APRIL • MAY 2022
www.hamiltoncountybusiness.com
Launch HOPE New program trains women for business after jail
PLUS…
• Managing Online Business Reviews
• Is Whistleblowing Worth the Trouble? • Who was William Clark and Paul Estridge,County? Jr. Was he in Hamilton
OneZone’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Kaitlin Vanderpool, owner, Kiki’s Collections
Letter from the Editor APRIL • MAY 2022 I do historic preservation carpentry as a hobby and had an antique door knob that needed a screw. They made screws specifically for this purpose but they haven’t made these knobs for many years and finding one that would fit was going to be a challenge. I headed to Kirk’s Hardware on Noblesville’s courthouse square and the owner, Bill Prater, said I was “out of luck.” Hard to find those kinds of screws anymore, he said. Newer screws would fit the threads but the flared head meant someone using the knob would likely cut their hand on the screw.
Mike Corbett Editor and Publisher
So he grabbed a couple of screws that were the right thread size, cut them to length, chucked them into a drill and sanded down the sharp edges. The result was a couple of custom-made screws that fit perfectly and looked great. Cost? $3. I guess I wasn’t out of luck after all. I tell this story because I will miss Bill and Kirk’s Hardware. Bill is retiring and he couldn’t find a qualified buyer for the store, which has been selling hardware on the square for more than 100 years. You don’t find many hardware stores around these days where the owner will grind down a screw for you to fit a specific purpose like that. I will miss that kind of service and the unique atmosphere of Kirk’s Hardware, which is auctioning off its inventory. I’m sure there are some pretty unique items in stock. Bill will continue to repair screens at his home but you won’t find him at his workbench on the square any longer. Good luck to him and his wife Carrie in retirement.
Digital Update I had hoped this edition would mark a return to print but we’re not quite there yet. Many business sectors are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, which adversely affected us as well. In many ways we are lucky that we are able to adjust to new conditions and still fulfill our mission. There are other ways than print to publish. You are reading this online and that has been a lifesaver for us. However, I am a print guy and I remain convinced that print is a better medium. I just have to convince the ad market. We continue to monitor the situation with a goal of eventually printing again.
Our Mission Our two most recent cover stories are a study in contrasts and emblematic of why this work is so enjoyable. In our February/March edition we profiled Paul Estridge Jr., who has had a long and distinguished career building homes in the greater Indianapolis area. For this edition, we feature a young woman who is just getting started in her business career and is showing lots of promise. Both overcame significant challenges to get where they are and their stories are each inspirational in their own way. The common theme is that business has given them the opportunity to use their talents to serve their community, and it is a privilege to be telling their stories. It is what the Hamilton County Business Magazine is all about, whether we tell the stories digitally or in print. Thanks for reading. See you around the county,
Editor and Publisher mcorbett@hamiltoncountybusiness.com 317-985-6427 2
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
photo by Alyssa Hunter, HCSO
April / May 2022
Inmates at the Hamilton County Jail enrolled in the launch HOPE program. Photo credit: Alyssa Hunter, HCSO
Features
10 14
www.hamiltoncountybusiness.com Published six times per year by the Hamilton County Media Group PO Box 502, Noblesville, IN 46061 317-774-7747 EDITOR/PUBLISHER
Mike Corbett mcorbett@hamiltoncountybusiness.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Bridget Gurtowsky bridget@gurtowskygraphics.com
Launch HOPE
Chamber Pages
Note: This is a hyperlinked digital magazine. Please click on bolded names, company names or linked boxes.
Columns 2
Editors Letter
6
Management Judith Wright
8
Ethics Cari Sheehan
18
History David Heighway
CORRESPONDENTS Chris Bavender crbavender@gmail.com Ann Craig-Cinnamon jandacinnamon@aol.com John Cinnamon jlcinnamon@aol.com Samantha Hyde samantharhyde@gmail.com Patricia Pickett pickettwrites@gmail.com CONTRIBUTORS
David Heighway heighwayd@earthlink.net Cari Sheehan cari.sheehan@btlaw.com Judith Wright jw3@iupui.edu Please send news items and photos to news@hamiltoncountybusiness.com Submission does not guarantee publication
Subscription $20/year To subscribe or advertise, contact Mike Corbett at
mcorbett@hamiltoncountybusiness.com Copyright 2022 Hamilton County Media Group. All rights reserved.
Cover photo by Stan Gurka 4
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
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5
Management
Judith Wright
What Do Your Customers Think? Why online business reviews matter and how to respond Managing the reputation of a business is one of the more difficult tasks in the digital age. Reputation risk has been studied and analyzed for decades, both commercially and academically. But today, easy access to information, coupled with fickle consumer feedback and the fast pace of transactions present a disaster waiting to happen for any business that is not actively managing its reputation.
Second Most Important Factor In today’s world, consumers expect to have access to reviews when shopping for products. They routinely compare and analyze various purchase options before deciding where to spend their money. Over the past decade, consumers have become increasingly more dependent on what others have to say, specifically those who have previously purchased the same brand of product or experienced a particular service offering.
likely to attract consumers and earn sales. The inverse also bears out, as 70% of consumers reported they won’t buy without first reading reviews. A similar study by Findstack found the average consumer reads between four and six reviews before deciding whether to make a purchase. The study also found that 58% of consumers are willing to pay a bit more to support a business with positive reviews.
Opinion Spam At first glance, managing the content of consumer reviews seems beyond the business’s control. Of course, providing quality products with exceptional service should make for happy consumers who will share their satisfaction with others.
tiple surveys show that consumers avoid spending money on products and businesses with bad consumer reviews. Even for businesses with a balance of good and negative feedback, those who ignore negative feedback tend to lose consumer trust. Research shows, however, that consumers view business responses to bad reviews as a favorable practice, provided the response is respectful and fact based. In other words, a polite and wellsupported response to a negative review can go a long way toward neutralizing the negative. Some business owners have resorted to posting fabricated feedback. They follow the temptation to counter negative reviews with positive ones, giving priority on their website to the latter. The term for this is ‘opinion spamming,’ the practice of creating undeserving reviews about a product or service. It is certainly unethical, whether employees of the business write and post the review or whether others are asked to create fake reviews.
...consumers consider
Power Reviews, a provider of user-content management strategies, found in a 2018 survey that consumers rely more on reviews by other consumers than from their own personal inner circles. The study found that 97% of online purchasers read through product reviews before deciding whether to buy. Of interest, 85% of those surveyed said they regularly scan through negative reviews before purchasing. More than a third of survey participants reported regularly perusing online reviews while standing in a store and making a purchase decision. The Power Reviews survey found that consumers consider online reviews as the second-most important factor in their purchase decision, with price being the first. Data show that websites that facilitate and display reviews are more
6
online reviews as the second-most important factor in their purchase decision, with price being the first. Perhaps the best method for generating positive reviews is to simply ask for them. BrightLocal, a search engine optimization company, reports that 72% of consumers will leave online feedback when asked. Negative reviews about a business or its products can have a swift and direct impact on revenue. Unsurprisingly, mul-
Companies like Fakespot offer artificial intelligence software to identify fake reviews. Walmart, eBay and Amazon all use the company’s service to monitor consumer reviews to detect and flag suspicious activity. In all, such companies monitor billions of consumer posts in nearly real-time. Numerous companies like this offer an array of monitoring services to businesses of all sizes and even to consumers. Opinion spamming is also an unfair trade practice under the regulations of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. A fake positive review generated by the business would fall within the definition of ‘advertisement’ under the Truth in Advertising requirements. Under those rules, advertisements of any kind are re-
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
quired to be truthful and not misleading. As promoted on its website, the FTC focuses its efforts on practices that affect consumers’ pocketbooks.
Even for businesses with a balance of
Neutralize Criticism
good and negative
Unfortunately, some bad actors have resorted to posting fake negative reviews about competitors’ products and services. Opinion spamming a competitor is also an unfair trade practice under FTC rules. Moreover, false statements about a competitor likely constitute defamation— making public statements that are false and harmful to one’s reputation. So this risky practice could lead to a business answering to the federal government for trade violations while also facing the expense of defending itself in a lawsuit by the wronged competitor.
feedback, those who ignore negative
feedback tend to lose
Last October, the FTC published a special notice to U.S. businesses warning of the consequences of using fake reviews
consumer trust. to bolster sales. As part of this effort, the FTC sent notices to more than 700 companies warning them of significant penalties if found using fake consumer reviews. The list of companies that received the special notice includes large online retailers, notable top consumer brands, food companies and service
companies. Under FTC rules, penalties can extend to $43,792 per violation, with each use of a fake review considered to be a separate violation. Ultimately, monitoring and responding to online reviews of a business has become an inescapable necessity for reputation management. Like all public presentations of a company, a measured, honest and considerate response to negative (or even positive) reviews can go a long way toward neutralizing criticism and presenting a relatable impression to consumers. By avoiding any temptation to opinion spam, companies can create an approachable and genuine experience with potential customers. HCBM
Judith Wright is a clinical assistant professor of business law at Indiana University Kelley School of Business at IUPUI.
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7
Ethics
Cari Sheehan
The Scarlet Letter “W” Is Whistleblowing Worth It? The Theranos whistleblower, Tyler Shultz, raised his glass in a toast after the verdict was rendered in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos. However, was justice served in comparison to what Shultz endured in coming forward as a whistleblower? What risks and challenges do Shultz and other whistleblowers like him face? And, are whistleblowers ever truly vindicated in their decisions to follow the moral path?
Risks Associated with Being a Whistleblower There are protections in place to protect whistleblowers, but there is a price they pay in coming forward. In some circumstances, blowing the whistle may amount to career suicide. Therefore, whistleblowers must weigh several considerations before deciding to come forward.
whistleblowers as being disloyal to the company, and not team players. Another risk is that the whistleblower could become ostracized from friends and family. The whistleblower may be perceived as morally righteous, leading others to fear the person professionally and/or personally. Friends and family members may also have a differing viewpoint or an investment in the company that is the target of the whistleblower, and not support the whistleblower’s decision. All of these factors are high prices to pay for doing the morally right thing. It seemingly is far easier to be complicit in a company’s unethical conduct than to turn it in. So, why do whistleblowers come forward, and is
sumers who used the faulty tests, as well as on one count of conspiracy to defraud consumers. Holmes remains free post-verdict on a $500,000 bond secured by property. Holmes’ sentencing is scheduled for September and she faces up to 20 years in prison, fines and restitution. The conclusion of Holmes’ trial marked the end of a chapter in Tyler Shultz’s adult life. His journey with Theranos started when he was studying biology in college. His grandfather, former Secretary of State George Shultz, who was an investor and Theranos board member, introduced him to Holmes. The younger Shultz was immediately drawn to Holmes’ ideas, particularly regarding the creation of the Edison. Holmes envisioned the Edison to be able to comprehensively test blood faster and easier with a single finger prick. Tyler wanted to be a part of such a revolutionary invention.
Most people choose self-
preservation over doing what
is moral, and would rather look
Whistleblowers must consider that blowing the whistle may result in the loss of their job or other retaliation from the company. If a whistleblower keeps their job, they are often not promoted and considered untrustworthy by the company and other employees. This affects the whistleblowers’ livelihood, family, and overall stability. Many colleagues also harbor resentment against the whistleblower because they fear that the whistleblower may cost them their jobs if the company ceases to exist.
the other way than get involved.
Tyler interned with Holmes when he was a junior in college and eventually became a full-time employee of Theranos. He worked for eight months at Theranos, putting in countless hours in the labs due to this passion for biology. However, he quickly realized that the Edison was not producing the intended results, and that the technology behind it simply did not exist. Tyler realized that Theranos was fabricating its quality control data in relation to the Edison. The quality control tests were never run on the Edison, but on other commercially available lab equipment. Then the data was transferred to make it look like it was run on the Edison. It was clear unethical conduct was afoot at Theranos to the tune of fraud, deceit, and
However, when more people like Tyler choose to come
forward, it gives courage to
others to do the same thing.
The likelihood of obtaining a new job can also diminish after being branded with a scarlet letter “W.” Many companies are afraid of hiring whistleblowers for fear of the same thing happening to their own company or the motives of the whistleblower being not pure. Many companies view 8
the risk worth it? This is one question Tyler Shultz has been asked many times throughout his journey as a whistleblower.
The Theranos Whistleblower Story Holmes was convicted in January 2022 on three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiring to defraud private investors of Theranos. However, the jury declined to convict Holmes on the three counts of defrauding con-
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
misrepresentation to many investors and consumers. Tyler hit a crossroads in April 2014, and ultimately decided that he could not be part of Theranos possessing the knowledge he had learned about Theranos’ operations. He simultaneously quit Theranos and sent Holmes a letter regarding the fraudulent conduct, hoping that Holmes would correct the behavior. Instead, Tyler’s resignation was the match that ignited the turmoil that would consume his life for many years.
taking the ethical path. And, despite the adversity that Tyler faced over the last several years, he continues to move forward in sharing his story as a whistleblower with others to inspire people to take the moral path.
Benefits of Choosing the Moral Path
A person’s moral character is important in our society and choosing the straight moral path has many mental and physical benefits. People with a Upon receiving Tyler’s resignation and strong moral compass tend to have: (a) stronger relationships with others letter, Holmes called his grandfather based on honesty and trust; (b) a trustalleging that Tyler’s resignation was worthy reputation; (c) reduced stress an attack on Theranos. The tension grew, and by October 2015, Tyler knew and anxiety; (d) enhanced confidence and self-esteem; and (e) purpose and he could not just sit and do nothing, direction in their personal and profeseven if it meant escalating the dissional lives. There is also a sense of putes and retaliation from Theranos and, potentially, losing his grandfather. peace for a person that chooses the moral path, even if the moral path has Tyler chose the ethical path to come adverse consequences that directly forward and expose the fraud, not the affect them. easy path of remaining silent. Tyler anonymously contacted state regulators and worked with the Wall Street Journal to reveal Theranos’ fraudulent conduct. Two additional whistleblowers subsequently came forward to corroborate his accusations against Theranos. However, not everyone was in support of Tyler speaking out. Tyler’s grandfather attempted to get him to admit that he was the anonymous whistleblower numerous times in front of Theranos’ legal staff. Theranos filed several lawsuits against Tyler, costing him and his family over $400,000 in legal fees. Theranos also had Tyler followed by private investigators as a pressure tactic. He was also, in essence, blacklisted with other companies. But, all of these may have been a small price to pay compared to Tyler being exiled from his family by his grandfather. Tyler’s grandfather no longer recognized him as his grandson. Tyler’s grandfather did not invite him to his 95th birthday party, but invited Holmes. Was the price of taking the ethical path worth it? Tyler has been asked this question since the verdict came down against Holmes, and his answer has always been an unequivocal, “yes.” Tyler has indicated that he has few regrets and is proud of himself for
Despite the many benefits of choosing the moral path, not everyone in society has the cognitive ability, the strength of character, or the means to choose the moral path when faced with a decision like Tyler’s. Most people choose self-preservation over doing what is moral, and would rather look the other way than get involved. However, when more people like Tyler choose to come forward, it gives courage to others to do the same thing. Standing up for morality, even in the face of adversity, is a stance that more people should take. Let’s applaud those who do. HCBM
Hamilton County Mended Hearts Chapter 350 Misson Statement: To inspire hope and improve the quality of life for heart patients and their families through ongoing peer-to-peer support, education and advocacy.
SUPPORT GROUP MEETING TIMES 3RD WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH 11:30am - 2:00pm Meetings temporarily suspended due to COVID-19
RIVERVIEW HEALTH 395 Westfield Rd. Classrooms A & B Entrance 4
CALL (317) 776-7377 for additional information Cari Sheehan is of counsel with Barnes & Thornburg, where she sits on the firms Professional Responsibility Committee. She focuses on legal ethics, professional accountability and loss prevention. This article should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own lawyer on any specific legal questions you may have concerning your situation.
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
Heart Disease in your family? Think you or a family member needs a heart scan or EKG? Call Riverview Health at
(317) 773-0760 Ask for Central Scheduling to set an appointment for a $49 hear t scan or a $10 EKG. w w w.mendedhearts350.org
9
Cover Story
New entrepreneur program at the Hamilton County Jail offers opportunity after incarceration By Ann Cinnamon Photos by Alyssa Hunter, HCSO
ntrepreneurs come in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds and the entrepreneurial spirit can sometimes be found in the most unusual of places. The Hamilton County Jail is a case in point. You might think that a jail is not where new careers and businesses are typically launched, but in the case of the Launch Hope Program, it is exactly where it’s happening. In May of 2021 the Launch Hope Foundation and Butler University partnered to start the Launch Hope Program for women inmates at the Hamilton County Jail. The pilot program is overseen by Program Coordinator Kelly Gunn who says it’s the brainchild of Kristi Mitchell, a Butler University instructor of Entrepreneurship and Organizational Behavior and founder of the Launch Hope Foundation.
Growth Mindset Basically, the program enrolls interested female inmates, helps them identify and nurture their interests and physical skillsets and teaches them the business
L-R Butler Students Nicole Keller and Emily Mead, Kaitlin Vanderpool, Butler student Ella Kappler, Professor Kristi Mitchell
skills they need to launch and maintain their own business. Gunn says it starts with filling out an application and determining what interests the inmate has, whether she has ever thought about being her own boss or opening her own business. “We want them to come up with their own ideas. We don’t tell them “here, this is what you should do.’ We want to know what they’re interested in and what
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
they’re passionate about and then we help them from the ground-up to build something that would be sustainable,” she says, adding that there are a lot of ladies who have been in Hospitality or food service and one in the program currently who is interested in starting her own cleaning business For those without previous skills, a sewing instructor teaches industrial sewing skills twice a week and there are
11
Inmates at the Hamilton County jail
a variety of projects that end up being donated back into the community. They make such things as dog beds for the Humane Society, hospice gowns for local hospitals, onesies and baby blankets for domestic violence shelters and stockings for troops that are filled by local churches. The second, but equally important, aspect of the program is meeting once a week with Butler’s Kristi Mitchell to learn about being an entrepreneur, working with customers and what they call “growth mindset.” Gunn describes it as things such as where you come from, overcoming circumstances of where you come from and getting you to a place mentally where you are ready to accept challenges, take setbacks and overcome them.
neurship as if as she is instructing her classes at Butler. “She takes them through the complete process of starting a business so they go from just an idea on paper to really creating a business plan, putting it through a business incubator and then when they are released they have full access to a team of Butler interns who actually start their businesses with them and for them,” she says, adding that the Butler team helps with such things as marketing, the online launch of an Etsy store and all the major ground work to get businesses up and running upon release. Gunn says they want inmates to have at least 90 days of programming and
Gunn says Mitchell teaches program participants the basics of entrepre12
photo by Stan Gurka
“So growth mindset is a really big part of it. Most of the people that we work with in the jail have had problems, trauma and a history that gets you stuck in a place mentally where it’s more difficult to overcome setbacks and disappointments and this program teaches them to overcome those things.” Kiki’s Collection products
depending on their sentence length they can continue to work on their business while incarcerated so when they get out they’re ready. So far more than 20 inmates have participated in the Launch Hope program at the Hamilton County Jail. Most are online businesses although there is one woman who will be released in September who is a cake decorator and baker who is hoping to have her own brick-and-mortar business eventually.
Life Changing The first and most successful program graduate to date is Kaitlin Vanderpool who just a year ago, was sitting in the Hamilton County Jail after her third DUI arrest worrying and wondering what her future held. She says she had struggled with substance abuse and addiction for quite some time and was eager to turn her bad situation of 90 days in jail into something better. That’s when the Launch Hope program got her attention. “I thought it will give me something to do and it would be fun. And the business class would be good because I had no experience in business and hadn’t
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
thought much about it. But I thought I could learn a few things so I applied and then I found out that it was a really lifechanging program,” says Vanderpool. She says the program helps participants flesh out their marketable skills and how they can make money using them and they were adamant that it be something that the inmates were passionate about and would be proud of, not just something that felt like work. “I wanted to incorporate sewing because my mom’s a seamstress and I was a 4-H kid so I already had those skills under my belt and I always had kicked around the idea of having my own business,” she says. Drawing on her love of dogs and children, Vanderpool came up with “Kiki’s Collections” which today is an Etsy store that sells dog accessories like bandanas, leashes and collars along with baby clothes. She has active contracts for her goods and is currently working, along with interns at Butler, on her own website to sell her products. Vanderpool’s life has been changed by the program. “This program saved my
life, very honestly. I don’t think I would have hope for the future; actually, in fact, I know that I wouldn’t have hope for the future without this program. And realistically I may not even be sober If I didn’t have this program. I am now 10 months sober. I have worked really hard at that and having this business and something I can build a future for myself has completely given me the motivation to stay sober; and the tools and support that I need as well to maintain my sobriety. So it has very much been a lifesaver to me,” she says adding that Mitchell and her interns at Butler have become like family to her.
Self Sufficient Gunn says the program is one of a kind as there are no other jails in the area doing anything like this currently and she doesn’t know of any other program anywhere in which a facility such as hers has teamed up with a renowned university such as Butler.
Launch Hope Program. They are looking at expanding outside of Indiana and are currently working with an organization in Baltimore, Maryland that is interested in what they are doing. Additionally, for male inmates, the Hamilton County Jail offers a job skills program called TOWER (Transitioning Opportunities for Work, Education, and Reality) to prepare them for life after release from jail. Gunn says a lot of it comes down to convincing inmates that they have skill sets that they never realized. “The goal of the program is to help women be empowered and understand things about themselves that maybe they have never seen before about strengths that they were given and created with. And how to utilize those to be selfsufficient to help them support their families to do something that they may have dreamed about but never thought could become a reality.” HCBM
She says there are several programs, outside of incarceration, in the Indianapolis community that have begun as an offshoot of the Hamilton County Jail
April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
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April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
May 18th
NoblesvilleChamber.com | @noblesvillecoc | (317) 773-0086 | info@noblesvillechamber.com | REGISTER ONLINE TODAY! April • May 2022 • Hamilton County Business Magazine
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Serving Northern Hamilton County Mark Your Calendar
Our Next Luncheon
cond Annual Se
In April, we will gather for another opportunity to get Jacked up on Joe! This 4 Town Grounds meeting will feature two speakers. We will hear from Mike Jenkins of Hope Family Care Center, a local non-profit offering free medical services to those who could not otherwise afford it. Also from Cory Childs, President of BerryComm, who is working to provide fast internet to areas that are unserved and underserved. Two local entities that are providing lots of opportunities you will want to hear about!
SHERIDINNER DRIVE THRU
FISH FRY Friday, May 13th 4 - 7 pm Biddle Memorial Park 608 E 10th St, Sheridan, IN
On The Menu: Dan’s Fish or Chicken cole slaw, & applesauce
Join us at The Remnant Coffee Shop on April 14 from 8-9:30 am to get your day started off on the right foot!
*Proceeds will benefit Sheridan and Hamilton Heights Business programs! Hosted by
NORTHERN HAMILTON COUNTY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Communities Working Together
Our Newest Members Greek’s Pizzeria of Westfield 231 Park St, Westfield, IN 46074 (317) 804-7777 greekspizzeria.com
2022 Advocate Members
2022 Calendar Luncheons the second Thursday of every month. April 14 - 8 - 9:30 am Hope Family Clinic & BerryComm Remnant Coffee Shop May 12 - 11:30 am - 1 pm State of the Towns Address Arcadia Town Hall June 9 - 11:30 am - 1 pm Infrastructure on US 31 Hamilton North Public Library Please check the Chamber website and follow us on Facebook for the most up to date calander. nhccoc.org @NHCChamber
NORTHERN HAMILTON COUNTY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Communities Working Together 70 Byron Street Cicero, IN 46034 317 984 4079
Hamilton County History David Heighway
William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame, may have traveled through Hamilton County in 1791 rom 1785 to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, Indiana was part of the Northwest Indian Wars. The land was occupied by various Native American tribes, but incursions of whites from Kentucky caused the groups to clash. Hamilton County may have been on the path of some of these clashes. There was a confederation of tribes that opposed these incursions—the important leaders were Little Turtle (Miami), Blue Jacket (Shawnee), and Buckongahelas (Lenape [Delaware]). President George Washington ordered a military response with soldiers commanded by General Arthur St. Clair. General Charles Scott led a group of Kentucky militia, among whom was a young lieutenant named William Clark who kept a journal, (now at the Missouri Historical Society and accessible online). In 1791, the army advanced into what would become Indiana. They started on May 1st by crossing the Ohio River near the present site of Madison and headed for the Indian villages at
in his journal, “The badness of the hills and deepness of the mud and the height of the creeks, together with “By the 31st, I marched one hundred brush, exceeds all kinds of descripand thirty five miles, over a country tions.” Crossing the White River at one cut by four large branches of White point, three men and several horses River and many small streams with were drowned. The army returned in steep, muddy banks. During this early June to the “rapids of the Ohio” march, I traversed a country alternate—known today as the Falls of the Ohio near Clarksville. The town had been established by George Rogers Clark, the Revolutionary War hero and older brother of William. Ouiatanon (near present-day Lafayette). General Scott reported later:
General James Wilkinson launched another expedition in August and, according to various maps drawn between 1796 and 1819, went from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) up the present state line to the area of Fort Wayne. He deliberately avoided crossing White River, saying in his report afterwards: “I left the neighborhood of Fort Washington … and agreeably to my original plan, feinted boldly at the Miami ly interspersed with the most luxurivillages, by the most direct course the ous soil, and deep clayey bogs from one to five miles wide, rendered almost nature of the ground, over which I had to march would permit. I persevered impervious by brush and briars. in this plan … and thereby avoided Rain fell in torrents every day, with the hunting ground of the enemy, and frequent blasts of wind and thunderthe paths which lead directly from the storms. These obstacles impeded my White River to the Wabash, leaving the progress, wore down my horses, and headwaters of the first to my left …” destroyed my provision.” General Charles Scott
Some historians have said that this gave the expedition the name of the “Blackberry Campaign” since the soldiers stopped to pick berries to supplement their food supplies. When the expedition reached its objective, the soldiers destroyed the villages they found and the attack was considered a success. William Clark
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The return trip was as difficult as the initial advance. William Clark said
He attacked a village at Eel River, then followed the Wabash River to Ouiatanon. On his return south, he followed Scott’s route to Falls of the Ohio.
Did they come through Hamilton County? It’s important to know that two trails crossed at Strawtown: the trail following White River going north to Fort
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Wayne, and the Lafayette Trace going from the Whitewater Valley to Lafayette. The routes had been in use for a long time and stayed in use afterwards. There was an expedition during the War of 1812 that started from Vallonia (near Seymour), took a route up through Bartholomew County, and followed White River to Strawtown. On their return trips, could Scott and Wilkinson have taken the Lafayette Trace from Ouiatenon to Strawtown, then turned to follow the White River trail south? The southern part of the route would have roughly paralleled present highway 65, through Bartholomew County, past Vallonia, then to Clarksville. The “four large branches of White River” that General Scott talked about could be the Muscatatuck,
the East Fork of the White River, Fall Creek, and the West Fork of the White River—all of which would have been on the route. The crossing where the three men drowned could even have been at Strawtown. Maps from this time were wildly inaccurate, but on the ones that are available, the Scott/Wilkinson route from Ouiatanon to Clarksville does cut through the center of the state. There is one from 1819 that has a noticeable bend that could be interpreted as being in the Hamilton County area. The original is in the Indiana State Library. A potential clue may have appeared a century later. A young boy fishing on White River in 1893 found a Spanish silver quarter dollar dated 1784. That sort of currency was circulating in the United States in 1791. While the coin could have been brought into the county at any point in time, it is an interesting find. It will take more research to find the answers to this. However, it’s interesting to think that 13 years before he joined Meriwether Lewis in leading the Corps of Discovery, William Clark may have been learning about survival in the wilderness as he came through the present area of Hamilton County. HCBM
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