From the “Historical Sketch of the Genung House and Family”, found in our local history collection at the library: The stately Georgian Colonial home of Dr. William R. Genung that quietly dominates the heart of Fort Branch, Indiana, at Main and Locust Streets, was...
Photo of Isabella “Miss Bell” Irwin from “History of Gibson County” by Gil Stormont. Isabella Irwin, mostly referred to as Miss Bell Irwin, was an immigrant from Ireland who lived in Fort Branch, Indiana with her uncle Thomas Wark. Wark owned the brick house on 100 W...
The following quoted texts and photo are from “History of Gibson County: Her People, Industries, and Institutions” by Gilbert R. Stormont, 1914, pp. 117-119: “From early times Gibson county has had the reputation as one of the best corn growing counties in the...
“When men pass the age of 60, they should spend their winter days in front of the fireplace and their summers in a special easy chair under the ol’ shade tree. So some people seem to think—but they’d change their mind if they passed through Haubstadt any clear...
“A half a century ago [from 1955], George B. Woehler operated a brick yard located at the northwest edge of Haubstadt. This picture [below], taken in 1904, shows the large wheel used to churn the mud from which the bricks were made. Mr. Woehler is shown in the center...
“The late J. E. Toops home, which was built about 1883, was originally a one story structure with a front parlor, a back parlor, two bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a large pantry, and a bathroom. The house was heated with hot air registers in the floor. Cooking...
“One of the pioneer citizens of Haubstadt was Mr. Frank Pohl. He came to Haubstadt territory in 1851 and helped clear timber from the town site. He built one of the first houses in the area, on the lot just north of the Catholic Church, where the Sisters’ convent now...
One of the items in the Fort Branch Public Library’s local history collection is a handwritten account from Albert Strain (1844-1932), son of Rev. Thomas M. Strain and Mary LaGrange Strain, describing early Fort Branch. (Photo from the first page of four written by...
“Mr. [Albert] Strain refers to the land lying west of the railroad as ‘a wilderness of large hickory and ash timbers…almost impassable on horseback in August.’ It is not surprising therefore to learn that one of the early industries in Fort Branch was the manufacture...
“Several years before our [Haubstadt’s] local citizens enjoyed the coming of electricity into their homes, the Ziliak and Schafer Milling Company was generating power for their machinery with the expertise of two of their employees, namely, Ben Oing and Ben Meny. The...
