Orange County As an Example by Lou Malcomb and Richard L
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Looking at Historical Scientific Reports from a Local History Perspective: Orange County as an Example By Lou Malcomb and Richard L. Powell. Throughout the 1800’s and early 1900’s, Indiana Because I am neither a geologist nor even a general was not only invaded by settlers, politicians, and scientist, I asked Dr. Richard Powell, a noted research soldiers but by numerous scientists surveying its scientist with the Indiana Geological Survey, to vegetation, soil, water, and rocks. Many of these compile a list of the early reports about Orange issued reports through their sponsoring agencies in County. Dr. Powell is probably best known for his annual reports or bulletins. These reports are often 1961 IGS Circular no. 8, Caves of Indiana3, long out overlooked by genealogists and historians because of print. He went beyond that and also annotated these they are less known but also because their titles and sources which, of course, add value to bibliography. perceived content simply have escaped notice. This To explore similarly for other counties and localities, article will explore some of the early scientific reports one may use Google (http://www.google.com/) but with emphasis on geological reports. Many include most of the reports are digitized in the HathiTrust descriptive narratives of the landscape, its inhabitants, (http://www.hathitrust.org/). Publication lists do exist its roads and natural features, as well as maps. Many for many of the primary agencies/organizations. For of these reports are now available via internet sources, instance, Nevers and Walker produced an Annotated increasing their accessibility. The reports, from a wide bibliography of Indiana geologic publications in range of sources, cover all ninety-two counties of 1961.4 There are also indexes to the Proceedings of Indiana, but we are highlighting the ones for Orange the Indiana Academy of Science. 5 No index or list County as an example. For the Annual Reports from of reports is available for the Annual report of the the Indiana Department of Conservation’s geologic Indiana State Board of Agriculture published between area, known under a variety of agency names but 1851 and 1908 but they frequently include an abstract now recognized as the Indiana Geological Survey of each county’s agricultural society with information see: IU ScholarWorks Indiana Geological Survey’s about the county fair: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/ community https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/ Record/010307412, nor is there an index or list handle/2022/154. We wanted also to note that the of reports included in the Indiana State Board of Indiana Geological Survey is celebrating its 175th Health’s annual reports or bulletins but they are now anniversary this year, established February 6, 1837 by searchable in the HathiTrust: http://catalog.hathitrust. the Indiana Legislature. org/Record/000060971. The 1887 report includes a sanitary survey with description of several county Orange County is the perfect county to use as an asylums and prisons for Lawrence, Orange, and a few example because of the direct impact natural resources other counties. played in the settlement of Orange County. The 1884 History of Orange County1 confirms this thesis in I believe Dr. Powell’s list illustrates the variety and its opening chapter, “Geology, Native Woods, The scope of early scientific literature and the value to Perpendicular Section….” as does the Orange County local history. It may not be obvious, however, the historic sites and structures: an interim report of the wonderful reading and genealogical clues these early Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory2. The reports provide. The 1869 report written by David interim reports states, “The area’s geology, limestone Dale Owen illustrates the value but also the, dare I call studded with caverns and sulfurous mineral springs, it, beauty included. contributed to the county’s history and development.” 17 Indiana Libraries, Vol. 31, Number 2 An example: “Leaving Orleans, after examining some specimens collected by Mr. Elrod, Mr. Braun, and others, we reached the farm of Mr. Owen Lindley, (some four miles south-west of town,) who politely furnished us some particulars….A sketch and section of this locality is subjoined,” http://hdl.handle. net/2027/uc1.b4170402, page 140. Maps are always of interest and several were included throughout the reports listed in the bibliography. Many of these were published after 1900 but the In addition to such sketches, later reports included “Checklist of printed maps of the Middle West to some photographs including one of French Lick Valley 1900” provides lists of early maps. No maps are viewed from ridge southwest of French Lick in the listed for Orange County but the Checklist does 1907 report on “Soil survey of Orange County”, pages list the Sanborn maps for Paoli. One of our favorite 170-176. Sanborn maps was published after 1900 and thus not listed in the Checklist, that being the one for West Baden shown below. The Indiana University Libraries recently worked with Historic Information Gatherers, Inc. and Indiana University Information Technology Services through the Indiana Spatial Data Portal (http://gis.iu.edu/) to provide color images of the Sanborn TM maps to 1923. This volume also includes a soil map of the county. http://bl-libg-doghill.ads.iu.edu/gm-web/imdb/ orangecntysoilmap1906.tif Indiana Libraries, Vol. 31, Number 2 18 http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index Mostly historical information, with scenic descriptions php?pageId=1002192 of Orange County, but contains the earliest known mention of whetstone mining in Orange County as Using the digital search capability now available prior to 1816 on p. 61. through Google but most importantly the HathiTrust, librarians have the capability of pin-pointing Chamberlain, E., 1849. The Indiana Gazetteer, sections within reports, often produced by the state or Topographical Dictionary of the State of Indiana. government, that contain descriptive information about Indianapolis, E. Chamberlain. towns, places, counties, and communities. Some of these reports will be treasured and others will provide Owen, D.D., 1859, reprinted and modified. descriptions we’d often prefer not to know about Report of a Geological Reconnaissance of the State of such as sanitary conditions less than favorable to our Indiana : made in the year 1837, in conformity to an home communities. One note about the HathiTrust, it order of the Legislature: Part First, 63 p., J. C. Walker, is available to the public but on a somewhat limited state printer, and combined with Part Second , 69 p. basis, i.e. page-by-page, where members can retrieve dated 1838. full PDFs. I assure you the search is worth the effort. There are numerous reprints and revised or modified I had been searching for information about the county versions of the original 1837 and 1838 reports by farm in Monroe County for some months. Owen (see Gray, H. H. 1987), which should be consulted if historical accuracy is important, otherwise While preparing this article, I searched the “Indiana the 1859 version will suffice for geologic content of bulletin of charities and correction” and found geologic content related to Orange County. a wonderful two page description. The potential for exploring library history and numerous other Owen, Richard, 1862. Report of a Geological directions remain for all of you to explore. Reconnaissance of Indiana: Indiana Legislature, H. H. Dodd and Co., Indianapolis, In. 368 p., 8 pls. Bibliography of early geologic and scientific reports on Orange County by Dr. Richard Powell, arranged Orange County is discussed p. 140-146. Lost River chronologically. is covered briefly with two figures on p. 140- 144, whetstones p. 144-145, and grindstones p. 146. Brown, S. R., 1817. The Western Gazetteer; or emigrant’s directory: material relating to Indiana, p. Asher, Adams, and Higgins, 1870. New 37-80, reprinted in H. Lindley, 1916, Indiana as seen Topographical Atlas and Gazetteer of Indiana; by early travelers: p. 136-170. Orange County p. 158- Library of Congress, published by Higgins & Ryan, 159 in Lindley, 1916. Indianapolis, In. 79+ p., maps one inch to five miles. Brown’s description of geographic features in Orange Maps of Orange County p. 8 and p. 11 with very County is mostly incorrect owing to inclusion of generalized geologic contacts from geologic map by Lawrence and most of Monroe counties at the time of R. T. Brown, 1854. his visit, but in any case did not include the juncture of White River with the East Fork White River. Elrod, M. N., and McIntire, E. S., 1876. Orange County: Indiana Geological Survey, annual Thomas, David, 1819. Travels Through the report 7, p. 203-239. Western Country in the Summer of 1816: Auburn, N. Y., David Rumsey, printer 320 p., 1 pl. (not seen), Summarized in part by Goodspeed Bros. & Co, reprinted in part, p. 110-187, 189-233, and 240-241, in publishers (1884, p. 355-665) which was reprinted Lindley, H., 1916, Indiana as Seen by Early Travelers: verbatim by the Paoli Business and Professional Indiana Historical Commission, 596 p. David Thomas Woman’s Club (1950, p. 5-17). item pages 42-135, no plate. 19 Indiana Libraries, Vol. 31, Number 2 A brief account of various aspects of the geology of Orange County, including topography, some scattered The report includes a little more than five pages stratigraphic sections with mention of fossil content at (p.1081-1088) on the meager coal deposits of Orange some localities, and a few details of economic deposits County along with a detailed map (Sheet E) that of mineral waters, lime, sandstone building stone, locates crop outs of coal and coal mines. Locations of grindstones, whetstones and coal. Several pages relate whetstone, sandstone and limestone quarries are also to sinkholes, subterranean drainage, particularly some shown.