Stagecoach or stage coach is mentioned eight times on this page. Anyone who grew up in the 1950s-1960s probably watched western movies and television shows which almost always showed stage coaches as a common means of travel in western America. Many people don't realize that Indiana which became a state December 11, 1816 was considered western America in the 19th century as the United States added new states and stage coaches were used locally during those times. Walking or traveling by animal power was the only means of land travel until the Wabash & Erie Canal replaced by Railroads then Automobiles changed how we traveled and where we lived. See our Horses page for more stagecoach information.
Article Preview : Introduction The story of the Aveline family is also the story of how Hoosiers adapted to the rapid social and economic changes that took place in the state during the 1800s. Over the course of the nineteenth century a variety of factors such as the removal of Native Americans, modification of the environment, and the introduction of new technologies transformed Indiana. Pioneers in the frontier wilderness developed infrastructure for modern farms and urban centers. Like many families, the Avelines found ways to adjust to this quickly changing milieu. The first part of this story focused on Francois Aveline and his son James. Beginning shortly after the formation of the United States, Francois came to Indiana and entered the fur trade. For most of his life trade was prosperous and his business did well. James was not so fortunate. He faced a dwindling customer base, the depletion of fur-bearing animals, and competition from other traders who were better able to monopolize trade. Eventually, James pulled out of the trade, moved to Peru, Indiana, and took a Miami woman as his second wife. There he farmed and raised his second family, three of whom married Miami spouses. While James represented the last vestiges of the old ways, his brother Francis took a much different path, helping to usher Fort Wayne into the modern era. In the second part of this story, Francis Aveline will be seen taking his family from the fur trade into a recognizable modern-day economy of real estate and development. This progression begins with Francis abandoning his father's trading career in order to participate in the booming canal business, organizing and supervising workers. That construction experience later manifested itself in the purchase and development of real estate in Fort Wayne, including a large house for his family. The pinnacle of Francis's professional success was the building of a fabulous hotel that was a centerpiece of the growing city of Fort Wayne. Francis was acknowledged as one of the city's leading businessmen. With these accomplishments, Francis transitioned his family from the dying fur trade industry and thrust them into modern society. Francis Aveline While Francois and James Aveline continued as Indian traders even as their source of revenue dwindled, Francis S. Aveline set out to achieve fame and fortune in a different direction. Francis was born on March 18, 1814, and was baptized in the Catholic Church in Vincennes. He was only four years old when his family arrived in Fort Wayne, and the youngster grew up in a world of animal pelts and skins. Francis worked as a clerk in his father's store, first in Fort Wayne and then in Logansport. In this latter town he met and impressed the Ewing brothers, and by 1832 he had left his father's employ and was clerking for the Ewings. From behind the counters of these Logansport establishments, Francis sold items as varied as groceries, gunpowder, calico cloth, tea, Mackinaw blankets, and, of course, liquor, both foreign and domestic. (1) When the... Copied from the article: Aveline and Sons: The Rise and Fall of an Indiana Family at the End of the Fur Trade, Part 2. Authors: Maureen A. Gaff and Donald H. Gaff Date: Fall-Winter 2014 From: The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections (Vol. 54, Issue 2) Publisher: Indiana Historical Society Press. At Gale Academic Onefile.
A Facebook post about a 1915 newspaper article about Bloomingdale School Teachers to Brave Horrors of Haunted House lead to a search for information on the Penn House leading to many newspaper articles eleven of those articles are shown below. It was surprising how many articles mention the Penn House as a local landmark and reference point for giving directions. The newspaper article are in chronological order.
The big story is the full page and more 1919 Old Wm. Penn House is an Historic Land Mark. It mentions the Aveline family built this local landmark in a couple of places including Early HistoryWilliam and Robert Aveline, ancestors of the Aveline family several generations back, and also pioneers in the hotel business, planned a home, and they were the builders and owners of what was then one of the finest mansions in the middle west. No expense was spared in its construction and Was Old Indian TrailIndian trail, and this passed close by the old Aveline mansion, which later became the William Penn house.
The location of the house led to finding an eight part newspaper series on The Story of Clinton Street which is still a work in progress.
AT THE TIME THIS PAGE WAS CREATED IN OCTOBER 2024 THE WAYBACK MACHINE WAS NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO A DDOS ATTACK SO FUTURE RESEARCH MAY FIND EVEN MORE INFORMATION IN THE GRISWOLD AND OTHER HISTORY BOOKS. See October 20, 2024 post on Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana on Facebook.
Houses and Barns, Destroyed -Narrow Escape of Human Lives !
A terrible Tornado, resulting in the destruction of several houses and the narrow escape of the inmates from death, passed north of and immediately adjacent to the city last erening at about 8 o'clock. We obtain the following account of the affair from a gentleman who was an eye witness of the commencement and progress of the tornado.
"It commenced in the low piece of ground in the rear of Spy Run aqueduct; from thence pursued a course a little east of north striking the barn of the Wm. Penn House, carrying off the roof and a portion of the second floor. It next struck the Wm. Penn House a large and strongly built brick tenement, completely battering down the walls of both gable ends as far down as the floor of the garret room and leaving the upper part of the house a mass of ruins.
Directly west of the Penn House stood a building owned by Charles Figel, but recently erected and not yet occupied. This building was completely demolished.
About 100 rods north of the Penn House stood a log cabin occupied by Mr. Geistdorfer. This was almost entirely destroyed, the inmates being buried in the ruins. Fortunately the heavy logs were carried outwardly so that all escaped with but slight bruises. A dog standing outside of the cabin was instantly killed.
Near the cabin stood a small barn; of this every trace had vanished. It had been carried off in fragments by the gust. A large heavy hog rick which was lying in front of the Penn House barn had also disappeared. Nearly all of the fruit trees west of the Penn House were torn up by the roots. A son of Mr. Kintz, proprietor of the house, only saved himself from being carried away by lying on the earth and clinging to a heavy beam which was fastened in the ground.
The scene in that neighborhocd almost beggars description. The road presented one mass of mingled fallen trees and fence rails. Huge oaks were swept down like reeds before the blast, and lay in almost inextricable confusion. The fences for a considerable distance were scattered in all directions. It seemed as though some giant power had been there scattering destruction in every direction.
On the first formation of the whirlwind, it had the appearance of a small body of black smoke, like that made by burning tar. As it moved onward it rapidly increased in size, and as it struck the woods in the rear of Mr. H. C. Grey's residence,it towered upwards one massive column of dense dust, the base whirling and crashing among the trees, while the crest seem to mingle with the lightning lit clowds above forming a view sublime but teriffic. As it passed onwards, and struck the river north of the Penn House, the sun piercing through the dense clowds, shone upon the column of dust and seemed to blend heaven and earth in one lurid cloud. As far as the eye could reach it still seemed to speed onward, undiminished in size, and apparantly following the course of the river."
Whether any farther damage has been done we have not yet ascertained.
Many historic newspaper articles reference Penn House as a landmark in describing nearby current events.
Body Exhumed Near This City: and Found to be Petrifed.
Yesterday Andrew and John Weis, the former of Sandusky City and the latter of Garrett, came to Fort Wayne for the purpose of removing the remains of their mother, Mrs. Nicholas Weis, from her place of burial, on the Kepps farm, near the Penn House, to Lindenwood cemetery. Upon opening the grave, the coffin was found to be under water and in a remarkable state of preservation, and when it was opened, it was discovered that the remains of Mrs. Weis were in a perfect state of petrifaction! The body had lain in the grave for twelve years, notwithstanding which no signs of decay were visible. Mrs. Weis was about sixty years of age, and a very portly person; she died of suffocation; and the absence of discease, together with the action of water is supposed to be the cause of the strange phenomenon. When interred, the weight of the body was about two hundred pounds; when taken up, yesterday, it required the almost united efforts of six strong men to lift the coffin containing the remains, and it is estimated that the weight could not have been less than eight hundred to one thousand pounds. Strange to say, the clothing had entirely decayed and mouldered away. The remains were subsequently interred at Lindenwood. As the remains of several other members of the Kepps, family are buried at the same place, and they are soon to be removed, we shall not be surprised to hear of other cases similar to this one. Mrs Weis was the mother of Mr. John Vordermark's first wife.
A supper and social, was tendered, to the members of Harmony Lodge I. 0. O. F. last night, by T. J. Leonard at what was formerly known as the Penn House, about two miles from the city. About 150, or perhaps even more couples, participated, and enjoyed themselves in the most highly pleasurable manner. The host and hostess were amply prepared to entertain their numerous guests, and did it in a right royal manner too. After supper music and dancing ruled the hour, and when the large company reluctantly dispersed each member carried with him or her the profound conviction that a gorgeous entertainment had been enjoyed.
A Three-Year-Old Lad Drowned in a Cistern on the Old Penn Farm -Coroner Dinnen Renders a Verdict of Accidental Death.
About 6 o'clock last evening Coroner Dinnen received notice that he was needed in his official capacity at the old Penn house about half-mile north of the French brewery. Arriving at the house, the coroner found the lifeless remains of a little three-year-old child stretched upon the brink of a yawning cistern. Inquiry showed that the little one's name was Charles E. Hosler, a son of a well known farmer, living near the eastern line of the county. The child has for the past two or three days been visiting his grandmother, Mrs. Byers, who lives on the Penn farm, and while playing about the yard yesterday afternoon moved away a board covering the cistern and while attempting to replace the same, lost his balance and fell into the water. The occupants of the house were alarmed by the little fellow's scream, as he fell, and rushed to the rescue, but before they reached the spot the water had closed over its victim. When the body was taken from the bottom of the cistern, life was extinct. Coroner Dinnen rendored a verdict of accidental death, in accordance with the above facts.
The cistern was in a very unsafe condition and the bright little lad's death is directly chargeable to the criminal negligence of some one.
No Divorces Are Granted Today for Change--Happenings in the Courts.
Never in the history of Allen county has the road improvement work been so extensive as it is now. There is scarcely a main road out of Fort Wayne that is not being improved with crushed stone and concrete culverts, and many roads are completely blocked to traffic. The blockades and fresh stone make it a bit difficult for drivers of horses and motor cars to feel certain where they will end when they start out, but when the work is completed Allen county will have more miles of improved road and will come in for a larger slice of the automobile license fund at the next division.
One of the blockades is on the Leo road. Just past the first fork after leaving the "Penn" house the road is blocked on account of crushed stone being rolled into the roadway. The road is open from the next cross-road to the third, and from there on it is again blocked to Robison park. Auto parties desiring to visit the park are compelled to go past the academy on the Auburn road or to take the St. Joe road past Germania park and cross at Porter's bridge above the park.
From Centilvre Park to Penn House--Will Be Best in County.
County Superintendent of Roads Tonkel has commenced work on the Leo road from Centlivre park to the Penn house. The road is being scarified, and crushed stone and tarvia dumped onto it. This will be rolled, and the road is expected to be one of the best in the county when completed. The road was surfaced with tarvia some time ago, but the foundation was poor and the surface quickly took on a hilly effect that was decided uncomfortable for those who rode over it.
CAN TRY OUT THE NEW ROAD COMMISSIONERS HURRY WORK ON THE LEO STRETCH.
Three Divorces Are Granted Today--Sheriff Seeks Suicide--The Court News.
The county commissioners have hurried the work on resurfacing the Leo road from the end of the Spy Run pavement to the Penn house curve and as a result those who drive to the fair grounds this week will be given an opportunity to test out one of the best stretches of road in Allen county. The road is of crushed stone, rolled in tar, and presents one of smoothest surfaces that can be obtained.
The work on Haven roads, No. 1 and No. progressing at a good rate. The concrete has been laid for the greater part of the way and has been covered with dirt, to allow for slow drying. The road will be opened to the public, shortly and when completed will one continuous concrete pavement from Fort Wayne to New Haven.
County Superintendent Tonkel and Deputy Henry Kramer announce the completion of the repairs to Clinton street from the old canal bridge to the Leo road. The Leo road has now been surfaced from end of the Spy Run pavement to the Penn house curve, completing a several mile, stretch of road that is better than a city pavement.
Turnstone is located where the William Penn House was located 100 years ago.
Turnstone is shown at the triangle where three streets meet south of Glenbrook Mall where now one-way North Clinton comes north from the south and one-way Edgewood Avenue is going south and two-way Lima Road south of this location goes northwest off Clinton shown in this Street View photo from Google Maps at entrance to Turnstone.
Modern Google Maps similar location to 1919 Riedel map below shows N Clinton St. is Leo Road in 1919.
Red dot is 3320 North Clinton location of Turnstone.
Zoomable 1919 J.M.E. Riedel's new street number guide map of Fort Wayne at the Digital Commonwealth Massassuchetts Collections Online. Notice below M and N is Leo Road which branches northeast off Clinton Street at Northwood Avenue which is a short distance north of Penn Avenue on the East side across from John M. Vesey Park. Today this area is the triangle of Lima Road, Edwater Avenue and N. Clinton Street northeast of Vesey Park. Turnstone is at 3320 North Clinton Street shown on Google Maps. See also Roads of Allen County.
THERE Is always a charm about old landmark and historical sites inseparably connected with stirring scenes which are past and gone so far into the silent realms that no one living can recall them. Especially is this true when that landmark has been or is yet a human habitation. There is a lure about an old fireplace which cannot be denied, and so strong has this feeling grown that old andirons, candlesticks and snufflers, ancient spinning eheels and other colonial reminders of the days when great-grandmother danced the stately minuet are treasured and given places of honor. In many homes they yare always a source of curiosity and interest.
Fort Wayne itself is a landmark, for no city in America can boast of finer traditions or richer historical significance than the once pioneer trading post now grown to the dignity of the second city of old Indiana. In the rapid changing panaroma of events, the flags of three great nations have waved over its defenses, and the memory of Mad Anthony Wayne, hero of Stony Point and the subjugation of the Indian tribes will always be preserved in the name of the city he founded.
Recalls the Past.
Although not nearly so old as some of the reminders of frontier life, Fort Wayne has one old building whose career covers American history from the days of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, and which built as a home is still occupied nearly a century later as a family residence.
It is the old Wlilliam Penn house on the Leo road. Commanding a vista of distant woods and rolling country in nature's fairest sheen, of orchard blossoms and bursting buds, there stand the grim old walls, with chimneys like silent sentinels against the sky. The snows of many winters have beleagured its great hospitable doors and the birds sing just as merrily as they did in the days that are past, but the voices of generations who laughed and danced and enjoyed life as the flames leaped merrily up the great throated chimney from the logs in the fire place are stilled. Only fancy paints the picture of their joys and sorrows in the great varying phases of human nature, yet the old house remains much the name as it was then. Despite the fact that it is at least ninety years of age, the structure is so massively built as to insure its existence for many decades to come.
Present Owners.
The property at the present time is owned by A. W. McPhall, of Ewing street, and is occupied on the first floor by Mr. and Mrs. Morton Wirts and family. The remaining floors and upper portion of the old structure is used by the owner as a storehouse and work room. The Penn house has been in the possesisession of the McPhail family for approximately forty years. [ See 1880 for sale ad ] So strongly was it built that themain structure is still in an excellent state of preservatlon, the greatest damage sustained in all the years of its existence being through the vandalism of hoboes who broke into the old tavern when it was unoccupied and defaced the walls and woodwork to secure fuel for the great open fireplace.
Early History.
The first record of an kind that can be found relative to the location is an abstract indicating the early transfer of property during President Jackson's administration. Soon after the inauguration of "Old Hickory" there was recorded the sale of several acres of land. There is a dearth of information as regards the first owner. But on a commanding knoll was later built the structure known to Indiana history at the present time as the William Penn house. William and Robert Aveline, ancestors of the Aveline family several generations back, and also pioneers in the hotel business, planned a home, and they were the builders and owners of what was then one of the finest mansions in the middle west. No expense was spared in its construction. The stone mason work in the foundations was the best. The bricks are said to have been brought to Fort Wayne over the old Wabash and Erie canal from the east. A colonial style which gave added distinction to the new Aveline home was followed out in the plans.
The Brave Old Home.
Some of its walls are a yard through, and many of its timbers are of unusual size, for be it known, the old Penn house was built in those early pioneer days when machinery was unknown and the building of a house depended entirely upon manuaI labor and the expertness of the individual craftsman. In the old stage coach and Indian trading days, the woodsmen armed with their trusty axes, went out into the woods which bordered closely upon every frontier settlement, and selecting some giant monarch of the forest, cut out the great timbers for the framework and supports of the contemplated home. In the Penn house, these great beams of sturdy oak are just as good as they were when roughly hewn by hand, they were laid in position and fastened with large wooden pins. The storm of
KEY TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
No. 1.--Blazing logs in open fireplace; second floor, William Penn house, on Leo road. No, 2.--Exterior view of historic old mansion, later a tavern and famous stop in old stagecoach days of more than three quarters of a century ago. No. 3.--View of large room and stairway on third floor used in "Ye Olden Tyrmes" as a dance hall, and as a court room for the sessions of the circuit Judges. No. 4.--Front door and main entrance with solid oaken door three inches thick. No. 5.--Interior view of first floor, now home of Mr. and Mrs. Wirts, tenants, showing massive woodwork of the doors and walnut casings. No. 6.--Three periods of American history. Fireplace represents revolutionary period. Heating, stove and steam radiator are later types in development of creature comforts which brings the whole up to the present time. No. 7.--Historic old toll house, formerly located at the junction of the two roads in rear of the tavern. It now occupies a site nearer the city on the Leo road and is occupied as a residence. No. 8.--Huge mantle and fireplace with back logs in position, in reception room on first floor. This is the largest type in the house. No. 9.--One of the spacious old bed rooms, heated by fireplace on second floor.
many winters, the wind and the rain, and all the fury of the elements have beat upon the old home, yet it stands rugged and defiant as it has always done through approximately ninety years of American history.
Has Seen Many Presidents.
Built in the days of Andrew Jackson it has seen all except six presidents of the United States come and go. has passed through many periods of national peril and cris, and in its own particular community has stood as a symbol of the Hoosier spirit of the past and the progress and optimism of the future. The old tavern is utterly forgotten now save by a few for it outlived its usefulness in the public service, yet time was when it was the most important of all locations in the then frontier territory of northern Indiana. To be sure the commonwealth had been admitted to the union as a state in 1816, but Indians roamed in the vast forests still untouched, and although the time had passed when it was neccessary for our forefathers to chop dewn trees with one hand while they held their scalps on with the other, yet Fort Wayne was but little more than a trading post at the union of three rivers, and the settlement was in its infancy so far as growth and population were concerned.
Many Fireplaces.
There were huge fireplaces in every room. The woodwork through out was solid walnut, with beautiful panelings still to be admired doubtless as they were then. The great frontier door of solid oak was three inches in thickness, with a great metal knocker so fashionable in the early days of the republic, and a heavy lock with old fashioned brass key of mammoth size. That same door on its huge hinges still stands, even as it did in the days when it swung wide its hospitable portals in welcome to light-hearted, merry groups who came under the shelter of the family roof. This period when it was the home and the pride of the Aveline family for many years is doubtless its greatest era, and if speech were granted to inanimate things, what tales could not this old door tell of home keeping hearts and fire side happiness under the spell of voices that echo but of the past. On the third floor was a large room used as a dance hall, and dancing parties enjoyed themselves to the scraping of fiddles.
Later with the passing of the years, the old house was no longer the Aveline home. The family moved to the now rapdly growing community and resided at Clinton and East Washington streets, almost opposite to where the Palace theatre now stands. Later this structure was rased to make room for flats which now occupy that site.
The Old Tavern.
With its abandonment as a home and the passing of its former pride and glory as the Aveline mansion, the old house became a public institution. Changes were made. Signs were put up, announcing that it was "The William Penn House" and that ye traveler and sojourner in our midst might partake of the hospitality of mine host when passing through this section. Those old signs are still there just below the eaves of the old building, where birds twitter in their spring nesting, but the hands which painted them have long since moulded away to dust.
No better site could have been selected as a tavern. There were no hotels in Fort Wayne, and it was the only stopping place for travelers. The Penn house was on the direct line of the old stage coach route which ran northward to Auburn and Hamilton. Travel was heavy even in those days, for the middle west was steadily growing in importance, and the old Wabash and Erie canal as an artery of commerce was bringing to this section a constant flow of commerce and merchandise as well as home-seeking passengers. Part of the present Leo road was a former Indian trail. The road ran to the side and back of the Penn house, and the great barn was built on the highway opposite the tavern itself. Tbe barn has been gone many years, but the old toll house, which stood nearby at the junction of the two roads which brought patronage and prosperity to the Penn house, is still in existence, although it has been moved to a point nearer town and is occupied as residence.
Circuit Judges Met.
A touch of dignity was imparted for many seasons to the old inn by the fact that learned legal dignitaries assembled under its roof. The circuit Judges met here for a long period. In fact there was no other place centrally located for them to meet. On the old stage coach, as passengers, sometimes on foot, and more often on horseback when weather was bad the Judge would come in from various directions to meet in solemn conclave and decide disputed legal tangles. These sessions occupied many days. The Judges were assigned to the large room on the third floor, which was also used as a reception room and for dances. Thus solemn legal debates and court decisions alternated with music and the laughter of light-hearted young people.
Interior Unchanged.
The same old windows and heavy oak casings are in position just as they were when the building was new. The stairway and entrance leading to the upper rooms are of solid walnut. They stand unchanged through the passing years, mute witnesses to the skill and craftsmanship of the builders. On the first floor there are four large room and several smaller rooms. Twelve-foot ceilings are the rule, with the rooms of the second floor somewhat smaller. Some of the fireplaces have been bricked up, especially in the kitchen, where a range supplies the heat. There are old fashioned built-in cupboards which must have delighted the feminine heart in the days of Dolly Madison.
Represent Three Epochs.
One of the most striking contrasts to be found in the old house is in the living room of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wirts, the present tenants on the first floor. Here there is the old fashioned fireplace with its great hearth and cavernous depths, smoke stained and soot covered. In the same room is a heating stove, and in one corner is a esteam radiator. At first glance this might not appeal to the ordinary person, yet here within a radius of a few feet are three methods of obtaining human comfort which covers practically the entire history of America.First, the fireplace antedating the revolution and continuing down to when stoves were invented. The third epoch is represented by the devevelopment and installment of the steam radiator which brings us to the present moment, with electrical heating apparatus already in opposition to steam. Massive floors which resounded to the tread of many feet for more than three quaiters of a century are untouched by the passing of the years. One marvels over the solidarity of the enire structure, the more so when a visit to the lower regions reveals three-foot walls of masonry and barred windows set in concrete a veritable basement prison or fortress, which
could not be moved save through the shattering of the brick and stone with powerful explosives.
"Ye Olden Tymes"
Thus through the years, and the varying fortunes of men has the William Penn house stood unmoved. In fancy one can paint a picture of the arrival of the old stage coach and four, emerging from the north out of the gloom and fast-coming night. Perhaps a storm is raging, and as the lumbering vehicle draws to the old inn, there are many up shouts and exclamations, for the travelers are glad to alight and hurry within to where warmth and food and shelter is in waiting. The logs are piled high in the fireplace and the flames go leaping up the chimney, while travelers and guests gather in the cheery light of blazing fuel and flickering candles to exchange the latest news of the day. In the absence of regular channels, and with but few newspapers, the arrival of the stage conch was always an eagerly anticipated event, to be heralded with pleasure by those seeking information as to the great outside world. It must be remembered, too, that Indiana was really the American frontier, and being farthest away from the Atlantic seaboard was always behindhand, while daily newspapers and periodicals were practically unheard of luxuries out in the wilds of the then far west.
Old Inn Abandoned.
In later years with the development of Fort Wayne to the dimensions of a city, the old inn was given up as a tavern site, for hotels were built within the city itself, and the usefulnes of William Penn house as a stage coach stop and shelter was over for all time. It has had its moments of pleasure and sadness, its joys and sorrows, of rare usefulness to the community as well as utter abandonment. The old home has sheltered many happy familles and joyous gatherings, and, too, it has been forsaken with only memories thronging its great rooms, as the familiar ties of household affection were broken and families moved away. At various times within the last three score years, the historic old house has been the home of the Freeman, Leonard and Tulford families. The last named occupied it when the McPhails bought the old property some thirty-eight years ago, and they made it their home for sixteen years. Many Fort Wayne people will recall with pleasure that they attended dances and merrymaking in the old house.
Suffers from Vandals.
But once has the stately old mansion fallen into evil hands. During period when it was closed up in the absence of a tenant, a gang of hoboes forced their way in to escape the rigors of winter and its storms. They had a hut or lean-to down the banks of the Spy Run creek but the cold made them seek some other shelter, and they became the first univited guests the old house had ever had. "Weary Willie" with two-inch fringe of whiskers and pair of trousers badly in need of haltf soleing didn't care a whoop about historical traditions or pride in the old home. Likewise the rest of the bunch of sweet-scented ones, who crawled into the vacant rooms and started to toast their self-ventilating shoes before the open fireplace. A fire always needs fuel to replenish it. There was plenty of wood outside, but could you expect for a moment this classic group of "never sweats" to violate the oath they had taken in the great tramp fraternity against manual labor? Not they. Instead they started to wreck the inside of the old mansion. Partitions an cellings were torn down for the wood underneath. Cupboards and mantels were wrenched off, and even doors were unhinged. Two or more of these had been burned before the vandals were discovered and driven out. But the damage they perpetrated is still in evidence in the upper part of the building by unsightly holes and damaged ceilings.
Tramps Liked Locality.
The community in which the old house is located was at one time intested with tramps. They had regular rendezvous along the bed of the creek. There were several reasons for this. One was that it was within easy access of the city, and there was shelter from the wind, a place to sleep and cook tomato can meals, also water, but never to bathe in and only to drink, when there was nothing else to quench the thirst. The same hobo hangout which was less than a half mile from the old building which they so damaged, was also situated with an eye to solving tramp transportation problems. At this point there is a heavy grade in the New York Central roadbed, or as it was then the Lake Shore, and trains came almost to a standstill before they reached the summit. It was an easy matter for a skilled traveler of the "unwashed clan" to step on board a "side door Pullman" and beat it for fields and pastures new. The police records of those days, and not so very far into the past either, show that from sixty to seventy-five hoboes have been rounded up in one police haul at this point. Any unusual outbreaks in lawlessness in the city or petty thieving would be pretty sure to be followed up by a raid. Gradually the old gang was broken up, so that in recent years, the tramp nuisance has become only an unsavory memory to those who recall the former conditions.
Was Old Indian Trail.
Emerging from the bed of the Spy Run Creek and used from time immemorial by the red man, was a runway or Indian trail, and this passed close by the old Aveline mansion, which later became the William Penn house. Over this route stalked in silent dignity, Indian braves and squaws, the latter carrying the burdens of skins and furs the medium of exchange to the trading post of Fort Wayne on the Maumee. Then the Indians passed, and savage eyes which looked upon the grim old house on the stage coach road gazed on the white man's habitation no more. Fort Wayne with its stockade has gone. The frontier village has become lost to sight in the development of a great city at the uniting of the waters, but still pround and defiant, untouched by the passing of the years stands the old house with its wide hearth and its memories of the earlier days of the republic.
An old brick home on North Clinton street is called the Penn house. As a matter of historical record, I would like to secure information concerning this building. Who built it and when? Was it used as a tavern? I will appreciate any informations concerning this old house.
B. J. GRISWOLD,
300 Peoples Trust Building
Phone Main 5100.
