Historic Treasure of the Week - January 12, 1992
By David M. Buchanan
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - January 12, 1992
By David M. Buchanan
Vigo County Historical Society
Map tribute to memory of Henry Hahn
Take a few minutes to try this exercise
In your mind, draw a map of Terre Haute’s downtown from the Wabash River on the west to Ninth Street on the east, from Cherry Street on the north to Walnut Street on the south. Now put each building located in that are on your map including how the building looks and who’s doing business in it.
It probably would be a difficult exercise, though it would be a little easier to do it on paper and over a period of a few years.
If you want to make the exercise even harder, try to do it the way Henry Hahn drew his map in 1939. He drew the city as he remembered it in a864 when he was only 12 years old.
Hahn’s map is primitive, drawn much like a child’s, with little attempt at perspective. Buildings are drawn from the artist’s point view, depending on which end of the map he was working on, and everything is rendered as if it was being seen straight on.
The steamboat on the Wabash River appears to have sunk on its side. So does the canal boat on the Wabash and Erie Canal. The horse or mule pulling the canal boat is flat on its side, but still cheerfully hauling away.
Though the rendition is primitive, the map itself is awe-inspiring. Drawn in ink and hand colored, more than 400 individual structures are shown. Many of them have architectural details such as arched windows, multi-stories, double doors, slanted roofs, and chimney placement.
Details such as the placement of bridges over the canal and the fact that the Wabash River bridge was a toll bridge are included. Hahn noted on the map that Kitchen Smith was the toll collector. The 1864 City Directory lists Smith as an umbrella repairman, but the lived next to the bridge so it is possible he collected the tolls, or may have collected them at some other point.
The first county courthouse, incorrectly listed as the "City" courthouse, is shown. The jail is shown at Third and Walnut. Another building, used as a Confederate prison during the Civil War, was drawn at First and Park. The drawing shows a rather substantial four-story structure with a cupola on top.
Henry lived with his father, Xavier Hahn, a shoemaker, on Wabash Avenue between First and Second streets. The map makes it appear that Xavier owned most of that side of the block on Wabash.
Since Henry lived on that block he was able to identify all of the businesses across the street. They included three grocers, two saloons, a baker, C.E. Smith’s implements and a butcher. Across the corner from the Hahn home was the Early House, one of the town’s hotels. The map also has the location of other hotels including the Clark House and the Terre Haute House (Prairie House). There are a number of boarding houses shown with the names of those who ran them.
Another important place, at least according to any right-minded 12 year old, was the Circus Grounds, shown taking up the entire block between Seventh and Eighth from Wabash to Ohio. There are enigmatic references, like a grocery drawn between Sixth and Seventh on Wabash Avenue. Next to that building is a note "(Polly Parret)." There are no Parrets listed in the 1864 directory. Perhaps the owner of that particular grocery store had a parrot names Polly. Or, perhaps, there was a young girl names Polly who sparked a 12-year old boy’s interest. It’s unlikely we’ll ever know.
Henry Hahn’s map is dated 1939, but no other information about the map is known. How long he may have worked on the map and any help he may have received is not listed. It is possible he used old city directories for references, but it doesn’t seem likely because he map isn’t as detailed as it would be if the directories had been used. There are a number of mistakes, that wouldn’t have been likely if Hahn used the directories.
Hahn spent most of his early life in Terre Haute as a grocer. In 1888 he became a bartender, then a saloon keeper, then he dealt in cigars. In the 1890s he left Terre Haute and moved to Prairieton. He died there April 5, 1945.
According to his obituary, Hahn was listed as Terre Haute’s oldest native at his death. Little else is known about him, but his wonderful map has been preserved. It hangs over the stairs in the basement of the museum, a tribute to Hahn’s incredible memory of Terre Haute when he was 12 years old in 1864.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.