USA > Indiana > Indiana : in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc. : with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 7
USA > Indiana > Indiana: in relation to its geography, statistics, institutions, county topography, etc., with a "reference index" to Colton's maps of Indiana > Part 7
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PIKE county, organized 1816, contains 338 square miles, and is bounded north by Knox and Daviess, east by Du- bois, south by Warrick and Gibson, and west by Gibson. It lies immediately south of the east fork of White river,
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which forms its north limit. Patoka creek traverses it centrally, and there are other streams. The surface is level or gently undulating, and the soil a fine black loam, mixed with sand. The bottoms are extensive, and the whole was originally heavily wooded. No county pro- duces more to the acre than does this, and hence its sur- plus is large. There is a great abundance of good coal in this county. Water-power for milling is deficient, but both White river and Patoka may at times be navigated, and the canal, which will soon be completed, will foster the onward progress of every species of improvement and industry. Near Petersburgh there is an Indian mound, in times long past used as a place of sepulture by the aborigines, and still so used by the present generation. The county contains 1,261 dwellings and families, 7,720 inhabitants, 909 farms, and 2 productive establishments. PETERSBURGH, one mile south of White river, and four and a half miles below the junction of its forks, is the county seat.
PORTER county, organized 1836, contains 415 square miles, and is bounded north by Lake Michigan, east by La Porte and Starke, south by Jasper, and west by Lake With the exception of the lake shore hills, the surface of the country is gently undulating or level, with marshes on the Kankakee. The soil is good, and well adapted to wheat growing or grazing. About one fourth is tim- bered, with oak, walnut, poplar, pine, maple, butternut, and beech; one third barren, and the residue prairie or bottom lands. There are several small lakes in the county ; the northern streams are Calumic river, Coffee creek, and Salt creek, and there are several creeks in the interior. The Northern Indiana railroad traverses through the northern parts. In 1850 the county contained 885 dwellings and families, 5,234 inhabitants, 467 farms, and
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13 productive establishments. VALPARAISO is the county seat.
POSEY county, in the southwest corner of the state, or- ganized 1814, contains 420 square miles, and is bounded north by Gibson, east by Gibson and Vanderburg, south by the Ohio river, and west by Wabash river. Big Creek and Flat Creek are the principal interior streams. The surface is generally level or undulating, but some parts are hilly. There is little prairie or barrens. The bot- toms are extensive and well wooded. The soil is every- . where good; in some parts exceedingly fertile, and pro- duces a large surplus for export. A great number of mounds exist in different parts, and on the Wabash, twelve miles from its mouth, is the mound called " Bone Bank," in which many relics of a " former race" have been discovered ; and the " Causeway," above Mount Ver- non, an ancient fortification, is a remarkable construction, and indicative of a civilization which never existed in the present race of Indians. In 1850 this county contained 2,260 dwellings, 2,278 families, 12,549 inhabitants, 1,270 farms, and 26 productive establishments. MOUNT VER- NON, on the Ohio river, sixteen miles above the mouth of the Wabash, is the county seat. New Harmony, on the Wabash, fifty miles from its entrance, is remarkable for its history and social system.
PULASKI county, organized 1839, contains 342 square miles, and is bounded north by Starke, east by Fulton, south by Cass and White, and west by Jasper. The Tippecanoe runs through the county from north to south, and be- sides this there are several other streams. The surface is generally level, though there are sand ridges in some parts. About one half the county is prairie, and the other oak openings or barrens ; much of it is heavily timbered. The soil is a black loam, mixed with sand, and occasionally
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with marl. The bottoms of the Tippecanoe are exceed- ingly rich and productive. In 1850 the county contained 454 dwellings and families, 2,595 inhabitants, and 286 farms. WINAMAC, on the northwest bank of Tippecanoe river, is the county seat.
PUTNAM county, organized 1821, contains 486 square miles, and is bounded north by Montgomery, east by Hen- dricks and Morgan, south by Owen and Clay, and west by Clay and Parke. The Walnut fork of Eel river, Big Rac- coon creek, and Deer creek afford excellent mill sites, and there are many other smaller streams of pure water. The surface in the north and east is either level or undulating, and inclined to be wet; in the center and southwest it is more rolling, and, in the vicinity of the streams, generally hilly. The prevailing timber is beech, sugar, walnut, ash, oak, and poplar. The soil is a black loam, clayey and calcareous, well adapted for both grain and grass, and, perhaps, no body of land of like extent has so little waste. Limestone is the principal rock. Considerable produce, with timber, hogs, cattle, etc., is annually exported. In 1850 there were in the county 3,088 dwellings, 3,094 fami- lies, 18,615 inhabitants, 1,696 farms, and 42 productive establishments. GREENCASTLE, situated on a high table land, one mile east of Walnut fork, and the location of Ashbury University, is the county seat. The Terre Haute and Indianapolis railroad passes through this town, also the extension of the New Albany and Salem railroad.
RANDOLPH county, organized 1818, containing 440 square miles, and is bounded north by Jay, east by the Ohio state line, south by Wayne, and west by Henry and Delaware. The principal water courses are the west fork of White river and the Mississinewa river, with their tributaries, which furnish excellent mill privileges. The surface is generally level, and in localities wet and marshy, but it is
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about the highest land in the state, and the source of rivers running in all directions. There are no barrens, and but few prairies. Timber is plentiful. Near Winchester there is a regular earth-wall, inclosing about 20 acres, with a high mound in the center, and the appearance of a gate at the southwest corner. In 1850 there were in the county 2,513 dwellings, 2,539 families, 14,725 inhabitants. 1,477 farms, and 12 productive establishments. WIN- CHESTER, on the south side of White river, is the county seat. Indianapolis and Bellefontaine railroad passes through it.
RIPLEY county, organized 1818, contains 440 square miles, and is bounded north by Decatur and Franklin, east by Dearborn and Ohio, south by Switzerland and Jefferson, and west by Jennings. Laughery creek and Graham's creek are the principal streams. The county is level, and was originally timbered ; but on the streams it is hilly. The bottoms are small ; the uplands are gener- ally wet, being based on an impervious blue limestone ; but the soils, where drained, are very fertile. A consid- erable surplus of products, with hogs, cattle, etc., is ex- ported. In 1850 the county contained 2,667 dwellings, 2,689 families, 14,820 inhabitants, 1,495 farms, and 49 productive establishments. VERSAILLES, on a high bluff of Laughery river, is the county seat. The Lawrence- burg and Greensburg railroad passes through the north- ern part of the county, and the line of the projected rail- road, from Cincinnati to St. Louis, traverses it in a direc- tion east and west.
RUSH county, organized 1821, contains 414 square miles, and is bounded north by Hancock and Henry, east by Fayette and Franklin, south by Decatur, and west by Shelby and Hancock. Big and Little Blue, and Big and Little Flat Rock creeks, are the principal water-courses.
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The surface is level or moderately rolling. The land is finely timbered with poplar, walnut, oak, ash, and hick- ory, and the soils loam on clay, mixed with sand. Great improvements have been made in this county of late, and its surplus products have been largely exported. In 1850 Rush contained 2,824 dwellings, 2,839 families, 16,445 in- habitants, 1,809 farms, and 59 productive establishments. RUSHVILLE, on the northwest bank of Flat Rock, is the county seat, and is connected with Shelbyville, etc., by railroad.
ST. JOSEPH county, organized 1830, contains 468 square miles, and is bounded north by Michigan state line, east by Elkhart, south by Marshall and La Porte, and west by La Porte. St. Joseph river is the principal water-course, and is navigable to South Bend; and the upper course of the Kankakee drains the southwest portion-these, with numerous creeks, chiefly falling into the St. Joseph, supply abundant milling facilities. Except in the vicinity of the rivers, where the land is rolling, the surface of the country is almost level. The southeast portion is mostly forest-land, and the residue oak-openings with some small prairies. The soils are abundantly fertile, and agricul- ture is in a very flourishing condition. Wheat is the prin- cipal crop. At South Bend and Mishawaka several man- ufactures are carried on, and in these neighborhoods, as well as in other parts of the county, iron ore of a good quality abounds. Few counties have better facilities for transportation ; besides its navigable river, it has now passing through it the Northern railroad, which connects it with Chicago and the Valley of the Mississippi, and also with the whole system of roads to the eastward. In 1850 the county contained 1,885 dwellings and families, 9,654 inhabitants, 847 farms, and 45 productive estab-
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lishments. SOUTH BEND, on St. Joseph's river, is the county seat.
SCOTT county, organized 1817, contains 200 square miles, and is bounded north by Jackson and Jennings, east by Jefferson, south by Clarke, and west by Washing- ton. Its chief water-courses are the Muscatatuck on the north border, Stucker's fork, Kimberlin's creek, Pigeon, Rooster, and Ox's fork. In the east the surface is un- dulating or rolling; westward there are beech and oak flats, fit only for grass, and a small part of the west is hilly. The prevailing timbers are beech, oak, hickory, and gum. Good building materials are abundant, and in the vicinity of Lexington are numerous salt springs. The Jeffersonville and Columbus railroad passes north and south through the county. In 1850 Scott contained 1,040 dwell- ings, 1,047 families, 5,885 inhabitants, 719 farms, and 14 productive establishments. LEXINGTON is the county seat.
SHELBY county, organized 1821, contains 408 square miles, and is bounded north by Hancock, east by Rush and Decatur, south by Decatur and Bartholomew, and west by Johnson and Marion. Sugar creek, the east fork of White river, Big and Little Blue rivers, and Flat Rock creek, are its principal water-courses. The surface is level and well timbered, with ample river bottoms, which are backed by hills forty to fifty feet high. The soil is underlaid with clay, and requires considerable draining. Beech, oak, and hickory predominate in the uplands, while the prevailing timbers in the bottoms are walnut, ash, hackberry, etc. The farming interest is here pros- perous, and considerable exports are made. Railroads cross it in every direction. In 1850 the county contain- ed 2,721 dwellings, 2,764 families, 15,502 inhabitants, 1,620 farms, and 59 productive establishments. SHELBY-
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VILLE, on the southeast bank of Blue river, is the county seat.
SPENCER county, organized 1818, contains 408 square miles, and is bounded north by Dubois, east by Perry, south by the Ohio river, and west by Warrick. The water-courses are Anderson's creek on the east, and Lit- tle Pigeon creek on the west border, with Crooked, Big Sandy, and Little Sandy creeks, all which flow into the Ohio river. The surface on the northeast is hilly, other- wise it is level or undulating, and the soil is a black loam, very rich, and resting on a stratum of yellow clay mixed more or less with sand. Oak, hickory, ash, poplar, black gum, walnut, sugar, beech, etc., are the prevailing forest growths. The bottoms yield immense crops of corn, and in the interior, corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., thrive well. These and live stock are exported largely. Coal is abund- ant. In 1850 the county contained 1,485 dwellings, 1,488 families, 8,616 inhabitants, 988 farms, and 28 productive establishments. ROCKPORT, situated on a high bluff on the Ohio river, is the county seat. It derives its name from a hanging rock, known to boatmen as " Lady Wash- ington Rock."
STARK county, laid off 1837, contains 432 square miles, and is bounded north by La Porte, east by Marshall, south by Pulaski, and west by Jasper and Porter. It is situated mostly on the marshes of Kankakee river, which passes through it in a northeast and southwest direction, and but a small portion of the county is valuable except for grazing. In 1850 it contained 100 dwellings, 101 families, 557 inhabitants, and 53 farms. Knox is the county seat.
STEUBEN county, in the northeast corner of the state, organized 1837, contains 324 square miles, and is bounded north by the Michigan state line, east by that of Ohio, south by De Kalb, and west by La Grange. The princi
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pal streams are Pigeon river, and Crooked and Fish creeks ; and there are several small lakes within its limits. About one half the surface is timber-land, one sixth barrens or oak openings, and one tenth prairie; the first and last are excellent farming lands, but the barrens have a poorer soil. Its diversified woodlands, oak openings, and prairies, interspersed with small, clear lakes, present scenes of exquisite beauty. The principal product is wheat, a sur- plus of which is annually exported. In 1850 Steuben contained 1,109 dwellings and families, 6,104 inhabitants, 586 farms, and 28 productive establishments. ANGOLA, twelve miles from the northeast corner of the state, is the county seat.
SULLIVAN county, organized 1816, contains 430 square miles, and is bounded north by Vigo, east by Clay and Greene, south by Knox, and west by Wabash river. Its interior water-courses are Turman's creek, Turtle creek, and Busseron creek, on which numerous mills are located. The surface is generally level, and heavily timbered with oak, walnut, poplar, ash, pecan, beech, and sugar. The bottoms and prairies occupy a comparatively small extent. Every part is sufficiently fertile, and many sections are very productive. Its exports consist chiefly of corn, with hogs and some cattle. Coal is found in abundance, and, altogether, Sullivan is one of the richest and best situated counties in the state. In 1850, it contained 1,675 dwell- ings, 1,678 families, 10,141 inhabitants, 1,215 farms, and 31 productive establishments. SULLIVAN is the county seat; Carlisle, however, is the largest and most import- ant town.
SWITZERLAND county, organized 1814, contains 216 square miles, and is bounded north by Ripley and Ohio, east and south by the Ohio river, and west by Jefferson. Log, Lick, Indian, Plum, Brian's, and Grant's creeks,
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flowing into the Ohio river, drain the county. Large and fine bottoms line the margins of the Ohio ; the hills back from these rise to the height of 400 or 500 feet, and further back a high table-land is reached. The soil is every- where good, and there are some of the best farms in the state within this county. Large quantities of produce are shipped off annually, chiefly to the south. Mills are nu- merous, and many worked by steam. In 1850 Switzerland contained 2,254 dwellings and families, 12,932 inhabitants, 1,270 farms, and 79 productive establishments. VEVAY, on the Ohio, is the county seat. This county takes its name from the fact of its having been colonized by a body of Swiss emigrants, from Vevay, under the guidance of J. J. Dufour, who settled here for the purpose of planting the vine, in 1813. The descendants of the original colo- nists still form the bulk of the population.
TIPPECANOE county, organized 1826, contains 504 square miles, and is bounded north by White and Carroll, east by Carroll and Clinton, south by Montgomery, and west by Fountain, Warren, and Benton. The water-courses are the Wabash river, which traverses the county from north- east to southwest, the Tippecanoe river, which enters the Wabash in the northeast corner of the county, and a num- ber of smaller streams, as the Wild Cat, the Wea, Bur- nett's creek, etc. These streams furnish excellent mill sites, and the Wabash is navigable. The surface is gently undulating, or spread out into extensive level tracts. Along the Wabash the country is hilly. One half the county is prairie, one tenth bottoms, and the residue well timbered up- land. The soil is generally a rich black loam, two to four feet deep, on a stratum of clay, but on some of the prairies it is light and sandy. Agriculture is in a flourishing con- dition, and it is estimated that the surplus produce ex- ported is annually worth nearly $1,000,000. Flour, wheat,
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hemp, the produce of the hog, etc., are the great staples. In many parts manufactures are springing up. The inter- ests of the county have been greatly enhanced by vast internal improvements. The Wabash and Erie canal tra- verses it, and there are railroads constructed from Lafay- ette to Indianapolis, and also to Crawfordsville. In 1850 the county contained 3,227 dwellings and families, 19,377 inhabitants, 1,377 farms, and 204 productive establish- ments. LAFAYETTE, on the south side of the Wabash river, and on the Wabash and Erie canal, also the termi- nus of railroads to Indianapolis and Crawfordsville, is the county seat. It is one of the most important of our west- ern cities. The " Battle of Tippecanoe," so famous in In- dian history, was fought in this county.
TIPTON county, organized 1844, contains 264 square miles, and is bounded north by Howard, east by Grant and Madison, south by Hamilton, and west by Clinton. The surface is chiefly level, and well timbered, and the soil suitable for every kind of crops. The water-courses are Cicero creek and Duck creek, which run south into White river and Wild Cat creek, a tributary of the Wabash. These drain the whole county, but, on account of its flat- ness, are inadequate as mill streams. The improvements in this county are the Wabash and Erie canal and the Indiana- polis and Peru railroad, which will contribute largely to its settlement and prosperity. Until the period of its or- ganization, it constituted a portion of the " Miami Re- serve," and hence was a wilderness. In 1850 it contained 627 dwellings and families, 3,532 inhabitants, 339 farms, and 1 productive establishment. TIPTON, formerly called Canton, situated on a branch of Cicero creek and on the railroad from Indianapolis to Peru, is the county seat.
UNION county, organized 1821, contains 168 square miles, and is bounded north by Wayne, east by the Ohio state
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line, south by Franklin, and west by Fayette. In the east the surface is level ; in the west undulating or hilly. Seven eighths of the county are timbered upland, on which beech, sugar, poplar, oak, walnut, ash and hickory are the growths ; the residue is bottoms. The principal streams are the east fork of White Water river, and the creeks Hannah, Rock- land, and Silver ; all which afford valuable mill sites. The soil is uniformly good, and the farming interest in a pros- perous condition. Union county will be crossed by rail- roads coming from Ohio, and from its proximity to Cincin- nati will feel the importance of such a connection to its material prosperity. It is already, however, a flourishing county, either in reference to agriculture, manufactures, or commerce, and, with due exertion on the part of the inhabitants, may become one of the wealthiest in the state. In 1850 it contained 1,220 dwellings, 1,229 families, 6,944 inhabitants, 606 farms, and 35 productive establishments LIBERTY is the county seat.
VANDERBURG county, organized 1818, contains 240 square miles, and is bounded north by Gibson, east by Warrick, south by the Ohio river, and west by Posey. The principal water-courses are Big Pigeon creek, Blue Grass creek, Little Creek, and Locust creek; all running to the Ohio river. The succession of bottoms, hills, and table- land, characteristic of the other counties on the Ohio, is here maintained. The bottoms occupy about one fifth of the whole surface, are very rich, and produce immense quantities of corn for export. The land beyond the hills is undulating or rolling, and, if not as rich as the bottoms, produces abundantly. The total value of the exports for the county is estimated at nearly $1,000,000 annually. Coal and iron are abundant. In 1850 there were in the county 2,059 dwellings, 2,104 families, 11,414 inhabitants, 743 farms, and 76 productive establishments. EVANSVILLE,
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on the Ohio, is the county seat. It is an important city, being the south terminus of the Wabash and Erie canal, which will afford an interior navigation of 459 miles. Its trade is already very large, but this will be immensely increased when the canal is completed in 1853.
VERMILION county, organized 1823, contains 280 square miles, and is bounded north by Warren, east by Wabash river, which separates it from Parke and Fountain, south by Vigo, and west by the Illinois state line. It is watered by numerous streams falling into the river on the eastern border. The surface is high and level, with some river bluffs, and two thirds of the whole is covered with fine timber. The soils are excellent, and the produce of the land sufficient to afford a large export. Coal is abundant, and extensive beds of iron ore are found on Brouillet's creek, near which the "Indiana Furnace" has been estab- lished. In 1850 the county contained 1,509 dwellings, 1,522 families, 8,661 inhabitants, 733 farms, and 46 pro- ductive establishments. NEWPORT, on the south bank of Little Vermilion creek, two miles from its mouth, is the county seat.
VIGO county, organized 1818, contains 408 square miles, and is bounded north by Vermilion and Parke, east by Clay, south by Sullivan, and west by the Illinois state line and Wabash river, into which latter all the water-courses from the interior drain themselves. The surface is level and gently undulating, finely timbered generally, but with some prairies of small extent. With little excep- tion, the soil is rich, and produces fine crops. Hogs, cat- tle, and grain are the staples. Coal is abundant ; also, freestone and limestone, and it possesses great facilities in respect of communication. It is traversed by the Wa- bash and Erie canal, and the East and West railroad will cross through it, as does now the Great National road.
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Vigo, with these improvements, will soon become one of the most flourishing counties of the state, and an important point on an important commercial highway. In 1850 the county contained 2,645 dwellings, 2,725 families, 15,289 inhabitants, 1,113 farms, and 130 productive establish- ments. TERRE HAUTE, situated on a high bank of the Wabash, is the county seat. It is much engaged in the hog trade, and has otherwise a large commerce.
WABASH county, organized 1832, contains 420 square miles, and is bounded north by Kosciusko, east by Whit- ley and Huntington, south by Grant and Miami, and west by Miami. The Wabash and Eel rivers, with their nu- merous tributaries, flow through and drain this county, and afford to its inhabitants great milling facilities. No- where hilly, the great portion of this county is rolling or undulating, but at the heads of the streams there is con- siderable level country, and the bottom lands, also level, are somewhat extensive. The greater part of the county was originally heavily wooded, and the soil is everywhere rich and productive. Hogs and corn are the great staples, the exports of which are increasing in amount year by year ; and since the opening of the Wabash and Erie canal, the prosperity of the county has ever been onward. In 1850 it contained 2,079 dwellings, 2,121 families, 12,138 inhabitants, 1,068 farms, and 57 productive establish- ments. WABASH, on the north bank of the river of the same name, is the county seat.
WARREN county, organized 1828, contains 360 square miles, and is bounded north by Benton, east and south- east by Tippecanoe and Fountain, south by Vermilion, and west by the state line of Illinois. Several good mill streams, as Pine creek, Rock creek, Redwood creek, etc., from the interior, fall into the Wabash. Except on the Wabash, on which bluffs bound an extensive bottom-land,
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the surface is gently undulating, ascending gradually toward the west. At least half the county is prairie, and the residue woodland, the forest being much the heaviest near the river. The soil is generally good, some of it exceedingly fertile, and producing abundantly all the growths of the climate. The surplus produce, con- sisting of grain and live stock, is exported via the Wabash and Erie canal, which passes through the county. Man- ufactures of several descriptions have lately sprung up, and prosperity seems to be attending every department of industry ; indeed, Warren may now be considered one of the most prosperous counties of the state. In 1850 it contained 1,273 dwellings, 1,295 families, 7,387 inhabit- ants, 782 farms, and 18 productive establishments. WIL- LIAMSPORT, on the west bank of the Wabash river, is the county seat. Much important business is transacted at this point.
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