Boone County is
divided into 12 Civil Townships as follows:
Center,
Clinton,
Eagle, Personal
Rememberance of Zionsville
Harrison,
Jackson,
Jefferson,
Marion, History
Of Marion Township
Perry,
Sugar Creek,
Union,
Washington
Worth.
Boone County was organized April
1, 1830, at that time the population was about 622 people by 1880 the
county had grown to about 31,778.
Lebanon wasn't always the County Seat. The first courts were held in
Jamestown, which remained the seat of justice until the removal to
Lebanon. The first Courthouse was completed in 1833, it is said that
the formal transfer of the County Seat occurred that year. Lebanon was
laid out in 1832 and the first settler was A. H. Longley. By 1849 it
contained eighty dwelling houses, four of brick and 76 frame, with a
population of 500. Jamestown, by 1849, contained about thirty houses
and had a population of 150. The present Courthouse, which was
completed and dedicated July 4, 1912, is build of Bedford limestone.
Up until 1828, Miami Indians occupied the northwest corner of the
county by stipulation from the government. The Indians lived, hunted,
and traded for many years until they were
run out of the area in 1834. The
Indians covered Sugarcreek Township, two-thirds of Washington, half of
Jefferson and five sections of Center Township, in all about 52,000
acres.
Dating back to the early 1820's
there was unbroken wilderness, no roads or mills, deep-tangled brush
and vines, with a good portion of the area covered with water.
Some of the first pioneers came to
Boone County in 1823 or 1824. They came principally from Kentucky,
North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
There were many settlers that
arrived in the area around the same time. Some of the first to arrive
were Patrick H. Sullivan, Jacob and John Sheets, David Hoover, A.H.
Longly, Benj Dunn, Austin Davenport, and the Harmons just to name a
few. Cornelius Westfall, David McCoy, Francis Howard, A. H. Phillips,
James Williams, Lewis Dewees, Joshua Foster, John Horrell, Andrew
Houston, Martin Lewis, James Blue, Jacob Sheets, E. P. Shannon,
Frederick Lowe and John Long were the first group of men to comprise of
the Grand Jury.
The county at one
time was low and level. Although it was low and level, it was no less
the dividing summit of White River and the Wabash. The water flowed in
almost every direction in Boone County, and it was said the highest
point between lakes and the Ohio River were between Lebanon and
Whitestown. Boone County was named in honor of Daniel Boone. It was
organized in 1830, with only 622 citizens in the county. The principal
streams in the county are Sugar Creek, Eel River, Big and Little Eagle
Creeks, and Prairie Creek just to name a few. The streams at one time
or another afforded propelling power for the mills and machinery.