The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-08-16

More than half century ago, David
Hoover, one of the first settlers OF the
the eastern part Of Wayne county,
contributed an article to the Rich
mond Palladium, in which he asked
the town council of Richmond to take
the necessary steps to have the graves
of John Smith and jeremiah Cox. the
founders of the city Of Richmond,
properly marked "for the rising gen.
erations" to ponder over.
In the fifty years that have elapsed,
however, the city of Richmond as
city has done nothing to perpetuate
the memory Of these two real pioneers
and it remains for the Richmond cen
tennial committee, recently organized,
to assume responsibility and to In
clude in the program for next years
observance of the city's one hundredth
birthday anniversary, suitable recog-
milton of the achievements OF Jonn
Smith and Jeremiah Cox.
Strange Coincidence.
1t is rather strange coincidence
that the incomplete files of some OF
Richmond's early newspapers, copy
Of the Palladium should by chance
come to light, which, printed more
than fifty years ago, suggests to the
Centennial Committee an important
duty. and doubtless the appeal of Da.
vid Hoover, himself an old man when
his lines were written, will be listen
ed to by a more sympathetic audience
today.
David Hoover's communication to
the Palladium was inspired, it ap
h1y% hA {n0 ~ <ha railroad u
it mentioning in the Introductory par
agraph that the first locomotive
made its appearance in Richmond on
March IS, 1858.
1t was on that day that the com
munication was penned. thought 1t did
not appear until the issue of April Is
1t is worthy Of a place among the
archives Of the historical society Of
Wayne county, and is herewith repro
duced in it's entirety:
This is the 18th day of March, in
the year 1858. On this day the locomo
tive-the Iron Horse made his first
appearance in the City Of Richmond
This is a day that should be re
membered-What a field is open fol
contemplation and reflection. What
new scenes and changes have taken
place within the last fifty years, es
pecially to one who has passed through
the whole scene, from the time there
was no road nor even a 'blazed' path
way in what is now Wayne County
I much regret that have not the ca
pacity or the language to do justice
| to my feelings on this occasion. Forty
seven years ago, myself and four 9th
ers traced a section line more thar
| thirty miles, through an unbroken for
est, to where am now living. At tina,
time the Indian boundary was abou
three miles west of Richmond. The
country west of it, TO the Pacific, ther
belonged to the natives. In the Ian
| guage of Milton, the world then lay
| before us where to choose" The frs
| human being we saw were two In
dian trappers and their squaws. The.
were encamped near where the Rail
road Bridge now stands. They inform
ed us by holding up their fingers, tina
it was about three miles to white
mans house We then went down thu
stream to where Richard Rue the1
lived. Richard Rue, George Holman
Thomas Mccoy and a few others hat
located themselves there the spring
|
exceptions, there were but few settlers
within twenty miles of this place. W.
then returned home through the wood!
to where the most of the compan!
then lived; about ten miles north o
Dayton. The principal settlements IL
what is now the state of Indiana, a
that time, was at Vincennes, and wha
was called Clark's Grant and abou
Lawrenceburg, scattering up White
Water to some distance above Brook
vile. have not the statistics befor.
me; but l do not suppose that ther'
were ten thousand Inhabitants in thu
bounds of what is now the State o
Indiana, and what now contains a
least one million of inhabitants.
sometimes think that 1t has failed t.
the lot of but few men to witnes
greater changes, physically, morally
| mentally and in every other way tina