GERMAN BENEVOLENT CLUB - GERMAN SOCIETY

 

The German Benevolent Club was organized in Logansport in April of 1866. This photo shows the old “German Hall”, which stood at 427 5th Street (Now South 5^th St.). Estimated to have been built about 1876, it was the home of all the German societies/clubs in Logansport – and there were a lot of those in the early days of Logansport - just as there were for other immigrant groups. This building was also known as “Graf’s German Hall”. Note: this building, rather the remaining portion of it, would later become part of Amelio’s; doing business as "Amelio’s on The River" as of 2022, using that area as the restaurant/pub’s family dining area.

Amelio's By The River - before even more recent improvements to the exterior. The white siding area was original to the German Benevolent Club building.

Another German Society known as the Deutscher Verein met in rooms on the upper floors of the Kreuzberger building, which stood on the southwest corner of Third and E. Market Streets; razed many years ago. This was for German born residents and their descendants and was active for a long time. The Germania Gesang Verein, was a “singing society” which would meet for practice in the upper floors of the Kreuzberger building. Pictured below. The Mike Anderson Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Jeep dealership occupies this corner as of 2022.

The Stone Building located at the corner of Clinton and Sherman Streets on Logansport’s south side, address 989 Sherman Street, is a reminder of an early German home.

 In the 1990s it was home to a tea house called Rose-Moor Emporium. Now it is a private residence. Made of limestone, the building is 20 by 70 feet, two-story, with a full basement. The walls are two feet thick at the base and narrow up to 18 inches at the top. The original stairs went down from the kitchen to the basement floor, which was originally, and for many, many years - dirt. The builder was Gottfried Gruenoch, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian war, who, like thousands of other Germans, emigrated to America to get away from Bismarck’s military service. He was a stone mason by trade. In the early 1800’s there were as many as 11 of these structures, in a “German settlement”. This settlement was even further outside of Logansport than Shultztown. 

Shultztown—named for Dr. J. B. Shultz—was west of Burlington Ave., A stand of trees stood between Burlington Ave. and Shultztown. That area was bordered by Anthony St. east, Howard St. north, Biddle St. south and by the Railroad to the west.

About 1868-1870 a German newspaper, the Fort Wayne Banner, printed in Fort Wayne was distributed by John A. N. Frentzel, a local editor or “newspaper gatherer”, in Logansport. But it wasn’t a financial success and soon ended.

From 1899 to 1913 or so, John Day (born in Bavaria) published a successful German language newspaper—the Freie Presse to accommodate the increasing German population of the Logansport area.

Those with German background can be thanked for involvement with St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. James Lutheran Church, beer brewing and beer gardens, expert meat butchering and butcher shops, cigar making and many other things, as all worked together to make Logansport, Indiana a great place to live.

THE TWO BARNETT HOTELS

 Let me begin by reminding the reader that we are talking about landmarks of Logansport, Indiana. And this particular post has to do with the Barnett Hotel and the "new" Barnett Hotel, which were two separate buildings.

WASHINGTON HALL - THE OLD BARNETT

This was the original "old" Barnett Hotel. It stood on the SW corner of 3rd and E. Market Street.

The old Barnett was built in 1820 by a Scotsman named Gillis McBane. At that time it was a one-story structure and it was known as Washington Hall. It was the main place for meetings by the town fathers - a town which would, in 1828, be incorporated as such and named Logansport. Ten years later, in 1838, Logansport would be incorporated as a city.

The hotel was a stop for the stagecoach line. After stopping here the stagecoach would continue on to Lafayette. 

Above: Painting of the Old Barnett by Wils Berry (1851-1928), from a private collection

1854 Logansport Journal - Ads in the paper would use the Barnett House as a landmark – example “Dr. Manlove, D.D.S. located nearly opposite the Barnett House…” and “Ferguson, Hill and Co. opening for spring and summer opposite the Barnett House…”

There were five other owners before Alexander Barnett bought the structure(1859) and named it the "Barnett". Those owners were Capt. T. Douglas, Capt. Benjamin Scott, Alexander Chamberlain, Cyrus Vigus and Benjamin Ganson. 

After Alexander Barnett bought the hotel (1859) he added two upper stories.

June 16, 1869

"The Barnett Brothers have leased the Barnett Hotel from their father and intend running it from the 1^st of July."  from Democratic Pharos, page 3

BECOMES A "FLOP HOUSE"

Between the years 1869 and 1880 the old Barnett went from being a nice hotel where people would sometimes stay while their houses were being constructed to an undesirable place.

May 15, 1880

…Within the past few years the corner position of the old Barnett House has become the concentration of all that is wicked and vile. The respectable inmates have been gradually driven out until now all except the west end of the building has been given over to the rats, harlots and men of the lowest stamp. Well may it be said that satan’s headquarters in Logansport were in the old Barnett House.

The state’s prosecutor took notice of this and called the attention of the grand jury that material here existed for a half dozen or more indictments against certain crooks for living in open and notorious adultery.

Several witnesses were examined. Warrants for offenders were issued.

The action of the grand jury and the prosecutor will go a long way toward bringing about better condition of affairs in the den known as the Old Barnett House.

The parties took their medicine but had some cuss words to say of the witnesses who had informed on them. From Logansport Weekly Journal

HOUSE CLEANING 1884

July 27, 1884

The Old Barnett House has been vacated, improved, renovated and purified. FROM AN ARTICLE BY JUDGE HORACE P. BIDDLE From the Critic

The Old Barnett burned sometime in 1893.

THE NEW BARNETT HOTEL

The "new" Barnett co-existed for about 13 years with the old as the "new" was built (across Market Street and down a little to the west) in 1880. 

Alexander and his wife left Logansport for a few years. They lived in California, then in Florida. When they returned they built the beautiful structure pictured above. Mrs. Barnett was credited with the design (see September 29, 1883 Logansport Weekly Journal, page 9).

Above: November 2, 1880 Logansport Evening Journal

Above: Barnett Hotel at left; the Nelson Theater (later the Roxy) at right circa 1911-12

1920 FIRE BARNETT HOTEL

On Sunday, February 8, 1920 a fire broke out inside the Barnett Hotel. The building was gutted, one person died and five others were injured as they escaped. Charles Finch, master carpenter for the Michigan division of the Pennsylvania Railroad was died after falling from a rope while trying to escape.

Above: 1920 fire at Barnett Hotel

The western section of the building was removed after the fire.

1920 Sanborn Map Image thanks to fellow researcher Jim Moore

Sanborn maps were initially created to estimate fire insurance risks.

REMODELED

The remodeled property became part of the Barnes family holdings. In 1965 it was announced that the business would close.

May 21, 1965 article Logansport Pharos Tribune

In November of 1965 it was announced in the Logansport newspapers that the building would be razed and that work would begin after Thanksgiving Day.

Photo and Story - 600 block E Broadway

 

Left in this photo (1910) is the Logansport/Cass County Public Library, 616 E. Broadway, next in the photo is the Roosevelt building, 7th Street intersects, then the Baptist Church (before the church's new structure). At right, notice the "Auto-Inn Buick" signage. This building was the former roller-skating rink building, which was torn down. On the roller rink property, the current Logansport City Government building was built. 

Ad from Logansport Reporter April 9, 1910

What follows are modern photos of the area. And if you care to scroll down further, you will find more historical photos and information about the area.

616 E. Broadway Logansport Cass Public Library, Logansport, Indiana.

Photo Google Maps

Library, parking lot where the Roosevelt building once stood, 7th St. intersects, Baptist Church.

Photo Google Maps

A little wider angle of above photos - Google Maps - 

Auto Inn would have been at the right in this image, across the 

street from the Library.

I want to draw attention to the building that housed Auto Inn in the 1910 photo at the top of the page, mainly because that building was gone by the mid 19-teens - in 1924 ground was broken on that site to build the Logansport City Government Building - and the history is rather interesting.

Before Auto Inn was housed in this building, it was used for gatherings, political meetings, and entertainment events, much like a community center of today is used. It was also the city's roller-skating rink, beginning in the late 1800s when roller skating became very popular.

SKATING RINK

Above: Members of the Logansport Fire Dept. pose in front of the skating rink

building. The fire station was next door to the west of the skating rink.  

Source: City Directories and Will Ball "This Changing World" columns.

Notice the Skating Rink roof at left. This photo was taken in 1898.

The city was welcoming home the soldiers from the Spanish-American War.

Looking west on E. Broadway the McCaffrey building at right; 600 E. Broadway 

(later Barton's and now Taqueria El Puesto), 6th Street intersects, then the

Keystone building at 530 E. Broadway and on and on.

There was a dirt lot south of the skating rink building. Buggies and wagons were parked there. And as the automobile became more popular such dirt "parking lots" became way less popular, with the dust and flies drawn to the horses and horse droppings.

In 1907 M. A. Cline bought the building.

AUTO INN

In 1909 Orpha Carter and Harry Moore bought the building.

October 31, 1909 Logansport Daily Tribune, page 5

May 11, 1910 Logansport Reporter page 8

As mentioned earlier, the building was eventually removed, the debris cleared away, and the beautiful new Logansport City Building was built. Before then the city government was conducted out of a building at 3rd and E. Broadway - a story for another time.

Photos: courtesy Cass County Historical Society, Info/history sources: Logansport newspapers, articles from "This Changing World" news columns by Will Ball (deceased)

HOLD-UPS, GUN BATTLES, AND SHOOT OUTS

 

SHOOTOUT....The year 1899 saw a shoot-out at "Kenneth" which was the name of a small community near to modern-day France Park in Cass County, Indiana, about 6.5 miles west of Logansport. This was a limestone mining quarry back in the day and most of the people who lived in the little village of Kenneth worked at the quarry. Many residents were Italian immigrants. A large, outdoor community oven for baking bread remains in the park to this day, a reminder of the local historical significance of the area.

 

On a Saturday night in April of 1899 Henry Price, a driller for the limestone operation in the quarry at Kenneth, shot a man named Jones three times with a .38 caliber revolver.

 

Price had fired Jones from his job at the quarry after a heated argument. An angered Jones, along with an unnamed accomplice laid in waiting for Price to pick up his laundry. All three men were armed.

 

None of the shots were fatal. One of the shots knocked a gun out of Jones’ hand. One hit him in the chest and the third struck Jones in the leg. Price fired another shot, which knocked the hat off of the accomplice.

 

The unnamed accomplice was said to be a desperate man. He was warned not to return to Kenneth. However, at 3 o’clock that same day the man procured two good revolvers and headed back.

 

The fear was that someone would probably be killed. However, it was reported the next day that Jones escaped arrest by leaving Kenneth without confronting Price a second time. Price swore out an affidavit in court for Jones. Constables Smith and Surface (no first names or initials given in the newspaper account) went to Kenneth, both “armed to the teeth”, but failed to find hm after a search of the vicinity. They suspected that Jones was hiding in the woods.

 

Two days later the limestone company discharged Henry Price, recommending that he leave the area for his own safety, which he did.

 (Source: Logansport Pharos Tribune)

Above: 1800s Indiana stone quarry workers

A 1922 GUN BATTLE

In Logansport, Indiana, in 1922, the Scagnoli grocery store was located at 1234 Woodlawn Avenue. The owner was Giuseppe Scagnoli and this address was also the Scagnoli family home, which was often the case in small grocery stores of yesteryear. 

On the evening of February 13, at about 7:30, a man wearing a ski hat, but no face covering entered the store and, pointing a gun, demanded Giuseppe put up his hands. Rather than comply, Giuseppe ran to the back of the building - to his living quarters - and grabbed a gun of his own.

Through a crack in the door Giuseppe could see the gunman was rifling through the cash register so he fired shots at him through that crack. The gunman returned fire; each shooting four or five times.

One of the bullets shattered the front window and other parts of the building were marked up. A scale directly in line with the robber at the cash register was hit by one of the bullets fired by Giuseppe.

A neighbor across the street later told police that he heard shots then saw the robber walk from the store, picking up a burlap sack from a barrel at the front of the store. Why he did this, police weren't sure, but Giuseppe believed that one of his bullets hit the bandit. The man got away with about $5 from the cash register.

It was considered miraculous that neither man was badly injured.

The newspaper story the next day started with this sentence "The Scagnoli store today presents a battle scarred appearance as a result of a gun battle between the proprietor and a hold up man".

 

Above is a 1920s Ad-  Scagnoli Grocery among the list of stores

NEWS EXCERPTS - 1900s PROSTITUTION IN LOGANSPORT IN

 I feel the need to begin this post with a disclaimer. The language contained within the text of the newspapers of the time is not considered politically correct in today's society. For example the use of the word "negress" when describing an African-American woman. I am going to copy and paste the article as in written in the 19-teens and 1920s and ask that the reader not hold me responsible for the language of the day.

Also, the images posted here are for interpretation only.

August 14, 1915 Logansport Chronicle:

"Four perfectly lovely ladies of color recently came here to participate in a jubilee on East Wabash Avenue, and the police butted in, and thereby, be it known, some white folks were disappointed."

February 9, 1925 Logansport Pharos Tribune:

SEVEN WOMEN HELD ON CHARGES

"Seven women, charged with operating houses of ill-fame, and four women charged with statutory offenses, will be brought to trial Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock, in police court. The women were arrested on affidavits sworn out by Effie Penny Schilt. The Schilt woman, who formerly was a resort proprietor, informed the police that she was "going to clean up the avenue." Those arrested included Maud Jones, 40, negress 510 East Wabash Avenue: Madge Leverne, 42, 508 East Wabash: Florence Hatch, 38, 500 East Wabash; Florence Smith, 29, 619 East Wabash; Daisy McFarland, 46, 622 East Wabash; Eloe Hoke, 26, 534 East Wabash; Jessie Johnson, 45, 612 East Wabash, all charged with being keepers of the houses; Jackie Cooper, 25, negress, of Detroit; Ruth Chambers, 23, Nora Anthony, 25, and Caroline Merriman, 29, of New York charged with being inmates of the houses."

May 27, 1923 Logansport Morning Press

POLICE RAID THREE HOUSES OF DISREPUTE ARREST TEN PERSONS

Two Boys Taken at One House Give Ages at Less Than Eighteen.

NUMBER OF OTHER ARRESTS ARE MADE

Local police last night started a determined campaign to stamp out the houses of ill fame in Logansport and as a result three women are slated at police headquarters with operating houses of ill fame and seven persons are charged with statutory offenses. Several houses have been raided within the past two weeks. Two of the three raids made by the police last night were on East Wabash Avenue and the third was on East Melbourne Avenue. Dolly Wade, Marie Anderson and Ethel Huffman, of Chicago, are slated with keeping houses of ill fame and Marie Heilman, Wm Johnson, Charles Cooper, Edward Nelson. Robert Johnson, John Doe and William Johnson, “the second’’ with public indecency. Two of those arrested were boys under 18 years of age. Rose Blake paid a fine of $10 and costs in police court yesterday morning for operating a house of ill fame and fines of $5 were assessed Carl Stewart and John Walsh on statutory offenses.

Until next time.....

Thank you for checking out my blog.

 

LOGANSPORT INDIANA EARLY RED LIGHT HISTORY

 

Above: A map published in LOOK magazine February 26, 1952

 identifies Logansport as one of 29 "hot spots" of prostitution

across the country and along the Mexican border.

Imagine Logansport, Indiana in the 1800s; horses and buggies traveling the dirt streets and folks walking from shop to shop on wooden sidewalks. Imagine ladies gathering up their dress material to keep their hemlines from dragging in the dust and the mud.

Construction of the Wabash & Erie Canal proceeded west reaching Huntington by 1835, Logansport in 1838, and Lafayette in 1841.

Painting of Wabash & Erie Canal E. Market and, when filled in,

the canal became Fifth Street. - Wils Berry, artist

 The railroad came to Logansport in 1848. The first train engine was delivered in 1855. 

The Panhandle shops opened during the Civil War in 1863 and made several train engines. They were later owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Vandalia shops were built around 1875, and by 1889 travelers and goods from Logansport could reach Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Peoria, Pittsburg, Toledo, and St. Louis. With access to the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, goods from iron to cotton could be quickly and economically imported, creating a boom in manufacturing that sparked unprecedented growth: Logansport’s population nearly doubled between 1880 and 1920, from 11,198 to 21,626.

Above: 8th and Broadway 1800s

As the saying goes, “with the good comes the bad.” And the bad was located in various places around town, with names like the “Patty Ranch,” the “Yellow Cottage,” and “Paradise” — all houses of ill repute.

At the time of the 1880 Census, over 20 young women actually listed “prostitution” as their occupation. Prostitution was illegal but managed to flourish. Madams were fined to keep the respectable citizens happy, but the amounts were usually small. 

THE PATTY RANCH, which disguised itself as a “hotel,” was on the south side and was owned by the Patty sisters, Nancy Jane and Belle.

 The Patty sisters were arrested one evening for disturbing the peace as they, along with some male escorts, had gone from saloon to saloon, racing their buggy down Market Street, singing loudly and taunting passersby. In the end, the sisters were forced out of business — at least in Logansport — when a patron who had flashed a wad of cash around was waylaid and murdered by two other patrons. The Patty Ranch burned to the ground before the police had finished their investigation.

The God-fearing, law-abiding neighbors were thrilled to see the place gone, but the police had lost a crime scene.

PARADISE, which was run by a Ms. Cochran, was near the cemetery.  

Ms. Cochran, proprietor of “Paradise,” was arrested one night in 1860 for “liberal drinking, fighting, and obscenity.”- source Logansport Journal 

THE YELLOW COTTAGE was on Logansport's east end. 

Some brothels had no fancy names, such as one located at Sixth Street operated by Miss Ella Troutman. Her name can be found here and there throughout the police records. In 1873, the Logansport Evening Star reported that Ella had been fined eleven dollars for “operating a house of ill fame.” 

In 1873 Mrs. Frank Ashton, a widow and owner of a house next to Miss Troutman’s, explained to the court that she was trying to close, but clients kept showing up. The Judge did not believe her and fined Mrs. Ashton $20.  - source: Logansport Evening Star 

The fact is that the economy of a town benefited from even this type of business. In those days, some of the nicer houses, run by madams, had bouncers — plus the girls were outfitted with fashionable clothing and their own room. They made anywhere from $5 to $30 for the whole night and received a commission on drinks, cigars, and food purchased by their patrons — but had to pay a portion to their madam.

The prostitutes on the other end of the spectrum lived in two-room apartments that had a bedroom in the front and a kitchen in the back. These women made much less money — as little as 25¢ to one dollar per customer. 

These women also had a madam or a man who took a portion of their earnings. The sad truth of the matter is that most of these women died young and in poverty. Suicide was extremely common among prostitutes of this era. Others drank themselves to death or overdosed on laudanum, which was a form of liquid opium.  Life for a prostitute in the 1800s was nothing like the movies.

 AN ANGRY WIFE

1890 story from the Logansport Pharos:

“Mrs. Will Chandler made things lively on Twelfth street for a time last night, by bombarding a house of ill repute in that neighborhood. She entered the place, found her husband enjoying the society of the soiled inmates, lead him out by the ear, and stationing herself on the street proceeded to demolish every window in the ranch by throwing rocks through them. The mistress of the house thought to frighten Mrs. Chandler away by firing several shots at her from a revolver, but it was of no avail, for the plucky little woman stood her ground like a major, and responded to each shot with a perfect shower of rocks.” 

1940s THE "DISTRICT" IS LOCATED BEHIND THE RAILROAD DEPOT ALONG E. WABASH AVENUE

Line of houses on E. Wabash Avenue. Most are gone now.

Above: The home of "Kitty Kelly" - a well-known madam in the 1950-60s

As told to me by John Henry (born about1930), Logansport

As a boy John Henry delivered newspapers to the “red light” district - houses on E. Wabash Avenue. He grew up on 12^th Street.

JESSIE WINDSOR

   “She was a heavy set woman who could be seen sitting on the front porch most days.” - John Henry

 MILDRED

   “She had 2 small dogs – cocker spaniels – one black and one brown. One was sort of mean so she’d watch for the paper boy (John) to calm that dog. One day Mildred was weeping because the black dog had died. She asked if I (John) wanted to see the dog. I was 12 years old – of course I wanted to see a dead dog! There in the parlor was a child-sized coffin surrounded by stuffed animals.” 

I have heard a multitude of stories about the E. Wabash Avenue neighborhood. Stories by delivery men whose wives would send a son along to make sure Dad did not linger; electricians who were offered "services" in lieu of cash (who purportedly denied such suggestions); shop owners who benefitted greatly by offering after hours shopping in order to sell clothes and jewelry to the working girls and stories about good deeds, charitable deeds, by the madams over the years.

The business "district" was finally cleared out when Logansport's first female mayor, Mayor Jone Wilson, took over in the 1980s.

JANUARY EVENTS OF THE PAST

 ON THIS DAY

1966 January 2 - The stately George Walker home was razed to make way for the YM-YWCA building at Ninth and E. Broadway in Logansport, Indiana.

The George Walker home became Holy Angels Academy, 

then became home the YMCA before the new building was constructed.

1937 January 20 - The Logansport High School gym sold out for the game with Richmond.

The Berry Bowl LHS gym was razed in 1975.

1913 January 25 - It was announced Johnny "Red" Corriden, Logansport native, will be playing shortstop for the Chicago Cubs.

Trivia: John "Red" Corriden was the brother in-law of Frank McHale.

1897 January 26 - Large downtown fire in Logansport. A fire at the three-story Murdock Hotel and adjoining Elliott Wholesale grocery on E. Broadway resulted in losses of $80,000. No one was injured.

Aftermath of the fire at the Murdock Hotel on E. Broadway, 1897. 

Photo courtesy Cass Co. Historical Society

1972 January - The T -N- T Lounge, 418 E. Market, Logansport, burned. Owners were Benny D'Andrea and Earl Hornback.

1922 January - Logansport Police Department hired Garfield Chilcott.

Above: Logansport Police circa 1920s

photo collection of T. Conrad

1971 January - It was announced that traffic lights will be installed for Eastgate Shopping Plaza on the city's east end.

The Kroger store at Eastgate Shopping Plaza in 1960s.

Thank you for checking out my blog.....