YORK TOWNSHIP
According to early records, based on the testimony of Nelson Prestiss, the first settler in York Township was John Knight, who located on section 29 in 1829. He was a squatter and an adventurer, who cared little where he settled, so that he could obtain a bare living, and the piece of land he chose was merely a burr-oak barren, though plenty of better land lay within a mile of his place. Though he cleared and laid out a small garden, in which he grew corn and vegetables, which he traded to the Indians, he depended largely on his rifle for the support of himself and family. He resided alone in the township until about 1833, when the Henshaws came in, or until the advent of Levi Perry, who was said by Isaac Tibbot to have been the second settler. It has been stated, indeed, that John Knight was the third settler, and that he came a year or two later than 1829. The question, though sometimes in dispute, has never been definitely settled. However, he, Washington and James Henshaw and Mr. Perry were undoubtedly the first four settlers. Soon afterwards Joseph Bradford entered the quarter section on which Knight had squatted, and the latter was obliged to leave, and accordingly departed for Elkhart Township. Bradford's action in this matter was without excuse, as the land was poor and sterile, but he was doubtless tempted by the improvements which Knight had made. The Henshaw brothers, previously mentioned, located about 1833 at Port Mitchell, where they built a dam across the Elkhart River, and erected a saw-mill and grist-mill, or "corn-cracker," as the primitive grist-mills were usually called in those days. As white labor was scarce, the Henshaws employed Indians to help them put up the buildings, stimulating them to exertion by the promise of a barrel of whiskey, which was not given to them, however, until the work was done. The occasion proved a "big time," the Indians, of course, became intoxicated, and several rights were begun, but quickly suppressed. Both these mills were rude affairs. The bolter in the grist-mill was turned by hand, and the flour was course and black, while power was lost to the saw-mill by imperfect shafting.
Among the pioneers of York Township, other than those already mentioned, were Joseph Bell, James, Robert and Stedman Gray, Hiram Bassett, John Williams, John Bowman, Joseph Beall, D. Bradford, David Anderson, Dr. Halsey Lewis, Elisha Blackman, Vincent Lane, Nathan Frink, Isaiah and Benjamin Hardinburg, Jacob Cramer, Daniel Downs, William Crispell, William F. Engle, John Middleton, John and William E. McCaskey, Francis Murrey, Adam Nimmon, George Powers, Milo L. Street Joel B. L. Smith, John McMeans, Charles D. Shearer, John Smith, Joel Vanderford, Wesley White, Zenas Wright and his sons George and Charles, J. B. White, Isaac and George F. Whitaker, Samuel Webster, Nathaniel Woodward, John Young, and others. At the first township election, held in the autumn of 1838, but sixteen men were present. The inspector of election was George F. Whitaker, and he selected two clerks and two judges and announced the pools open. Stedman Gray was chosen road supervisor, but on his refusing to serve, John Bowman was selected in his place. Joseph Bradford, who lived across the line in Sparta Township, served as justice of the peace in York until the spring election of 1839, when he was succeeded by John Bowman. At the same election John Middleton was elected constable. The township received its name from the fact that a majority of the earliest settlers were from the State of New York.
Fort Wayne was the earliest depot for supplies, the settlers paying $7.50 a barrel for flour and $7 for a barrel for salt. Provisions were sometimes hard to obtain and much privation had to be endured, though fish and game were, as a rule, easily procured. After crops had been freely planted and good harvests obtained, conditions improved, and in the meanwhile wheat, corn and potatoes, when badly needed, could generally be obtained on Perry's Prairie, where an early settlement had been made, and the soil was rich and fertile. The Henshaw brothers in time sold their mills to Samuel Hanna and possibly W. F. Engle. The grist-mill was finally destroyed by fire. Stedman Gray, who worked for the Henshaws, followed the occupation of miller for many years, and claimed to have made the first flour in Noble County, though his statement has been disputed. The old mill passed through several hands before its final destruction. Joseph Bell built a saw-mill at an early day on Bell's Run in section 21. It was operated by means of a dam and race, the water from the race being utilized a little later to operate a small chair factory which was started by Halsey Lewis. The factory was a rude affair, and the produce of indifferent quality, and in a few years the enterprise was abandoned. The dam connected with the saw-mill finally proved a nuisance, as it caused the water to overflow the adjoining land. The doctors, having ascribed some serious cases of sickness to that cause, the citizens finally purchased the mill site and destroyed the dam. Another saw-mill was erected about 1852 by Isaac Swarthout, about two miles below Port Mitchell, but for lack of patronage it was unsuccessful and soon fell to pieces.
The first village established within the limits of York Township was Augusta, which was laid out in August, 1837, by W. M. Holmes, George P. Whitaker, Thomas Gale and D. H. Colerick, the owners and proprietors. The village was laid out in thirty-eight blocks, each of which, except our, contained eight lots. The exceptional four were on the sides of the square plat, and were triangular in shape. The lots were laid out at the corner of sections 14, 15, 22 and 23, the central block being reserved as a public square. Around the square the streets were eighty feet wide, all others being sixty feet. Four lots were donated by the proprietors for school or church purposes. As narrated in Chapter Two of this history, August was selected as the new county seat, I 1837. This fact immediately caused an influx of settlers, and a number of industries sprang up. The village continued to thrive until March, 1843, when the burning of the courthouse, probably by an incendiary, put an end to the era of prosperity, and a quick decline set in, as in the following year the county seat was removed to Port Mitchell. The population of August was then about 200, about half of whom followed the county seat to its new location, and by 1850 the village was almost deserted.
Port Mitchell, whose new honors were destined to be of short duration, had been platted in May, 1838, by Samuel Hanna and William F. Engle. It was situated on the east half of the northeast quarter of section 35, and the west half of the northwest quarter of section 36. About thirty blocks of eight lots each were laid out, one of which was designed for a public square, and an open place, called "Market Space," was provided. Prior to this time, however, the Henshaws had built their mills, and some cabins had been erected in the vicinity. Hanna & Engle opened a store about 1837, or perhaps earlier, but the settlement had a slow growth until its selection as the county seat, when the usual "boom" in such cases as once set in. The population increased until it exceeded that of August at the zenith of its prosperity. The proprietors donated lots for schools and churches, stores, shops and mills were erected, a postoffice established, with J. B. White as the first postmaster, and a courthouse and public offices built. But the citizens of Port Mitchell had all the jubilation to themselves. The property owners at Augusta were indignant, and the inhabitants of other settlements jealous, and from the start efforts were made to have the county seat re-located at the "Center," now Albion, as well as at some ten or twelve other points. The Port Mitchellites sought to ward off the approaching doom of their town by sundry proposed deeds of charity, but their acts and promises were regarded without favor, and at least, in 1847, the county seat was removed to Albion, where is has since remained. After the departure of the lawyers and county officials, the citizens also began to leave, and a rapid decay set in. A few industries, including the mills, continued in operation for awhile, but they were finally obliged to yield to the inevitable and seek more promising fields. About 1852, however, a man named Campbell erected a woolen mill at Port Mitchell. It was a two-story, frame building, 30 by 45 feet, and a considerable quantity of carding and spinning was done under the direction of a Mr. Walker, a practical spinner. Subsequently the property passed into the hands of George baker, and during the war the mill flourished, but at its close the patronage decreased. The enterprise was finally brought to an end by the burning of the mill about 1872.
About the same time that the county seat was changed from Sparta to Augusta, a village called Van Buren was surveyed and platted on section 20, for which also, like almost every other village in the county, county seat hopes were entertained. But these proved visionary. The claims of the proprietor were rejected by the locating committee, no lots were sold, and the embryonic village "expired soon after being christened."
One of the important events in the early history of York Township was the great flood of 1844, which swept away dams and bridges and greatly injured the crops. It was during this time of danger and excitement, on July 1, that Wesley White, one of the pioneer settlers, lost his life. The bridge west of Augusta, across the Elkhart River, had been carried away, and a rope had been extended across the stream to aid persons who could not swim in crossing. Mr. White, who was on the west side, and wanted to cross, attempted to do so by swimming. There were some twenty-five or thirty people present who urged him to avail himself of the rope, but he preferred to rely on his unaided abilities, and plunged in. The current carried him swiftly down, and when he came to the rope he tried to seize it but missed, and, after a cry fro help, sank in the muddy water, attempts to aid him being fruitless. His body was recovered on the following day. His death caused a profound sensation through the county, as he was a man highly esteemed, "an accomplished gentleman and a competent and faithful officer."
Robert M. Waddell, History of northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1920, Noble County, pgs. 419-422.