Attica

George Hollingsworth platted Attica and built a few log cabins in the hazelbrush at the edge of the Wabash River, and from these beginnings the town has grown to a fair city. Mr. Hollingsworth also built a ferry propelled by poles. This was the only means of crossing the Wabash River until Prescott and Conant Green built a horse ferry in 1843. In 1825, there was an inn at the foot of Main Street and the first general store and post office were in a building on the southeast corner of Perry and Mill Street. William Crumpton owned these buildings. Dr. Lacy had a small drug store one block north on the southeast corner of Perry and Main in a building owned by Isaac Coleman. There was one mail delivery a week brought in on horseback from Indianapolis through Covington to Attica. Isaac Coleman, veteran of the War of 1812, was Justice of the Peace. He was a life-long Attica resident and was buried in the Old Attica Cemetery. A steam saw mill and gristmill were built and from this time to 1869, manufacturing steadily increased. Also, in 1835, the first water system was developed. Sparkling water from the springs in the Ravine was piped through logs, hollowed out by hand, made its way to the Southeast corner of Mill and Perry Streets. Later, this was enlarged but failed to give satisfaction and in 1875, a new system was constructed to furnish the entire city with water. A covered wagon bridge was built over the Wabash followed by an iron bridge after the wooden bridge was destroyed in the cyclone of 1886. The present structure was dedicated on 23 June, 1983 and is called the Paul Dresser Bridge, as was the 1922 bridge, which had deteriorated and had to be closed. This bridge is the main connecting link between Fountain and Warren counties. Attica elected its first mayor, John Gass, originally a citizen of neighboring Warren County. He had been elected to the office of Trustee there. Highly respected when he moved to Attica, his reputation remained untarnished as mayor. In the same year, the city charter was obtained, and in 1966, a week-long centennial recognizing the 100th birthday of the City was celebrated. In January Attica received its first electric service in business houses, a few residences and streetlights. A privately owned company at the request of the city councilmen was providing this service. This system was sold to the City of Attica and was the oldest private system in the state at the time of the sale. The first telephone service in Attica was provided by the Milford-Whitehall Telephone Company, which started in 1895. The office was located on the second story of 213 South Perry Street. After several owners, the name was changed to the Attica Telephone Company, and in 1919, a semiautomatic system was installed. John Cottrell was born and reared in Indiana and since his early years has been interested in old buildings. He would scavenge old shutters from barns and spend hours drawing an old house in disrepair as it might be restored. A graduate of Attica High School, his work in Attica began in 1987 when he began the renovation of the Old Church through the John Cottrell Foundation. Since then he acquired the area adjoining the Old Church, where he restored the William Brown house, the Norman S. Brown house and a variety of other out buildings. This beautiful example of Greek Revival architecture was built in 1849-1850 as the Attica Presbyterian Church. When the Presbyterians found it necessary to have a larger building for their growing congregation, they built a new brick building and parish house next door to the present “Old Church”. The steeple was removed in the early 1900s, and the building was used as a dance hall called the “Collonade”. In the late 1920s the building was acquired by the congregation of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and remained in full use until 1985. From 1985 to 1987 there was little use for the structure, and the ravages of weather and time took their hard toll on the b