This is a timeline and interactive map of
Blackford County, Indiana. The timeline (below) lists important events in Blackford County history. An adjacent (right) interactive map contains links to various locations around the county.
The county was creating by splitting off the western section of
Jay County, and is named after Judge
Isaac Blackford. Its county seat is
Hartford City, Indiana, which was briefly a
boomtown because of the
discovery of natural gas. Because of the natural gas and oil fields elsewhere in the county, the
glassmaking industry thrived for about 30 years. Later in the 20th century, Hartford City was the national headquarters for Overhead Door Corporation for about 40 years.
1816 December 11 –
Indiana is admitted to United States as the 19th U.S. state.[2]
1818 October 6 –
Treaty of St. Mary's gives land along
Salamonie River (in future Jay and Blackford Counties) to
Miami Indian Chief François Godfroy (Palaanswa), and tribal members on this reservation are considered first settlers in future Blackford County.[3][4]
1819 December – Vacant land that would become
Jay, Blackford,
Wells,
Adams, and
Allen counties attached to
Randolph County for judicial purposes.[5]
1820s
1820 August – Randolph County commissioners give name of Wayne Township to land that would become Jay, Blackford, Wells, Adams, and Allen counties.[5]
1830s
1831 July 9 – Benjamin Reasoner, Sr. enters future Blackford County in the southwest corner of what would become
Licking Township, near Lick Creek, and starts farm.[6]
1832 – John Blount settles in the northeast corner of future Blackford County.[7] Blackford County's oldest community,
Matamoras, would begin on the Blount property along the
Salamonie River.[8]
1833 January 4 – Mary Reasoner, first non-native child of Anglo heritage born in future Blackford County, born on this day. She was the third child of Peter Reasoner.
1835 January 5 –
Randolph County commissioners assign name of Salamonie Township to land that would become
Jay and Blackford counties.[9]
1835 February 7 –
Indiana General Assembly passes act that lays out 14 counties, including Jay County (which contained the future Blackford County at that time).[10]
1836 January 30 – Indiana General Assembly passes act that, effective March 1, "the county of Jay shall enjoy all the rights and jurisdiction which, to separate and independent counties, do or may properly belong." At that time, future Blackford County was part of Jay County.[11]
1836 August – Jay County holds elections. Future Blackford County portion of Jay County called Lick Creek Township.[12]
1836–37 – Settlers from
Vermont, led by Abel Baldwin, establish community along Salamonie River in what would become Blackford County's
Harrison Township. Community is named
Montpelier in honor of the capital of their native state.[13]
1838 February 15 – An "act for the formation of the county of Blackford" approved, and commissioners named to decide location of county seat.[14]
1838 April 2 – Effective date of act that formed Blackford County.[14]
1839 January 29 – Second act approved for the creation of Blackford County, effective on the same (January 29) day, and new set of commissioners named to decide location of county seat.[14]
1839 June – Blackford County finally organized after
Governor David Wallace appoints a sheriff. Elections for county officers were held at the
log cabin home of Andrew Boggs.[15]
1840s
1840 February 12 – Blackford County's first Post Office established in Montpelier.[16]
1840 February 24 – Legislature appoints a third set of commissioners to locate Blackford County's county seat.[14]
1841 February 4 – Legislature appoints a fourth set of commissioners to locate Blackford County's county seat.[14]
1841 – After considerable debate, Blackford County commissioners determine that Hartford (City) will be county seat, and construction begins on a courthouse.[17](Hartford City was originally called "Hartford", but later changed to Hartford City when it was discovered that another Hartford already existed in Indiana.)[14]
1847 January – Community of
Trenton "laid out" at a crossroads that include eventual
Indiana State Road 26, one of the county's a major east–west highways.[18]
1849 January 15 – First projected railroad in Blackford County, the Fort Wayne and Southern, chartered by state legislature. Because of financial difficulties, this railroad was the second to operate in the county.[19]
1850s
1854 August 4 – First postmaster appointed in Dundee. Because another Dundee existed in
Henry County, the community eventually became known as
Roll.[20]
1865 –
Trenton's Post Office established using name "Priam" because another Trenton existed in Indiana at that time.[18]
1867 – The Union & Logansport Railway completed to Hartford. This is the first railroad to operate in Blackford County, running approximately east–west through the southern half of the county. In less than twenty years, this railroad became known as the
Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, and eventually became part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad system.[19][22]
1870 September 12 – Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad runs first train from
Fort Wayne to
Muncie, running north–south through Montpelier and Hartford City in Blackford County. Although this was Blackford County's first proposed railroad, it was the second railroad to operate in the county.[25]
1877 April 13 – Land donated for Independence Rural School in
Washington Township's Frog Alley. The area became known as Frog Alley because of the swampy condition around the school.[26]
1880s
1887 Spring – Hartford City Gas and Oil Company drills successful natural gas well in Hartford City.[27] This begins Blackford County's participation in the
Indiana Gas Boom, as the
Trenton Gas Field includes most of Blackford County.
1888 – Community of
Mollie, a railroad stop in Harrison Township, opens Mollie Post Office.[8] Located near
oil fields, Mollie thrives during the
Indiana Gas Boom.
1891 –
Hartford City Glass Company, the first glass factory in Blackford County, begins manufacturing window glass.[29] The company would be purchased by American Window Glass Company in 1899.[30]
1894 April – Hartford City voters approve a city charter, and town incorporates as a city in May.[33][34]
1894 August 8 – Hartford City's economic boom continued as workers were finishing the roof on the new courthouse. At least three hundred men were expected to be necessary to construct the new street railway, waterworks,
Sneath Glass plant, and the belt railway. Improvements to the streets were also being considered.[35]
1903 October 31 – Community of Silas is "grieving" over the loss of its general store (once owned by Silas Rayl), believing that Silas "will be no more".[39]
1905 – Hartford City builds a
brick high school in response to need and difficulties with fires. The school was used for over 60 years.[40]
1907 –
Trenton's Priam Post Office discontinued.[18]
1908 – New technology causes numerous skilled glass workers in Hartford City to lose their jobs producing
window glass.[42]
1908 – New public library built in Montpelier with the help of a donation from Andrew Carnegie. This building would eventually be added to the
National Register of Historic Places.[36][43]
1910s
1911 –
Millgrove's glass factory closed – "a severe blow to Millgrove".[44]
1913 March 25 – Flooding along
Salamonie River caused city of Montpelier to be without electricity, and the river swelled to over one mile wide.[45]
1917 – New two-story high school constructed in
Roll.[46]
1920s
1923 – Overhead Door Corporation moves headquarters to Hartford City, and establishes
garage door manufacturing facility that will become a major employer for the community – employing as many as 515 people.[47]
1930s
1933 August 4 –
John Dillinger gang robs First National Bank of Montpelier.[48]
1945 July 8 –Sigma Phi Gamma Park dedicated in Hartford City's west side. This park is large enough to have a baseball diamond, football field, tennis court, and playground.[49]
1950s
1952 –
Sneath Glass Company closed. This company was once one of Hartford City's largest employers in manufacturing.[50]
1955 –
3M Company purchases the Hartford City Paper Mill, and becomes a major employer in Hartford City.[51]
1960s
1962 – Last class graduates from Roll High School. School system becomes part of Montpelier Community Schools.[26]
1965 – Overhead Door Corporation moves headquarters from Hartford City to
Dallas, Texas.[52]
1970s
1970 October 25 –
Blackford High School dedicated. New high school opened for 1969–1970 school year, consolidating Montpelier and Hartford City High Schools.[53]
1985 May 21 – Overhead Door Corporation cuts back operations at their original manufacturing plant in Hartford City. The plant would be closed in 2000.[57]
1990s
1993 – Hartford City and
Indiana University golfer Erika Wicoff is
Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year. Wicoff eventually becomes a professional golfer.[58]
^"A Postoffice is Wiped Out," Hartford City Evening News, February 7, 1907. (The article's headline spelled "Post Office" as "Postoffice".)
^*"Human Blowers Thing of the Past – Machines Replacing Skilled Trades and Obsolete Methods of Manufacture of Window Glass". Daily Times Gazette. 1908-04-13. By June 1 three fourths of the window glass plants now operating by the obsolete way with human blowers will be out of blast and by July all will be idle, many never to resume by the old plan.
A History of Blackford County, Indiana : with historical accounts of the county, 1838–1986 [and] histories of families who have lived in the county. Hartford City, Indiana: Blackford County Historical Society. 1986.
OCLC15144953.
Shinn, Benjamin Granville (1900). Biographical memoirs of Blackford County, Ind: to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography ... embellished with portraits of many well known residents of Blackford County, Indiana. Chicago: The Bowen Publishing Company.
OCLC3554406.
This is a timeline and interactive map of
Blackford County, Indiana. The timeline (below) lists important events in Blackford County history. An adjacent (right) interactive map contains links to various locations around the county.
The county was creating by splitting off the western section of
Jay County, and is named after Judge
Isaac Blackford. Its county seat is
Hartford City, Indiana, which was briefly a
boomtown because of the
discovery of natural gas. Because of the natural gas and oil fields elsewhere in the county, the
glassmaking industry thrived for about 30 years. Later in the 20th century, Hartford City was the national headquarters for Overhead Door Corporation for about 40 years.
1816 December 11 –
Indiana is admitted to United States as the 19th U.S. state.[2]
1818 October 6 –
Treaty of St. Mary's gives land along
Salamonie River (in future Jay and Blackford Counties) to
Miami Indian Chief François Godfroy (Palaanswa), and tribal members on this reservation are considered first settlers in future Blackford County.[3][4]
1819 December – Vacant land that would become
Jay, Blackford,
Wells,
Adams, and
Allen counties attached to
Randolph County for judicial purposes.[5]
1820s
1820 August – Randolph County commissioners give name of Wayne Township to land that would become Jay, Blackford, Wells, Adams, and Allen counties.[5]
1830s
1831 July 9 – Benjamin Reasoner, Sr. enters future Blackford County in the southwest corner of what would become
Licking Township, near Lick Creek, and starts farm.[6]
1832 – John Blount settles in the northeast corner of future Blackford County.[7] Blackford County's oldest community,
Matamoras, would begin on the Blount property along the
Salamonie River.[8]
1833 January 4 – Mary Reasoner, first non-native child of Anglo heritage born in future Blackford County, born on this day. She was the third child of Peter Reasoner.
1835 January 5 –
Randolph County commissioners assign name of Salamonie Township to land that would become
Jay and Blackford counties.[9]
1835 February 7 –
Indiana General Assembly passes act that lays out 14 counties, including Jay County (which contained the future Blackford County at that time).[10]
1836 January 30 – Indiana General Assembly passes act that, effective March 1, "the county of Jay shall enjoy all the rights and jurisdiction which, to separate and independent counties, do or may properly belong." At that time, future Blackford County was part of Jay County.[11]
1836 August – Jay County holds elections. Future Blackford County portion of Jay County called Lick Creek Township.[12]
1836–37 – Settlers from
Vermont, led by Abel Baldwin, establish community along Salamonie River in what would become Blackford County's
Harrison Township. Community is named
Montpelier in honor of the capital of their native state.[13]
1838 February 15 – An "act for the formation of the county of Blackford" approved, and commissioners named to decide location of county seat.[14]
1838 April 2 – Effective date of act that formed Blackford County.[14]
1839 January 29 – Second act approved for the creation of Blackford County, effective on the same (January 29) day, and new set of commissioners named to decide location of county seat.[14]
1839 June – Blackford County finally organized after
Governor David Wallace appoints a sheriff. Elections for county officers were held at the
log cabin home of Andrew Boggs.[15]
1840s
1840 February 12 – Blackford County's first Post Office established in Montpelier.[16]
1840 February 24 – Legislature appoints a third set of commissioners to locate Blackford County's county seat.[14]
1841 February 4 – Legislature appoints a fourth set of commissioners to locate Blackford County's county seat.[14]
1841 – After considerable debate, Blackford County commissioners determine that Hartford (City) will be county seat, and construction begins on a courthouse.[17](Hartford City was originally called "Hartford", but later changed to Hartford City when it was discovered that another Hartford already existed in Indiana.)[14]
1847 January – Community of
Trenton "laid out" at a crossroads that include eventual
Indiana State Road 26, one of the county's a major east–west highways.[18]
1849 January 15 – First projected railroad in Blackford County, the Fort Wayne and Southern, chartered by state legislature. Because of financial difficulties, this railroad was the second to operate in the county.[19]
1850s
1854 August 4 – First postmaster appointed in Dundee. Because another Dundee existed in
Henry County, the community eventually became known as
Roll.[20]
1865 –
Trenton's Post Office established using name "Priam" because another Trenton existed in Indiana at that time.[18]
1867 – The Union & Logansport Railway completed to Hartford. This is the first railroad to operate in Blackford County, running approximately east–west through the southern half of the county. In less than twenty years, this railroad became known as the
Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, and eventually became part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad system.[19][22]
1870 September 12 – Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad runs first train from
Fort Wayne to
Muncie, running north–south through Montpelier and Hartford City in Blackford County. Although this was Blackford County's first proposed railroad, it was the second railroad to operate in the county.[25]
1877 April 13 – Land donated for Independence Rural School in
Washington Township's Frog Alley. The area became known as Frog Alley because of the swampy condition around the school.[26]
1880s
1887 Spring – Hartford City Gas and Oil Company drills successful natural gas well in Hartford City.[27] This begins Blackford County's participation in the
Indiana Gas Boom, as the
Trenton Gas Field includes most of Blackford County.
1888 – Community of
Mollie, a railroad stop in Harrison Township, opens Mollie Post Office.[8] Located near
oil fields, Mollie thrives during the
Indiana Gas Boom.
1891 –
Hartford City Glass Company, the first glass factory in Blackford County, begins manufacturing window glass.[29] The company would be purchased by American Window Glass Company in 1899.[30]
1894 April – Hartford City voters approve a city charter, and town incorporates as a city in May.[33][34]
1894 August 8 – Hartford City's economic boom continued as workers were finishing the roof on the new courthouse. At least three hundred men were expected to be necessary to construct the new street railway, waterworks,
Sneath Glass plant, and the belt railway. Improvements to the streets were also being considered.[35]
1903 October 31 – Community of Silas is "grieving" over the loss of its general store (once owned by Silas Rayl), believing that Silas "will be no more".[39]
1905 – Hartford City builds a
brick high school in response to need and difficulties with fires. The school was used for over 60 years.[40]
1907 –
Trenton's Priam Post Office discontinued.[18]
1908 – New technology causes numerous skilled glass workers in Hartford City to lose their jobs producing
window glass.[42]
1908 – New public library built in Montpelier with the help of a donation from Andrew Carnegie. This building would eventually be added to the
National Register of Historic Places.[36][43]
1910s
1911 –
Millgrove's glass factory closed – "a severe blow to Millgrove".[44]
1913 March 25 – Flooding along
Salamonie River caused city of Montpelier to be without electricity, and the river swelled to over one mile wide.[45]
1917 – New two-story high school constructed in
Roll.[46]
1920s
1923 – Overhead Door Corporation moves headquarters to Hartford City, and establishes
garage door manufacturing facility that will become a major employer for the community – employing as many as 515 people.[47]
1930s
1933 August 4 –
John Dillinger gang robs First National Bank of Montpelier.[48]
1945 July 8 –Sigma Phi Gamma Park dedicated in Hartford City's west side. This park is large enough to have a baseball diamond, football field, tennis court, and playground.[49]
1950s
1952 –
Sneath Glass Company closed. This company was once one of Hartford City's largest employers in manufacturing.[50]
1955 –
3M Company purchases the Hartford City Paper Mill, and becomes a major employer in Hartford City.[51]
1960s
1962 – Last class graduates from Roll High School. School system becomes part of Montpelier Community Schools.[26]
1965 – Overhead Door Corporation moves headquarters from Hartford City to
Dallas, Texas.[52]
1970s
1970 October 25 –
Blackford High School dedicated. New high school opened for 1969–1970 school year, consolidating Montpelier and Hartford City High Schools.[53]
1985 May 21 – Overhead Door Corporation cuts back operations at their original manufacturing plant in Hartford City. The plant would be closed in 2000.[57]
1990s
1993 – Hartford City and
Indiana University golfer Erika Wicoff is
Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year. Wicoff eventually becomes a professional golfer.[58]
^"A Postoffice is Wiped Out," Hartford City Evening News, February 7, 1907. (The article's headline spelled "Post Office" as "Postoffice".)
^*"Human Blowers Thing of the Past – Machines Replacing Skilled Trades and Obsolete Methods of Manufacture of Window Glass". Daily Times Gazette. 1908-04-13. By June 1 three fourths of the window glass plants now operating by the obsolete way with human blowers will be out of blast and by July all will be idle, many never to resume by the old plan.
A History of Blackford County, Indiana : with historical accounts of the county, 1838–1986 [and] histories of families who have lived in the county. Hartford City, Indiana: Blackford County Historical Society. 1986.
OCLC15144953.
Shinn, Benjamin Granville (1900). Biographical memoirs of Blackford County, Ind: to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography ... embellished with portraits of many well known residents of Blackford County, Indiana. Chicago: The Bowen Publishing Company.
OCLC3554406.