Submitted by Brenda Gilsinger
The Pulaski Manufacturing Company consisted of five Indian Creek Township citizens. Ira Brown, John Decker, Jonas Good, Sr. his son, Samuel Good, and Daniel Short. In 1853, the company, along with John Stephens, a Cass County miller, was granted permission by the state to erect a 6-foot dam across the Tippecanoe River. The site chosen was near the farm of Mr. Brown. Construction on the dam was started in the fall of 1853 and was completed in 1854. Materials used included long poles made from saplings weighted down by rocks.
Meanwhile, John H. Gillespie, Robert Budd and Samuel Simmermaker, using wheelbarrows, picks and shovels, began to dig a race in the hard, blue clay. The race was 80 to 90 feet long; it started at the dam and extended downstream to the mill site. While digging, the men stumbled across a large, long tusk. No attempt was made to unearth any remaining bones. A sawmill was erected at the north end of the race.
The first logs were sawed on October 23, 1854, by Peter Reprogle, for Ira Brown and Daniel Short. Construction of the mill started soon after. James Graham was hired to oversee the project. John Gillespie was hired by Graham as an assistant. Cost of the entire venture – dam, race, sawmill and gristmill – was approximately $14,000.
The building was 40 feet by 60 feet and stood three and a half stories high. The first floor, the basement, rested at the bottom along the river bank. The second and third floors sat along the street above. It is believed that there may have also been a subbasement. A Parker reaction wheel and three buhr stones were put in place in 1856.
Treated like a barn raising, local farmers in the area came to help lift the large beams into place. The women and children helped in any way they could. Everyone knew how important this venture was. The hauling of their crops to market, either to Monticello or Logansport, had been no small task, taking several precious days. The Pulaski Mill would make their lives easier.
Through the years, the mill had many owners who enjoyed the profits of the booming business. But with the absence of a rail line, businesses began to move away from Pulaski. Eventually, a local mill was no longer needed. The property was sold in 1912 to a developer who wanted to use the area to generate electricity. Plans fell through and the mill sat empty for several years. The structure met its demise in 1920 when it caught fire and was burned to the ground.