller was told that the tavern must be
vacated by March l. he was Frustrated with
a nervous shock and died on Thurday, aged
seventy-ive His old friend Lewis Derr, who
was five years his senior had occupied one room
in the tavern he had built since 1910, and had
never slept in any other. On Friday morning
his dead body was discovered lying under the
turnpike bridge across Trumans creek with his
hi, an1
going repairs, and narrow walk of planks was
the only means by which footpassengers could
cross it.
1t was supposed that Door, while brooding
over the death of his friend, had forgotten the
condition of the bridge and fallen through,
although many believed that he suicided. On
Saturday night last the cry of fire was raised in
this place for the first time i'll its history ard it
was found that the old Miller saw-mill was in
flames 1t was soon consumed with its contents.
On Sunday morning Saver Merritt called on
the new owner of the mill and handed him pa
per which contained a statement that the mill
had been run at a loss for more than ten years,
and that the amount of loss by the fire was $625,
with no insurance. The old saver then asked
the owner if it was true that he paid young Mil
Ter 500 for the property. and was answered in
the affirmative. 'Fhen here is 800 to make
good your loss" said Merritt, handing over that
amount. Upon being asked for an explanation
the saver said he had helped build the mill for
ty-four years ago and had never missed days
work in it from the time its wheel started. The
sale of the property had resulted in the death of
his two life long friends and he knew that Hen
dershot intended putting one of his own men in
the mill. Il knew" said Merritt, that if saw
another man in that mill l would not live
week, and so l set fire to it, and want to pay you
for it. Miller and Dorr were buried on Sunday
afternoon, side by side, in the village graveyard
On Monday Merritt left the Corners, and will
spend the remainder of his days with his mar
ried daughter near Buffalo. From the day he
came here, in 1940 he had never been out of the
village. Before he went away young Miller re
funded to him the 800 he had paid for the priv
lege of burning the old mill.