Attendees at our recent Donor Appreciation Event participated in our “Guess the Mystery Philanthropist” game for their chance to win $5000 to be directed to the fund or funds of their choice at the South Madison Community Foundation. What follows is the script of the evening-see if you can guess the Mystery Philanthropist!

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Welcome to our South Madison Community Foundation mystery guest event. Tonight you will help us solve the case of the mystery philanthropist as we examine examples of philanthropy in our communities while gathering clues to solve a baffling mystery.

Who is the mystery philanthropist that we are trying to identify tonight?  This evening, you will be our forensic historians and will deduce through clues and actual South Madison community history, which historical person of interest we are attempting to identify.

Let us start in 1818:

PENDLETON

Pendleton was founded in 1818.

A man by the name of Jonathon Rogers first came to the area to take advantage of the roaring falls, according to his diary. However, he didn’t stay long; he sold his land and moved west to Iowa. By that time two other families where living on the prairie northeast of Indiana Creek when the colony from Ohio arrived.

Along Fall Creek there resided a total of fifty families by 1825. 

As most histories emphasize, "On every hand they were surrounded by dense forests... There were no roads, no mills...no modes of transportation, save the ox-team and pack-horse and occasionally the canoe."

The settlers lived in log cabins, made their own clothing, attended to their herb gardens and typically the only book to read was the Bible. With this colony came a very large stout looking man dressed in continental style.  He wore a frock coat, knee britches for pants, and a three corner hat and kept his long hair in a pony tail. 

MARKLEVILLE

In 1854, Markleville was founded.

An early pioneer of Adams Township was John Markle.  He founded the town and was the first Postmaster. He owned the land that would be sold to make way for the Big Four Railroad through Markleville as this played a very important part of the growth of the town.  

In Markleville, the main thoroughfare is called Main Street, a bucolic rural setting indeed.  To hundreds of travelers who use the route to commute from towns like Muncie or New Castle to Anderson or northeast Indianapolis, it’s better known as Indiana 38.

Markle's descendants still live in the area of Markleville. Some still carry the name of Markle which you are probably friends with or know someone who is.

It is said that Markleville had a few residents that often tried to help with the Underground Railroad but found resistance by most of the other settlers. However, it is probably best known for its three white men that were hung in 1824 for killing Indians.

LAPEL

Lapel was founded in 1876

The railroad is what gave Lapel its initial start. As the railroad went through in 1875, it left a strip of land between Pendleton Turnpike (old highway 132) and the railroad that was the shape of a man’s coat lapel, inspiring Samuel E. Busby, one of the directors of the railroad and one of the founders of the town to name the new town….. Lapel. To that end, David Conrad and Samuel E. Busby laid out the town of Lapel April 27, 1876.

The first general store was owned by Samuel Busby who put a stock of goods in the old depot building.  G.W.Wright who lived across the road claimed the honor of being the first customer, trading several dozen eggs for some sugar and coffee.

INGALLS

Ingalls was established in 1896.

Ingalls, Indiana was named for M. E. Ingalls, who was the president of the Big Four railroad, which stopped there.

Ingalls granted the use of his name and he built a rather nice railroad depot there.

Natural gas drove the growth of Ingalls, Indiana in the 1890s.

Excursions for potential land buyers ran regularly from Indianapolis and there was speculation that Ingalls would grow larger than Indy.

Then, the gas gave out and the town settled into a more stable and sleepy existence.

 

One Particularly Intriguing Man

As we continue our journey through history tonight we will hear from one particularly intriguing man.

We are all connected to Charlie Owens in way or another; whether you knew him from his gas station, Owens Mobil in Lapel, a common face at the Pendleton coffee shop or someone you passed on the street.

He bequeathed our community a gift.  We all know it as 233 South Main Street, now home of the South Madison Community Foundation.

After his passing in 2005, the foundation members started to clear out closets.  They noticed a very large beautiful wood inlayed box, which filled the ladies with excitement to have found such a treasure left behind.

As they started to open the box their eyes widened with amazement.

They noticed the red felt lined box had a small tear in the corner.

As they pulled away the felt just a little more they discovered a tiny black and white photo with a note.
Before they could open the note each wondered; could it be a poem, a love note or a hidden treasure left behind by Charlie, or by a previous owner of years gone by?

And just how did that box end up at 233 South Main Street?

This in itself was a delight to have found, but who were the people in the photo and what did the note say?

The photo was of a man and woman.

They turned the photo over to discover the only name they could read is “Mary” as the other name had been smeared and was illegible.

There is a date on the photo: 1828.

The note itself read: 

“My dear Mary, as we have traveled so far to explore and start a new life with our daughter in hand, I present this wooden box as a token of my love and dedication to this family and of the community.”

What could it mean?

Who left this note and who were the people in the photo?

We have to step back in time….

[SUDDENLY, A GENTLEMAN ENTERS THE ROOM IN PERIOD COSTUME…NARRATOR REACTS WITH SURPRISE AND DELIGHT AND TURNS OVER THE FLOOR TO HIM] 

You know, this area was known as Madison Courthouse and Falls City before we ever knew it as Pendleton.

Upon my arrival here in 1823, one of my first encounters was the Gray Goose Inn. 

It was build about 1821 as a stagecoach inn for travelers. Settlers such as Thomas Silver, the McCartney’s, my family, Col. Johnson, and the Mingles appreciated the building's size, the double chimneys at both ends, the brick construction, and the fancy balcony with its own door on the second story.

The Grey Goose Inn was an excellent example of early Federal architecture.  

The settlement in 1820-21 was known as “The Falls” and because of the falls, there was a crude mill built by Thomas McCartney to grind corn meal.

People came as far as Indianapolis to have their grain ground at the mill. 

My friend Thomas McCartney also owned the first general store in the settlement.

As the settlers kept coming, knowing we were a thriving colony and progressive in our ways, we had to start thinking about our future and community growth.

There were many men at that time that had vision, talent and native ability, but, it was I who owned the land around the falls and set out to have it surveyed.

Once surveyed, I platted the land to establish the boundaries of the town.

The Falls also needed a place for spiritual growth and since I owned most of the land here, my wife Mary and I decided to deed the north half of lot 32 to the town in 1832 so a proper church could be built.

Best known as the Pendleton Methodist Episcopal Church, it was heated by two large stoves and lighted by candles.  It was considered to be the finest church in the county at that time.

I would have considered myself as a businessman rather than a farmer; A pillar in my community, or even a politician of my time. 

In 1827 I held a permanent seat of the government know as the Treasurer.  I was part of the group that founded the first county seat of Madison County. 

I was described as a portly man of great dignity, who even after coming to the new wilderness adhered to the continental style of dress.

It was unfortunate that our house was the town’s first town fire.

Mary and I lost everything but I was able to grab one special thing, a wood inlayed box that I given to Mary when we arrived at the Falls.

We took this with us to our next residence which would be in town just down the street from the Gray Goose Inn.

I built this house myself and today you would know that residence as 233 S. Main Street.

It was me in the photo with Mary on our wedding date.

I had tucked away the photo and note prior to giving the wooden box to Mary when we arrived at the Falls.  It would become a keepsake for years to come.

I was a middle aged man when I died at 55 in 1836.

I was buried in what is known as the Crescent Hill Addition.  I was moved to West Grove lawn cemetery where a large moment was erected in my memory.

What I gather from all of this history is that even though there is a century and half difference between Charlie Owens and me; and perhaps because we lived in the same house…we had the same passion and vision for “building tomorrow today – together” for our community. 

We are all philanthropists and that is what brought us together tonight.

WHO AM I?

[THE BALLOTS WERE COLLECTED AFTER THE AUDIENCE HAD A CHANCE TO WRITE DOWN THEIR GUESSES OF WHO THE MYSTERY PHILANTHROPIST WAS; THEN THE ACTOR CONCLUDES]:

I understood the importance of the Falls and had therefore settled nearby, taking possession of the land on June 3, 1823.

The immediate falls area continued to attract a large percentage of the early settlers, so much so that the locality had the appearance of a town long before it was actually incorporated. 

It was me, who on January 13, 1830 actually founded the town by having my property surveyed and organized into town lots.

I am Thomas M. Pendleton a visionary and philanthropist of my time!

And now, the rest of the story: Steve Schug was the winner of the $5000 for his correct guess of Thomas Pendleton. Steve has directed the monies to be placed into the Pendleton Garden Club Fund (in honor of Marilyn Crosley), the Pendleton Community Library Fund (in honor of Marjorie Schug) and the Pendleton 1st United Methodist Church Fund, all held here at SMCF.