The South Bend Tribune from South Bend, Indiana • A4

A4 I Monday, December 7, 2015 I South Bend TRIBUNE CITY NEWS IN HISTORY What was making news in South Bend during this week in years past? The History Museum offers these newspaper excerpts to give you some idea. Dec. 6, 1884 who are afraid to laugh are hereby warned not to hear Prof. J.V. Coombs.

Those who love to laugh are warned to fasten their vest buttons securely before they The South Bend Evening Register Dec. 7, 1865 plank crossings have been put down across Main and Market streets at the Post Of ce, which were very much St. Joseph Valley Register Dec. 8, 1875 roller skating season, which was inaugurated at Elkhart on last Thursday evening, has been running with flattering success ever since, and the polite people of the sprightly little city are much delighted with the The Morning Herald Dec. 9, 1901 peculiar accident occurred to the Grand Trunk passenger engine which passed through South Bend Sunday evening.

As the train was passing through a marsh the cars came to a sudden stop the passengers clambered out on a tour of investigation and discovered that there was no engine in sight short time later the engine was discovered half a mile away, backing up in search for the lost The South Bend Daily Tribune Dec. 10, 1841 regret that it becomes our duty as public journalists, to notice a most unfortunate occurrence that took place on Saturday evening last between J.F. Smith, tavern keeper at that place, and Charles Egbert It seems that the parties were under the influence of liquor and became highly enraged at each other In the scuf Egbert stabbed Smith who expired in a few South-Bend Free Press Dec, 11, 1851 Congress, no business of importance has been transacted, except the business consequent upon its St. Joseph Valley Register Dec. 12, 1919 like Hugh Walpole, famous English novelist remarked today noon when he was ushered into the Oliver The South Bend Daily Tribune The risk of fire was extremely common in early industrial America.

The combination of coal-powered machinery, crowded conditions and wooden buildings transformed cities into veritable The Great Chicago Fire raged for three days in October 1871, destroying 4 miles of city blocks and causing, in currency, billions of dollars in damage. On Sept. 5, 1872, an equally devastating fire ravaged Mishawaka, and soon afterward Boston experienced its own It is no coincidence that, in the midst of these events, the city of South Bend seriously began more advanced method for piping water through the city to assist in fighting fires. Citizens were relying on well or river water, and the fire department was using 30 public cisterns distributed throughout the city. In 1871, however, the city began taking action, rst considering speci options for a centralized water Three solutions were proposed.

Holly Water Works Co. devised a plan to pump river water directly into the main pipe lines, while others felt that a reservoir system was the most desirable option. Yet another group, led by Leighton Pine, superintendent of the Singer Sewing Machine advocated for a standpipe, a vertical structure designed to store A heated debate ensued, and according to the 1916 Indiana Centennial, J.M. Studebaker wagered a cow that the standpipe system would not suf ce for the needs of South Bend. The standpipe, however, had the support of a majority of the city council, as well as Mayor William In 1873 a decision was made in favor of constructing a municipally owned standpipe.

cow reportedly was sold in an auction for charity after the effectiveness was The principle behind a standpipe is that water is pumped vertically into a multi-story building, and the resulting pressure helps distribute water through the main pipe lines. At the center of South structure was an iron pipe, constructed into one piece on the ground, measuring 5 feet in diameter and 200 feet high, that could hold 30,000 gallons of water from the St. Joseph The standpipe was to tower over the city at the juncture of Pearl Street, Jefferson Boulevard and Carroll Streets, a point that today would place it in Century parking lot. The greatest challenge proved to be raising the pipe off the ground to its standing height. The mighty tube, after all, weighed 43,382 pounds, and it had to be placed on a 24-foot, cast-iron base weighing 10,920 pounds.

This was a tremendous engineering feat, and a similar attempt in Toledo, Ohio, in the falling and breaking of the stand pipe when it had been lifted half way Not surprisingly the process drew thousands of spectators throughout the three-day venture. Slowly, inch by inch, the standpipe reached its nal footing at 11 a.m. Nov. 17, 1873. Bands played, fire bells were rung, and speeches were given, but the standpipe was not yet A winding, wooden stairway of 290 steps had to be built around the pipe from the ground to the top, allowing regular inspections of the pipe.

And nearly a quarter million bricks were used to construct the structure, seen from the street, that encased the pipe and stairs. Atop it all was a 25-foot-high cupola, which had a 4-foot ball at the very peak. The primary purpose was to supply high-pressure water to fire hydrants, and it was a critical element in South fire system until it was gradually replaced in the early 1900s, because of the advancing boundaries, by a series of pumping stations. The standpipe nally was torn down in 1930, bringing an end to its 57-year dominance over South skyline. This information was provided by The History Museum.

A LOOK BACK Scandal scuttles political career Colfax Avenue in South Bend runs east- west from just west of Studebaker Street on the west side of the St. Joseph River to 29th Street on the east. Market Street, as it previously was called, was renamed for the South Bend resident elected the 17th vice president of the United Schuyler life began in 1823 in New York City. He moved in 1836 with his mother and stepfather to New Carlisle, and in 1841 the family traveled southwest about 20 miles to settle in South As a young man, Colfax developed a friendship with Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, by contributing articles on Indiana politics to the newspaper. Colfax became editor of the South Bend Free Press in 1842, and three years later, he purchased the paper and changed its name to the St.

Joseph Valley The editorials that Colfax wrote in support of Whig and, later, Republican views gave rise to his meteoric political career. He was a vocal opponent of slavery who ended up at the center of the action in the turbulent days before, during and after the Civil Colfax was elected in 1854, as a Republican, to the House of Representatives. He became speaker of the House in 1862 and served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln. As speaker of the House, Colfax passionately advocated for the development of a transcontinental railroad and traveled extensively in the He was elected vice president on the ticket with Ulysses S. Grant in 1868.

Circumstantially implicated in the Credit Mobilier scandal tied to railroad construction, Colfax did not seek a second term as vice president and left office in March 1873 somewhat After returning to South Bend, Colfax spent the balance of his life lecturing across the country on the life of Lincoln. Biographer Willard H. Smith wrote, men have risen to greater heights of popularity and then fallen to greater depths of obscurity than Schuyler Colfax died in 1885 at age 62 while on an extended lecture trip in Minnesota. He is buried in South Bend City Cemetery. This is a continuing series, from The History Museum, on people whose names dot South landscape.

BEHIND THE NAME For the 150th anniversary this year of South incorporation, The History Museum and The Tribune join with South Bend 150 for an expanded look, on this page each week, into the past. Cause for celebration Schuyler Colfax was instrumental in the passage in 1865 of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. Photo provided The History Museum STANDING TALL, Lofty water pipe towers over young city, protects it from fire SAVING LIVES ABOVE: This circa-1925 photograph, showing the South Bend standpipe, looks northwest to downtown from the 300 block of what is today Lincoln Way East. Photo provided The History Museum INSET: This 1930 photo shows some of the detail on the outer part of the standpipe, before it was completely torn down. SBT File Photo LEFT: This early image of South standpipe, looking northwest from the Jefferson bridge, shows the river shoreline congested with industrial buildings, no small number made of wood.

SBT File Photo Takeastrolldownmemorylane Takeaglimpseintohistory featureanextensivelocal pictorialhistory. ALSOAVAILABLE -PennHighSchoolRemembered -SouthBendCentralHighSchool Remembered -StudebakerRemembered a (shi pingchargesmayapply) great holiday gifts SB-7327-1 THREEEASYWAYSTOORDER: Online: southbendtribune.com/bookstore Call: 1-800-457-3533 StopbytheSouthBendTribuneat: 225W.ColfaxAve.,SouthBend,IN46617.