Hunting Tales

Hunting Tales

by | Nov 25, 2025 | Bourbon, Pastimes, Plymouth

With the annual hunting season in full swing, it’s time to look at hunting tales from long ago from the archives at the Marshall County Historical Society. Documents tell us: “The tradition of the last bear that was shot in Marshall County, comes from the lips of John Thomas, who is as familiar with the unwritten history hereabouts for the last 40 years as a draft horse is with the four corners of his feed box.” said John Thomas.

“In the winter of 1865,” says Thomas, “a number of bears wandered down from the woods of Wisconsin and terrified cattle and farmers throughout Northern Indiana.  This particular bear was a huge black fellow and had been seen in various parts of the county before he met his doom.  I had just come home from town when the women folks ran to meet me and said they had seen the much-dreaded animal run across a field.  I rushed to the house but found the hired man had taken the gun before me and started in pursuit.  Going to the neighbors, I borrowed another gun, mounted my horse and galloped away on the trail.  When I came up to the Whaley place on the Wolf Creek Road, I found the two boys in a very excited mood.  They had just shot the bear.  They told me that their father had gone to town, and they had been left at home to feed the pigs.  Suddenly one of the yelled, ‘See that pig on the fence!’  The other one looked.  Sure enough there was a pig on the fence.  But a pig on the fence was absurd.  When they took a better look, they saw the supposed pig was a bear.  A gun was brought from the house and inside of two minutes the big brute lay dead upon the ground.  Many hunters arrived in time to help gloat over the victory.  The hide was sold to Jepeth Disher, who paid $8 for it.  It was afterward worked up into a fine robe.” Plymouth Democrat – July 31, 1902

“The latest diversion of Bourbon men of affairs is that of racoon hunting.  The town, that is the sporting part, is now in the throes of a revival of the art of hunting the animals, that in the early days was a favorite pastime.  Whether it is a case of heredity, just now cropping out of the fourth generation, we have no means of knowing, but there is one thing certain, the craze has hit the town hard.  As far as we have been able to learn Jonas Rettinger is the only one who has, in the years past, kept up the sport enough to not forget its requirements.  Later Samuel Lemlar, Phillip Steinman and Arch Myers formed a company (limited) and purchased a hound after they had sold the one Sam had owned to Rettinger.  Lemler then purchased another hound and his deep sonorous voice had been sending cold chills up and down Mr. Racoon’s spine with painful regularity.  When Harl Stewart got the fever, he purchased another dog, and the old days of gentlemen following the hounds is returning.  Lemler, Myers & Steinman gave a racoon feast at the Vernette & Fretz restaurant Wednesday evening, and the smacking of lips told the tale, as their friends passed in and out.  Harl Stewart and Otis Thacker went Friday night and so far, hold the palm of good catches.  They secured three large, fat young racoons and a skunk.  And the beauty of the whole thing is that the skunk wasn’t quick enough to use his defense.” Bourbon News-Mirror – November 28, 1907

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.

The Town of Bourbon: 1911

The Town of Bourbon: 1911

by | Sep 18, 2025 | Bourbon, Business & Industry, General History

This article about the Town of Bourbon appeared in the Weekly Republican on November 30, 1911.

Weekly Republican, 30 Nov 1911, pg 28 cols 3 & 4

Farm and Industry

Bourbon is one of the larger towns in Marshall County, its population according to the last census is 1,163. It is the center of what is considered the best farming lands in the county. While there are good lands all over the county, the Government geological survey shows that the best of them lie in the eastern third of the county.

Surrounded by such rich farming lands, Bourbon is a very prosperous town. Here the E. E. Delp Grain Co., does an elevator business of from $30,000 to $40,000 monthly. There are extensive coal and lumber yards, sawmill, cooperative creamery, two banks, many stores, three churches, Presbyterian, U. B. and Methodist, fraternal societies of Masons, I. O. O. F., Red Men and Knights of Pythias. A good newspaper, the News-Mirror, upholds the best in and for the community.

Some of the best of the Bourbon institutions are represented in this edition, which shows how enterprising and up-to-date they are. The Bourbon Fair, held every fall, is one of the greatest attractions of northern Indiana. On the biggest days the attendance usually reaches eight or ten thousand. Fruit growing, which is given much attention in this vicinity, is always well represented at these fairs.

The Heinz company has a salting station here also and many pickles are grown. Four of the chief growers are Otto Ames, who from a half-acre cleaned up $94.87; Conrad Hand, who made $136.82 on one acre; Jos. Hurford, who had out 1 1-2 acre and got $149.76 from it; and Fred Lemler, who took in $227.89 from two acres.

That Bourbon is a good center for farming and livestock raising, is evident from the large number of farmers in the district who feed and ship their own cattle and hogs. It is a fact that more livestock is shipped by rail out of Bourbon than is the case at any point between Ft. Wayne and Chicago.

The following figures showing the number of cars of livestock that have left Bourbon during the past eight years will be of interest: 1903: 105 Cars; 1904: 122 cars; 1905: 135 cars; 1906: 194 cars; 1907: 192 cars; 1908: 243 cars; 1909: 182 cars; 1910: 126 cars.

The figures for this year are, of course, incomplete, but the railway officials at Bourbon expect them to equal those of 1909.

Onion Growing in Bourbon

The onion crop in the vicinity of Bourbon is cultivated to a considerable extent, and with a success which is surprising especially to the layman. The industry has grown amazingly in this part of Marshall County and provides something more than a good living to those in the business. The soil in these parts is peculiarly adapted to the successful raising of this onions.

Over 200 acres around Bourbon, are yearly planted out, and usually the yield is good and pays the farmer well. This year, however, it was only 60 per cent of the normal yield.

It is five years since the industry was started around Bourbon, and, during that time it has assumed large proportions. A considerable number of men are employed, especially in the weeding season. The onions from Bourbon are shipped to all parts of the country, Boston taking large quantities for export purposes. Quantities are also sent to New Orleans for export to Panama. Most of the crop, however, is sent to the south and southwest.  F. F. Fribley, who is one of the pioneers in the business, and who has made a success of it from the very start, owns two large storage houses in Bourbon, from which he ships.

In conversation with a representative of the Republican he instanced the case of George Gouchenour who owns five acres of onion soil, and who, this year, made a net profit of $1000. Another man cleaned up $125 on one acre this year, while still another, Emanuel Coon, with 12 acres, had a net profit of $1920.

As showing how the value of onion lands has increased, it may be mentioned that a very few years ago, they were considered almost worthless, and went begging at from $5 to $10 per acre. Today these same lands are held firmly at from $100 to $125 an acre with improvements. Mr. F. F. Fribley is an enthusiast of onion raising and has done well in the business. He is of the opinion that the industry will soon develop into one of the most important and remunerative in the county.