Hamilton County History Timeline
Concerning the 400 square miles of Earth
known as Hamilton County, Indiana
by David Heighway
Part I: Genesis
The land: The ground beneath our feet began as the seafloor of the Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian seas between 550-320 million years ago. The sediment became beds of limestone which had trapped organic matter that later formed natural gas. Eventually the seas receded and land rose and, while there may have been dinosaurs in the area at one time, nothing remains of them. Around 20,000 years ago, the Ice Age began and glaciers scraped off the top layers of ground. The last glacier came through 12,000 years ago, leaving behind runoff which created White River and the gravel beds along the river as part of the glacial till, as well as peat bogs such as Fox Prairie which was organic matter crushed under the glacier.
The area then became a huge hardwood forest with some swampy areas like the Dismal Swamp north of Westfield and the area around Fishers (Mudsock). Some of the first known animals were Ice Age beasts such as mastodons and giant ground sloths, with remains found at Clare and Noblesville. Later animals included deer, bear, cougar, wolves, raccoons, and, most importantly, elk. Migrating elk were the probable source of a trail which went from the Whitewater Valley to the Wea and Wildcat prairies on the Wabash River. This trail crossed through the northern part of the future Hamilton County and was the route for the first humans into the area.
The first people were paleo-indians who came to the area around 10,000 years ago following game. They were followed by other groups like the Mound builders possibly 2,000 years ago and the “Oliver phase” natives around 600 years ago. The Miamis became the first identifiable tribe when they appeared in the 1690s and took control of the area. European traders may have been using the elk trail by 1715 to reach Fort Ouitenon (Lafayette). The Delaware (Lenape) Indians arrived in the 1780s after being pushed out of their homelands on the east coast by European settlers. They made a treaty with the Miami in the 1790s and settled along the river.
Part II: Clearing the land; 1802 – 1837
1802: arrival of William Conner
1809: Tecumseh passes through area going from Anderson to Tippecanoe
1811: Tecumseh’s uprising
Possibly troops stationed at Strawtown
1812: War of 1812
1813: skirmish at Strawtown
1818: Treaty of St. Mary’s – Delaware leave
1819: First official settlers – Strawtown and Horseshoe Prairie
First African American in county, fur trader Pete Smith
1820: state capitol chosen at meeting at Conner’s house
1821: Kentuckian claims Pete Smith as slave, takes away
1822: Squirrel emigration
1823: petition legislature to become county, approved
Noblesville platted
First regular mail delivery
First major flood
First brick house – William Conner’s
1824: Noblesville becomes county seat
Massacre on Fall Creek – two perpetrators lived in Hamilton Co.
1826: Central Canal approved, part of Internal Improvement Act
1828: George Boxley settles in northwestern part of county
1830: first census – 1,757 people
first courthouse constructed
Roads surveyed as part of internal improvements
Settlers begin arriving and buying land
Scotch-Irish from Kentucky
New York & Pennsylvania
1832: Quakers from North Carolina begin settling in western part of county
Hansel Roberts from North Carolina establishes settlement
1833: County divided into present townships
1834: Westfield established
1835: John Mullen, Irish Catholic, establishes settlement – canal workers
Cicero established (both on Lafayette Trace)
1836: Strawtown formally established
Boxley established (on Lafayette Trace)
Sheilsville (Atlanta) established
German settlement 5 miles northwest of Strawtown
First newspaper in the county, called the Newspaper, published
1837: Bethlehem (Carmel) established by Quakers
Deming established by Quakers
Quakers also have settlements at Hortonville and Bakers Corners
Second courthouse constructed
Massive financial depression hits United States
Banks fail
Indiana goes bankrupt
Canal and road projects fail
Population influx slows
1840 census: 9,855 people – 460% increase
Most of government land has been bought
Part III: Civil Rights, Civil War and Reform; 1837-1886
1837: Rhodes family, escaped slaves, arrive in county
1843: Frederick Douglass assaulted by mob in Pendleton
Westfield resident Micajah White injured with him
Group pelted by rotten eggs in Noblesville
1844: Rhodes family’s former owner attempts to reclaim them
opposed by locals, court case, proven UGRR case
1846: ferry boat on White River
second major flood
1848: Split in Westfield Quaker Church over slavery
Eagletown established
1849: Arcadia established (on proposed rail line)
Nicholsonville (Clarksville) established
1850 census: 12,684 people – 28% increase
County becomes strongly Republican during this decade
1850: Cholera epidemic in Noblesville
1851: first railroad in county completed to Noblesville
New kind of immigrant – refugees from European upheavals of 1848
Many German, some Jewish – Levinson & Joseph families
Nancy Elliot, first Black child born in Noblesville
1852: first agricultural fair
1853: escaped slave comes through Westfield, writes about it in 1855
Baptist Church (Black) established in Noblesville
second lesser cholera epidemic
1856: libraries established in Westfield and Noblesville
1859: Orphan Train drops off Andrew Burke
1860 census: 17,310 people – 35% increase
1860: Martha Talbert writes about escaped slaves in her diary
Union High School organized in Westfield
1861: Civil War begins
John Evans takes handcar to Indianapolis to volunteer
Most Hamilton County men join 39th, 75th and 101st Indiana Inf.
Some Westfield Quakers volunteer
1862: AME Church established in Noblesville
1863: Blacks allowed to enlist in army
William Hoard joins 55th Massachusetts
Many Roberts Settlement men join 28th U.S.C.T.
Morgan’s Raid – many volunteers for three emergency regiments
Church built at Roberts Settlement
1864: “Battle of Tapin’s woodpile” – riot in Noblesville
Suspicions of Confederate sympathizers in eastern part of county
1865: War ends – 277 known dead from county
1866: Millwood (Sheridan) established
1868: first baseball team organized
Noblesville Civil War monument dedicated
1869: first county women’s suffrage group forms in Westfield
General Grant visits Noblesville
1870 census: 20,882 people – 21% increase
1870: Josiah Durfee builds new shop and begins constructing bridges in county
1871: Blacks serve on sheriff’s posse to capture white criminals in Adams Twp.
Hook and ladder fire company formed in Noblesville
1872: Fishers established
Local Black population holds huge rally for Grant on Courthouse Square
1873: both Black churches in Noblesville build new buildings
1874: William Roberts elected Constable in Jackson Township
1876: Sheriff’s residence and jail constructed
1877: railroad from Anderson (Midland) reaches Noblesville
Mexican vaquero visits Noblesville – first known Hispanic
1879: third and present courthouse constructed
1880 census: 24,801 people – 19% increase
1880: Eli Roberts runs for County Recorder
John Hoard elected Constable in Noblesville
Green Roper and Cyrus Roberts appointed to County Grand Jury
Frederick Douglass makes visit to Noblesville
Greeted as hero – huge celebration
Telephone company started in Noblesville
1882: Monon reaches Westfield
Westfield women smash saloon
First G.A.R. post organized in Sheridan
1883: Newspaper goes on crusade against brothels in Noblesville
Suspected brothel is attacked by mob and burned
1885: Midland Railroad completed to Westfield
The “Index’, a temperance and suffrage newspaper, started in Westfield
1886: Midland Railroad completed to western county border
Part IV: Gas Boom and Bust; 1887-1922
1887: Natural gas found in Hamilton County, part of statewide boom
“Wainwright Wonder” is possibly largest well in Indiana
Noblesville incorporates into city, elects mayor
Gas wells part of seal, resembles L.E. & W. railroad logo
1888: Benjamin Harrison elected president
Has friends in Sheridan, visits for hunting
Tie Loy, Chinese laundryman, appears in Noblesville
First known Asian in Hamilton County
1890 census: 26,213 people – 6% increase
During decade, local GAR issues protest against return of confederate battle flags,
refuses to attend “Blue-Gray” reunion, and appoints a Black man – Rev. Barney
Stone – as chaplain
1891: electric company organized in Noblesville
Mayor James Worth Smith paves Noblesville with brick
American Strawboard Company begun in Noblesville
People begin moving into “Johnstown”
1892: Marmon family creates Model Mill in Noblesville
Tin plate mill started in Atlanta
1893: (ca.) Washington Glass Co. started in Cicero – makes bottles
Noblesville Foundry & Machine Co. started (casting plant)
Interurban fraud
1894: first glass factory in Arcadia – makes plate glass
1895: Wild Opera House opened in Noblesville
1898: Bonita Glass Co. started in Cicero – makes art glass
William McKinley speaks in Noblesville
Spanish-American War – many from HC enlist, most in Co. I, 158th Ind. Inf.
Few soldiers get to Cuba
John Creek of Arcadia, 16th Inf., wounded at Battle of Santiago
Charles Dempsey, 24th Inf., at Santiago
Several serve in Philippines during rebellion
Some reach China – Boxer Rebellion, 1900
1899: Home Telephone Company started in Noblesville
1900 census: 29,914 people – 14% increase
Jackson Twp. goes from 4,255 to 6,620 people – 56% increase
Gas supplies begin to fail
1900s: George and Worth Brehm and Franklin and Hanson Booth move to New York
Become part of Golden Age of American Illustration
1900: Wilson Milk Co. started in Sheridan (Indiana Condensed Milk)
Bonita Glass closes
1901: second Westfield library started
1902: grave robbing scandal in Fishers
Teddy Roosevelt speaks in Noblesville
1903: Interurban begins running
1904: Hamilton County Corn Club established – forerunner of 4-H
Carmel Library started
1906: gunfight in Carmel
first law enforcement person killed in line of duty
1908: abortive hydroelectric dam project north of Noblesville
Cicero bottle factory burns
Trial in Noblesville for playing baseball on Sunday
1909: Harrell Hospital built in Noblesville
Fodrea-Malott Co. builds Beetle Flyer – only auto built in HC
1910 census: 27,026 – 10% decrease
Jackson Twp. goes from 6,620 to 5,155 people – 28% decrease
1910: first Noblesville Chautauqua
Westfield builds Carnegie Library building
Sheridan builds Carnegie Library building
1913: massive flood over entire state, severe in Hamilton County
Noblesville builds Carnegie Library
Carmel builds Carnegie Library
Much of Sheridan destroyed in fire
Much of Carmel destroyed in fire
William E. Longley of Noblesville appointed 1st state Fire Marshal
1914: George Van Camp & Sons takes over Westfield packing plant
1916: Atlanta builds Carnegie Library
1917: World War I
All five Armstrong brothers from Westfield serve
Coal rationing causes concern about fuel supplies
1918: War ends – 31 known dead from county
1919: Seventh Day Adventists establish Indiana Academy
Burdick Tire and Rubber Co. starts factory in Noblesville
1920 census: 24,222 – 10% decrease
1920: Cicero starts library
Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits Noblesville as VP candidate
1921: Noblesville library starts bookmobile service
1922: successful hydroelectric plant built at Riverwood
Midland Railroad stops passenger services
Part V: The Klan, Depression, War, and Recovery, 1923-1954
1920s Prohibition – strong support in county
White River possible route of bootleggers
1923: Hamilton County centennial celebration
Parades, party, etc.
Ku Klux Klan appears
Rally in Noblesville, burn cross on Square
1925: Trial of D. C. Stephenson
Allisonville Road changes entrance into Noblesville from 8th to 10th
1927: Forest Park created
1930 census: 23,444 people – 3% decrease
1930s Depression sees rise of scientific agriculture in HC
Lilly Farms, Lynwood Farms, Beck’s Seeds
WPA does projects
Improve Forest Park, outhouses, farms, art for library
Highway 37 upgraded with new bridge at Strawtown
Lucky Teter begins stunt show
1932: Bonus Marchers camp at Forest Park
Nickel Plate railroad ceases passenger trains in county
1936: Barney Stone travels statewide to discuss his history
1937: Severe flood
Rural electric brought to county
1938: Interurban ends
1940 census: 24,614 people – 5% increase
1940: William Dudley Pelley moves to Noblesville
1941: America enters World War II
1942: Pelley is convicted of sedition and sent to prison
1943: Geist Reservoir completed
1944: Biddle Screw Co. is established in Sheridan
1945: War ends – 87 known dead from county
1948: Harry Truman gives speech in Noblesville during whistle-stop trip
Tucker automobile dealership opens in Noblesville
[Preston Tucker lived in Noblesville in the 1930s]
1950 census 28,491 – 16% increase
1950: new coal-fired power plant built at Riverwood
Korean War begins
1953: Korean War ends – 10 known dead from county
Part VI: Paving the Cornfields, 1955-2005
1955: Clay Township annexes all of Delaware Township west of White River
1956: Morse Reservoir completed
1957: Highway 37 bypass (present 37) finished
Eller covered bridge burns
1959: Wild Opera House torn down by Noblesville Parking Commission
modern Eller bridge over White River completed
1960 census: 40,132 people – 41% increase
1960s see road changes and upgrade for suburbs
Highway 465 is built
roads are renamed to match Indianapolis street numbers
1962: finishing Highway 69
1963: creation of Hamilton County Historical Society
Upswing in interest in history to parallel growth of suburbs
1964: start of Vietnam War
school consolidation
Conner Prairie started
1965: Belfry Theater established
Palm Sunday tornadoes kill 4 people
1969: Sheridan Historical Society founded
1970 census: 54,532 – 36% increase
Clay Township becomes most populous in county
1970s: Reservoirs are opened for housing
Westfield gets its first tavern
1971: Arcadia Heritage center founded
1973: Vietnam War ends – 17 known dead from county
1975: Carmel Clay Historical Society founded
1979: Old jail acquired by HCHS for museum
1980 census: 82,027 – 50% increase
First two women mayors in county – Patricia Logan & Jane Reiman
1987: Noblesville Preservation Alliance formed
1988: Craig house moved
1990 census: 108,936 people – 33% increase
1990s: Westfield Washington Historical Society founded
1993: Courthouse renovated
1997: Home Place Museum and Library founded
1999: Westfield native David Kendall defends Bill Clinton at his impeachment trial
2000 census: 182,740 people – 68% increase
2010 census: 274,569 people – 50.3% increase