1904 First large concrete bridge in the county is built over Buck Creek at Yorktown, replacing the iron bridge carried away by the flood in March. (Aug)
1908 David Cammack Dies
1908 Death of David Cammack who established a saw mill in the north part of the township in section 3. He came to the county in 1879. Cammack’s Station (later, “Cammack”) was named for him.
1909-1913 William H. Taft President
1909-1913 William H. Taft served as the 27th president
1913-1921 Woodrow Wilson President
1913-1921 Woodrow Wilson served as the 28th president of the United States
1913 Great Downtown Fire in Yorktown
1913 January 26 Yorktown suffered a terrible fire. The block on the north side of Smith Street was lost and later rebuilt. The fire started in the back of LH Greer Drugs on the northeast corner of Walnut and Smith. (The site was later Bonnet Drug Store and The Stork’s Nest.)
The fire also burned the post office, Signal Handcock Grocery, E & F Prillman Hardware, Dr. C.H. Wright’s office, and the apartment of William Hanson. The I.O.O.F. had just taken possession of their new meeting place just days before the fire. All was lost. It was a terrible day in the history of our town. Fortunately, there were only minor injuries.
1917 War Declared
1917 War is declared marking the beginning of WWI for the U.S. Delaware County had 3,355 men who served. Fifty-five from Delaware County lost their lives in the war. (6 Apr)
1919 Women’s Right to Vote Ratified
1919 Indiana legislature ratified the amendment giving women the right to vote.
1925 Hance Double Murders
1925 Double murder of Ben and Mary Hance who were brutally stabbed in their home. Charles”One Arm” Wolfe and “Dutch” Anderson were arrested and tried for their murders. (14 Aug)
1934 Meat Market Murder
1934 James Marvin Gleason, 21, was arrested for the murder of his father, Lloyd C. Gleason, the owner of the Yorktown meat market.
By Barbara Swander Miller March 2021 Newsletter
During February and March of 1934, newspapers from Ohio to Nebraska ran updates about the grisly murder of Lloyd Gleason, 40, in his butcher shop in Yorktown. On February 26, 1934, Gleason’s sister, Pearl Jefferson, discovered the body. The well-known businessman had been shot by a small caliber revolver, once above the eye, a second time below the left ear, and again in the back of the head. (The Muncie Morning Star, 28 Feb 1934).
The following day, James Marvin Gleason, 21, was arrested as a suspect in the murder of his father. The son, a 1931 graduate of Yorktown High School, told reporters, “There has been trouble in our family ever since I can remember.” The youth described his father as a heavy drinker and womanizer. (The Evening Press, 27 Feb 1934).
By Wednesday, February 28, 1934, Marvin Gleason had confessed to killing his father over a bottle of whisky and attempting to make it appear an accident. A fan of detective magazines, Marvin confessed when the local marshal found blood stains and grease on his clothing. Gleason said he tried to stop his father from drinking, but a fight ensued. The boy grabbed a gun he had hidden in the basement “for practice.” He admitted being too weak to move his father’s body into the furnace; he planned to incinerate it to save funeral expenses. Burns were found on the left ankle and leg on the elder Gleason’s body (The Muncie Morning Star, 28 Feb 1934). Burn marks were also found on the youth’s right hand.
Later that day, the funeral of Lloyd Gleason was held at the Yorktown M.E. Church, conducted by Rev. W.H. Hamilton of Pennville. Lloyd Gleason was buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery northeast of Selma. Marvin Gleason did not attend at the request of his mother (The Muncie Morning Star, 1 Mar 1934).
After Marvin’s confession, Dora Gleason told reporters about her son’s disinterest in his peers and weak health. She reported that she had taken him to the Detroit Clinic and was advised to move Marvin to a sanitarium out West to cure his dementia praecox, a generic term used for schizophrenia at the time. Mrs. Gleason said after returning from Detroit, Marvin had lived with his grandparents, stayed at the YMCA and camped in the woods near Lynn to “feel better” (The Muncie Morning Star, 28 Feb 1934).
Four days after the murder, Marvin implicated his mother, Dora Brady Gleason, in a premeditated murder plot. The young man claimed that he and his mother had “reached an understanding” that he would kill his father and dispose of the remains in the butcher shop’s furnace (The Evening Press, 5 Mar 1934). Mrs. Gleason was exonerated by a grand jury.
At YHS, Gleason participated in the school play “Alabama Bound” and was a school newspaper reporter, but his main passion was radio according to the school newspaper’s “Senior Futures.” Neighbors described the boy as “a genius in book learning” (The Muncie Morning Star, 28 Feb 1934). Marvin Gleason was awarded but did not accept a Rector Scholarship at Depauw University.
A sanity inquest was held on May 28, 1934 in Muncie. Judge L. A Guthrie found Gleason incapable of standing trial mentally and physically, and sentenced him to the Michigan City state hospital for insane criminals.
1950 Methodist Church Fire
In 1950, a major remodeling project was undertaken at the Methodist Church. Christmas services were held in the morning and a wedding was planned for the afternoon of December 24. Shortly after services were dismissed, smoke was seen coming from the south part of the sanctuary. High winds at the height of the fire blew sparks to several parts of town, setting fire to the roof of the neighboring school building and several houses in the area. The church was completely destroyed by the fire. Services were held in the school until a new building was completed.
In 1961, fire once again threatened the church. Thanks to the quick action by some passers-by and the local fire department, the tower area was the only portion of the building damaged.