Strawtown, Indiana | |
|---|---|
  Strawtown  Strawtown | |
| Coordinates: 40°07′24″N85°56′40″W / 40.12333°N 85.94444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Hamilton |
| Township | White River |
| Elevation | 794 ft (242 m) |
| ZIP code | 46060 |
| FIPS code | 18-73682 [2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 444266 [1] |
Strawtown is an unincorporated community in White River Township, Hamilton County, Indiana.
Strawtown was once an Indian village, but was laid out by white settlers in 1819 to serve travelers. Situated on the Conner Trail which connected the cities of Cincinnati and Indianapolis, it served as the halfway point between Anderson and Indianapolis. Strawtown was officially platted by Bicknell Cole and William Conner in 1836.
The namesake for the area is supposedly a native Delaware chief named Straw or Strawbridge, however historians doubt his historicity as a person. [3] Despite this, the Lenape did settle along the White River 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the east and north of present-day Strawtown. Miami and Shawnee tribes invited the Delaware to settle in the White River basin after a 1795 treaty. Indian Strawtown was one of 14 Delaware villages established along the West Fork of the river. [4]
In 1821, a minimum purchase of 80 acres (320,000 m2) per speculator was offered at a price of $1.25 per acre. The following year, five Strawtown settlers went to the Brookville land office and purchased tracts at that price. By 1836, roughly 30 families had purchased land in this area. [5]
A post office was opened in 1834 and closed in 1902. [6] It was originally established upstream in Stevensburg on October 13, 1829, as one of the earliest posts in the territory. [7]
William Foster’s saw mill was established two miles (3 km) downstream in what is now Clare. Lumber was bound and floated like a raft down towards Noblesville and Indianapolis. [8]
Doctor Amos Palmer organized and taught the first school in Strawtown during the winter of 1822-23. The county was separated into two equal townships in 1823, White River to the north and Delaware to the south. Rapid growth, spurred partly by the state’s plans to run the Central Canal through Strawtown, caused the creation of seven additional townships. The canal in that area never materialized and growth stagnated, thanks in part to the location of the nearest railway four miles to the west. [9]
Strawtown is the site of a current archaeological dig, funded through Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) by the National Science Foundation. The Archaeological Survey of IPFW received a $10,000 grant for a two-week educational archaeology program at the Strawtown Koteewi Park [10] near Noblesville in Hamilton County. The project will also result in a National Register nomination for a site near the Strawtown enclosure. During the past six years, IPFW has worked with the Hamilton County Parks Department to assess and explore the unique archaeological heritage of the 750-acre (3.0 km2) park. The goals of this project are to clarify the Late Prehistoric population dynamics of central Indiana, create a cultural and educational resource at the park for central Indiana, and develop the archaeological resources of the park as a destination for regional tourism. [11]
Strawtown is located east of Cicero and northeast of Noblesville at the intersection of State Road 37 and Strawtown Avenue. It is bounded to the north and west by the White River.
Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 71,780. The county seat is Martinsville.
Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 census states the population is standing at 130,129. The county seat since 1836 has been Anderson, one of three incorporated cities within the county. Madison County is included in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hamilton County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States Census recorded a population of 347,467. The county seat is Noblesville.
Connersville is a city in Fayette County, Indiana, United States, 66 miles (106 km) east by southeast of Indianapolis. The population was 13,324 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated town in Fayette County. The city is in the center of a large rural area of east central Indiana; the nearest significant city is Richmond, 26 miles (42 km) to the northeast by road. Connersville is home to the county's only high school. The local economy relies on manufacturing, retail, and healthcare to sustain itself. However, there has been a consistent decline in both employment and population since the 1960s, placing it among the least affluent areas in the state, as indicated by measures such as median household income and other economic indicators.
Fishers is a city in Fall Creek and Delaware townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 76,794, and by 2019 the estimated population was 95,310. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidly in recent decades: about 350 people lived there in 1963, 2,000 in 1980, and only 7,500 as recently as 1990.
Noblesville is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, a part of the north Indianapolis suburbs along the White River. The population was 69,604 at the 2020 census, making it the state's 10th most populous city, up from 14th in 2010. The city is part of Delaware, Fall Creek, Noblesville, and Wayne townships.
State Road 37 (SR 37) is a major route in the U.S. state of Indiana, running as a four-lane divided highway for a majority of its course in Southern and Central Indiana.
The Treaty of St. Mary's may refer to one of six treaties concluded in fall of 1818 between the United States and Natives of central Indiana regarding purchase of Native land. The treaties were
Conner Prairie is a living history museum in Fishers, Indiana, United States, which preserves the William Conner home. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the museum recreates 19th-century life along the White River. The museum also hosts several programs and events, including outdoor performances by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and summer camps.
William Conner was an American trader, interpreter, military scout, community leader, entrepreneur, and politician. Although Conner initially established himself as a fur trader on the Michigan and Indiana frontiers, his business interests later expanded to include ownership of Indiana farms, mills, distilleries, and mercantile shops. He was also a land speculator. Conner served the American forces in several capacities during the War of 1812, and as an interpreter and witness at several treaty negotiations with Native American tribes that resulted their removal from Indiana and established the state's geographical boundaries.
Clay Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 83,293 and it contained 32,375 housing units. Since the annexation of Home Place, Indiana, Carmel is now completely coterminous with the township.
Delaware Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 30,617 and it contained 13,553 housing units. Records show the township to have had 43,352 residents in 2007.
Fall Creek Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 51,613 and it contained 17,542 housing units.
Noblesville Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 50,564 and it contained 20,122 housing units.
Wayne Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States and serves as one of two townships within Noblesville, Indiana's jurisdiction. As of the 2010 census, its population was 7,886 and it contained 3,252 housing units, an increase from 2415 in 2000, as Noblesville continues to expand eastward and Fishers reaches its northern limits. In 2007, Noblesville officially opened one of the largest mixed use developments in the state, called the Noblesville Corporate Campus. A portion of the development is located within the township. When completed, it will include a large industrial/commercial park, several housing developments, hotels, greenspace and a large outdoor shopping center called Hamilton Town Center, being built by the Simon Property Group, headquartered in nearby Indianapolis.
White River Township is one of nine townships in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,486 and it contained 1,028 housing units. It is the least developed township in the county and the only one without an incorporated community of any kind within its boundaries.
Fall Creek is a navigable in law waterway in the U.S. state of Indiana, and a tributary of the White River. It is 57.5 miles (92.5 km) long and has a watershed drainage area of 318 square miles (820 km2) in central Indiana before flowing into the White River in Indianapolis. As it flows southwest, Fall Creek is the namesake of three townships in Indiana, in Henry County, Madison County, and then Hamilton County.
Mekinges Conner was a Lenape woman.
Beech Settlement was a rural settlement in Ripley Township, Rush County, Indiana. Its early settlers were free people of color and a small number of free blacks, who came to the area with Quakers. Beech was one of Indiana's early black rural settlements and also one of its largest. The rural neighborhood received its name because of a large stand of beech trees in its vicinity. By 1835 the farming community had a population of 400 residents, but largely due to changing economic conditions, including rising costs of farming, the settlement's population began to decline after 1870. Fewer than six of the Beech families remained by 1920. As with most of Indiana's black rural settlements, Beech Settlement no longer exists. Few major points of interest remain; however, the community's Mount Pleasant Beech Church serves as the site for annual reunions of its friends and the descendants of former residents.
Roberts Settlement was an early rural settlement in Jackson Township, Hamilton County, Indiana. Dating from the 1830s, its first settlers were free people of color, most of whom migrated from Beech Settlement, located 40 miles (64 km) southeast in rural Rush County, Indiana. Many of Roberts Settlement's early pioneers were born in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Some of its settlers were ex-slaves. The neighborhood received its name from the large contingent of its residents who had the surname of Roberts. By the 1870s the farming community had a population of approximately 300 residents. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the settlement's population began to decline, largely due to changing economic conditions that included rising costs of farming. Fewer than six families remained at the settlement by the mid-1920s. Most of Indiana's early black rural settlements, including Roberts Settlement, no longer exist. Roberts Chapel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as the site for the community's annual reunions of its friends and the descendants of former residents.
Municipalities and communities of Hamilton County, Indiana, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |