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03-09-1911
Mayor Edwards asked that all business be suspended. The request came about due to the murder on March 7th of Police John
Ellis and Patrolman Virgil Kirkman by a man named Walker, who was caught in a robbery attempt at the Miller pawn shop. The
funeral was and most probably still is the largest ever held in the city. The accused was removed from the city jail and held
in Anderson for fear that a lynching would take place.
03-1911
A Purdue University Corn Train will be traveling the LE&W making stops in Alexandria and Elwood with some fascinating
displays and some valuable information.
05-09-1911
Trolley wire breaks near Clarke School in Alexandria on West Monroe Street and snags on trolley pole of the car. The
car pulled down about 200 feet of wire before stopping.
06-09-1911
Trolley wire between Alexandria and Elwood to be replaced with heavier and more dependable wire. The new wire will be
copper and will allow higher operating currents. The tracks will also be raised and get new ballast eliminating most of the
jolting and making the ride much smoother. The present wire has had numerous outings and has caused many problems and has
been in use since the line went into operation in 1899. The installations should not hamper the present operating schedules.
06-10-1911
A bullet just missed motorman Ratcliff as it entered the vestibule and buried into the woodwork near Summitville.
07-15-1911
Orestes folks are not all in favor of saloons and will fight to keep them out. Heavy farm vote may help keep Orestes dry.
Both applicants are residents of Orestes and one man perhaps represents another that was denied a license in June in Alexandria.
11-18-1911
Talk of a new traction station at Alexandria.
03-19-1912
Pythian Sisters of Orestes visit sisters at Alexandria.
08-14-1912
An interurban enroute from Anderson to Wabash on the Union Traction line broke down one mile north of the Anderson shops
and another car was sent to relieve the broken car. The passengers were transferred and the motor went bad one mile north
of Alexandria leaving the coach in darkness. A car from the north pushed the car back to Alexandria and the passengers rested
until another car came from the south. The car then proceeded to Fairmount where that car died. Another hour was lost as another
car came from the south. When Marion was reached the car could go no further and another car was sent from Wabash. The trip
was 52 miles in length and took the passengers 5 hours and 25 minutes at the rate of 9 mph.
09-03-1913
The transfer station located at Harrison and Monroe in Alexandria is likely to be moved to downtown Alexandria near the
Union Traction station.
09-20-1913
An early morning fire at Orestes completely destroyed a butcher shop owned by Custer & Hasty and left the town without
any source of meat supply. The wooden structure was burned to the ground at a loss of $500. The origin of the fire, which
was threatened for a time to wipe out the entire village, was unexplainable. The stove was not connected to the flu and had
not been lit this fall. A brick wall separating the meat market from the H. E. Young Hardware store was all that saved the
entire business district of Orestes. Reports that reached Alexandria this morning stated that the entire town was burning
up. The Orestes Post Office is located in the same block where the fire occurred. Mrs. Jacob Noble, residing across the street,
heard the cracking of falling timbers and looking out of an upstairs window discovered the fire at 3:00 a.m. She immediately
aroused her husband and he and their son Dwight ran to the town hall to turn in the fire alarm. The bell rope was stuck and
refused to work and Dwight climbed a ladder into the tower at the fire station and rang the bell to call out the Orestes firefighters.
The volunteers saved the adjoining properties.
01-07-1914
John W. Mountain is appointed Chief of Police at Alexandria.
07-10-1914
Railroad detectives for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company with the assistance of Alexandria police Chief Donahoo,
succeeded today in arresting two seventeen year old lads who maliciously destroyed the glass insulators on the telegraph poles.
The arrest of Albert Schmidt and George Ball. The detectives had been patrolling the tracks between Alexandria and Orestes
in quest of the guilty parties. Both entered pleas of guilty and were fined $5 and costs and thirty days in jail. The railroad
had offered a reward of $25 dollars for the arrest and conviction of the parties guilty of destroying the property.
08-03-1914
A fire which was discovered early Saturday evening in a four acre woods at the home of Jay Long, a mile and a half southeast
of Orestes, swept everything in its path for a distance of a quarter mile. Sparks from a stump burning in the woods supposedly
started the blaze. Almost every tree in the woods was scorched and burned and a field adjoining the woods was visited by
the fire. Thirty farmers responded to the call for assistance and before the fire had gained much headway, the farmers with
their teams had plowed around the fire area. The fire then was extinguished by a bucket brigade.
09-02-1914
Between eighty and ninety thousand pounds of tomatoes raised by Monroe township farmers are being shipped from the Snider
weigh-in station at the sub-station of the Indiana Union Traction Company daily by George Dwiggins, who has charge of the
Alexandria shipments. The tomato crop this year promises to beat that of last year. Large flat cars on the Indiana traction
line are used to ship the crated tomatoes to Marion, Indiana, where the canning season is at its height. As fast as the crates
are unloaded at the Marion factory, they are shipped back to Alexandria. A continual line of farm wagons leading to the sideboards
can be seen at the sub-station at almost every hour of the day.
12-15-1914
Alexandria may get a canning factory.
12-28-1914
Four firms burned out in Frankton.
01-01-1915
Old fare registers were taken out of the Union Traction interurbans and conductors would be compelled to carry extra change
in order to make change for passengers. The new rate would be 2 cents per mile with no rebates of any kind. While the increase
in fares would not be welcomed, farmers would more readily take their horses and wagons to the streets. Their goods would
be taxed extra by the new rates.
01-01-1915
William Hare 40, known as Box Town Billy boarded the traction car at Anderson Thursday morning in a drunken condition
with the intention of returning to Alexandria after a spree at the county seat. The interurban was considerably full and
by the time the car reached North Anderson, Box Town Billy was fighting mad. He wanted to whip everyone on the trolley.
The conductor would not tolerate his loud boisterous language so he and his baggage were ejected from the car. As the car
started rolling once again, Box Town Billy swung on the rear steps and whipped out a knife and compelled the conductor to
carry him to Alexandria for free. The motorman managed to get in communication with the dispatcher whom in turn called the
Alexandria Police Department. Chief Donahoo met the car at the LE&W tracks on South Harrison Street but Billy had gotten
off at Fourth Street. A short chase occurred and Billy was disarmed and apprehended near Phillips Addition. He was then
arrested and placed in jail for pulling a knife and drunkenness.
04-15-1915
Big Four Train no. 65 wrecks at Summitville, 11 cars derailed killing 11 cows.
05-15-1915
Pythian Sisters have their initial meeting in Orestes.
05-24-1915
Pioneers pictured Orizin Free, Ira Runyan, Robert Hughes, Elias Fink, and Edward Barrett.
06-07-1915
Orestes and Alexandria K.of P. honor deceased members.
06-16-1915
Monroe Township evaluation given one stat Orestes has 19 dogs taxed, 17 males and 2 females. Alexandria has 163 dogs
taxed, 154 males and 9 females
06-19-1915
Emblem of Alexandria displayed.
07-21-1915
The Anderson Free Fair Association is formed.
08-25-1915
There is a rumor of construction of a traction line from Perkinsville to Elwood to Marion.
08-26-1915
The first Anderson Free Fair to take place September 1st thru the 4th.
09-16-1915
A big burly negro, believed to be insane was arrested this morning at Orestes by Alexandria Police Chief Donahoo and he
was transported to the Alexandria jail. He refused to answer when asked his name and address. The man had entered a home in
Orestes and helped himself to something to eat.
04-17-1916
Arthur L. Trester resigns superintendent job at Alexandria, goes to Martinsville.
07-07-1916
Olive Branch is raided and many chickens are stolen.
08-01-1916
Death of J.E. Lippincott, owner of the Alexandria Glass Factory
09-06-1916
Old Settlers meeting at Mounds Park Sunday the 10th.
09-25-1916
The Marion Flyer interurban hit a steer and derailed four miles south of Alexandria at Pierce Crossing.
10-06-1916
John Scott, a farmer residing on a farm near Olive Branch Schoolhouse sustained a fractured leg in a cave in at the gravel
pit nearby. Scott was partially buried by the falling dirt and workers rescued him from the pit and called a physician.
01-02-1917
Rumor is that the old Powell Tile & Brick Factory had been purchased by cement block manufacturers from near South
Bend. Their product is manufactured for construction of silos.
02-03-1917
A fire at midnight left the Knights of Pythias Building and the home of Lawrence Dumps Shaw completely destroyed. The
fire originated in the E.R. Pyle General Store and butcher shop on the ground floor of the two story frame building. Lee
White, Hamp Cook, Jesse Reasoner, and Elmer Skinner returned from an evening in Alexandria and noticed the fire in the structure
and turned in the alarm to the Fire Department. The Fire Department was composed of one wagon and a volunteer system. The
fire was beyond control and efforts were concentrated on saving nearby buildings. The Orestes Fire Department called the
Alexandria Fire Department for help but Chief Merker declined to send any. Pyles General Store sustained and butcher shop
sustained $2,500 damage. Dumps home had $1,000 damage and the K.of P. Building damage was $3,000. Pyle and Dumps had insurance
but the K.of P. Building was not covered. The Orestes chapter has historically been one of the best in the state. The Alexandria
K.P. vowed to help with the needs of the Orestes chapter. The structure was built during the gas boom days of the late 1890s.
05-26-1917
The new manufacturing plant of the Orestes Silo and Concrete Products Company will begin operations May 28, 1917. The
company has spent several thousand dollars in renovations to the old brick and tile factory. The plant will employ 15 to
20 persons.
01-01-1918
Government was America to cut back on the coal usage to save energy for war.
05-24-1918
The former postmaster of Orestes, Raymond F. Burwell, is in trouble and is in jail today. Post office inspectors found
that Burwell was $1170 short in accounts and that an indictment be returned against him at once and be arrested immediately.
He has admitted the shortage in the accounts but declared that his wife that died three months ago and his sister had taken
the money. Burwell made an attempt at suicide by taking chloroform but was unsuccessful. Announcement came on Tuesday that
Charles Davis had been appointed postmaster and Miss Nellie Davis is deputy postmaster.
09-20-1918
The Harmony Association to hold a meeting at Lilly Creek Baptist Church.
11-13-1918
An important meeting of the Indiana Cement Stave Silo Association will be held in Alexandria November 21st and 22nd. The
sessions of the association will most likely be held at the Elks Lodge. E. Larim of North Liberty, Indiana is the president
of the association. Stockholders in the Orestes Silo Company are interested in becoming part of the association.
11-22-1918
Death of Rev. R.H. Smith 72, at Alexandria.
12-02-1918
Charles E. Carver , who operates a threshing outfit in Monroe Township is attempting to enforce the government price for
threshing grain, is having trouble with farmers in the vicinity that are refusing to pay prices asked. Wheat is 8 cents a
bushel, rye 8 cents a bushel, oats 4 cents a bushel. Farmers are willing to pay 3 cents for oats, 6 cents for wheat, and 7
cents for rye.
12-09-1918
Innisdale and Halls Corner Schools are closing down due to flu epidemic.
12-09-1918
Alexandria may build a gymnasium.
12-20-1918
An automobile and interurban collide at Harrison and Church Streets.
05-01-1919
The site of the old Orestes Window Glass Company factory site of 30 acres including several buildings, mark the passing
of one of the oldest landmarks in Madison County. The land was sold to Mr. Boys at Anderson by W.J. Peele of Chicago. Mr.
Peele once directed the affairs of the Orestes Window Glass which was constructed in 1892 during the natural gas boom. The
buildings will now be raised and the land will be used for farming.
11-17-1919
K.of P. Building construction complete.
02-27-1920
Dr. Schmaus of Alexandria dies in a car train accident.
05-29-1920
I.E. Wilson, a well-known professor of Orestes, and daughter Orchid, met with what might have been a more serious accident
than it was. At 7:00 a.m. this morning the Wilsons were in their car and did not see an interurban gravel train number 652
approaching from approaching Orestes Station and were struck. Mr. Wilson was knocked unconscious and was taken to the home
of Dr. Joel Cook as was his daughter. Mr. Wilson sustained a broken left arm and Orchid was badly bruised but had no broken
bones.
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