Atkinson, Indiana

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Atkinson, Indiana
Unincorporated community
Map of Indiana highlighting Benton County.svg
Benton County's location in Indiana
Location map for Benton County, Indiana.svg
Red pog.svg
Atkinson
Location in Benton County
Coordinates: 40°33′46″N87°14′48″W / 40.56278°N 87.24667°W / 40.56278; -87.24667
Country United States
State Indiana
County Benton
Township Center
Elevation
[1]
778 ft (237 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
47971
Area code 765
FIPS code 18-02566 [2]
GNIS feature ID 430324

Atkinson is an unincorporated community in Center Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. [3] The site of Atkinson is home to the county's only junior/senior high school, Benton Central.

Contents

Geography

Atkinson is located at 40°33′46″N87°14′48″W / 40.56278°N 87.24667°W / 40.56278; -87.24667 on the border of Center and Oak Grove Townships. U.S. Route 52 and the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad both pass northwest through the town.

History

Early years

Atkinson and Swanington, Indiana, in Center Township Atkinson and Swanington, Indiana 1936.png
Atkinson and Swanington, Indiana, in Center Township

A post office was established at Atkinson in 1873, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1923. [4] The town was named for Cephas Atkinson, the son of Thomas and Francis Head Atkinson [5] and served as a shipping point on the Big Four railway. Atkinson was noted as one of the seven Benton County towns on the Big Four railway when Elmore Barce listed these seven towns in The History of Benton County, Indiana, from northwest to southeast: "Raub, Earl Park, Fowler, Swanington, Atkinson, Templeton and Otterbein." [6]

In 1882, the Western Telephone Company of Chicago established telephone service in Benton County, with offices in Atkinson, Fowler, Templeton, Oxford, and Otterbein. [7]

A 1916 lightning storm in Atkinson "opened a hole in the road eight feet in diameter and four feet deep", killing a man and his team of horses, and destroying a wagon. [8]

Despite its small size, during the 1920s, Atkinson was called a "thriving little village" in the Oxford (Indiana) Gazette. [9]

Education

The first school in the Atkinson area was named the Gwin School, built in 1857 one mile south of Atkinson and which burned down a few years after. Later, a "fine brick" schoolhouse was completed in Atkinson in 1906. [10]

In the 1960s, a new school, Benton Central School, was built at Atkinson Station. [11] This complex is now known as Benton Central Junior-Senior High. Prairie Crossing Elementary School opened in October 2006. [12]

Demographics

Atkinson
historical population
YearPop.±%
1890 50—    
1900 41−18.0%
1920 46+12.2%

Despite its location on a major rail line, Atkinson's population remained small. The population of the community was 50 in 1890, [13] and just 41 in 1900. [14] The population of the community was recorded as 46 in 1920. [15] Its population in the 1920s was from 10 to 15. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benton County, Indiana</span> County in Indiana, United States

Benton County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Indiana, along the border with Illinois. As of 2020, the county's population was 8,719. It contains six incorporated towns as well as several small unincorporated settlements; it is divided into 11 townships which provide local services. The county seat is Fowler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fowler, Indiana</span> Town in Indiana, United States

Fowler is a town in Center Township, Benton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,337 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otterbein, Indiana</span> Town in Indiana, United States

Otterbein is a town in Bolivar Township, Benton County and Shelby Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, named for William Otterbein Brown who donated land for the town. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,262.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford, Indiana</span> Town in Indiana, United States

Oxford is a town in Oak Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana. The population was 1,162 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Benton Central Junior-Senior High School is the only high school in Benton County, Indiana, and is located five miles southeast of Fowler in Atkinson. The school mascot is the Bison. BC was a 1960s consolidation of Ambia, Boswell, Earl Park, Fowler, Freeland Park, Montmorenci, Pine Township, Oxford, Otterbein, and Wadena schools. The number of elementary schools sending students to Benton Central has declined steadily since then, and only two are left. The first graduating class (1969) selected by vote the mascot, colors, and school name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Templeton, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Templeton is an unincorporated community in Bolivar Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raub, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Raub is an unincorporated community in York Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Talbot is an unincorporated community in Hickory Grove Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanington, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Swanington is an unincorporated community in Center Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnington, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Dunnington is a small unincorporated community in Parish Grove Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freeland Park, Indiana</span> Unincorporated town in Indiana, United States

Freeland Park is an unincorporated town in Parish Grove Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolivar Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Bolivar Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,179 and it contained 514 housing units. Bolivar Township was organized in March 1860 and named for South American liberator Simón Bolivar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Center Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,715 and it contained 1,212 housing units. It was organized in June 1875 and was originally known as Prairie Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilboa Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Gilboa Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 282 and it contained 100 housing units. It is named for Mount Gilboa, a prominence in the southern part of the township. It was created in 1866 out of the northern part of Pine Township, after the petition of 21 residents there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Grant Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,085 and it contained 470 housing units. It was organized in December 1868 and was named for Ulysses Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hickory Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Hickory Grove Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 398 and it contained 168 housing units. It was organized in March 1876 and named for a grove of hickory trees that grew within its borders in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Oak Grove Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,551 and it contained 690 housing units. It was one of the first three townships originally created by the county's commissioners in 1840. It takes its name from White Oak Grove which grew southwest of Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parish Grove Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

Parish Grove Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 185 and it contained 89 housing units. It contains the unincorporated town of Freeland Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Township, Benton County, Indiana</span> Township in Indiana, United States

York Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 155 and it contained 82 housing units. It was organized in June 1860 and named for the state of New York, the former home of local pioneer John Fleming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barce, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Barce is an unincorporated community in Center Township, Benton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

References

  1. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Atkinson, Indiana". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Benton County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ Baker, Ronald L. (October 1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History . Indiana University Press. p.  55. ISBN   978-0-253-32866-3. The name honors Cephas Atkinson son of Thomas and Francis Head Atkinson, a prominent cattleman...
  6. ↑ Barce, Elmore; Swan, Robert A. (1930). History of Benton County, Indiana. Fowler, Indiana: The Benton Review Shop. p. 113.
  7. ↑ Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper, and Newton counties, Indiana. Chicago, IL: F.A. Battey & Co. 1883. p. 305.
  8. ↑ "Deadly Bolt Kills Farmer and Team and Rends the Earth". Connersville Evening News. p. 8. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Untitled". Oxford Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ McKnight, Levi Adolphus (1906). Progress of education in Benton County, Indiana, with an explanation of the Indiana school system and the duties of school officers, patrons and pupils (PDF). Scott-Miller Co., printers. pp. 66, 68.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Mary Moyars (1987). Some Indiana Descendants of John Rhodes, a Mennonite Minister in the Shenandoah Valley. M.M. Johnson. p. 28.
  12. ↑ "About Prairie Crossing Elementary". www.benton.k12.in.us. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  13. ↑ Cram, George Franklin (1890). Cram's Universal Atlas: Geographical, Astronomical and Historical, Containing a Complete Series of Maps of Modern Geography, Illustrated by Numerous Views and Charts; the Whole Supplemented with Valuable Statistics, Diagrams, and a Complete Gazetteer of the United States. G.F. Cram. p. 364.
  14. ↑ Cram's Modern Atlas: The New Unrivaled New Census Edition. J. R. Gray & Company. 1902. p. 134.
  15. ↑ Company, Rand McNally and (1925). Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States, Territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions. Rand McNally & Company. p. 185.
  16. ↑ Birch, Jesse Setlington (1942) [1928]. "Towns of the County". History of Benton County and Historic Oxford. Oxford, Indiana: Craw & Craw. p. 200.
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