USA > Indiana > The state of Indiana delineated: geographical, historial, statistical, and commercial, 1838 > Part 2
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
Big Cedar Grove creek, &c. BROOKVILLE is the county seat. The White Water Canal passes through the county.
FULTON COUNTY .- Recently organized ; contains 350 square miles ; bounded north by Mar- shall, east by Kosciusko and Miami, south by Cass, west by Pulaski, counties. Surface, generally level. Principal streams, Tippecanoe river, Mill creek and Mud creek. ROCHESTER is the county seat.
GIBSON COUNTY .- Organized in 1813; con- tains 450 square miles ; bounded north by Knox and Pike, east by Pike and Warrick, south by War- rick, Vanderburg and Posey, west by the Wabash river. Surface, rolling and timbered. Principal streams, the Wabash on the west, White on the north; Patoka passing through the centre, and Big Pigeon creek in the southern part of the county. PRINCE- TON is the county seat. The rail-road from Evans- ville to Terre Haute, and one also from New- Albany to Mount Carmel, Ill., are located through this county.
GRANT COUNTY .- Organized in 1831; con- tains an area of 415 square miles ; bounded north by Wabashı and Huntington, east by Wells and Blackford, south by Delaware and Madison counties and the Miami Reservation, west by the Miami Reservation. Surface, generally level and mostly timbered. The water courses are the Mississinewa and its tributaries. The Central Canal is located through the county. MARION is the county seat.
GREENE COUNTY .- Organized in 1S21; contains an area of 540 square miles ; bounded north by Clay and Owen, east by Monroe and Lawrence, south by Martin, Daviess and Knox, and west by
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
Sullivan, counties. Principal streams, White river, Eel river, and Richland creek. The west fork of White river passes through the county near the centre, north and south, and is navigable the whole extent; east of this river the surface is rather hilly, west it is level, on the river particularly the soil is very rich. BLOOMFIELD is the county town. The Central Canal is located through the county; and the Cross Cut Canal from Point Commerce con- nects the Central Canal with the Wabash and Erie Canal at Terre Haute.
HAMILTON COUNTY .- Organized in 1S23; contains an area of about 400 square miles ; bound- ed north by the Miami Reservation, east by Madi- son, south by Hancock and Marion, west by Boone and Clinton counties. Principal streams, the west fork of White river, and its tributaries ; Cicero, Coal, Stoney, Fall creeks, &c. There are some prairies; along the river the land is well timbered. The Central Canal is located through the county. NOBLESVILLE is the county seat.
HANCOCK COUNTY .- Organized in 1828; contains an area of 310 square miles ; bounded north by Hamilton and Madison, east by Henry and Rush, south by Shelby, west by Marion, counties. Princi- pal streams, Blue river, Sugar creek and Brandy- wine, affording excellent mill sites. Surface, gene- rally level, or gently rolling ; soil, good and heavy timbered. GREENFIELD is the county seat.
HARRISON COUNTY .- Organized in 1808 ; contains 470 square miles; bounded north by Wash- ington, east by Floyd county and the Ohio river, south by the Ohio, and west by the Ohio and Craw- ford county. Principal streams, Ohio river, Blue
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
river, Big and Little Indian creeks, and Buck creek. Some portions of the country are hilly, others undu- lating, and some level. Soil, on the streams rich, on the high grounds not so good. CORYDON is the county seat. The rail-road from New-Albany to Mount Carmel, Ill., is located through this county.
HENDRICKS COUNTY .- Organized in 1823; contains 380 square miles ; bounded north by Boone, east by Marion, south by Morgan, west by Putnam and Montgomery counties. Surface, rolling and well timbered; soil, productive. The principal water courses are White Lick, some of the upper branches of Eel river, and Mud creek, which furnish good mill privileges. A Mac Adamized road from Indian- apolis to Crawfordsville, is located through this county. DANVILLE is the county seat.
HENRY COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; con- tains 385 square miles ; bounded north by Delaware, east by Randolph and Wayne, south by Fayette and Rush, west by Hancock and Madison counties. Sur- face, generally level-some parts a little broken- mostly woodland, but some prairies. The county is well supplied with springs of pure water, and the streams are sufficiently rapid to furnish many mill sites. Flat Rock, Blue river and Fall creek, are the principal streams. NEW-CASTLE is the county seat.
HUNTINGTON COUNTY .- Organized in 1832 ; contains 384 square miles ; bounded north by Whitley, east by Allen aud Wells, south by Wells and Grant, west by Wabash, counties. Soil, very good-some prairies, but generally forest land. Sur- face, on the rivers level, back it is undulating. Principal rivers, Salamania, Little river, and the Wabash. The Wabash and the Erie Canal passes
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
through the county. HUNTINGTON is the county seat.
.
JACKSON COUNTY .- Organized in 1815; contains 500 square miles ; bounded north by Brown and Bartholomew, east by Jennings, south by Scott and Washington, west by Lawrence and Monroe counties. Principal streams, Muscatatack, Drift- wood, or east fork of White river, White creek, Salt creek, &c. Surface, rolling; soil, good. BROWNSTOWN is the county seat. The Ohio and Indianapolis Rail-Road is located through the county.
JASPER COUNTY .- Recently established ; contains 700 square miles ; bounded north by New- ton, east by White, south by Warren, counties, and west by the state of Illinois. It is principally prairie, interspersed with groves of timber. The principal stream is the Iroquois river, in the northern part of the county, which is navigable in high water-in the southern part of the county are Pine creek, Sugar creek, &c.
JAY COUNTY .- Organized in 1836 ; contains about 370 square miles ; bounded north by Adams and Wells counties, east by the state of Ohio, south by Randolph, west by Blackford and Delaware counties. Population, about 300. Soil, generally good. PORTLAND is the county seat.
JEFFERSON COUNTY .- Organized in 1809; contains 360 square miles ; bounded north by Jen- nings and Ripley, east by Switzerland, counties, south by the Ohio river and Scott county, west by Scott and Jennings counties ; watered by the Ohio river, Muscatatack, Indian Kentucky creek, Big creek, Lewis creek, &c. It presents a great variety
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SKETCHIES OF EACH COUNTY
of surface. Soil, generally very productive. MADI- SON, a large, flourishing and important town, is the county seat. A rail road is located from Madison to Indianapolis, and the great Michigan road through the state commences here.
JENNINGS COUNTY .- Organized in 1816; contains 380 square miles ; bounded north by Bar- tholomew and Decatur, east by Ripley, south by Jefferson and Scott, west by Jackson and Bartholo- mew counties. Surface, in some parts hilly. Soil, rich and productive. The most important streams are Graham's fork and north fork of the Musca- tatack river, and Sand creek, which afford numerous mill sites, many of which are already improved. The Madison and Indianapolis Rail-Road is located through the county. VERNON is the county seat.
JOHNSON COUNTY .- Organized in 1822; contains 320 square miles ; bounded north by Ma- rion, east by Shelby, south by Bartholomew and Brown, west by Morgan, counties. Streams, Sugar creek, Young's creek, Indian creek, Stott's creek, &c. This county is fast improving; its surface is undulating ; soil, remarkably fertile. The Madison and Indianapolis Rail-Road is located through it. FRANKLIN is the county seat.
KNOX COUNTY .- Organized in 1802; con- tains 540 square miles ; bounded north by Sullivan and Greene, east by Daviess, south by Pike and Gib- son, west by the Wabash river. In this county are found some tracts of prairie, which are very fine and valuable-but the largest portion is forest land. The soil almost universally is rich and productive. The Wabash on the western, the White on the southern, and the west fork of the White river on
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
its eastern border, are the principal streams-inte- rior, Deshee river, Marie creek, &c. VINCENNES is the county seat. There is a Mac Adamized road chartered from Vincennes to New-Albany-and the rail-road from Evansville to Terre Haute, is located through the county.
KOSCIUSCO COUNTY .- Organized recently ; contains 567 square miles ; bounded north by Elk- hart, east by Noble and Whitley, south by Wabash, Miami and Fulton, west by Fulton and Marshall counties. Surface, undulating; soil, fertile. There are dry prairies nearly in the centre of the county, containing about 8 square miles, and some in the northern part of the county -- considerable wet prairie, and many beautiful lakes. Tippecanoe river is the principal stream-there are many small streams, some of which furnish mill privileges. WARSAW is the county seat.
LAGRANGE COUNTY .- Organized in 1832 ; contains 380 square miles ; bounded north by the state of Michigan, east by Steuben, south by Noble, west by Elkhart, counties ; northern part mostly prairie, southern chiefly forest. Surface, moderately rolling; soil, good. Population, fast increasing. Fawn, Pigeon and Little Elkhart rivers, are the principal streams-besides there are numerous creeks and lakes. LIMA is the county seat. The Buffalo and Mississippi Rail-Road is located through the county.
LAKE COUNTY .- Recently organized ; con- tains 468 square miles ; bounded north by Lake Michigan, east by Porter, south by Newton, west by the state of Illinois. Surface, on the lake are bluffs and sand hills-along the Calumic and Kankakee rivers it is marshy-remainder, prairie and wood-
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
land, and generally level. Principal streams, the two branches of the Calumic river and Deep river in the northern part-and from the interior are West, Cedar and Eagle creeks, flowing into the Kanka- kee, which runs along its entire southern border. The Mississippi and Buffalo Rail-Road is located through the county, and a proposed canal from the Northern Canal at Valparaiso, in Porter county, to unite with the Illinois Canal. LAKE C. H. is the county seat.
LAPORTE COUNTY .- Organized in 1832; contains 460 square miles ; bounded north by the state of Michigan, east by St. Joseph, south by Stark, west by Porter county and Lake Michigan. Surface, gently undulating, and abounds with rich prairies, interspersed with groves of timber and lakes of clear water; soil, productive. Principal streams, the Kankakee and Little Kankakee rivers, Gallien river and Trail creek. LAPORTE and Michi- gan City are the chief towns, the former of which is the county seat. The Buffalo and Mississippi Rail-Road and Northern Canal are located through the county.
LAWRENCE COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; contains 438 square miles ; bounded north by Mon- roe, east by Jackson and Washington, south by Orange, west by Martin and Greene counties. Principal streams, the east fork of White river, Salt, Guthrie's, Beaver, Leatherwood creeks, &c., (good mill streams.) Surface is generally hilly. BEDFORD is the county seat. The New-Albany and Crawfordsville Mac Adamized road is located through the county.
MADISON COUNTY .-- Organized in 1823; contains about 390 square miles ; bounded north by
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
Miami Reserve and Grant county, east by Dela- ware and Henry, south by Hancock, west by Ha- milton, counties. Principal streams, west fork of White river, (a navigable stream,) and its tributa- ries ; Pipe, Killbuck, Fall and Lick creeks, are fine mill streams. Surface, generally level and timber- ed-some wet prairie. ANDERSONTOWN is the county seat. Central Canal passes through the county.
MARSHALL COUNTY .-- Recently organized; contains 440 square miles ; bounded north by St. Joseph, east by Elkhart and Kosciusko, south by Fulton, west by Stark and St. Joseph counties. Principal streams, Yellow river, running nearly through the centre, and the Tippecanoe, in the southern section of the county-besides these, are numerous smaller streams, as Pine creek, Eagle creek, Wolf creek, &c. There are several lakes, the largest of which is Maxinenkkee, near the southwestern corner of the county. PLYMOUTH is the county seat, situated on Yellow river, near the centre of the county.
MARION COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; contains 400 square miles ; bounded north by Hamil- ton, east by Hancock and Shelby, south by John- son and Morgan, west by Hendricks. Principal streams, west fork of White river, Fall creek, Eagle creek, and several smaller creeks. Surface, level and heavily timbered; soil, of the choicest quality. INDIANAPOLIS, the seat of government, is situated on White river, in the centre of the county. Nearly all the rail-roads and Mac Adamized roads of the state centre in or pass through this place, as also does the Central Canal.
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
MARTIN COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; contains 300 square miles; bounded north by Greene, cast by Lawrence and Orange, south by Dubois, west by Daviess, counties. The east fork of White river, in its windings through the county, waters a large portion of it-Lick, Beaver, Indian, Bognes and First creeks, afford abundant water power. East of White river, the surface is broken and hilly-on the west, level, or gently undulating, with portions of barrens and prairies. MOUNT PLEASANT is the county seat. The Mac Adamized road from New-Albany to Vincennes is located through the county.
MIAMI COUNTY .- Organized in 1832; con- tains 380 square miles ; bounded north by Fulton and Koscuisko, east by Wabash, south by Miami Reservation, west by Miami Reservation and Cass and Fulton counties. Principal streams-the Wa- bash and Eel rivers flow through the county from east to west; the Mississinewa empties into the Wabash from the south, about the centre of the county-they are all navigable for light boats- there are besides several small creeks. The face of the country is beautiful, chiefly forest-but inter- spersed with small prairies. Soil very excellent. The Wabash and Erie Canal passes through the county near the centre. PERU is the county seat.
MONROE COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; contains 420 square miles ; bounded north by Mor- gan, east by Brown and Jackson, south by Law- rence, and west by Greene and Owen counties. Salt, Clear and Bean Blossom creeks, are the princi- pal streams-salt of a superior quality is made on Salt creek. Surface, undulating and hilly ; soil, not first
1
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
rate. BLOOMINGTON is the county seat. Indiana College is located on the College lands, adjacent to Bloomington. The New-Albany and Crawfords- ville MacAdamised road, passes through this place.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY .- Organized in 1822; contains 504 square miles ; bounded north by Tippecanoe, east by Clinton, Boone and Hen- dricks, south by Putnam and Parke, and west by Parke and Fountain counties. Principal streams, Sugar creek, Big and Little Raccoon creeks-and besides, there are numerous small streams. The northern part a great portion of the land is prairie; the middle and southern portions, timbered-the whole is gently undulating and the soil rich. CRAWFORDSVILLE is the county seat, a Mac Adamized road, from Indianapolis to Lafayette passes through this town, and another from New-Albany terminates here.
MORGAN COUNTY .- Organized in 1S21; contains 453 square miles ; bounded north by Hen- dricks and Marion, east by Johnson, south by Brown and Monroe, west by Owen and Putnam counties. Principal streams, west fork of White river, which is navigable, White Lick, Mill, Big Indian, Stotts creeks, and others. Surface, generally rolling, sometimes hilly, but the soil is very produc- tive. MARTINSVILLE is the county seat. Central Canal passes through the county diagonally from southwest to northeast.
NEWTON COUNTY .- Recently formed ; con- tains 640 square miles ; bounded north by Lake and Porter, east by Stark and Pulaski, south by White and Jasper counties, and west by the state of Il- linois. A large proportion is rich prairie, gently un-
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
dulating. The principal stream is the Iroquois or Pickamink river in the south part of the county. In section 30, town 29, range 6 west, there are falls in this river of 10 or 12 feet.
NOBLE COUNTY .- Recently organized ; con- tains 432 square miles; bounded north by Lagrange, east by De Kalb, south by Allen and Whitley, west by Kosciusko and Elkhart counties. Principal streams, Elkhart and Tippecanoe rivers ; there are also many lakes. The Northern Canal is located through the county. AUGUSTA is the county seat.
ORANGE COUNTY .- Organized in 1815; contains 400 square miles ; bounded north by Law- rence, east by Washington, south by Crawford, west by Dubois and Martin counties. Lost river, Lick and Patoka creeks, are the chief streams, af- fording in many places good mill privileges. Sur- face, hilly and broken. PAOLI is the county seat. The Mac Adamized road from New-Albany to Vin- cennes, is located through the county.
OWEN COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; con- tains an area of 396 square miles; bounded north by Putnam and Morgan, east by Morgan and Mon- roe, south by Greene, west by Clay, counties. Sur- face, gently undulating; soil, good and well tim- bered. The west fork of White river flows through the county, receiving the water of numerous creeks, which run into it-Mill creek, and one of the upper forks of Eel river, afford great water power in a region of iron ore. SPENCER is the county seat. Central Canal crosses the southeast corner of the county.
PARKE COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; con- tains 450 square miles ; bounded north by Fountain
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
and Montgomery, east by Montgomery and Put- nam, south by Clay and Vigo, west by Vermillion, counties. Surface, level, extensive prairies, but the greatest portion is timbered land; soil, rich. Big Raccoon, Little Raccoon, Leatherwood and Sugar creeks, are the principal water courses, all of which flow into the Wabash, which runs the whole extent of its western boundary. ROCKVILLE is the county seat. The Wabash and Erie Canal is located through this county.
PERRY COUNTY .- Organized in 1814; con- tains 400 square miles; bounded north by Dubois and Crawford, east by Crawford and the Ohio river, south by the Ohio, west by Spencer and Dubois counties. Watered by the Ohio river, Anderson's creek, Deer, Bear, Oil, Poison creeks, in the inte- rior. On the borders of these streams is much excel- lent land-the high lands are broken and hilly, and the soil inferior. ROME is the county seat.
PIKE COUNTY .- Organized in 1816; con- tains an area of 325 square miles; bounded north by Knox and Daviess, east by Dubois, south by Warrick, west by Gibson, counties. Surface, gently rolling and timbered; soil, rich and productive. White river runs along the whole length of the northern boundary, and is navigable-Patoka creek, through the centre, is navigable in high water --- South Patoka, Flat creeks, &c. PETERSBURGH is the county seat. The rail-road from New-Albany to Mount Carmel, Ill., is located through this county.
PORTER COUNTY .- Lately organized; con- tains 415 square miles; bounded north by Lake Michigan, east by Laporte and Stark, south by B 2*
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
Newton, west by Lake, counties. Surface, high and barren lands on the lake-remainder, generally level-marshy on the Kankakee, which runs on its southern border. There are some small creeks in the interior, and in the northern part are the Calumic river, Coffee and Salt creeks. The Buffalo and Mississippi Rail-Road, the Northern Canal, and a branch canal to Illinois, are located through the county. VALPARAISO is the county seat.
POSEY COUNTY .- Organized in 1814; con- tains about 450 square miles ; bounded north by Gibson, east by Gibson and Vanderburg, south by the Ohio river, west by the Wabash river. Big creek and Flat creek are the principal interior streams. Surface, undulating and all forest land ; soil, productive. MOUNT VERNON is the county seat. There is a proposed canal to run from this place to New-Harmony.
PULASKI COUNTY .- Recently formed. It contains 342 square miles ; bounded north by Stark, east by Fulton, south by White, west by Newton, counties. Besides Tippecanoe river, which runs through the county from north to south, and is navigable for flat boats, are several small creeks. Pulaski is the only town in the coun- ty. The rail-road from Lafayette to Michigan City, is located through this county.
PUTNAM COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; bounded north by Montgomery, east by Hendricks and Morgan, south by Owen and Clay, and west by Clay and Parke counties-containing an area of 486 square miles. The Walnut fork of Eel river, Big Raccoon creek and Deer creek, afford excel-
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
lent mill sites, and there are many other smaller streams of pure water. GREENCASTLE is the princi- pal town and county seat, containing a population of about 1,000, and fast increasing. The Mac Ada- mized road from New-Albany to Crawfordsville, is located through the county.
RANDOLPH COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; contains 440 square miles; bounded north by Jay county, east by the state of Ohio, south by Wayne, west by Henry and Delaware counties. The princi- pal water courses are the west fork of White river, and the Mississinewa river, and their tributaries, which furnish good mill privileges. Soil, rich ; sur- face, undulating. WINCHESTER is the county seat.
RIPLEY COUNTY .- Organized in 1818 ; con- tains an area of 400 square miles ; bounded north by Decatur and Franklin, east by Dearborn, south by Switzerland and Jefferson, west by Jennings and Decatur counties. Surface, generally level forest land; soil, good for grain. Laughery creek and Graham's creek, are the principal streams. VER- SAILLES is the county seat. The Lawrenceburgh and Indianapolis Rail-Road is located through the northern part of the county.
RUSH COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; con- tains 410 square miles ; bounded north by Hancock and Henry, east by Fayette and Franklin, south by Decatur, west by Shelby and Hancock counties. Surface, moderately rolling and heavily timbered ; soil, productive. Big and Little Blue river, and Big and Little Flat Rock, are the principal streams, affording sufficient facilities for mills, &c. RUSH- VILLE is the county seat.
SCOTT COUNTY .- Organized in 1817; con-
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SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY
tains about 200 square miles; bounded north by Jackson and Jennings, east by Jefferson, south by Clarke, west by Washington, counties. Surface, ge- nerally a little undulating. The chief water courses are the Muscatatack on the north border, Stucker's fork, Kimberlin's creek, Pigeon Roost, and Ox's fork. LEXINGTON is the county seat. The Ohio and Indianapolis Rail-Road is located through it.
SHELBY COUNTY .- Organized in 1821; contains 410 square miles ; bounded north by Han- cock, east by Rush and Decatur, south by Decatur and Bartholomew, west by Johnson and Marion counties. Surface, level and timbered; soil, very fertile. The principal streams are Sugar creek, east branch of White river, Big and Little Blue river, and Flat Rock creek. SHELBYVILLE is the county seat. The Lawrenceburgh and Indianapolis Rail- Road will pass through this place.
SPENCER COUNTY .- Organized in 1818; contains 400 square miles ; bounded on the north by Dubois, east by Perry county and the Ohio, south by the Ohio, west by Warrick county. Streams, Anderson's creek on the east, and Little Pigeon in the west, and Crooked, Big and Little Sandy creeks, which flow into the Ohio. Surface, tolerably level ; soil, productive. ROCKPORT is the county seat.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, bordering on the state of Michigan .- Organized in 1830 ; bounded on the north by the state of Michigan, east by Elkhart, south by Marshall and Stark, and west by Laporte counties, and includes an area of about 468 square miles. It is watered by the St. Joseph's river, a very beautiful stream of pure water with a rapid cur-
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IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
rent-it never overflows its banks, and is navigable for steamboats to South Bend at all seasons of the year, and frequently higher up. The Kankakee is a fine stream in the western part of the county, which, with several small creeks which empty into the St. Joseph's, afford abundant facilities for mills and other machinery. The southeastern section of the county is mostly forest land-the northwestern section, chiefly prairie and barrens. Some of the most beautiful and fertile prairies in the western country are found in this county, among which are Portage, Terre Coupee, Sumption, Harris, Pal- mer's, &c. There are also extensive marshes, which are of a deep vegetable formation, and capable of being drained and made the best of meadow land. SOUTH BEND is the county seat, delightfully situated on a high bluff on the south side of St. Joseph's river, with a population of about 1,500-a flourish- ing and rapidly growing village; the water power · here is very great. Mishawaka is a thriving village on the St. Joseph's, 4 miles above South Bend. Here is an extensive iron manufactory ; pure bog ore, of the best quality, and inexhaustible, is found at this place. The Northern Canal passes through this county ; so also does the Buffalo and Missis- sippi Rail-Road, and the Michigan road from Madi- son on the Ohio river to Michigan City, &c. &c. It is believed few counties are possessed of as many advantages,-few have made such signal and rapid improvements in agriculture, manufactures and commerce, and few hold out so many inducements to men of enterprise and business as this.
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