Archelaus Hunt: Founder of LaPaz

Archelaus Hunt: Founder of LaPaz

by | Mar 6, 2026 | LaPaz

Feature Image. Parade celebrating the LaPaz Centennial in 1973.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was built through Marshall County in 1873.  Archelaus Hunt came back from South America following its completion. Like so many other towns, its location was determined by the fact that the railroad was there. Hunt wanted to lay out a town called “LaPaz” in honor of LaPaz, Bolivia. Archelaus had mined silver in Bolivia. He purchased 18.48 acres, Section 5 of the Michigan Road lands, which were surveyed, platted into 121 lots and recorded on August 9, 1873.

LaPaz Junction, Baltimore & Ohio 731 passing store.

A Life Cut Short

Archelaus was engaged to marry Sarah A. Schilt of Bremen. He recorded the plat of LaPaz on August 9, 1873, and took out a marriage license with Sarah five days later. Sadly, that marriage would never take place.

On Monday, October 27, 1873, Archelaus was leading his horse to water when the horse became playful and he gave it the full extent of the rein. According to the newspaper account, Archelaus was exercising his horse, which was said to be gentle. “Archelaus would give the horse the length of his halter and let him run around him. The horse playfully kicked up its heels and accidentally struck Archelaus in the chest. Archelaus walked a few steps along Michigan Road and then fell, expiring immediately. “

There is a notation in the marriage records at the bottom of the marriage license: “The above license was never used. Hunt dead.”

Researching Archelaus Hunt

Archelaus Hunt’s story came to the forefront this year when a researcher contacted the museum trying to find out about him and where he was buried. The researcher had made inquiries, and no one seemed to know where Archelaus was buried. A reference card in the Museum led to an older cemetery reading of the Bremen Municipal Cemetery dated 1934 that listed Archelaus’ name. The reading of his tombstone said he was 35 years old. Museum staff suggested that the researcher contact the Bremen clerk’s office, which he did, and reported that Tara Beasley and sexton Nate Lockwood were very helpful and able to assist him with finding the location in the cemetery.  Archelaus owned eight graves in the Bremen cemetery.

Six years later, on July 9, 1879, Sarah Schilt married John Graverson. One of their descendants is the researcher who contacted the Museum.

Archelaus’ probate file is at the Museum. It refers to a brother Alvin and a sister Alwilda. 

About Alwilda

Some creative searching led to Alwilda’s death record. Her name was Alwilda Dingman, and she died in New Buffalo, MI, on May 1, 1875, at the age of 29. She also died young and only outlived her brother by less than two years. Alwilda was born in Michigan, and her parents (and Archelaus’) were Merrit Hunt and Abigal Hunt. While we do not have a written record, it is likely that Archelaus was born in Michigan as well.

Alwilda appeared on the 1870 census in New Buffalo, Berrien County, MI. The Dingman household consisted of Isaac, 40, Wilda, 30, Henry, 12, Jennie, 6, and Nelson, 1.

This story is a great example of the genealogy & research services provided by the MCHS library. Collaborating with Bremen Clerk Tara Beasley and sexton Nate Lockwood, it perfectly illustrates the way information can be tracked in Marshall County.

For more information on early Marshall County, pick up a copy of our latest publication, From Crossroads to Communities: An Updated History of Marshall County, Indiana, written by Dr. Don Balka. Balka details the establishment of current and long lost communities over the course of our history. The MCHS & Museum is open from 10:00 until 4:00 on Tuesdays through Saturday, at 123 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. Call for information at 574-936-2306.

A Bold Robbery in Bourbon

A Bold Robbery in Bourbon

by | Feb 25, 2026 | Bourbon

Feature Image. Bourbon railroad depot, ca 1883.

While the advent of railroads brought many advantages to the community, including easier access in and out of the area and an easier way for the farmer to move his crops, it also brought more people into the county, some of whom were unsavory characters.  A group of robbers decided to make Bourbon their home base.

The story is told in McDonald’s History of Marshall County of those bold robbers who operated in Bourbon:

A History By McDonald

“During a considerable period before and after the completion of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, the town of Bourbon was infested with a gang of counterfeiters and robbers who kept the inhabitants in a constant fever of excitement and fear.  The existence of this gang and many of those connected with it were well known, but the evidence of their guilt was not sufficient to warrant legal proceedings.  Some of them were, however, finally arrested, but the law’s delay and the many technicalities brought into requisition enabled all of them to escape the penalty they undoubtedly deserved.

“One night in the summer of 1867 a large number of housebreakers and robbers entered the residence of Joseph W. Davis.  Before entering they blackened their faces and otherwise disguised themselves.  They had taken the precaution to give the watchdog, a very fine Newfoundland, a dose of strychnine, which had put him effectively out of the way.  They procured a large scantling (a piece of lumber of small cross section) and, using it as a battering ram, drove it with such force against the front door as to break it open with the first blow. 

“Two of the robbers rushed into the bedroom where Mr. Davis and wife and infant child were sleeping and laid violent hands upon them before they realized the true condition of affairs.  A pistol was under Mr. Davis’ head, and in making a desperate effort to procure it, he was struck several times on the head and face, making the blood run profusely.  The burglars secured the pistol and (with one) holding Mr. Davis down by the throat, the remainder of the robbers went through the several rooms in the house, taking them one by one, going through the house and taking everything of value that suited their fancy.  In one of the rooms they found the hired girl; in another, the hired man.  At each of these rooms they placed one of their number on guard, and now, having everything arranged safely, they began to rummage every part of the house,  They made Mr. Davis open his safe, from which they took all the money and papers and other valuables contained in it. 

“They prepared an excellent supper from the supply of cooked provisions they found in the kitchen and buttery, of which they partook with evident relish.  They remained about two hours and, having finished their work, bade the occupants an affectionate good night and hastily took their departure.

 “When the robbery became known early the next morning, the whole town was in a furor of excitement and threats of lynching suspected parties were freely made, but as nothing definite could be ascertained as to who the guilty parties were, nothing was done.  Sometime afterward the pocketbook and papers were found close to the railroad track near Bucyrus, Ohio, and shortly after returned to the owner.  Several of the suspected parties soon left town and others were not slow to follow, and this was the last trouble Bourbon ever had with housebreakers.”

Who was Joseph W. Davis?

Who was Joseph W. Davis?  The thieves picked their victim well. 

Joseph W. Davis was a lumber dealer and farmer.  He was in the milling business with his brother Omar and built a hotel in Bourbon.  The Davis mills had been destroyed by fire in 1865.  In 1867, the year of the robbery, the Davis brothers built again after the Davis block was destroyed by fire.   In December of that year Joseph W. Davis was chosen to represent his party on the Board of Registry for Bourbon Township.  Davis was also a lawyer, practicing law for over thirty years, and a state legislator.  The gang would have figured Davis had something worth stealing when they broke into his house.

Born on January 22, 1829 in Ulysses, Davis would have been thirty-eight years old when he visited by the gang of thieves who ransacked his house.  He lived to be seventy-two years old and passed away on February 1, 1901.

MCHS & Museum is full of great stories, and you are free to look anytime! We are located at 123 N. Michigan St. in Plymouth. Our hours are 10:00 until 4:00, Tuesday through Saturday. Call us at 574-936-2306.

Marshall County’s Only Prize Fight

Marshall County’s Only Prize Fight

by | Nov 20, 2025 | Crime, General History, Visitor Stories & Oral Histories

The story is told in McDonald’s History of Marshall County of the only prize fight held in Marshall County:

The prize fight was to take place at Baugherville, on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, about nine miles northwest of Plymouth between Lou C. Allen of Chicago and H.C. Hanmer of Michigan City, middleweights, on the evening of April 30, 1891. That afternoon some of the local boys were told about the upcoming event. “The favored few who were let into the secret were on tiptoe of expectation, and preparation was made to pull out quietly by livery teams about 9 o’clock. The secret was to be kept from Sheriff Jarrell and from those who would likely give him a pointer in that direction.”

It was not easy to get there. “The night was dark and the corduroy road through the woods was more than ordinarily rough. Some of the drivers lost the direct road and went a considerable distance out of the way; others ran into ‘chuck holes’ breaking a spring or a single-tree or something of that kind, but where there is a prize at the end of the goal there is always a way found to reach it. On they went, helter-skelter.

“The prize ring was in a large barn near a sawmill and a lumber yard near the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, a short distance northeast of Tyner. Lumber was piled up and scattered about everywhere, and there were acres of sawlogs and slabs and log wagons. There were no lights about to indicate that there was anything unusual going on, and those who were not familiar with the lay of the land had to feel their way in the dark.

“The Lake Erie fast train from the north arrived at 11 o’clock, bringing the pugilists and about 150 sports (fans) from Chicago, Michigan City and other points along the line, and it was but a short time until the preliminary arrangements had all been completed. A twenty-four-foot ring had been measured off, the building was gorgeously lighted, and in the glare of the kerosine the lamp of Aladdin would have cast but a faint glimmer. The 175 spectators who had each paid an admission fee of $5 were seated about the ring as conveniently as circumstances would permit, and the remainder were stowed away in the haymow, in balcony rows, one above another, from which elevated position they were enabled to look down upon the interesting spectacle before them through the large opening in the center.

“The gladiators were stripped to the skin and took their places in the ring, accompanied by their backers, trainers, seconds, umpires, spongers and assistants.” Also in attendance were a couple of Chicago newspaper reporters. “The doors of the barn were locked and guarded, and the doorkeeper was ordered not to admit anyone under any pretext whatever. Time was called and the pugilistic pounders came smilingly to the scratch. They knocked away at each other with all the strength they possessed. There was no doubt they meant business from the word ‘go.’ The first round was a success, and applause greeted the bruisers as they retired to their corners to be rubbed down.”

But when that many people know a secret, it is hard to keep. “It was late in the evening when Sheriff Jarrett was informed of what was going on. He and his deputies, Eugene Marshall and William Leonard, and Plymouth marshal William Klinger “pulled out from the county seat shortly after 9 o’clock and drove rapidly toward the seat of war. He had the misfortune to break his buggy, which delayed him, and he did not arrive until the first round had been fought.” The sheriff asked the doorkeeper to be admitted. “That distinguished dweller in the tents of iniquity informed them that under no circumstances could they be admitted, whereupon the sheriff jerked the latch off, opened the door, and he and his deputies rushed in upon the pugilists and their assistants, who were standing in the ring ready to commence the second round.

“Then ensued a scene of consternation which no pen can describe. There was a general stampede for the door and in the rush and confusion several were run over and knocked down. Some of the lights were turned out, and for a few minutes it seemed as if pandemonium had been turned loose. Both principals escaped the officers and got out of the building with only their thin fighting suits on. In the melee that ensued, trainer Ed Corey and seconds Con Cavanah and Dick Ford were captured. The remainder got away. Hanmer was so cold with only his tights on that he could not stand it and returned in search of his clothes. He was captured by the sheriff. Allen, the other principal, took the railroad track north as fast as he could run and never stopped until he reached Walkerton, where he boarded a freight trip for Michigan City and made good his escape.

“The spectators – well, they were panic-stricken and, if anything, were worse frightened than the fighters. When the sheriff and his party entered, the rapidity with which that audience dispersed has never been equaled in this part of the country. They did not stand on the order of their going, but they went at once. It was every fellow for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. As soon as they got out of the building they took to the woods as fast as their legs could carry them. They tumbled over one another, went head over heels over saw logs, log wagons and lumber piles, skinned their shins and bruised themselves up generally.

“Those who were in the hayloft, most of them Marshall County fellows, were all captured without an effort. They had climbed up on a ladder which had been removed when the fight began, and there they were, prisoners and unable to make a move for liberty. So, they scrambled back as far as they could and covered themselves with hay, except their feet, which stuck out in irregular sizes all around the first row, and waited further developments.

The suspense did not last long. One of them came near smothering in the hay and yelled out, ‘Put up that ladder. I can’t stand it with this d____d gang any longer.’ The ladder was put up and you would have just died laughing to have seen capitalists, merchants and businessmen, old men and young men, bald heads and gray heads, married men and single men, backing down that ladder with hayseed in their hair, and on their hats and all over their clothes. As they reached the floor, one of them remarked, ‘What in ____ would my wife say if she could see me in this fix?’”

There were probably many married men who would shortly find out what their wife would say.  “They were greatly relieved when Sheriff Jarrell informed them that he had no use for them, and they could go about their business.” The four who had been arrested were each fined $50, which was promptly paid. And thus ended the only prize fight ever witnessed in Marshall County.”

I would imagine that most of those married men suffered harsher punishment than the prisoners, don’t you?

It may not surprise anyone that Daniel McDonald was a newspaper owner and editor. His writing style is so highly entertaining. Come on in to read more from his History of Marshall County. The Museum is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

 

Skeleton Found in a Bourbon Barn

Skeleton Found in a Bourbon Barn

by | Oct 30, 2025 | Bourbon, Crime

It is said that every family has a skeleton in their closet. One Bourbon family had a skeleton in their barn:

“After the body was accidentally discovered by a hired hand and became publicly known, an inquest was held. Witnesses were called, a jury summoned, and testimony was given on August 25, 1855, in S.M. Adams’ storeroom. The jurors examined the skeleton of a female body between fourteen to twenty years of age, about five feet two inches tall. The top part of the skull and the left side of the lower jaw were gone. The name of the person and the cause of her death were unknown. The body was found on the premises hidden in the barn of Grason Parks.

“Henry Strunk testified the body was found in Grayson Parks’ haymow in the northwest part of the barn. It appeared to be covered up and secreted. He helped remove the body from the barn by the order of the coroner. The body was removed on the evening of August 24, 1855, shortly after dark.

“Thomas Wilkins said he discovered the body. Grason Parks had sent him up in the hayloft after a piece of lumber. Wilkins saw a small corner of a box and supposed it to be the lumber he was sent for but upon taking hold of it, he discovered it to be a box. On August 20 Grason Parks had employed him to help haul in oats. Wilkens examined the box again and was led to suppose that it contained a human body. The box was in the same place and condition as it was when he had first seen it in Grayson Parks’ barn. Wilkins supposed the box to have been secreted in the hay with which was covered. Wilkins next saw the box on the evening of August 24 when he went up into the haymow by the order of the coroner to show where the box was. Wilkins saw the box opened in the barnyard. At that time, he discovered to a certainty for the first time that there was a human body in the box. Wilkins had no knowledge as to how the box came to be in the barn.

“Abraham Baker said he was frequently about the Parks barn the previous spring and summer. He often noticed that there was a bad smell in the barn. He said he was working for Grayson Parks in May, and while the cattle were eating at noon, Baker went up into the haymow and for the first time, he discovered the bad smell. Baker asked Grayson Parks’ son what smelled so bad. The boy replied that his father had killed a cat in the hay but had burned it the day before. Baker said that when he first discovered the box his brother was with him; he shook the box, and it gave a disagreeable smell and that he supposed it to contain a dead body.

“Dr. David Hazzard testified he had examined the body which had come from the barn of Grayson Parks and discovered no marks of violence. It was a female body. The upper part of the skull had been removed and the left under jaw was taken off. Dr. Hazard stated that Grayson Parks was not a physician or surgeon.

“Dr. J. E. Brooks also examined the body and saw no marks of violence. The skeleton was a female. Dr. Brooks supposed the subject to have been between fourteen and twenty years of age.  He thought the body had been fairly well prepared. There was as little smell about it as any he had ever seen which was so recently prepared.

“James O. Parks said he had seen the body many times. He saw it in Leesburg. He said it is the property of Dr. Edward Parks. It was prepared by Dr. Edward Parks and probably others. James Parks said he saw it before it was dry. He said it was brought from Michigan. He never learned the name of the person. James Parks said it was a young female; he did not know the age but said it was “hardly matured.” He identified the skeleton to be the property of Dr. Ed Parks from the fact of the removal of the upper part of the skull and the loss of part of the under jaw and teeth.

“James Parks stated he could not say that he ever heard Dr. Ed Parks say that the body was his property, but he saw the body in Dr. Ed Parks’ lecture room in Kosciusko County. James Parks had no knowledge of the body being at Grayson Parks.’ James Parks said he was invited into Dr. Ed Parks’ lecture room by some of the students and went afterward without an invitation because they made him welcome. He said that it was prepared over a year ago.

“Dr. John F. Parks said he did not recognize the skeleton for a certainty to be the one which he had once or twice seen in the room of Dr. Ed Parks. Dr. John Parks said he had no knowledge of the skeleton being at Grayson H. Parks.’ He believed the skeleton to be the property of Dr. Ed Parks. He had seen a skeleton in Dr. Edward Parks’ room over a year ago and supposed this was the same one. It was in much the same condition as it was at the inquest. Dr. John Parks had requested Dr. Ed Parks to send him a skeleton two months before. Dr. John Parks had passed by Grayson H. Parks’ place but had received no notice of a skeleton being there for him.”

Apparently, the body was an open secret in the Parks family because they all seemed to know about it. In the early days of the study of internal medicine, it was very common for a doctor to acquire a cadaver to study. Some doctors were known to pay someone to dig up a recently deceased body, as in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

The jury found Grayson Parks guilty of unlawfully secreting the skeleton of a human body. Those involved in what happened to the skeleton are gone now, all buried properly under tombstones with their names on them. They received much better treatment after their decease than that which was given to the young girl, whose name is still known only to God.

Be sure to stop by the Museum! We are open from 10:00 until 4:00, Tuesday through Saturday at 123 N. Michigan St, Plymouth.

Inwood High School

Inwood High School

by | Oct 29, 2025 | Education, Inwood

As with other towns in Marshall County, at one time Inwood had its own high school.

The Inwood neighborhood may have been small, but it was spunky. Some indication of that was seen in the Marshall County Independent in April 1899 when Trustee McCrory decided to transfer graduates of the eighth grade in Center Township to Inwood High School instead of Plymouth High School, as was the custom. In 1906, Inwood graduated five scholars, eight in 1907, thirteen in 1908 and nine in 1909.

The Weekly Chronicle in November 1908 reported, “The Inwood schools are making good progress this year under the direction of Prof. Fry and an efficient corps of teachers. A visit to the schools gave the impression of a thorough system and of excellent deportment of pupils. The greater number of pupils are from the country and are transported to and from school in wagons. There are two classrooms upstairs and three on the first floor and a basement. The basement has a cement floor and is supplied with water from a reservoir. There is a large water basin, cups and towels. It is entered both from the inside and the outside.

“The basement room presents a lively and busy scene at noon time. Three long tables are arranged, with tablecloths and benches, and at these tables the pupils eat dinner. Their dinners are brought from home and are spread out in inviting shape. The manner in which the pupils perform this exercise of the day is not slow. The janitor, Jr. Gerrard, remains with them at the noon hour to assist them and to preserve order.”

In 1911 the Weekly Republican stated, “Rev. Arlington Singer gave the baccalaureate address to the four graduates of the Inwood High School Sunday night at the Methodist church of that place. His theme was class motto Labor Omnia Vincit, and by illustration and argument he showed how labor did conquer, as well as how necessary it was that we all work with all our might. The sermon and the quartet song, ‘Why Stand Ye Here Idle,’ came in so nicely together that it pleased all…. After the baccalaureate exercises, a banquet was given by the members of the senior class to the singers and the two ministers and their wives.”

But that August tragedy struck at the Inwood school. As reported in the Bremen Enquirer and the Weekly Republican, Hueston C. Kramer fell two full stories while putting a tin roof on the school. He landed on his head on the cement walk. Drs. Kaszer and Loring were immediately summoned. He had suffered a broken shoulder blade, in addition to more serious injuries. There was little hope of recovery, and he passed away three hours later without regaining consciousness. Kramer, a single 28-year-old, had come from Wabash just three weeks before to open a tin shop under the Marshall County Trust & Savings Bank at Plymouth.

In December 1914 the Bremen Enquirer reported that a large number of northern Indiana towns were having contagious and infectious diseases, mostly smallpox. The Inwood school was closed for at least ten days because of diphtheria.

In 1915 the Inwood school was remodeled and an addition on the south doubled its size. It contained two classrooms and two cloakrooms on the first floor. The spacious auditorium on the second floor was for both school and community activities.

On December 19, 1918, the Enquirer reported that the Inwood school was closed until after the holidays because of a case of scarlet fever.

Things began to get wild and crazy in the 1920s. And it wasn’t just the students, either. Plenty of adults got into the act, including the principal.

During the winter of 1923, a student “snowballed” principal Rose’s wife. Evidently it bothered her husband. As reported in the Bremen Enquirer, Rose went to the residence of Otto Ames and complained that Ames’ son had snowballed Mrs. Rose. Rose demanded that the boy apologize. “In the fight that followed his demand, Ames’ leg was fractured. Rose was said to have flourished a gun in the fracas, though there was no shooting, and the gun incident, if a gun was flourished, appears to have cut no figure in the trial at Plymouth, as a result of which Rose was fined $10 and costs, aggregating $30, for assault and battery.”

The newspaper editorialized, “Many people believe that lack of proper discipline is a common fault of country schools, but Mr. Rose appears to have gone to the other extreme and attempted to cover too much territory.”

But Mr. Rose stayed on the job and in April 1924, as reported in the Bremen Enquirer, “Flaming youth had its little flare at Inwood Thursday, when eight pupils of the Inwood school, feeling the urge of spring and to vent their surplus pep, ‘borrowed’ an automobile, took it for a joy ride and came to a sudden and unhappy stop in the ditch at Johnson’s Corners, two miles north of Bourbon. Two of them were injured and all of them should have been spanked, according to the older heads thereabout.

“The pupils had just finished their examinations at school and felt the need of air. Harry McCullough, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles McCullough, who live two and a half miles north of Inwood, had driven his father’s car to school. He was still at work on his examinations when the pepful eight conceived the notion of the joy ride. They asked him for the key to the car, but he refused to give it to them.

“One ingenious member of the joy seekers used a knife to turn the switch to start the car. Maxine Kizer took the wheel and seven others piled in – Eloise Shoda, Evalyn Shoda, Thelma Sands, Shed Cramer, Vernon Apple, George Daniels and Leota Thompson.

“The party proceeded to Bourbon and then north on the paved road. In making the turn at Johnson’s Corners, the car left the road and went into the ditch. Daniels was cut in the arm and side and had a bump on the head. Cramer was also injured. The others were bruised and shocked but not badly hurt. The car was almost a complete wreck, it is said.

“On Saturday principal O.B. Rose of the Inwood school called the parents of all the boys and girls together with the owner of the car, and the parents agreed to share the expense of settlement for the damage to the car. Mr. McCullough, owner of the wrecked machine, is just recovering from injuries received last fall when his car was struck by another machine. His son Harry, while driving a horse and buggy last winter, was also struck by a car. This is the third accident for the family this year.”

Mr. Brock, living near Johnson’s Corners, gathered up the “joyless joy riders” and took them to Bourbon for medical attention. George Daniels, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Daniels, was brought to Kelly Hospital in Argos, where several stitches were taken in his arm. He remained in the hospital a couple of days before he could be removed to his home.

But nothing shook Harry McCullough as he pursued his education. The Bremen Enquirer of April 24, 1924, reported that the Inwood High School commencement took place in the high school auditorium. Two graduates, Gertrude Forbes and Harry McCullough, were awarded diplomas.

That October, Inwood High School was used as an example in the Argos Reflector when discussing whether Walnut Township should have a high school, “The Inwood High School will perhaps throw some light on the subject. About a year ago a warm meeting of protest regarding closing their high school was held. It was a pretty warm affair. One of the protesting patrons got his leg broke by the superintendent. The meeting ended with ‘weak-minded men carrying out the babies, and strong-minded women carrying out the stoves.’ That incident closed the high school of Inwood, and the pupils are now being transported to Plymouth at a savings of $2,000 a year to the taxpayers of Center Township.”

And the South Bend Tribune concluded on July 15, 1991, “…the brick Inwood School that housed students for 57 years was built in two parts with the north half erected in 1908…. The north section had no lights and no indoor plumbing. The south addition, built in 1915 and which faced the railroad track, brought electricity and water into the school…. Three teachers instructed the primary grades and three teachers taught all of the high school courses…. High school classes were taken to Plymouth in 1924 (when Lincoln High School opened), Harry McCollough, 83, of Bourbon was a member of that last graduating class at Inwood. At age 16, he was the youngest person to ever graduate from Inwood High School.”