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1 October –
1787 – Vincennes, IN. Recently promoted brevet brigadier-general, Josiah Harmar departs for the French settlements on the Mississippi River. He will return for the winter, but meanwhile Major John Francis Hamtramck is in charge of Vincennes. Under Hamtramck’s direction, Fort Knox will be completed. [Cayton, p. 115]
1804 – Washington City. The District of Louisiana is placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory.
1814 – Switzerland County, IN, established. County seat is Vevay. Carved from Dearborn and Jefferson counties, the county is named in honor of its many Swiss settlers. […Wikipedia.org/ …/List_of_counties_in_In…]
1901 – West Baden, IN. Lee Wiley Sinclair contracts with Caldwell and Drake of Columbus, IN, to build a new hotel with the plans of Harrison Albright. (See 15 June 1901; 1 April 1902; 16 April 1903.) [Bundy; Visions…, p. 40-2]
2009 - New York, NY. David Letterman breaks story of extortion plot concerning his indiscretions with people on his staff.
2 October –
1888 – Indianapolis, IN. Capitol Building completed. It cost $1,980,969, and is said to be the only public building in the country to be built within the original cost estimate. [Griffin 2, p. 14]
3 October –
1811 – Terre Haute, IN. William Henry Harrison and his troops reach an old Indian village and battleground which John Tipton, of the Corydon Yellow Jackets, calls “tare hott.” (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 7, 10, 16, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
1911 – Corydon, IN. The iron rail fence, removed from the old capitol building grounds in July, is sold at auction. [Griffin 2, p. 58]
4 October –
1819 – Corydon, IN. To the Trustees of the Town of Corydon,
The petition of the undersigned respectfully represents that they labor under considerable inconvenience in consequence of the ordinance of your body prohibiting persons verding articles in the Market House on Market Day before sunrise. Your petitioners see no good regulation of the sort, and believing that its abolition will be of public benefit they solicit your interference.
Signed: Jeremiah Tarlton, Joseph Kinhead, Dudley Gresham, James Kintner, Henry Bugher, R. Ligget, Henry Rice, John T. Jameson, H.W. Heth, Jesse West, Peter Kintner, James Wilson, James Stewart, J. B. Slaughter, Abs. Branham and David Byrn.
Corydon, October 4, 1819
When this petition was found by Deputy Auditor Miss Lizzie Brewster, at the time county records were transferred to the new courthouse, in 1928. She could find no record that this petition was successful, and people were left to consider that it may yet be illegal to vend articles in the Market House on Market Day before sunrise. [Griffin 2, p. 14]
1860 – Indianapolis, IN. Abram A. Hammond takes office as governor. […wikipedia.org/…/List_of_Governors_of_...]
1862 – Bardstown, KY. 78th Indiana Regiment captured by Confederates under General Braxton Bragg. [KE, p. 676-7]
Deaths –
1860 – St. Paul MN. Ashbel P. Willard dies. (See 31 October 1820.) [EL, p. 942-3]
5 October –
Births –
1744 – near present-day Reading, PA. Squire Boone Jr. born. He will settle in Harrison County, IN. [Funk, p 155-60]
6 October –
1866 – Seymour, IN. John and Simeon Reno, and Frank Sparks, board the Ohio and Mississippi train. Soon, they break into the Adams Express Company car, bludgeon the sole guard, break into the Local Safe and push overboard the Through Safe. Frank Reno and the rest of the gang attempt to break into the Through Safe, but are routed by a posse organized by Gordon Kinney, who had witnessed the robbery. Kinney will be murdered the next month; the crime never solved. Ironically, the Seymour State Police post will one day be located only about two blocks south of the spot where the Through Safe came to rest. Some burglaries of unoccupied train cars preceded it, and the James, Dalton and Younger brothers would become famous for it, but this Reno brothers crime is the first train robbery in history. (See 22 May 1868; 9 July 1868; 20 July 1868; 25 July 1868; 30 July 1868; 11 December 1868; 12 December 1868.) [Funk, p. 102-7]
7 October –
1811 – Terre Haute, IN. Fort Harrison under construction, the man it is named for has the first crisis of this campaign. Mutinous over short rations, several members of the Indiana militia threaten to desert. However, they remain loyal. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 10, 16, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
8 October –
9 October –
10 October –
1811 – Fort Harrison, IN. The Corydon Yellow Jackets, out on a scouting mission, are startled when a sentry at the fort receives fire. The expected Indian attack, however, does not come, and two days later, apparently friendly Indians come to the fort and join in games of cards. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 16, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
1838 – Quincy, IL. The Potawatomie, under Chief Menominee, pass out of Illinois. [Funk, p. 45-7]
1878 – Indianapolis, IN. Present Capitol Building begun. [Griffin 2, p. 14]
11 October –
1808 – Vincennes, IN. Territorial legislature organizes Harrison County from parts of Knox and Clark counties. It is named in honor of Governor William Henry Harrison. (See 1 December 1808.) [EL, p. 370-373]
12 October –
1918 – near Cunel, France. First Lieutenant Samuel Woodfill, 35-year-old native of Belleview, Jefferson County, IN, earns the Congressional Medal of Honor. Lt. Woodfill’s unit was ordered to secure several German machine gun nests which were holding the advance of American troops. When his comrades at last reached these positions, they found that Sam, by himself, had taken the three machine guns, killing all enemy defenders save three, whom he was holding as prisoners. In addition to the Medal of Honor, he is awarded the Purple heart for wounds received this day; the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre from France; the Croce de Guerra from Italy; and the Order of Prince Danilo from Montenegro. When he is summoned to receive the Medal of Honor, he simply requests the days’ leave. His fellow soldiers did not know until his return that these days accomplished the presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Asked to name the outstanding American soldier in the World War, in 1921 General John Pershing named Lieutenant Samuel Woodfill, “the greatest American doughboy.” (See 7 December 1941; 15 October 1955.) [Funk, p. 161-164]
1979 – Corydon, IN. Governor Otis Bowen comes to attend the dedication of the Governor Hendricks Headquarters, now part of the state historic site. The Porter-Griffin family had carefully preserved the structure for 134 years, until 1977 when Frederick P. Griffin sold it to the state of Indiana. [Griffin 2, p. 3]
13 October –
1978 - David Letterman and Michelle Cook divorce.
14 October –
1876 – Louisville, KY-Jeffersonville, IN. James Howard drowns in the Ohio River, about 100 yards from his front door. [Kramer, p. 187]
15 October –
1955 – Washington, DC. Major Samuel Woodfill, who was buried in Hebron Cemetery, Jefferson County, IN, in August 1951, is re-buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (See 12 October 1918; 7 December 1941.) [Funk, p. 161-4]
1956 – Washington, DC. Sherman Minton retires. (See 20 October 1890; 9 April 1965.) [EL, p. 624]
16 October –
1811 – Fort Harrison, IN. The shortage of rations causes several Indiana volunteers to desert William Henry Harrison. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 17, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
1931 – Corydon, IN. 4:20 p.m. The 785 foot long dirigible Akron passes overhead on a final 48-hour test run before it is accepted by the United States Navy. Built at Akron, OH, the airship has cruised over Cincinnati, OH, Louisville, KY, Lanesville and Leavenworth, as well as Corydon. [Griffin 2, p. 342]
17 October –
1811 – Terre Haute, IN. On short rations, William Henry Harrison’s army now has snow falling. Several men become sick with fever. John Tipton records this as the worst day of the entire Tippecanoe campaign. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
1917 – West Baden, IN. The West Baden Springs Hotel celebrates renovation with a grand opening. All guest rooms, the dining room and lobby have been completely redecorated. The great atrium has been transformed into a “Pompeian Court.” Twelve million one-inch marble mosaic tiles have been individually hand-set by Casini Tile Company of Cincinnati; the great fireplace has been transformed by Rookwood Pottery; and eight large and eight small urns, with ferns, are part of Lillian Sinclair’s vision. Additionally, the grounds have been extensively upgraded, including flood control measures. Helen Keller is an honored guest at the rededication. [Bundy; West Baden…, p. 53]
18 October –
Births –
1844 – Kent, Jefferson County, IN. Harvey Washington Wiley born. (See 30 June 1906; 30 June 1930.) [Funk, p. 153-4]
19 October –
20 October –
1948 – Corydon, IN. Campaign launched to get numbers to be displayed on all homes. The numbers are three-inch-high white tiles, available at the Public Service Company office. [Griffin 2, p. 22]
Births –
1890 – near Georgetown, IN. Sherman Minton born. He will become a United States Supreme Court justice. (See 15 October 1956; 9 April 1965.) [EL, p. 624]
21 October –
22 October –
1811 – Fort Harrison, IN. The Corydon Yellow Jackets elect more officers. Private John Tipton is elected Ensign. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
23 October –
24 October –
1917 – Corydon, IN. The Corydon Republican reports that beacon fires are lighted throughout the country to show support of the Liberty Bonds sale. Blaine Wiseman presides at the ceremony lighting the beacon fire in front of the Old Capitol. He places a piece of wood from the Constitution Elm on the pyre, announcing that at that same moment, President Woodrow Wilson is placing a piece of the same tree on the beacon fire in front of the nation’s capitol. [Griffin 2, p. 36]
25 October –
1858 – New Albany, IN. Horace Bell is seized, forced into a boat and rowed to Brandenburg, KY, where he is secured in jail. Horace, his father David J. Bell, brother John Bell, and Oswald Wright, a freedman, have been often been suspected of helping enslaved people to escape. David J. Bell operates a ferry service from Brandenburg, in a slave state, to the area of Mauckport and Laconia, in a free state. Charles, belonging to Dr. C.H. Ditto, of Brandenburg, had disappeared in 1857. A few weeks later, a party of Kentuckians stealthily crossed the Ohio, surrounded the Bell home, kidnapped David and another of his sons, the escaped slave Charles and Wright, and took them all to jail in Brandenburg. John and Horace had by then gone to California to seek gold, but returned speedily, crossed the Ohio at noon one day, removed their father and brother from the jail, and used show of force (and firearms) to return home. The New Albany seizure is the latest salvo. It will be answered by people from New Albany and Corydon who will soon have a boat with two cannon mounted and pointing at Brandenburg. They demand the release of Horace, which follows swiftly.
Horace and John then depart once more for California, and David Bell removes to Missouri. Oswald Wright, however, serves five years in a Kentucky prison. (See 31 March 1875.) [Griffin 2, p. 355]
26 October –
1803 – Clarksville, IN. The Corps of Discovery departs. History will call it the Lewis & Clark Expedition. [EL, p. 509-10]
27 October –
1811 – Terre Haute, IN. William Henry Harrison’s army formally christens the fort they are building – Fort Harrison. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
28 October –
1811 – Fort Harrison, IN. The Corydon Yellow Jackets help to bring in several boats loaded with badly needed provisions. The entire army prepares to resume the northward march tomorrow morning. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 27, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
29 October –
1811 – Terre Haute, IN. William Henry Harrison’s army completes a log fort, which they name Fort Harrison. (See 12, 16, 18, 30 September; 3, 7, 10, 16, 22, 27, 28, 29 October; 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17, 24 November 1811.) [Griffin 2, p. 12-14]
1929 – New York, NY. Stock market crashes. The Great Depression begins. [EL, p. 353-5]
30 October –
31 October –
1820 – Vernon, NY. Ashbel P. Willard born. He will be governor of Indiana 1853-57. (See 4 October 1860.) [EL, p. 942-3]
1939 – Seymour, IN. Indiana Railroad discontinues passenger service between to Louisville, KY. Freight service continues using trucks. [EL, p. 418-20]
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