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History of the Development of Marengo Warehouse

In a book titled "History of Crawford County", H.H. Pleasant (who was my Grandmothers Uncle) , devoted the following three paragraphs to the beginning of the Stone Quarry at Marengo, Indiana. They are quoted as follows:

On June 10, 1886, men became interested in the rock at Marengo. The railroad was a means of getting the stone away. Joseph Garrow was the first man to undertake to open the quarry. He has a good chance to sell Wash DePauw of the New Albany Glass Works. The first load or two he let his men mix clinker with the rock. When DePauw saw this he would not buy any more crushed rock Garrow.

Garrow sawed out the rock, which he sold wherever he could get market. One day in November 1886 he was injured and died. Then his two sons, Joseph and Milton Garrow, took up the work. They did so much work that their business was soon running fairly well.

Other men took shares in the rock quarry and business went rapidly on with various degrees of success. Today one can get some idea of the great amount of rock shipped away by the hole in the hill.

The identity of the group of investors taking over the mining operation from The Garrow brothers, and The Company Name under which they first operated in 1887, cannot be immediately determined. The reason being is that Crawford County records of land title transfers does not date back past 1891, a few years after the untimely mine blast killed Milton Garrow, in late 1886 or early 1887.

The history of the fate Joseph Garrow Jr., Milton's brother. The surviving son of Joseph Garrow Sr., could not be verified at the time of this writing. However, court records reveal; that on April 15, 1915, by court decree, Title to the land of the Joseph Garrow heirs, passed to the only surviving Garrow, in Crawford County. A woman by the name of Isabel Garrow, believed to be the mother of Joseph Garrow Sr.,

It appears that the event of the death of Joseph Garrow Jr. (at some prior date), caused Isabel, to inherit all the property of the Joseph Garrow heirs in 1915.

About a year later in 1916, the court ordered Isabel, to surrender the title to all Garrow property to two (2) men, named Arthur B. Harris and David M. Seyton. These men appear to be two of the original investors that financed continued mining operations at the Garrow Rock Quarry, after the death of Milton Garrow.

Earliest records indicate that the Garrow's were operating the rock quarry on lot 199, in the town of Marengo, under the name of the Marengo stone company. Lot 199 is located across the tracks from all other town lots. Lying along the Southeast side of the railroad, Northeast of the junction of Depot road and the Norfolk Southern line. Earliest court records in 1891 reveal that the Garrow family owned lots 52, 53, 54, 55, 199 and 200 in the town of Marengo, once adjacent to Quarry property now separated by the railroad.

The authenticity of the report that early limestone mining occurred on this parcel of land is evidenced, by a long ago abandoned mine high wall and other deep rock mining scars left in the ancient face of a 350-foot long limestone out-crop still visible lying across lot 199.

Upon further examination, court records reveal that land deals made, (before and after the Garrow property passed to the shareholders from Isabel Garrow, in 1916), added bordering lands to lot 199 to the south and east. Eventually unifying adjacent land parcels into a 205-arce tract, which makes up the present day Marengo Warehouse property.

The first documentation, of a company name, under which The Rock Quarry probably operated from the beginning, is recorded, "Marengo Lime Stone Company". They bought 3 one half acres from "Marengo Manufacturing Company" on February 11, 1909.

On the 24th day of November 1917 the Marengo bank recorded a sheriffs deed to the Marengo Stone Quarry Property, on May 5, 1919. The property went back to Marengo Limestone Company.

On November 9,1922 Marengo Stone Company added land from the Jenner heirs.

On the 14th of December 1922, land was added to the quarry property from Lavonia Balthi's heirs. On the same day, Marengo Limestone Company, transferred its property to Marengo Crushed Stone Company.

On the same day in 1929, Marengo Crushed Stone Company transferred the property to Westside Bank of Evansville.

On December 2nd, 1936 the Quarry property transferred from Westside Bank, to Albert Wedeking.

From its beginning on 1886, The Rock Quarry at Marengo, operated as an open pit mine until 1936.

In 1936 Rudy Messinger, bought the Rock Quarry at Marengo, and changed its name to High-Rock Mining Company, and began to mine underground using the room and pillar mining method.

High-Rock Mining operated the Quarry until it sold to the Bowen Family in 1947.

But eye witness, say no significant mining in-roads in the interior were made, they simply refer to as a "Hole" left under the h

South Korean riot police out in force in preparation as an estimated 4000 South Korean farmers converge on the South Korean National Building protesting the F.T.A. bill with Chile which was finally ratified after two previous attempts by law makers failed due to violent demonstrations held by the Nations farmers but that didn't stop one last protest.

© Nayan Sthankiya