Montpelier High School - Spartan Yearbook (Montpelier, IN)

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. .1 ZA' 'I F t ' 5 .5 fl l :X Y at rsx 'E Ax xx xt' 1 5 r i l ' . l ' 'V L -5 N II 4' 1, . H IIS Zfofiyeffflffontinitedl The history of the canal system in Indiana begins with an Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1827, which granted to the state, for the purpose of aiding to build a canal to unite the navigable waters of the Maumee and the Wabgisli, a strip of land one half of five sections wide on either side of the canal. Other sections of the state became dissatisfied and began to agitate internal improvements. As a result the Mam- moth Internal Improvements Bill was passed in 1826. It provided for canals, railways, or pikes to be built to suit local conditions. The Wabash and Erie Canal from Fort Wfayne to Huntington was opened 1835. W'hile the canals and turnpikes were the chief beneficiaries of the Internal Improve- ments Law, they were not, as a rule, successful, and the panic of 1837 complicated matters further. The repeal of this law in 1842 marked the beginning of the railroad era. The people were rid of an illusion of state-owned enterprises and ready to go to work by private means. Building of railroads was not begun, immediately, however, because of high tariff on iron. The road from Indianapolis to Madison was built in 1847. The early engines burned wood. which was carried to the tender from ricks along the route. The train would stop to wood up and the crew would make the dead heads do this work. The electric inter-city transit in Indiana had its origin in the Gas Belt region around Marion, Anderson and Muncie. By 1893 the line from Marion to Jonesboro was in use, and this line was extended to Indianapolis by 1901. In 1900 a company was formed to build an electric railway from Muncie to Hartford City. By May 10, 1903, cars ran as far as Montpelier, and the line was extendsd to Bluffton that winter. In the manufacture and use of automobiles. Indiana has played a worthy part. The Marmon, the Stutz, the Auburn, the El Car. and the Studebaker, are Indiana products. Two Montpelier High School boys, John Emshwiller and Nvilliam Goodwin built the first airplane in this section of the state, in the spring of 1919. This was a bi-plane of the Curtis type. Although the boys could not fly the plane successfully, they were able to clear the ground with her. Later, with .1 more powerful engine, Goodwin flew her successfully. Many Indiana boys were in the aviation service during the Woi'ld XVar and many Indiana men are now engaged in aviation. From these facts it can be seen that, in the history of the evolution of transporta- tion, Indiana has played an illustrious part. YT' I . 4 ' 1 I i .4