Memorial stone for early Vigo settler to be dedicated

Jun 5, 2016
Terre Huate Tribune-Star

Terre Haute Lodge 19 Free & Accepted Masons — with assistance of the Grand Lodge of Indiana of Free & Accepted Masons, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 972 and the Rev. Drew Downs of St. Stephens Episcopal Church — will dedicate a memorial stone to Lt. Col. Peter Buell Allen on Saturday.

The ceremony and reception will take place in the Terre Haute Masonic Temple at 224 N. Eighth St.

Allen was a commander in the War of 1812 and was taken as a prisoner of war at the Battle of Queenston Heights in present-day Ontario, Canada. After the war, he served as a representative in the New York State Assembly before, in 1817, selling all of his New York and Connecticut property to his brother, Nathaniel.

Allen came to Indiana on a flat boat with his family and belongings, via the Ohio and Wabash rivers, and landed in Terre Haute in June 1818. He and one son built their home from the timbers of the flatboat at the present-day grounds of Terre Haute North Vigo High School. Allen then purchased roughly 800 acres in Vigo County to include the original site of Rose Polytechnic Institute at what is now 13th and Locust streets, in addition to purchasing 120 acres with Maj. Abraham Markle, who owned Markle Mill.

On March 10, 1819, Allen and 12 other Freemasons and residents of the then-village of Terre Haute petitioned the newly formed Grand Lodge of Indiana for permission to establish a lodge of Freemasons in Terre Haute. Permission was granted on July 12, 1819, and Allen was named the first worshipful master, or presiding officer. In Terre Haute, Lt. Col. Allen (sometimes known as General Allen) became a well-respected member of the community and was the general contractor on the original Vigo County Courthouse.

Allen died on June 13, 1833, and is believed to have been buried in the village burial grounds known as Indiana Orchard Cemetery. When the Wabash and Erie Canal was being planned, the known remains at Indian Orchard were exhumed and re-interred at the newly developed Woodlawn Cemetery. There is no evidence of internment for Allen, or evidence of him being left at Indian Orchard. As a memorial to him, Terre Haute Lodge 19, F&AM, worked diligently to have the memorial marker erected.

Article courtesy of TribStar.com

Visit the Grand Lodge of Indiana Photo Gallery