Towns, Communities And Just Places At The Crossroads
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This page is in a state of perpetual construction. |
As with anyplace, towns and communities of Warrick County have came and gone. At times a group of cabins would pick up a common name to be referred to. Other places might have been a stage coach stop or a depot for the rail road. However large or small at on time all off these places were important to the people who lived in and around them. Most of these places in Warrick County today exist only in memory or mention in written text. Once in a while you will see a marker along a road or highway at the spot where the community once existed but today most folks pay little attention. In Warrick County these places fell victim to coal mining and easier travel. At several road intersection you can still see the remains of a school, post office or general store. Some are about to fall down and others have been converted into dwellings. In the space below you will find a documentation of these once busy spots and of those existing yet today. Remember that this page is always under construction as towns will be added and new information added to existing names.
| Ash Iron Springs | Barren Fork - Barn Fork |
| Baugh City | Boonville |
| Bullocktown | Camp Brosend |
| Castle Garden | Chandler |
| Crowville | Darlington |
| Dayville | De Forrest |
| Degonia Springs | Dickeyville |
| Ditney | Eby |
| Eames Station | Elberfeld |
| Folsomville | Grahm Valley |
| Greenbriar - Greenbower | Heilman |
| Hemenway | Jockey |
| Lee | Lickskillet |
| Loafer's Station | Lynnville |
| Millersburgh | Mt. Prospect |
| Newburgh | Paradise |
| Pelzer | Perigo |
| Polk Patch | Red Brush |
| Rolling Acres | Rose Bud |
| Rustic Hills | St. John |
| Scalesville | Selvin |
| Sprinklesburg | Stanley |
| Stevenson Station | Stephensport |
| Taylorville | Tennyson |
| Turpin | |
| Vanada Station | Welte |
| Wilkerson Station | Wheatonville |
| Woodtown | Yankeetown |
The legend states that one day a couple of travelers stopped at the intersection of two roads. Those roads are now Hwy 261 and Oak Grove. As they sat beneath the oak trees and drinking water from a nearby well they had a very easy feeling and hearing the birds singing and bees humming about one said to the other, "This sure is paradise". It seems the naming stuck as Paradise is to this day marked on the highway between Newburgh and Boonville.
Ref: Bettye Parker
The Community of Selvin
as written by Pat Marshall
In the late 1700's in northern Warrick County people started to settle near the crossing of two traces. These were
the Yellow Banks Trace that ran from Rockport in now Spencer County and the Rome Trace coming from Rome in now
Perry County. The settlement was called Polkpatch for the nearby Pokeberry Creek. At that time a "patch"
was a narrow trail running between the hills. These were trails used by the buffalo and Indians and were easy to
follow by others. Because of trouble with the Indians a stockade was built in 1807 at the junction of the two trails.
The trails were heavily traveled and a territorial cemetery was established at Polkpatch. This cemetery was for
those who died enroute and were brought to the settlement for burial.
The first recorded settlement in Pigeon Township was made in 1821 by George Taylor (abt. 1790-1837) and his brother
Nicholas. Another brother John Taylor settled in 1823. The original town of 38 lots was platted on Section 32,
in Township 3 South, Range 6 West, in August 1839. The town was to be called Taylorsville after it's first settlers.
When the town applied for a Post Office it was discovered that there was already a town named Taylorsville so the
official name reverted to Polkpatch. Locally the town was referred to as Taylorsville, Polkpatch P.O. In 1881 the
town was renamed Selvin, a French word taken from a church Hymnal.
Probably the main person responsible for Taylorsville was George Taylor. He was one of the first settlers and donated
a parcel of land for the first church. This was near the territorial cemetery and was part of the Boonville Circuit
for the traveling preachers. Near the land donated for the church George gave the community some ground for the
first public school. Around 1880 a high school was built and served into the mid 1900's.
From the society section of the Boonville newspaper August 1896: "Uncle George" Taylor was working in
his garden and fell dead at age 78. This George Taylor was the son of the above mentioned George who helped settle
Selvin. At first I was thinking they were the same. I am grateful to Robert Nix who corrected my on this point.
Today Selvin is a small but active community. Gone are the hotels, blacksmith, canning and mattress factories.
And also all the businesses associated with the rural farm town. Located in town now is one grocery store, the
township fire department and just to the north the Yellow Banks Recreation area. Some decedents of the original
settlers live in the town today and many have roots back into the early and mid 1800's.
Some of the information here was taken from a book published by Pat Marshall for the town's sesquicentennial. This
book of 52 pages has information on Selvin and other places as well as pioneers in Pigeon Township. Although written
for and most recognized by folks of the community it is pleasant reading for anyone interested in the area. The
price of the book is less than ten dollars (1997) and may be ordered from Pat. Write her at the following address
for the total cost. Be sure to tell her you saw this at the Warrick Page.
Pat Marshall
Yellow Banks
RR 2
Dale, IN 47523
Ratliff Boon, Indiana Governor
It is possible that the town was named for Jesse Boon. The town was platted in 1818 by John Hargrave as agent for Warrick County and Chester Elliott county surveyor, on land that was offered by Jesse Boon. Ratliff was a young son of Jesse Boon who was a farmer and local land owner. The farm owned by Jesse was located on what is now Hwy 62 between Chandler and Boonville. County histories state that the town and township were named in honor of Ratliff Boon.
The ground at the time was covered with a dense growth of timber which was removed as buildings were erected. The court allowed the persons employed in building a temporary court house in 1818 the privilege of cutting timber on any of the town lots. In February 1819 the Board of Commissioners granted Benjamin Knapp a license to retail liquors and keep a tavern in the town of Boonville. In April of the same year licenses were granted to Adam Young and John Upham to retail liquors in the town. A man by the name of Key is said to have kept the first store in town.
Courts were held for some time in a log cabin erected for the purpose near where the present court house stands. Town growth for several years was slow with the census of 1830 showing a population of eighty-seven persons. When the local resources of the county were more fully developed and trade and society became better established Boonville improved and prospered. In 1873 the railroad was completed to the town connecting the city with Evansville in Vanderburgh County twenty mile to the west. By 1873 the town with a population of 2,000 boasted the following businesses.
Seven dry-goods stores, six groceries, two clothing stores, three hardware stores, two confectioneries, two book-stores, nine saloons, three drug stores, four hotels, for livery stables, three tobacco warehouses, one stemmery, two flour mills, five blacksmith ships, two wagon shops, two butcher ships, two bakeries, two harness shops, five shoe shops, one tannery, one merchant tailor, three cabinet shops, three furniture stores, three undertakers, two cooper shops, ten physicians, two dentists, fourteen attorneys, one national bank, two newspapers, one graded school, employing six teachers.
The town's origins go back to John Sprinkle, born in Pennsylvania. Moving west they settled for the last time in what is now Newburgh. There the first black smith in the county was set up and in 1803 the community of Sprinklesburg was chartered. A surveyor, Chester Elliot laid out the town which was also known as Mt. Prospect.
Abner Luce started a rival town in 1829 east of Sprinklesburg leaving the three acre "flat iron piece" between the two towns. Sprinklesburg, Luce's town and the triangular parcel were consolidated by the legislature in 1837 into a town called Newbourgh. The "o" was soon dropped and the town name was spelled Newburg for a while. The "h" was later added to avoid confusion at the post office with the town of Newburry, Indiana.
Ref: The Warrick Courier; 1991.
From 1814 to 1818 Darlington was the first county seat of Warrick. Located four miles upriver from Sprinklesburg on land donated by Hugh McGary. There are several possible origins to the town's name. Some speculations are that is was named after Darlington, England. Others say it was named after the wife of Bailey Anderson. Bailey was the first recorded settler in Warrick County and he called his wife Darling. A one and a half story log structure was built in 1815 for under $300.00 to be used as the court house. Before this time court was often held in a private residence. The new court house contained a judges bench, a jury box and the ever important bar. When the county seat was moved to Boonville the court house and surrounding community soon disappeared.
Ref: The Warrick Courier; 1991.
In 1847 the town that was called Lee as early as the mid 1820's became Chandler. It is said that the town was named after one O.E. Chandler who was a construction foreman on the rail road that was being built through the town. Chandler who later became the vice president of Southern Railway was liked so much by everyone in the town that they decided to name the town after him.
Ref: Nellie Akers, 1991.
Lynnville was named for John Lynn, one of the most prominent settlers in Warrick County and the first merchant in Lynnville. Lynn came from Gibson County and opened a business with a stock of saddles and harness while working for a Princeton merchant on commission. He purchased the stock of Abner Luce of Newburgh in 1838 and moved it to Lynnville the next year opening his own store. John Lynn died in 1866.
Ref: Goodspeed's History of Warrick County.
The town was laid out by William Embrie, Samuel Hall and Thomas Smith. Julius Heinroth named the town Elberfeldt after a town in Germany. Later the last "t" in the name was dropped and it became Elberfeld.
The actual name of the community is Red Bush and was named for the many red bud trees blooming in the spring, the red bushes in the fall and the fields of broom sage in the area. Located at Red Brush in St. Rupert Catholic Church and cemetery which go back over 125 years.
Named for an early settler, George Tennison and originally spelled the same way. While the railroad was being built through the land where George was living, workers lodged with Tennison and his wife, Emily. The couple was so well liked that the station was named Tennison Station thus giving name to the town. The town name was later changed by a postmaster with permission of the government. The change reflected the name of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson whose work was admired by the postmaster. Also local Tennison families about that time change the spelling of their names to Tennyson. Today in Garrison Cemetery about three miles north of Tennyson are markers with the Tennnison spelling.
Ref: Warrick Courier 1991
Also known as Lickskillet, Folsomville was laid out in 1859 on lands owned by Benjamin Folsom and Riley Rhoads. In 1856 Folsom purchased an Owen Township farm and secured a post office. With the community growing he brought a carding machine and a large flour mill to the area along with a steam thresher. Folsom died 6 April 1875 at age 49.
The present day Post Office at Folsomville is one of the smallest Post Office buildings in the country. It was purchased from the fair grounds to be used as a playhouse and moved to Folsomville where it then became the Post Office. Folsomville does not have a route and the Post Office there is used for PO boxes delivery and out going mail collection.
Named for Frederic Pelzer who was born in Hanover, Germany in 1843 and came to the US in 1880 coming through New Orleans straight to Warrick County. A blacksmith by trade and member of the Masonic Order he bought a farm in souther Boon Township in 1871.
Laid out for the heirs of Philip Miller, one of the earliest settlers of Campbell Township. Miller built a saw mill in 1824. The town prospered at the time when the Walbash and Erie Canal was being built near the town.
Ref: The Warrick Courier, 1991
Originally called Bullock, the town was named for William Bullock a son of a Revolutionary War soldier. Today a group of homes and older buildings exist. The Post Office was closed in 1895.
Once the site of a resort hotel, people flocked to Degonia Springs for its mineral water said to contain 19 beneficial minerals. When the state highway 62 was widened in 1980 the well was closed by the state. See: William C. Scifries, Degonia Springs Hotel.
Yankeetown was laid out in 1858 by Thomas Day. With New Englanders being the majority of inhabitants who used the word "Yankee" to denote something of a special excellence. Mr. Day had the idea of this becoming a Yankee good town.
Ref: Warrick Courier (1991)
Named for Judge Silas Stephens and originally spelled "Stephenson". The Judge was born in 1801 in Lexington, Kentucky and came to Evansville, Indiana in 1822 as a saddler. He was elected to associate judge of Circuit Court in Evansville in 1846.
At one time the community covered several blocks on both sides of the railroad tracks at the present location. Today there are a couple of homes left in the area with a gas station and small industries.
Located near Cypress Creek about a mile from Darlington and also known as Vanada Camps. Solomon Vanada built the first water mill in Warrick County on Cypress Creek. State Highway 66 passes through the area today.
Loafer's Station was located north of Tennyson and the intersection of SR 61 and Lincoln Trail Road. All businesses in the community faced Hwy 61 and included a general store, grist mill and blacksmith shop. The community grew to fair size for the time but Tennyson got the railroad. People then started taking more of their business to Tennyson and folks started moving from Loafer's Station to Tennyson. Today the intersection is all that is left of the town. On a lighter note, a friend of mine who lives near the intersection will at times put Loafer's Station in his mailing address, much to the ire of the post office.