Boone County Introduction

 An historical description of Boone County, Indiana circa 1914 excerpted from, "The History of Boone County, Indiana," by Hon. L. M. Crist, and excerpted from Harden & Spahr's 1887 publication of, "Early Life and Times in Boone County, Indiana," is a section of the work, "The Geology of Boone County," written by S. S. Gorby and S. S. Lee.

Boone County was organized in 1831 and was called Boone as a tribute of respect to Colonel Daniel Boone, the renowned pioneer and hunter, of Kentucky. It is situated near the center of the state, and is bounded on the north by Clinton county, east by Hamilton, south by Marion and Hendricks, and on the west by Montgomery.

The county is on a ridge, or what was formerly called the dividing swamps, between White River and the Wabash. It is the source of Eagle Creek, White Lick and the Walnut Fork of Eel River, which empty into the former and of Big Raccoon and Sugar Creeks, which empty into the latter.

In the United States survey, Boone embraces all of townships 18 and 19 north, and ranges 1 and 2 east and ranges 1 and 2 west of the second meridian. Also parts of townships 17 and 20 north and ranges 1 and 2 west and east of the second meridian. This territory is divided into twelve civil townships: Center, Clinton, Eagle, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Marion, Perry, Sugar Creek, Union, Washington & Worth.

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Geology of Boone County

S. S. Gorby and S. E. Lee

Boone County, named in honor of the heroic pioneer of Kentucky, was organized by act of legislature in 1829. It is situated just west of the center of the state, and is bounded on the north by Clinton County, on the east by Hamilton, on the south by Marion and Hendricks, and on the west by Montgomery. The county is twenty-four miles in length from east to west, and eighteen miles in width from north to south, and embraces an area of 432 square miles.

At the time of its organization Boone County was a dense wilderness, the total population being less than five hundred. The following table, taken from the United States Census Reports, shows the population of the county in the several decades since 1830:

Population in 1830 . . . . . . 621
Population in 1840 . . . . .8,121
Population in 1850 . . . .11,631
Population in 1860 . . . .16,753
Population in 1870 . . . .22,593
Population in 1880 . . . .25,922

There are twelve civil townships in the county, viz: Sugar Creek, in the northwest corner of the county; Washington and Clinton, in the northern part of the county; Marion, in the northeast corner; Jefferson, in the western; Center in the central, and Union, in the eastern part of the county; Jackson, in the southwest; Harrison and Perry, in the southern, and Worth and Eagle, in the southeastern part of the county.

Transcribed & Submitted by: T. Stover - August 2006

Source Citation: Boone County Introduction [database online] Boone County INGenWeb. 2006. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~inboone> Original data: Hon. Leander M. Crist. "The History of Boone County, Indiana." Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen, 1914, and Harden & Spahr. "Early Life and Times in Boone County, Indiana." Indianapolis, Ind. Carlon & Hollenbeck. 1887.