NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH MANCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Volume XXXI, No. 1, February 2014
MILLS, MILLERS, MILLING
By John Knarr
During the Spring of 1834, Surveyor John Hendricks entered detailed “Field
Notes” about the land north of the Eel River in our area. The land was first
surveyed so that parcels and sections could be sold at the Fort Wayne land
office, beginning in 1835-1836. When Hendricks arrived on the scene to do the
federal land survey, the only white man living in this area was Richard Helvey.
The presence of the Helvey cabin was noted in at least three places on the Field
Notes. (The Helvey cabin was located just to the north of Manchester
University’s football field.) Many kinds of trees were identified in the
surveyor’s Field Notes: Hickory, Oak, Ash, Sugar, Hackberry, Buckeye, Dogwood,
Tamarack, Maple, Walnut, Elm, Cherry, etc. Land was described as level or
rolling, with first-rate or second-rate soil and timber. Brooks, streams,
prairies were noted. Windfalls (fallen timber) were also observed. The diameters
of trees were often given, as well as the dimensions of waterways. Indian
trails, mounds and evidences of native American former settlements were
observed. Some Field Notes verbatim: “a very ancient windfall”; “land rolling
and rich”; “heavy timber”; “land quite rolling & very brushy”; “white oak 40
inches in diameter”; “enter prairie…leave prairie”; “mouth of brook 13 Links
wide. Course South”. Surveyor Hendricks also pointed to potential “mill sites”
or “mill seats”. He observed, for example, “a considerable fall in River
with good Bank perhaps a Mill Seat”.
The Federal Land Survey underpinned all succeeding land transactions. The Field
Notes provided information for potential purchasers, and served to promote
settlement and economic development. When Peter Ogan arrived in 1835-1836 on the
banks of the Eel River, he prepared to plat the Town of Manchester, with the
assistance of surveyor John J. Tomlinson. Ogan erected a saw mill and a grist
mill at the south end of Mill Street.1 Before
he left Wabash County to move to White County, Ogan sold his mill property and
water rights to Mahlon C. Frame in 1846. Joseph Harter started milling in 1839,
downstream, southwest of town (by dam and Wabash Road). In 1851, he sold his
mills (flour, grist, woolen) to his sons Jacob and Joseph B. The Harters also
partnered with Joshua Bowersock, son-in-law of Michael Knoop, and did milling
just to the southwest of Laketon in Pleasant Township, north of the Eel, at the
southern tip of Mendenhall property. There the Eel River makes a large bend,
just as it does at Liberty Mills and North Manchester John Comstock was milling
extensively in Liberty Mills, with the Comstock mills located south of Main
Street, along the Eel River.2 Three
Strauss brothers were once employed in the Comstock mills. Daniel Strauss and
Jacob Strauss [Strouse] as partners bought the Laketon mills. Daniel then sold
his interest to his brother and purchased and operated the former Harter mills
in North Manchester. The third Strauss brother, Andrew, became a prominent
miller in Huntington, operating the well known City Mills of Huntington for a
number of years.3 Henry
Lantz had a flourishing flour mill on Clear Creek, also known as Crooked Creek,
just west of North Manchester.
The millers and their mills contributed in a significant way to community and
agricultural development. The ingenuity of the pioneer miller was exceptional.
He improvised, engineered, invented, built, bartered, and functioned as a
banker. The mill often provided the nucleus of a town. Mill activities provided
markets and employment, logs were cut into lumber, grains ground into flour,
meal and cattle feed. Wooden waterwheels provided the power to turn the buhrs or
millstones and machinery. Manufacturers and entrepreneurs gained a foothold, and
corollary or related businesses sprouted and expanded. The Eel River was a
magnificent magnet for millers and mills.
This article highlights flour mills and focuses on the Ogan-Frame mills and the
Harter-Strauss mills. The U.S. Census Manufacturers or Industrial Schedules
provide detailed information on these early mills. The industry reports
(1850-1880 for Indiana) are accessible to the researcher on microfilm at the
Indiana State Archives in Indianapolis and the National Archives in
Washington,D.C. Available data on the filled-out forms include information on
capital investment, raw materials used in the manufacturing process and
valuation, annual production figures and valuation, employment figures, average
wages and overall cost of labor. With this information in hand, one can better
appreciate the economic context of pioneer life, prices of commodities and
manufactured products, costs and profit margins.
During the Year Ending June 1, 1850
M.C. Frame [successor to Peter Ogan]
Grist Mill in North Manchester
$4000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: Wheat and Corn Valued at $4000
Motive Power: Water
2 Males Employed, $20 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: Flour and Meal Valued at $5500
M.C. Frame [successor to Peter Ogan]
Saw Mill in North Manchester
$1000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 500 Logs Valued at $400
Motive Power: Water
Equivalent of 1 ½ Males Employed, $20 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: Lumber Valued at $1000
Joseph Harter
Flour Mill in North Manchester
$4000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 8000 Bushels of Wheat Valued at $4800
Motive Power: Water
1 Male Employed, $15 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 280,000 Lbs. of Flour Valued at $5600
Joseph Harter
Grist Mill in North Manchester
$2000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 12,000 Bushels of Corn Valued at $3000
Motive Power: Water
1 Male Employed, $15 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 13,500 Bushels of Meal Valued at $3375
Joseph Harter
Carding and Fulling (Woolen) Mill in North Manchester
$2000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Motive Power: Water
1 Male Employed, $30 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: Wool Valued at $800
During the Year Ending June 1, 1860
Jacob Harter & Bro.
Grist Mill in North Manchester
$2000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 8000 bu Wheat Valued at $8000; 4000 Corn Valued at $3500; 200 Rye;
500 Buckwheat Valued at $500
Motive Power: Water
2 Males Employed, $60 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 1600 Barrels of Flour Valued at $8800; 4000 bu Meal Valued at
$4000; 13000 Rye Meal Valued at $350; 2600 Buck Wheat Flour Valued at $250
Lantz & Lawrentz [Lawrence]
Flour Mill West of North Manchester
$8000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 15,000 Bushels of Wheat Valued at $15,000
Motive Power: Water
2 Males Employed, $40 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 3429 Barrels of Flour Valued at $17,145
Bowersock, Harter & Co.4
Flour Mill-Laketon
$15,000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 3650 Bushels of Wheat Valued at $3650
Motive Power: Water
2 Males Employed, $40 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 900 Barrels of Flour Valued at $4500
Bowersock, Harter & Co.
Saw Mill-Laketon
$1000 Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business
Raw Material: 500 Sawlogs Valued at $500
Motive Power: Water
1 Male Employed, $30 Average Monthly Cost of Labor
Annual Product: 150,000 Lumber Valued at $1500
Note: In 1864 Frederick Naber and John Kircher purchased the Laketon mill site.
A Quit Claim Deed was signed on October 9, 1865,
by Joshua and Sarah Bowersock of Kosciusko County and the Harters (Joseph
B., Rowena, Jacob, Catharine). The property contained “one acre & thirty five
rods” and “all the right conveyed to us by Ritter [John R. Ritter in 1855],to
erect and maintain a six foot Dam.”
Tilman & Bro.
Grist Mill, North Manchester
$7500 Capital Invested in the Business (Real Estate & Personal)
Raw Material: 2500 bu Grain Valued at $2470
Motive Power: Water, 24 Horsepower
Machines: 2 French Burrs [Buhrs]5
10 Months in Active Operation During Year
”Private Owners” entered for employees and total wages
Annual Production: 334 Barrels of Flour Valued at $1,800; 200 Bushels of Meal
Valued at $200; 3000 Lbs Buckwheat Flour Valued at $200; 20,000 Lbs Offal
[By-products] Valued at $500
During the twelve months beginning June 1, 1879, and ending May 31, 1880
Daniel Strouse [Strauss]
Flour & Grist Mill, North Manchester
$2000 Capital Invested in the Business (Real Estate & Personal)
3 Males Employed Above Sixteen Years of Age
12 Hours in the Ordinary Day of Labor
$2.00 Average Day’s Wage for Skilled Mechanic
$1.00 Average Day’s Wage for an Ordinary Laborer
$1260 Total Payroll During the Year
Twelve Months in Operation During the Year
5-Number of Runs of Stone
300 Bushels-Estimated Maximum Capacity Per Day
75% of Product in Custom Grinding
25% of Product for the General Market
No Elevator Connected with the Establishment
Location on the Eel River: 6 Feet-Height of Fall of Water
3 Water Wheels-American Made Turbines
Wheels: 4 ½ Feet in Breadth
Wheels: 52 Revolutions per Minute; 72 Horsepower
Materials: 25,500 Number of Bushels of Wheat
Materials: Total Value of Wheat: $30,600
Materials: 15,000 Bushels of Other Grain
Materials: Total Value of Other Grain: $6,000
$1000-Total Value of Mill Supplies
$37,600-Total Value of all Materials
Products: 5100 Barrels of Wheat Flour
Products: 2400 Pounds of Buckwheat Flour
Products: 808,000 Pounds of Corn Meal
Products: 412,000 Pounds of Feed
$41,646-Total Value of All Products
Strouse [Jacob]6 &
Weber, Pleasant Township
Flour and Grist Mill, Laketon
$12,000 Capital Invested in the Business (Real Estate & Personal)
3 Males Employed Above Sixteen Years of Age
12 Hours in the Ordinary Day of Labor
$2.00 Average Day’s Wage for Skilled Mechanic
$1.00 Average Day’s Wage for an Ordinary Laborer
$150 Total Payroll During the Year
Twelve Months in Operation During the Year
5-Number of Runs of Stone
160 Bushels-Estimated Maximum Capacity Per Day
100% of Product in Custom Grinding
No Elevator Connected with the Establishment
Location on the Eel River: 9 Feet-Height of Fall of Water
3 Water Wheels-Leffel Turbines
Wheels: 42" and 36" in Breadth
Wheels: 120 Revolutions per Minute and 80 Rev per Minute; 20 Horsepower
Materials: 4,000 Number of Bushels of Wheat
Materials: Total Value of Wheat: $4,000
Materials: 2,000 Bushels of Other Grain
Materials: Total Value of Other Grain: $800
$100-Total Value of Mill Supplies
$4,900-Total Value of all Materials
Products: 800 Barrels of Wheat Flour
Products: 1000 Pounds of Buckwheat Flour
Products: 107,000 Pounds of Corn Meal
Products: 64,000 Pounds of Feed
$6,000-Total Value of All Products
CHAIN OF TITLE—HARTER MILLS,
Three-Acre Mill Lot
Joseph and Elizabeth Harter to Joseph B. & Jacob Harter, September 8, 1851.
$6000. Deed Bk M Pg 439.
Description: Being a part of the South part of the North East quarter of Section
Six (6) Township Twenty-nine (29) North of Range Seven East viz beginning at a
corner situate from the North West corner of the Grist Mill on said Land
twenty-four degrees North West twelve perches and nineteen links, and the said
corner is situate from the South East corner of Joseph Harters Barn on the
aforesaid Land viz. South Twenty-nine degrees West Thirteen perches and fourteen
Links. The Western line commences at said corner and runs South twenty-seven
degrees West Eight perches to the North bank of Eel River. The North line
commences at the aforesaid corner and runs due East twenty-four perches. Thence
South Seventeen degrees West twenty-five perches and Seventeen links, to the
North bank of Eel River. Thence along the meanderings of said River to the
Southern point of the Western line containing three acres more or less. On which
tract is Situated the Grist Mill and carding Shop, also the Mill dam and the
Water privilege at the South End of Said dam reserved in a deed from Joseph
Harter Sr., F.M. Eagle.
Joseph B. Harter and wife Rouena and Jacob and Catharine S. Harter to Joseph
Harter, January 1, 1861.
$2000. Deed Bk W Pg 570.
Note: Joseph Harter, Sr. b. Oct 11, 1783 PA; d. Feb 26, 1861, buried Oaklawn
Cemetery.
Eli & Julia Harter (1/12), Christian & Catharine Harter (1/12), Susan H. Eagle &
Francis M. Eagle (1/12), Joseph B. & Rouena Harter (4/12), Jacob & Catherine
Harter (4/12) to Peter King. October 21, 1861. $3000. Deed Bk W Pg 571.77
Harry L. Leffel in “Pioneer Reminiscences” [NMHS Newsletter, November
1998] claimed that the Harters sold the mill to Peter King in 1864. But deed
research shows that King sold in 1864 and had purchased the mills from the
Harters on October 21, 1861. History also got garbled when the North
Manchester Journal wrote that the Harters sold the mill to “Henry King” and
King then sold it to “Thompson & Marshal”. Besides the Marshall family name
being misspelled, there was no “Thompson” and no “Henry King” in the ownership
sequence. Between King and Marshall, there were the Thorn brothers and others.
Peter King to Isaac Thorn, January 8, 1864.
$4000. Deed Bk Z Pg 306.
Isaac Thorn and Abi Thorn his wife to John Thorn, July 16, 1864.
$4000. Deed Bk 4 Pg 129.
John Thorn and wife Margaret A. to Jacob Karn, December 17, 1864.
$4500. Deed Bk 4 Pg 131.
Jacob Karn & wife Catharine to David Karn, Jacob Shively and Frederick Miller,
March 31, 1865. $2000. Deed Bk 4, Pg 132.
David Karn & wife Susan to Milbourn S. Marshal, October 9, 1865.
$2615. Deed Bk 4, Pg 135.
Milbourn S. Marshall and Catherine E. Marshall his wife to John Tilman, July 9,
1866. $3000. Deed Bk 9 Pg 87.
John T. Tilman & wife Martha and Job E. Tilman and wife Eliza to Jacob Tilman,
August 16, 1866. $2000. Deed Bk 9 Pg 88.
John T. Tilman & wife Martha to Asa Blood, October 19, 1866.
$2000. Deed Bk 9 Pg 89.
Samuel Shively and wife Esther to Jacob C. Kurtz & Charles O. Marsh, both
grantees of Ashland Co., OH, March
7, 1872. Bk 17, Pg 127.
$1500
Note: This deed apparently did not include the mill lot for it was worded:
“Excepting the Mill Lot embraced therein and the right of way to the Detroit,
Eel River and Illinois Rail Road Co. across said premises.”
Jacob C. Kurtz & Emma A. Kurtz his wife and Charles Marsh & Rosa Marsh his wife
to Daniel Strauss, August 2, 1873. $1500. Deed Bk 16 Pg 529-530.
Note: A couple of the puzzle pieces are still missing in this outline. Frequent
transactions, complexity of water rights and ownership of dams, railroad
right-of-way, and shuffling of partnerships create challenges for the most
diligent deed researcher. It is interesting to note that in Marshall family
lore,8 it
was mentioned that Thomas Riley Marshall once worked at a “grain elevator near
North Manchester” when he was a boy. Could it be that Tom Marshall did work for
his uncle Milbourn at age twelve during the summer of 1866 when the mill in
North Manchester was owned by the Marshalls? Tom later clerked for his uncle
Ezra Marshall at Marshall’s Fort Wayne drugstore, before attending Wabash
College.
Endnotes--
1 Peter
Ogan’s brother John had a rudimentary “corn-cracker” mill on Ogan’s Creek near
Pony Creek, south of the Eel River. Another brother, Elias Ogan, had a saw mill
in Waltz Township, Wabash County.
2 Helm,
History of Wabash County (p. 275) claimed that Comstock employed usually
“30 to 60 strong men” in his mills. But the Manufacturer Reports filed with the
government for 1850 show that on average one full-time male was employed in each
of the Comstock mills: tanning, flour, grist. Comstock’s reported average
monthly cost of labor in each mill was $25.
3 Frank
Sumner Bash, History of Huntington County (1914), p. 772.
4 On
the Laketon mill, Ruth Brubaker (Laketon: Yesterday and Today For the Years
1836-1976, p. 65) explained: “In 1853 Naber sold to John R. Ritter and in
1855 Joseph and Jacob Harter, Joshua Bowersock and James H. Mendenhall bought
it. It was at this time that the mill was constructed. Mendenhall retired in
1857 and Bowersock went on to build more mills on other rivers. In 1864 the
Harter Brothers sold to Frederick Naber for $4500. In 1869 Mr. Naber sold it to
Daniel and Jacob Strauss for $5000. Strauss sold the mill to Allen Dohner in
1898 and shortly after this sale the mill burned.”
The old mill race and remnants of the Laketon mill’s stone foundation and walls
can still be seen from the road (9503N 250W). The Eel River dam is just
downstream from the mouth of the mill race. The old bridge over the race is
still intact. In the pioneer period, the Eel River was forded just below the
dam.
5 French
buhrs were siliceious rock which had a lot of silex (silica) making surface
ridges very hard and sharp. The lower stationary stone was the real buhr; the
capstone was not necessarily a buhrstone. Grinding by millstones in the 1880s
was to be replaced with solid steel rollers four to six inches in diameter. See
George Branson, “Early Flour Mills in Indiana,” Indiana Magazine of History
(March 1926), p. 25: “France shipped many burrs to America…The best burrs were
imported from France.” The Bradford Mill Co. of Cincinnati advertised “French
Burr Millstones” [1880-81 Indiana State Gazetteer, p. 907, display ad
insert]
6 The
North Manchester Center for History in January 2014 accessioned an old JACOB
STROUSE MILL flour sack ca. 1880s; also old photographs of Jacob Strouse and
wife Abi (Wertenberger) donated by Nathan Fingerle. These items were carefully
cleaned and preserved by archivist Joyce Joy. The Strouse artifacts were
discovered under a staircase during remodeling a residence once owned by the
Jacob Strouse/Strauss family. In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Jacob Strouse was
identified as a “Miller”, 27 years of age; wife Abi, 24 years of age. But their
gravestones in the Laketon Cemetery indicate different birth years and an older
age: Jacob Strauss (1844-1926); Elizabeth Abbie Wertenberger Strauss
(1850-1903).
8 Correspondence,
April 21, 2005, George F. Tapy, a friend of the Marshall family.
2013 Annual Fund Contributors
Thank you to the people who supported the North Manchester Historical Society
and the North Manchester Center for History with cash gifts made in
2013 for our Annual Fund. The Annual
Fund pays our on-going operating expenses each year.
We appreciated this assistance, because as a not-for-profit we cannot
serve this community with our museum, educational programs, research, and
artifact collecting without your help.
Please let us know if there are any corrections to be made, and we will be happy
to make them. Please be aware that gifts to the Annual Fund are purely
philanthropic gifts, and are different from membership, which provides specific
benefits to the members such as free museum admission and newsletters.
Members will be listed in our May newsletter. Thank you!
Covered Bridge Guild
$2,500+
Gwendolyn Brumbaugh and Donald Fecher
The Paul L. Speicher Foundation
Ralph and Becky Naragon
Thomas Marshall Circle
$1,000+
Mary Chrastil
Eloise Eberly
Indiana Humanities
McKee Mortuary
Viv Simmons
Connie Vinton
Benefactor $500+
Gordon and Darlene Bucher
Jim and Debbie Chinworth
Bob and Sally Krouse
Dan and Susan Manwaring
Oji Intertech, Inc.
History Sponsor $250+
Beacon Credit Union
Judy Boyer
Tom and Eloise Brown
Herb and Arlene Chinworth
Barry and Arlene Deardorff
John and Gayle Forrester
Warren and Helen Garner
David and Patty Grant
Heritage Preservation, Inc.
John and Bea Knarr
Carl and Lois Lemna
Karl and Bonnie Dee Merritt
Roger and Jill Morphew
Shepherd’s Chevrolet, Inc.
James and Barbara Stewart
Mary Uhrig
Patron $100+
Eric and Tatyana Abbott
James Adams and Thelma Rohrer
Dan and Jeanne Andersen
Ferne Baldwin
Steve Batzka
Bob Beachley
Joel and Bev Eikenberry
Daniel and Marsha Croner
Drs. J.R. and Barbara Damron
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Allen and Joan Deeter
Ron and Harriet Finney
Richard and Nancy Frantz
Art and Ellen Gilbert
Judy Glasgow
Ann Hackett
Betty Hamlin
Steve and Lila Hammer
Tim and Roberta Hoffman
Dale and Joyce Joy
Robert and Doris Joy
Kappa, Kappa, Kappa
Donn Kesler
Jeanette Lahman
Betty Leffel
Richard Livingston
Manchester Veterinary Clinic
Ed and Martha Miller
Mary Miller
Jim and Shirley Mishler
Jim Myer
North Manchester Moose 1518
Phil and Mary Orpurt
Dorothy Parsons
Brian and Jennifer Pattison
Mark Phillabaum
Kathy and Roger Presl
Mary Reahard
Steve and Sharon Reiff
Jo Ann Schall
Nancy Sensibaugh
Conrad Snavely and Bertha Custer
Owen and Martha Sommers
Dan and Barbara Speicher
David and Jo Young Switzer
Roger and Marcheta Tate
Tri-Oaks Realty
Doretta Urschel
Joe and Mary Vogel
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Wabash County REMC
Robert Weimer
Keith and JoAnn Wing
Donor $50+
Kay Batdorf
Charles and Dagny Boebel
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Ned and Mary Jane Brooks
Anne Garber
Bob and Peggy Gilbert
Helen Haupert
Jeff and Kathy Hawkins
Melba Holmgren
Bob and Stephanie Jones
Ralph and Barbara Joy
Kiwanis Club of North Manchester
Charles and Susie Klingler
Elaine Leonhard
Wilson and Mary Lutz
Harold and Elizabeth Marks
Metzger Landscaping and Design
Joe and Marilyn Mort
Carrie and John Mugford, Jr.
Steve Naragon and Pam Higgins
Nuell, Inc.
Sandra Orn
Walter and Mary Jenet Penrod
Jim Ross
Dee and Marge Royer
Gary Runkel
Esther Rupel
Brian and Heather Schilling
Family of Scott Schmedel
Schutz Brothers
Lois Snyder
Dorothy Weldy
Shirley Wilcox
Dan and Nancy Wood
Contributor
Tom and Jane Ann Airgood
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David and Margaret Bagwell
Ernie and Cleona Barr
Leland and Angilee Beery
Steve and Jane Bellinger
Mary Lou Brown
Dennis and Rosemary Butler
Diane Dewey-Norvell
Bob and Lois Dowd
Phil Enyeart
Randy and Sharon Fruitt
Ed and Margaret Goerlitz
Grandstaff Funeral Service
Jim and Colleen Hayes
Michael and Julia Hayes
Julia Hoover
Russell and Joann Hoover
Wayne Huffman
Lois Karnoff
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David and Linda Kuester
Manchester University History Club
Scott and Deb Manges
Wilbur McFadden
Mike McLaughlin
Sam and Carol Leckrone
Carol Miller
Walter and Marie Niccum
Northern Lakes Medical Association
Leigh and Judith Nygard
Don Olinger
Phyllis Pettit
David and Shirley Rogers
Scott Schmedel
Rita Schroll
Barbara Shoemaker
Eldon and Marjorie Sincroft
Billy Smith
Lillian Smokoska
Larry Tracy
Carolyn Underwood
Jack and Deb Vineyard
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Memorial Gifts
In memory of Ron Brooks:
Ann Hackett
In Memory of Carol Jennings
Barbara Shoemaker
In Memory of Dale Joy:
Dan and Jeanne Andersen
Charles and Dagny Boebel
Mary Chrastil
Judy Glasgow
Helen Haupert
Julia and Homer Hoover
Wayne and Judy Huffman
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Robert and Doris Joy and Family
Ralph and Becky Naragon
Northern Lakes Medical Association
Nuell, Inc.
Leigh and Judith Nygard
Phyllis Pettit
Bill and Lucy Smith
Lillian Smokoska
Wilson and Mary Lutz
Dan and Nancy Wood
In
Memory of Carolyn Leffel:
Lois Karnoff
Sandra Orn
In Memory of Carolyn and Larry Leffel:
Leo and Betty Leffel Family
In Memory of Scott Schmedel:
Jim and Colleen Hayes
Joseph and Marilyn Mort
Family of Scott Schmedel
In Memory of the Sensibaugh and Boyer Families:
Judy Sensibaugh Boyer
2013 In-Kind Gifts
In-Kind Gifts are non-cash goods or services provided to the Historical Society
in lieu of payment or other obligations.
The HF Group
David Hippensteel – Riverbridge Electric
Silver Creek Printing
2013 Endowment Fund Contributors
The Endowment Fund is invested to provide a perpetual income for the Historical
Society.
Richard Ford
Ed and Martha Miller
Evelyn Niswander
Estate of Carolyn Reahard
Esther Rupel
Scott Schmedel
From the
North Manchester Journal,
November 22, 1888:
MANCHESTER ROLLER MILLS-STRAUSS, HAMILTON & CO.
The mill was built in 1876 and equipped with the old process [buhrs]. It was run
in this manner until 1885 when it was thoroughly remodeled and made a complete
roller mill, everything being adopted in the way of new and improved machinery
from the rolls down to the dust collectors. The mill is 36 x 48 feet in size and
three stories in height and has a capacity of 70 barrels of flour per day,
besides a large amount of chopped feed and other milling products. The
Manchester roller mills flour makes the best of bread, the whitest and lightest,
and it will remain moist and in good condition for a longer period than that
made from any other brand. The favorite brand manufactured by this mill is known
as “Gold Dust.” It has a large sale in the neighborhood and ranks with the best
flour in the country.
North Manchester Historical Society-2014 Programs
Jan 13
Annual Membership Meeting & Studebaker Video
Feb 10 Doyne
Carson, Storyteller-Lincoln’s Boyhood
Mar 10 John
Knarr, Indiana’s Covered Bridges
Apr 14 Jim
Myers, Women in Sports in NM
May 12 Margaret
Fritzel, Covered Wagon Diary
Jun 9
Shirley Glade, Icons
Jul 14
Terry Smith, Gettysburg & NM in Civil War
Aug 11 TBD
Sep 8
Indiana’s Canals
Oct 13 Joe
Krom, French in NE Indiana
Nov 10 Jerry
Bolinger, Log Houses
Dec 8
Music: Silvertones
The programs will be held in the Assembly Room of Timbercrest Senior Living
Community, 2201 East Street, at 6:40 p.m.
There is no cost for the program, which is free to the public.
All are welcome. While many
attend only the program, the public is also invited to come to the Assembly Room
at 6 p.m. for a meal prior to the presentation.
For those who wish to attend the dinner, reservations must be made no
later than noon on Friday before the program.
The cost of the meal is $8.50.
Reservations may be made by calling Evelyn at 260-982-6777, Mary at
260-982-1813, or the Center for History at 260-982-0672.