Bobtown, Indiana

Bobtown, Indiana
Unincorporated community
Bobtown on Jackson County plat map circa 1920s
Bobtown Show map of Indiana Bobtown Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°01′10″N85°56′46″W / 39.01944°N 85.94611°W / 39.01944; -85.94611
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Jackson
Township	Hamilton
Elevation [1]	577 ft (176 m)
ZIP code	47274
FIPS code	18-06256 [2]
GNIS feature ID	431275 [1]

Excerpt of 1957 USGS map showing Bobtown and Little Acre in Jackson County

Bobtown is an unincorporated community in Hamilton Township, Jackson County, Indiana. ^[3]

Location and history

The community is located in northern Jackson County along N. County Roads 525E and 500E, ^[4] about five miles northwest of Seymour, or about eight miles by road.

The community once had a school and a store, and there was also a gunshop from 1870 to 1895. ^[5] The one-room schoolhouse was open from 1897 through 1939, and closed due to school consolidation. ^{[4] [6]} Residents in the 1990s reported that the community was named after Bob Chasteen, who owned the grocery store. ^[7] Chasteen's 1926 obituary notes he ran a general store at Bobtown for 35 years, but doesn't mention whether the community was named after him. ^[8]

One source describes Bobtown as likely established after 1900 because it does not appear on prior maps. ^[9] A 1900 plat map of the county shows the schoolhouse and multiple smaller residential lots around it, but without a place name affixed. ^[10] Local newspaper references to "Bobtown" appear as early as 1895. ^{[11] [12]} The community does appear on local maps as early as 1917 and USGS maps as early as 1957. ^{[13] [14] [15]} It also appears on official county maps. ^[16]

The working title of John Cougar Mellencamp's 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee was named Bobtown, because his grandparents had lived there after they were married. ^[17]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bobtown, Indiana
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. (4 March 2016). ‘We do anything we get called for’, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) (article mentions Bobtown as among the unincorporated areas served by the township's volunteer fire department)
4. Spicer, Zach (15 August 2015). One-Room Memories, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
5. Belden, Roy H. Early Gunsmiths of Jackson County, p. 145, Indiana History Bulletin, Vol 27, No. 7 (July 1950)
6. (23 August 1941). Sale of School Property, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) (notice for public auction of "Bobtown school grounds, schoolhouse and out buildings located on said grounds")
7. (11 May 1996). Small Community undergoes changes, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
8. (10 March 1926). Hamilton Township Man Dies After Long Illness, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
9. Baker, Ronald L. (October 1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History . Indiana University Press. p.  71. ISBN   978-0-253-32866-3. This community must have been established after 1900...
10. Descriptive atlas of Jackson County, Indiana, 1900
11. (19 September 1895). Notes, Jackson County Banner ("N. Nelson was our guest on Sunday and piloted us to Bobtown on Monday.")
12. (27 November 1899). Notes, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) ("The Bobtown school was closed this morning on account of scarlet fever near there")
13. Plat book of Jackson County, Indiana (c. 1925)
14. USGS - Jonesville Quadrangle (1957)
15. Map of Jackson County, Indiana (1917)
16. Road Map of Jackson County, Indiana (Updated:March 22, 2005), Jackson County Board of Commisssioners (2005)
17. White, Timony (8 December 2001). A Portrait of the Artist, Billboard, p.19