Some  Shelbyville, Indiana, "Firsts"
by David Craig

24 Feb 2000

Coulston Elementary School (Just north of Forest Hill Cem. I think the land was originally owned by the Nathan GOODRICH family. It was eventually owned by the COULSTON family and the land donated for a school. pmf)

David Craig introduced himself, said he was born in Shelbyville and was now a custodian at a sister school in Shelbyville, Pearson Elementary.  David talked to a group of 4th graders about some of the "firsts" in Shelbyville, IN.

First settlers:
Joseph CAMPBELL
James DAVISON
Henry GATEWOOD
William HAWKINS
Ezra MCCABE
Issac H WILSON
Benjamin WILLIAMS
John HENDRICKS
James LEE
William LITTLE
George GOODRICH
Francis WALKER
Smith WINGATE
John M YOUNG

First railroad west of the Allegheny's:
There is a marker on SR 44 across from the Wellington Shops, just east of Vine St.  William J Peaslee, a lawyer and judge in Shelby Co, was the driving force behind the experiment. He was born in VT in 1783.  He married in 1832 and then came to Shelbyville.  In conjunction with Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Walker, the idea was to provided railway transportation from Indpls-Cincinnati.  Stock was sold for $5.00 share.  Sales of stock were not bringing enough monies, so near the end of 1833, Judge Peaslee thought he should build a "demo" section.  He chose the east end of Michigan Road; the route cut through the hill [by the H&R Block location] and went east to Blue Ridge Rd.  The cost for materials and labor was $1500/mile; they needed $5000 just for the "demo" section.  The rails were made of oak.  There was no locomotive near here.  Tom Thumb, the closest locomotive available, was on the east coast.
          In 1834, the section was ready.  A horse was used to pull the cars. The cars were designed for 25 people, but usually held 40 (very popular!). In 1834, the courthouse was still on public square.  There was a large parade from the public square to Wellington Ave.  Jeremiah Bennett gave a speech before the parade.  The ride in the cars cost 25 cents, round trip.  The phenomenon was very popular, especially with young couples, looking for a romantic outing.
          Judge Peaslee still couldn't get enough interest in the railroad for construct from Indianapolis to Cincinnati, so the "demo" section was all that became of his efforts. The "real" railroad didn't come through Shelby County until 1850.

Shelby County/Shelbyville's namesake:
Isaac Shelby was born in 1750 in MD.  He was famous for being a good Indian fighter, a surveyor and the first governor of KY.  Isaac Shelby fought in the Rev War.  He was Gen Washington's Procuror (got the supplies of food, etc, that Gen Washington needed to maintian his soldiers) Nine states have counties names Shelby.  Five cities have been named after Shelby.

A scary point in Shelby Co history, at which can now all laugh:
 In July 1863, Morgan's Raiders crossed over from Kentucky (Confederate land) to Indiana (part of the Union).  As all of our able-bodied men were serving in the Union army and engaged elsewhere, Shelby Co was essentially defenseless.  The people felt very vulnerable and very scared.  It was rumored that Morgan and his raiders would come north to Indianapolis, passing through and pillaging Shelbyville on their way.  The public square was jambed with people wanting to know the news and trying decide on a plan of defence.  For lack of a plan and manpower to implement one, it seems that the men started drinking and the women started cooking.  Actually, some concrete steps were taken.  Trees were felled over all roads leading into Shelbyville in an attempt to block Morgan's perceived path.  The populace decided to take 1000 men & go south of town to hold off Morgan and his men.  Another group wanted to form a posse and go for him.  No one's horse was sacred -- any horse that could be found in the county was taken for the "cavalry".  It was a very rag tag group, including an old man sporting an old goose gun (he may have been drunk).  Some of the riders went as far south as Columbus (Bartholomew Co IN).  One rider came back into town at night looking for whiskey.  He saw a group of horses tied to a fence and immediately cried " M O R G A N ! ! ", causing a panic.  In reality, it was NOT Morgan or his men.  In a short time, the "real" cavalry came and told the make-shift group of Shelbers that they could handle Morgan, and that they should go home. An additional comic relief was the man carrying preserves on his back for his supper.  It was so hot, the preserves boiled over onto his back and then onto his poor horse.  As if that wasn't a sticky or hot enough situation, the man and his horse were then attacked by bees.  ROFLOL [free ice cream cone from Compton's to the Strive member that can come closest to decoding ROFLOL - no parental help].

Shelbyville timeline:
First building lighted by manufactured gas - 1869
First use of natural gas - 1881
First telephone - 1878
First water system - 1886
First illumination of streets by electricity - 1889
First sewer line - 1889

Famous Shelbyville residents:
* Victor Higgins - Eiteljorg Museum (Indpls) has some of his paintings.   He became a member of the artists in the Taos colony in NM
* Wilbur Shaw
won 500 three times
director of Speedway in the 50s
won his first race at our fairgrounds
* Tarzan & Jane radio show.  James "Babe" Pierce, an actor, was one of the earliest Tarzans.   He married the daughter of American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs
* Thomas A Hendricks, US vice president in 1885
* Charles Major: _When Kinghthood Was in Flower_ 1898
_Bears of Blue River_ 1901
_Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall_ 1902
_Uncle Tom Andy Bill_ 1908
* Mary Tomlinson:  Actress, raised and born in Fairland; best known as "Ma Kettle"

Thanks, David, from the Strive kids and Mrs. Vaught.
From notes taken by Phyllis Miller Fleming

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