USA > Indiana > The Indiana gazetteer : or, topographical dictionary of the state of Indiana, 1850 > Part 13
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the Messrs. Davis, two stores, two tanneries, two taverns, with the usual shops of mechanics, and the Methodists and Baptists have neat and commodious churches.
BENTON, a township in Elkhart county, embracing the above.
BENTON, a township in Monroe county, with a popula- tion of 600.
BENTONVILLE, a small town in Fayette county, ten miles north-west of Connersville.
BENTON COUNTY, named after the celebrated T. H. Benton, was organized in 1840; it lies on the Illinois State line, and is twenty miles from east to west, and eighteen from north to south. It contains 360 square miles, and is bounded north by Jasper county, east by White and Tippecanoe, south by Warren, and west by the State of Illinois. The population in 1840 was 150, in 1844, 300, and at this time, 800. The county, for civil purposes, is divided into three townships, Pine, Oak Grove, and Parish Grove. One-fifth of the county only is estimated to be timber, one-fifth barrens, and three- fifths prairie. The prairies are mostly dry, gently undu- lating, and very rich. The timber is mostly oak, walnut, ash, sugar tree, hackberry, pawpaw, &c. Big Pine, a good mill stream, rises in the east part of the county, Little Pine and Sugar creek in the west. The two for- mer unite and empty into the Wabash near Williams- port; the latter runs west into Illinois. Benton county offers great advantages to the farmer, by its facilities for raising stock, and also for wheat, corn, oats, &c., to which it is well adapted. There are four schools, one store, one Universalist and two Methodist Churches, two Physicians, three Preachers, and no Lawyer in the county. It is estimated that 4,000 head of cattle, 200 horses, 2,000 hogs, 50,000 bushels of corn, 10,000 bushels of oats, and 10,000 bushels of wheat are annually ex- ported, of the value of $50,000. There is a noted mound in the north part of the county, usually called Mount Nebo. 30,500 acres of land are taxable, and about 100,000 acres still belong to the United States.
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BEN DAVIS, a small mill stream in Rush county, a tri- butary of Flatrock.
BENNINGTON, a small town in Pleasant township, Swit- zerland county.
BETHEL, a small village in Marion county, on the Michigan road, nine miles south-east of Indianapolis. It contains about twenty-five houses.
BETHIEL, a north-western township in Posey county.
BETHEL, a small town in Wayne county, recently laid out.
BETHLEHEM, a township in Cass county, north of the Wabash river, with a population of 600.
BETHLEHEM, a township in the upper end of Clark county, on the Ohio river, with a population of 1,000.
BETHLEHEM, a small town on the Ohio river, eighteen miles below Madison and thirty-two above Louisville, with a population of 200.
BETHLEHEM, a small village inhabited mostly by FRIENDS, in the south-west corner of Hamilton county.
BIG CREEK, a mill stream, thirty miles in length, rises in Ripley county, runs south west through Jefferson, and empties into Graham Fork, near the south line of Jen- nings county.
BIG CREEK, a mill stream, forty miles in length, rises in Vanderburgh county and runs south-west through Po- sey, and empties into the Wabash.
BIG BLUE, see Blue river.
BIG CEDAR GROVE, a mill stream in Franklin county, rising near Springfield, empties into White water on the east side, six miles below Brookville.
BIGGER, a south-eastern township in Jennings county, with a population of 450.
BIG INDIAN, a large mill stream about fifty miles in length, rises near the east line of Floyd county, and runs south-west by Corydon, into the Ohio river, at Amster- dam.
BIG PINE, see Pine Creek.
BIG RACCOON, an excellent mill stream, seventy-five miles in length, rises in the south-west corner of Boone
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county, runs south-west through Montgomery, Putnam and Parke, and empties into the Wabash two miles below Montezuma. The land along the whole course of this creek is not surpassed in fertility by any part of the State. The manufacturing privileges are very valuable and are now mostly well improved, and this part of the State is now very flourishing.
BIG SANDY, a small stream in Spencer county, empty- ing into the Ohio eight miles above Rockport.
BIG VERMILLION, see Vermillion.
BILLINGSVILLE, a small town in the south part of Union county, ten miles west of Oxford, five east of Dunlaps- ville, and six south of Liberty.
BLACK CREEK, a small stream in Noble county, that runs south-east into De Kalb, and empties into Cedar creek.
BLACK, an interior township in Posey county.
BLACKFORD COUNTY, named in honor of Judge Black- ford, was organized in 1837. It is bounded north by Wells, east by Jay, south by Delaware, and west by Grant counties, and contains 169 square miles. It is di- vided into four civil townships; Harrison in the north- east, Jackson in the south-east, Washington in the north- west and Licking in the south-west. The population of the county is about 2,000. There are five stores in the county, one grocery, one warehouse, three lawyers, four physicians, seven preachers, five blacksmiths, three gun- smiths, three wheelwrights, seven shoemakers, three tai- lors and one hatter ; two grist mills and five saw mills.
The face of the country is mostly level, but in some places gently undulating. The soil is best adapted to the cultivation of wheat, rye, corn, oats, potatoes, &c., and the exports consist of wheat and pork, taken to the Wabash and Erie Canal, and cattle, horses and hogs driven to other markets. The principal streams in the county are the Salamonie and Lick creek, the former a first rate mill stream. Except a few wet prairies, the country was all originally heavily timbered with oak, beech, ash, poplar, sugar tree, walnut, hickory, cherry,
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&c., and the soil, without any exception, is rich. The pub- lic buildings in the county are a well finished brick Court House, and Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches, and Licking and Harrison townships have each five schools.
The first settlement in the county was made by John Blount, in 1835. In the winter of 1836, Abel Baldwin, of Vermont, explored the forests and entered land for a company of emigrants from that State, and in the au- tumn following they removed to the Salamonie, and soon after laid off the town of Montpelier, which was named after the capital of their native State. Hartford was laid off in 1839, and for several years the rival towns were competitors for the county seat; but Hartford suc- ceeded ultimately. In March, 1842, a hurricane passed through the south part of the county, destroying much timber, and leaving marks of desolation for many miles.
There are 96,945 acres of taxable land in the county. In the eastern part is the Godfrey Reserve, where this war chief of the Miamies long resided, and where some of the dwellings of the red men are yet standing. God- frey was a noble looking, kind-hearted man, much be- loved both by Indians and whites.
BLOOMFIELD, the County Seat of Green county, is sit- ated on high ground, one mile east of White river, eighty miles south-west of Indianapolis. It contains a Court House, and a population of about 200.
BLOOMFIELD, a central township in Lagrange county, with a population of 800.
BLOOMING GROVE, a small town in Franklin county, eight miles north-west of Brookville, with a population of 150.
BLOOMING GROVE, a northern township in Franklin county.
BLOOMINGSPORT, a small town in Randolph county, twelve miles south of Winchester.
BLOOMINGTON, a central township in Monroe county, with a population of 6,200.
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STATE UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON.
BLOOMINGTON, the Seat of Justice of Monroe county, is beautifully situated on the ridge from which the waters run into the East and West Forks of White river, twen- ty-four miles from the former and fourteen from the lat- ter, at the head of Clear creek, which runs south, and near the waters of Bean Blossom which runs north. The situation is commanding, healthy; and a fertile, undulat- ing country around presents ever changing and most de- lightful scenery. Bloomington has 350 houses, of which about half are brick, and a population of 1,643. There are in the town thirteen stores, one grocery, two drug stores, three excellent taverns, nine lawyers, ten physi- cians, and the Methodists, Baptists, Christians, Presbyte- rians, Reformed Presbyterians, Seceders, Covenanters and Lutherans have each their house of worship and preacher.
The location of the State University at Bloomington, and the continued prosperity of that Institution, has con-
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tributed very much to the growth and prosperity of the town and the improvement of the country; and opening of new avenues to the place will add still more to its importance. The students in the College are sometimes near 200, and there is also a well conducted Female Academy in town, at which there are usually between seventy and eighty scholars in attendance. Contrary to all previous expectation, it has been ascertained that though a hilly country, a very cheap Railroad, varying but little from a straight line, can be made from Bloom- ington east to Columbus, there to intersect with the Madison and Indianapolis Road; and the Railroad which was first attempted only from New Albany to Salem, is now being extended to Bedford, and will, at no distant day, reach Bloomington from the south. There are three printing offices in the town, one of which publishes the Herald, another the Christian Record, the other prin- cipally job work. The large foundry of Seward & Sons, and the spinning, weaving and fulling establishment of Heaps & Jones, do quite an extensive business. Bloom- ington is fifty-one miles from Indianapolis, twenty-one from Martinsville, twenty-four from Bedford, forty from Columbus, sixty from Terre Haute and eighty from Lou- isville. It was first settled in 1819. Among the earliest settlers were Daniel and Jonathan Rogers, George H. Johnston and Joshua Lucas.
BLUFFTON, the Seat of Justice of Wells county, is sit- uated on the Wabash river, near the centre of the county, twenty-five miles south of Fort Wayne and 101 north-east of Indianapolis. It contains a good Court House, Jail and public offices ; Churches for the United Brethren, Presby- terians, Methodists and Christians, and a population of 500. It was first settled in 1838.
BLUE CREEK, a small tributary of the St. Mary's, south-west side, in Adams county.
BLUE CREEK, a township on east side of Adams county.
BLUE RIVER, the main stream or principal branch of . Driftwood or East Fork of White River, and it is usually
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called by the latter name after it unites with Sugar creek in the lower end of Johnson county. It rises in the north- east part of Henry county and runs south-west through the counties of Henry, Rush, Hancock, Shelby and John- son, about eighty miles, for sixty of which there is at least one or more good water privileges for every mile. The stream is unfailing, and for all that distance is usu- ally from thirty to sixty yards in width. The country along the whole route is very fertile and beginning to be well improved, and this part of the State is now at- tracting much attention, both from farmers and manu- facturers.
BLUE RIVER, an excellent mill stream, rises in Wash- ington county, and winding in a south-western direction, forms the dividing line between Harrison and Crawford for fifteen miles, then runs south-east into Harrison ten miles, then south-west and again becomes the dividing line between the counties for ten miles, and empties into the Ohio river two miles above Leavenworth. Its whole length is about 75 miles. There are now many valuable mills erected on it, and still more may be.
BLUE RIVER, a branch of Eel river, thirty miles in length, rises in Noble county, then runs south-west into Whitley, passes through Blue River Lake and empties into Eel river, two miles below Columbia. It is a lasting stream.
BLUE BABY CREEK, a branch of the last named river, in Whitley county.
BLUE RIVER, a south-eastern township in Hancock county, with a population of 850.
BLUE RIVER, a western township in Harrison county, with a population of 1,500.
BLUE RIVER, a south-eastern and very fertile township in Johnson county.
BLUE GRASS RUN, a small stream in Noble county.
BOGARD, a northern township in Daviess county, with a population of 675.
BOGGS CREEK, a small stream in Martin county, emptying into the East Fork of White river, west side.
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BoNo, a small town in Lawrence county, on a high bluff, on the south side of White river. It is fifteen miles south-east of Bedford, and has a population of 200.
BoNo, a south-eastern township of Lawrence county, with a population of 1,110.
BOONE COUNTY is bounded north by Clinton, east by Hamilton, south by Marion and Hendricks, and west by Montgomery. It is twenty-four miles long from east to west, and seventeen miles wide, and contains 40S square miles. The south-eastern, western and north-western portions are agreeably undulating; the interior generally level. The county was organized in 1830, and was named after the celebrated Daniel Boone, whose love of forest life, enterprise and disinterestedness were proto- types of much that is still admirable in western manners. The population of the county was 622 in 1830, 8,121 in 1840, and at this time at least 14,000. It is divided into eleven civil townships, Marion, Clinton, Washington, Sugar Creek, Jefferson, Centre, Union, Eagle, Perry, Harrison and Jackson.
The soil in most parts of the county is a black loam,. usually several feet in depth, on a stratum of clay, and in some places of sand or coarse gravel. It is very fer- tile and well adapted for the production of wheat, corn, oats, grass, and all kinds of vegetables. There is no part of the State where the timber is heavier or of a better quality. It is not uncommon to see, on a single acre, 100 oak trees averaging four feet in diameter, and from 80 to 120 feet in height. The other forest trees which are most common, are ash, walnut, poplar, beech, sugar tree, lynn, &c. The only prairies are Smith's, Hagan's and Eel, which are small and wet, except a portion of Ha- gan's, which is dry and agreeably undulating. They may all be drained with a little ditching, and made dry enough for tillage.
The principal kinds of surplus produce are wheat, corn, beef, pork, honey, &c., and cattle, hogs, horses and mules are driven to market. The annual value of the exports is estimated at $150,000, which consist of 100,000
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bushels of wheat, 5,000 of corn, 10,000 hogs, 2,000 cat- tle, 200 horses and 150 mules. There are in the county twenty-one stores, one licensed grocery, eight lawyers, twenty physicians, six Ministers of the Gospel, eighteen churches of various denominations, about twenty taverns, sixteen saddle and harness makers, twenty shoe-makers, thirty carpenters, sixteen cabinet makers, ten coopers, five wagon makers, twenty-five blacksmiths, eight tan- ners and curriers, five brick layers, two tinneis, one pot- ter and six tailors; eight grist mills, ten saw mills, one woollen factory, propelled by water, and one steam saw mill. All building materials, except rock, are abundant and of an excellent quality. 1
Boone county is situated on the ridge or what were formerly called the dividing swamps between White river and the Wabash. It is the source of Eagle creek, White Lick and Walnut Fork of Eel river which empty into the former, and Big Raccoon and Sugar creek which empty into the latter. All these streams are quite large and important near their mouths; but they are very slug- gish near their sources, and are there not well adapted to move machinery, though the former and the latter have some very good water privileges, yet still far from suffi- cient for public use, especially in dry seasons.
The heavy timber, level surface and porous soil of Boone county were not very attractive to the agricultu- rist at the first settlement, and accordingly the pursuit of game and the collection of skins, furs and wild honey, were reckoned far more important than any kind of farming. The only real necessaries for a family were then thought to be two rifles, powder and lead, a barrel of salt, a camp kettle and a couple of dogs. Deer, tur- keys, bears and wolves were abundant, and the latter often came into the very door yards of the settler and took away his pigs and poultry. The only currency was the skins of deer, raccoons, minks and wild honey, and even as late as 1841, the trade in these articles was over $5,000 a year. It. is said that in these early times a tra-
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veller from Cincinnati, in company with a resident of the county, fell in with a man whose horse was so covered and loaded with skins of " varments," as almost to hide both horse and rider, and the only information he could get was that this was the Collector of the county, re- turning to the county seat with his "funds," from one of the townships. At any rate, the story found its way into the newspapers, and those who gave full credit to the statement must have supposed the Collector of Boone had an odd set of customers to collect his "poll taxes" from. The coon skins, it was said, were for State, the deer for county revenue, and the mink for change. About the same time it was said that one of the Judges, who, for want of other accommodations, had taken his luncheon to Court, was supposed at a distance to be reading a newspaper, when, on nearer approach, it was ascertained that he was only eating a large buckwheat pancake.
There are few if any counties in the State where greater alterations have taken place within the last ten years; for many of the swamps have disappeared and first rate farms may now be found in every neighbor- hood. The opening of the Wabash and Erie Canal, and the proposed continuation of the Madison and Indianap- olis Railroad to Lafayette, which is now in progress, are giving life and energy to the industry and enterprise of the citizens.
This county was once the abode and hunting ground of the Eel river tribe of the Miami Indians; here were their wigwams, their fields, and the graves of their fathers and their brave warriors. In 1819, Thorntown had a population of 400 Indians and a few French trad- ers, and the large reserve at this place was not finally purchased until 1828, nor did they remove entirely until about 1835. Nearly all traces of this Indian population are now obliterated, and except the marks on the trees in their sugar camps, nothing they have done remains to bear witness of their ever having existed.
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The whole number of acres of taxable land in the county is 255,000, and there are no longer any lands of the United States or Indian reservations here.
BOONE, a township in Cass county, north of the Wa- bash river, with a population of 600 ..
BOONE, a southern township in Harrison county, popu- lation 1,600.
BOONE, a north-west township in Madison county.
BOONE, a southern township in Porter county, with a population of 525.
BOONE, a central township in Warrick county.
BOONEVILLE, the Seat of Justice of Warrick county, is situated on elevated table land, near the centre of the county, eleven miles from Newburgh, on the Ohio river, eighteen miles from Evansville, and 170 south-west of Indianapolis. It contains seven stores and a population of 300. It was settled in 1817, and was named after the Hon. Ratliff Boone, formerly a citizen of the place.
BOSTON, a small village in Wayne county, containing a population of 150.
BOURBON, a township in Marshall county, with a popu- lation of 260.
BOWLING GREEN, the Seat of Justice of Clay county, situated on the east side of Eel river, sixty miles south- west from Indianapolis, twenty-four miles south-east from Terre Haute, and sixteen west from Spencer. It was laid out in 1825, and contains a brick Court House, a county Seminary, two hotels, four stores, 100 houses and 300 inhabitants.
BOXLEYTOWN, a small village in the north-west part of Hamilton county, on the road from Strawtown to Kirk- lin, with a population of 125.
BRADFORD, a small village in Morgan township, Har- rison county.
BRANDYWINE, a good mill stream rising in Hancock, runs nearly forty miles, and empties into Blue river in Shelby county.
BRANDYWINE, a small village on the Michigan road, in Shelby county, near the creek of the same name.
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BRANDYWINE, a township in Hancock county, with a population of 750.
BRAZIL, a small town in Clay county, on the National road, sixteen miles east of Terre Haute.
BRENTONSVILLE, a small village in Owen county, four miles above Spencer.
BRIDGEPORT, a small village on the National road, nine miles west of Indianapolis.
BRISTOL, a pleasant village on the St. Joseph river, in Elkhart county, ten miles north of Goshen. It contains four stores, two taverns, a large flouring mill, and a pop- ulation of 200. The Episcopalians are about erecting a handsome church.
BROCKVILLE, a small town in Steuben county, near the north-east corner of the State, on the road from Toledo to South Bend. It contains a population of 250.
BROOK'S CREEK, a branch of the Salamonie, in. Jay county.
BROOKVILLE, the County Seat of Franklin county, so called after Jesse Brook Thomas, the original proprietor. It is beautifully situated in the forks of White Water, seventy miles south-east from Indianapolis, and forty-one north-west from Cincinnati. It was first settled in 1804 by Lismund Bayse, James Knight, Robert Breckenridge, John Test and Amos Butler. Brookville has very great manufacturing advantages, and for many years its man- ufactures of flour, paper, cotton, &c., have employed much capital and a large number of hands. The popu- lation is now about 1,200. There are the usual public buildings in the town, a County Seminary and two Printing Offices.
BROOKVILLE, a central township in Franklin county, containing a population of about 5,000.
BROUILLET'S CREEK, a small mill stream rising in Illi- nois, then running south-east into Vermillion county, empties into the Wabash near the north line of Vigo. It has excellent coal and good iron ore on its banks, in the vicinity of water power, which is now being im- proved.
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BROWN COUNTY is bounded north by Johnson, east by Bartholomew, south by Jackson and west by Monroe counties. It is twenty miles in length from north to south, and sixteen miles in breadth, and contains 320 square miles. It was organized in 1836, and named af- ter Gen. Jacob Brown, one of the heroes of the war of 1812. Brown county is divided into five civil townships, Hamblen, Jackson, Van Buren, Johnson and Washing- ton. Its population in 1840 was 2,364, and is now about 4,000. The county is generally hilly, though it is inter- spersed with many fertile valleys or bottoms, which con- stitute near one-third of the whole surface. The timber on the hills is white and chestnut oak and hickory. In the bottoms, it is walnut, poplar, sugar, hackberry, cherry, buckeye, elm, &c. Corn and hemp grow well in the bottoms; wheat, oats, grass, &c., on the hills. There are in the county eight tanneries, carrying on bu- siness to the amount of $50,000 annually, and employ- ing twenty-five hands; five cabinet and two wagon shops, five house carpenters, seven shoemakers, seven blacksmiths, four stores, five groceries, one lawyer, three physicians and eight preachers, and there are eight schools with about 160 scholars. The articles exported are prin- cipally leather, wheat, pork, hogs, horses, cattle, mules, hoop-poles, &c., to the value of $100,000 annually.
There are in the county six churches, one for each of the denominations of Presbyterians, Methodists, United Brethren, Christian, (or Campbellite) Old Christian, (or New Light) and Baptists. About 120,000 acres of land in the county still belongs to the United States, the most of which is not of much value.
BROWN, a north-eastern township in Hendricks county, with a population of 1460.
BROWN, a western township in Martin county, with a population of 575.
BROWN, a northern township in Morgan county, with a population of 1,550.
BROWN, a central township in Montgomery county, with a population of 1,885.
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BROWN, a south-eastern township in Ripley county, population 1,850. 1
BROWN, a township in Washington county.
BROWNSBURGH, sometimes called Harrisburgh, a small town in Hendricks county, fourteen miles north-west of Indianapolis, at the crossing of White Lick, on the Craw- fordsville road. It contains about 30 houses and 200 in- habitants.
BROWNSTOWN, the County Seat of Jackson county, is situated near the centre of the county, one mile south- east of the East Fork of White river, seventy miles south of Indianapolis, fifty-five miles north of Jefferson- ville, forty north-west of Madison, the same distance south-east of Bloomington, and twenty-eight east of Bed- ford, in latitude 38 deg. 52 min., and in longitude 9 deg. west. It contains a Court House, County Seminary, and public offices of brick, seventy dwelling houses, and a population of 400. It was laid off in 1816, and the first settlers were A. C. Craig, Charles Crabb, William Williams, William Congleton, William Crenshaw, John Milroy and John Ketcham.
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