Where you can find information for Blackford County Indiana

    Blackford county was named in honor of Judge Blackford, one of the pioneer judges of Indiana. The surface of this county differs but slightly from that of Adams. It is quite level, and in some places gently undulating. The soil is good and well adapted to the cultivation of wheat, rye, corn, oats, potatoes, etc. The exports consist of wheat, cattle, homes, and, hogs.
    The soil is well watered by the Salamonie and Lick creeks, the former a splendid manufacturing stream. With the exception of the wet prairies, the surface was principally all upland, heavily timbered with oak, ash, beech, poplar, sugar tree, walnut, hickory, cherry, etc. The lint settlement in the county was made in 1835, by Mr. John Blount. In 1887, a colony of emigrants from Vermont settled in the county, and laid off the town of Montpelier, named in honor of the capital of their native State.
  Miami and Delaware Indians occupied the land that is now Blackford County until they were pushed west by white settlement. Among the first settlers was Benjamin Reasoner, who came in 1831. The first birth recorded was Mary Reasoner, third child of Peter and Rhoda Fry Reasoner. Blackford County was created by an act of the Indiana Legislature on Feb. 15, 1838, although local government operations didn't begin until May of 1839. The new county of roughly 13 square miles had previously been a part of Jay County. Blackford County was named for Judge Isaac Blackford, one of Indiana's pioneer judges. Eli Riggon, Jacob Shroyer and Josephus Streeter were the first commissioners, and Nicholas Friend was appointed the first sheriff. The first meeting of the commissioners was held in the log cabin of Andrew Boggs, and the first ballot box was his coffee pot. The governor named David Kilgore the first judge, and the first court was held in the Boggs cabin on Sept. 23, 1839. After some controversy and a civil suit, Hartford (later Hartford City) was established as the county seat. In late 1841, the commissioners contracted for construction of the first courthouse, which was used until 1893, when it was replaced by the present one. The first doctor, Nelson Clouser, came in 1842. The first newspaper, The Hartford City Times, was printed in 1852 by Dr. John E. Moler. The county was caught up in the explosive growth of the gas boom in the late 19th century, which drew swarms of drillers to the area after natural gas was discovered in 1885. In 1886, drillers near Trenton in southeastern Blackford County hit one of the peak producing wells along the underground Trenton Dome, which produced strikes from Gas City to Portland and Montpelier to Redkey.
The 30-year rough-and-tumble boom era brought rapid industrialization as companies moved close to the cheap and abundant fuel supply, but the gas ran out and the county has not seen such dramatic change since.
Hartford City is the county seat of Blackford county, and is one of the most enterprising towns of northeastern Indiana. It has ample railroad facilities, bringing it in direct communication with Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Toledo, and all the great commercial centers of the northwest This place affords a splendid opportunity for the investment of capital and skilled labor. Generally speaking, The county has made good progress in agricultural pursuits, in commerce, and education. The schools are excellent. Land is cheap and productive, and there are many inducements for new settlers to locate in Blackford county.
    Montpelier, another incorporated town in this county, is, if possible, still more enterprising than Hartford City. While second to the latter in population, it is fully up in commercial Industry, and is destined to be the leading commercial and manufacturing mart of the county.
    Blackford County is divided into 4 Civil Townships as follows: Harrison, Jackson, Licking and Washington.
Blackford County was organized February 18, 1839. Hartford City almost wasn't the County Seat.
For several years, the rival towns of Hartford and Montpelier were competitors for the County Seat. It took two separate acts of Legislature before the organization of the county became effective, and it was not until after the fourth set of commissioners were appointed, February 24, 1840, that the County Seat was finally located at Hartford, the site probably selected by the second set of commissioners.
    Hartford was founded in 1839 and by 1849 had a brick Courthouse along with forty other homes, five of which were also brick. Its name was changed to Hartford City at the suggestion of F. L. Shelton.

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