KOSCIUSKO COUNTY —In January of 1966, the Kosciusko County Historical Society was formed. One hundred sixty-five persons attended the first meeting held at the courthouse. From that beginning fifty years ago, the society has grown to nearly 500 members and has become the caretaker of the Old County Jail (now a museum), the Chinworth Bridge (Greenway Trailhead), and the Pound Store in Oswego (oldest commercial building in county), but the society does not only preserve historical sites, they also are the caretakers of the official county records, and business, family and personal histories.

Warsaw was fortunate to have a young man, who in 1836, at age fifteen, settled here with his family. William Williams, or “Billy” as he was known, was one of the chain-carriers when the town plat of Warsaw was surveyed. Always wanting to help his fellow man he, along with other men, would go out to a claim that some poor family was trying to preempt and spend the day erecting for them a cabin in which to live.

He was known to everyone and was 24-years-old when he was admitted to the bar in 1845. He had no trouble being admitted to the bar, but made no strenuous effort to build up a practice. Special pleading always caused him trouble, but if he got the case to the jury, he seldom lost. A born orator, he possessed a voice of wonderful modulation and power. He possessed the faculty of carrying the jury with him.

Williams preferred real estate transactions to the dull technicalities of the law. He owned a dry goods store and won several contracts for swampland ditching in the early 1850s. In 1852, he was elected Treasurer of Kosciusko County, and before his term expired he was nominated to run for Lieutenant Governor of the State. He was defeated, although, he ran several thousand votes ahead of the candidate for Governor on the same ticket. After the election he opened and managed the Bank of Warsaw. He took a prominent part in securing the location of the Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad through Warsaw, and was a director of that railroad for a number of years.

In 1859, Williams was elected one of the Directors of the Prison at Michigan City, a position he held until the summer of 1862, when he was appointed Commandant of Camp Allen at Fort Wayne, with the authority to raise troops.  Within six weeks he had three regiments ready for the field. He was then appointed Paymaster of Volunteers headquartered in Louisville, Ky. He served in this capacity until the end of the Civil War.

Williams was elected to the Fortieth Congress of the United States in 1866. He was in Vermont making a speech when the vote to impeach President Johnson was taken, but wired back to the capitol that he favored impeachment. He served for three terms and in 1875 returned to Warsaw to engage in the practice of law. He started a horse-drawn street railroad system going east on Center Street to Bronson in order to develop an addition in that end of town. 

In 1881, under the Garfield Administration, Williams was appointed Charge d’ Affairs to Uruguay and Paraguay in South America. He and his wife made their home in Montevideo. On visits to his Warsaw home, he would bring many unusual items like: a monkey, an alligator, a parrot, a peacock and unusual clothing and hats.

In 1885, he returned to Warsaw and busied himself in real estate dealings. He put up new buildings, remodeled and repainted old ones. His real estate transfers were so frequent that it was difficult for the townspeople to keep up.  People said that at one time or another Billy Williams owned all of the land in Warsaw. 

Williams moved to Los Angeles in the late 1880s to deal in real estate and returned to Warsaw shortly before his death in 1896.

The Kosciusko County Historical Society is celebrating its 50th year in preserving county history. Help support the Society’s efforts by becoming a member.

Send name and address along with $25 for a family membership to KCHS, PO Box 1071, Warsaw, 46581. With your membership comes our quarterly publication, The Thaddeus Magazine, which contains fascinating stories of our county’s history.