JACKSON COUNTY, INDIANA
TOWNSHIP HISTORIES
Brownstown
Township
WILLIAM H. EWING laid EWING out May
14, 1857, with a view to securing the location of the depot. In 1886
approximately 500 people lived in Ewing. The town was located on the
Ohio and Mississippi Railway line, about one-mile west of Brownstown.
Before the completion of the railroad, C. L. WAYMAN built a house that
was used as a tavern. This was the first house built after the town was
laid out.
ELIZABETHTOWN was situated in the
northern part of the township between the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad
and the old Indian boundary line. The town was laid out by ASA CRANE on
November 12, 1836.
SHIELDS is a small town on the Ohio
and Mississippi Railroad, four miles above Ewing. L. L. and WILLIAM H.
SHIELDS laid out the town April 29, 1866.
NORTH BROWNSTOWN was laid out in the
northeast corner of Section 11, on the line of the Ohio and Mississippi
Railroad by SAMUEL P. MOONEY and ASA WOODMANSEE.
Carr
Township
SPARKSVILLE is situated in the
southwestern part of the township on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad.
The town was laid out by CHARLES J. ROSENBAUM, and platted June 18,
1857. The town consisted of 42 lots and was surveyed by THOMAS CARR.
WEDDLEVILLE was laid out August 15,
1855 by JOHN A. WEDDLE, CLAIBORNE WEDDLE and GABRIEL OSBORNE. The town
was located in Section 29, Township 5 north, Range 3 east. It consisted
of 72 lots.
VALLONIA is the oldest town in
Jackson County and was so named because it was located in a valley. It
is situated in Section 29, Township 5, Range 4 and laid out by JESSE B.
DURHAM, JUDGE JOHN MCAFEE and THOMAS EWING in 1810. A plat of the town
was not recorded until October 7, 1858 when it was surveyed by THOMAS
CARR and ANDREW J. MILLER. The town consisted of 24 lots. At the time
of the organization of Jackson County Vallonia was the largest and
about the only town in the county. While this was yet a part of
Washington County, court was held here and the county business
transacted. It took rank among the early towns of Indiana Territory,
and at the time the Territorial Legislature was adjourned to meet at
Jeffersonville, two of the five delegates composing that body vote for
the meeting to take place in Vallonia. Probably the first house built
in Vallonia was by JESSE B. DURHAM. He also built and opened the first
tavern. Soon after WILLIAM CRENSHAW built a house. After the county
seat was located at Brownstown, there was little business done at
Vallonia.
NEW ROTTERDAM was a small town that
is now extinct. New Rotterdam was laid out by JOHN RUNYERS on May 26,
1819 and located in the south part of the township on the Muscatatuck
River. The original plat contained 61 lots.
DRUCILLA was a small town that is now
extinct. It was situated in Section 24, Township 4, Range 3 and was
laid out by JOHN J. JUDY on September 27, 1833.
Grassy Fork Township
EUCHRETOWN is now extinct and was
located on the line dividing Grassy Fork and Brownstown Township. Its
most important industry was the manufacturing of beer and whisky by
JACOB KUEHN. A tanning business was also operated here by WILLIAM
DILLER, and a grist mill was operated by CONRAD PFENING. A German
Lutheran was built in 1858 and the ministers were WILLIAM SHERMAN and
MATHIAS MERTZ. A Presbyterian Church was organized in 1864 and had two
ministers, Rev. KOPEH and Rev. GEORGE ERNST.
TAMPICO origins began with a country
blacksmith shop by WILLIAM MCCONNELL and WILLIAM MORGAN about 1840. The
land where the town stood was once owned by BENJAMIN CARTER and JOSEPH
BOHALL. There were four churches in the town and surrounding area; Mt.
Pleasant, a Missionary Baptist, organized in 1829 by JAMES BLAIR,
CHARLES MORGAN, PETER MORGAN, JOSHUA KELLEY and KINCHEN KELLEY. The
pastor was SAMUEL MCCONNELL. Freedom Church was also a Missionary
Baptist church, organized 1838 by Rev. William YOUNG, MARY YOUNG, JOHN
YOUNG, JUDAH YOUNG, NANCY STURGEON, THOMAS RICHIE and NANCY RICHIE. The
Christian Church was organized about 1868. The Methodist Episcopal was
dedicated in June 1885.
SIDNEY began as a town about 1838
after the founding of Sage's Ferry in 1819 by JAMES SAGE. The first
storehouse was kept by WILLIAM EDWARDS. Not long after Mr. ENOCH
GIBBONS built a blacksmith shop. WILLIAM HOBSON ran a saw and grist
mill for many years.
Hamilton Township
COURTLAND is situated four miles east
of Seymour on the turnpike leading from Seymour to White Creek. It was
named in honor of the birthplace of Honorable CYRUS L. DUNHAM, who was
a member of Congress at the time the post office was established. The
first house ever built within what is now Courtland was by JACOB BROWN
in 1821. Next came JAMES WILSON, SAMUEL W. HOLMES and BENJAMIN F.
HOPEWELL. JACOB BROWN was the first postmaster and kept the first store.
Jackson Township
NEW FARMINGTON is located at the
junction of the old State Road leading from Brownstown to Madison, and
the one leading from Rockford to Sages' Ferry. The town was laid out
July 30, 1852 by WILLIAM O. LANCASTER, and consisted of 20 lots.
Owen Township
CLEAR SPRING was laid out by S. C.
TIENSCH on March 2, 1839 and is the only town in Owen Township. The
original plat contained 60 lots. Some of the first settlers were
TAZWELL VAWTER, WILLIAM HAMILTON, JOHN W. HOLMES. Among the physicians
who practiced here were DRS. PAYNE, A. M. THOMPSON, AMOS FROST, THOMAS
J. RICHARDS, JAMES C. WELLS, GEORGE W. MAY and HIRAM CUMMINGS.
Redding Township
ROCKFORD was platted and laid out
March 10, 1830 and is situated on the East side of the Driftwood Fork
of White River, a short distance below what is known as the Lower
Falls. JOHN FISHLI, a wealthy Frenchman, at an early period entered
large tracts of land in this part of Jackson County. He built a saw and
grist mill and established a ferry. Some of the earliest settlers were
JOHN J. KESTER, JAMES WHEELER and JACOB PETER. Under the stimulus of
the Jeffersonville and Indianapolis Road a new town was laid off by
JOHN KESTER east of the old town. The first train to come through
Rockford arrived in the summer of 1852.
REDDINGTON was laid out June 10, 1837
by JOHN PRATHER and consisted of 43 lots.
Salt Creek Township
HOUSTON was named in honor of LEONARD
HOUSTON. The town was called Upper Houston, laid out by DAVID BOWMAN in
1853 and Lower Houston, laid out by HIRAM NOE the same year.
FREETOWN or FREEPORT was platted
March 15, 1850 by JAMES IRELAND.
SPRAYTOWN is located in the northeast
portion of the township and was named in honor of a man named SPRAY,
who was the first to sell goods there.
Vernon Township
NEWRY was located on the Vernon
branch of the Muscatatuck River.
RETREAT is a station on the
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, about four miles
north of Crothersville. The town was platted and laid out by JOHN
GASAWAY and consisted of 29 lots.
UNIONTOWN was founded by GEORGE KING
and CORNELIUS CONWAY by whom it was laid out and platted March 1, 1859.
NEW JERSEY came about after ASA
CARTER built a saw and grist mill. Other settlers came afterward, W. M.
WILLIAMS, N. MORGAN, HENRY WILLIAMS, and ALEXANDER MCDONALD.
Washington Township
DUDLEYTOWN was named in honor of
JAMES DUDLEY, by whom it was laid out April 12, 1837. The plat
consisted of 17 lots and the first house was built by HENRY LEISTER.
Soon afterward other settlers came to the area, NATHAN NEWBY, WILLIAM
WEATHERS, HARDIN CARTER, PETER L. CARTER, HENRY OTTE and JESSE
ROBINSON. The first physician was Dr. JAMES DUDLEY.
LANGDON was on the line of
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, located near where
the railroad crosses the West Fork of the Muscatatuck River.
CHESTNUT RIDGE was on the line of
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, located near the
line dividing Jackson and Washington Townships.
Carr Township
Carr Township is located in the
southwestern part of Jackson County and is bounded on the east and
south by the East Fork of White River, on the west by Lawrence County,
and on the south by Owen Township. Hills and deep gulches landscape the
greater portion of the township. The township was named in honor of
THOMAS CARR, who at the time of its creation was a member of the board
of county commissioners. The first settlement was Leesville, now in
Lawrence County, which was at the time a part of Washington County, but
afterward included within the bounds of Jackson and remained a part of
this county for several years. The settlement was made by the FLINNS
and GUTHRIES, and the township was then known as FLINN. Flinn Township
at one time included a considerable portion of what afterward became
Carr Township. The first settlement made in what became Carr Township
was about 1810 or 1811 by DANIEL BEEM. JOHN CRAIG was elected sheriff.
STEPHEN SPARKS made a settlement at what is now SPARKSVILLE as early as
1812 and established a ferry on the principal line of travel between
the settlements of Washington and Lawrence counties.
SOURCE: The Hoosier Journal of
Ancestry, Jackson County, by Naomi Keith Sexton. 1988.
Contributed by Darlene Anderson