Smith Storey House, 170 Brown Street, Built c.
1868
Smith Story, a druggist by trade, purchased this property
across from the courthouse in 1867 and built this ornate home for himself.
Smith
resided here for over thirty years, from its completion until his death in
1903.
Mary Vawter House, 235 Brown Street, Built 1830
Dating to around 1840, this home has had many owners. In
1872 the home was purchased by Smith Vawter, son of John Vawter, and became the address for Mary A. Vawter
for over three decades. This home is typical of the central passage type of
house brought by settlers to Indiana from North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.
The styling is Federal
Row Houses, 119-139 Jackson Street, Built ca. 1830
These are
simple examples of Federal architecture. The structures are among Vernon's
oldest remaining commercial structures, dating to the 1830's. Among the
businesses that were housed here was J. L. Stott's hotel, the Sherman
House.
Perhaps their greatest significance is their roll with the
Underground Railroad. Jennings County's location along the one of the main
routes made it an early stop on the path to freedom. Alan Stott had tunnels
built under the structures, and escaping slaves were brought from the
Muscatatuck River behind the Sherman House to the tunnels where they hid until
it was safe to move on.
John
Vawter House, 285 Brown Street, 1815-c. 1860, Style: Gothic Revival
The cabin of Vernon's founder, John Vawter, is hidden within this house.
Vawter was by profession a surveyor who settled in Vernon in 1815 and platted
the town that year. In 1816 Jennings County was established, with Vernon as the
county seat.
The cabin's original location was across Brown St. by the
railroad tracks. Vawter was a supporter of bringing the Madison and Indianpolis
Railroad to Vernon. When surveyors platted the track through the center of his
property, he promptly moved his house to this location. In the 1860's the cabin
was covered up by extensive additions in the Italianate style. The Nauer and
Poole families also lived in this home.
African-American School, 35 Perry Street, Built 1898
This building was built in 1898 as a school for African American children
in Vernon. It was desegregated in the early 20th century, and in 1920 the
building was converted to a residence. It was the first school in Indiana to be
desegrated. The building remains a residence to the present day.
Vernon Baptist Church, 155 Washington Street, Built
1871
Vernon's Baptist Church was organized on
April 27, 1816 by town founder John Vawter. During the congregations's first
years, meeting were held in members' cabins and an open air site. The first
church on the present site was built in 1824. The Baptists outgrew this
building, and in 1871 the present building was erected.
James Burt House, 135 Washington Street, Built c.
1840
Work on this home began in 1834 and was
completed by James Burt in 1842. Burt a local doctor educated in Philadelphia,
lived here until his death in 1875. He was active in local religious and
educational matters. He served as a trustee of the State Indsitiution for the
Deaf and Dumb at Indianapolis as well as of the Vernon Academy, an early school.
The house is said to have been built near the ancestral burial ground of the
Native Americans who once lived in the area.
Achilles Vawter House, Perry Street, Built 1835
This
house dating to the 1830s, was the residence of Achilles Vawter. It later became
the Vernon Normal School, providing training for grade school teachers. In July
1863 Confederate General John Morgan led a raid through southern Indiana and
threatened Vernon. The Vernon Normal School served as Union General Lew
Wallace's headquarters during the town's defense.
W. B. Hagins House, 65 South Street, Built 1855
Local attorney W.
B. Hagins built this handsome home, located near the Muscatatuck River on the
southern end of Vernon, around 1855. Hagins was born in Kentucky in 1815. He
graduated from Indiana University in 1845 and worked as an attorney and
fire insurance agent. He also served as Notary Public and Justice of the Peace
in Vernon.
Vernon Presbyterian Church, Washington Street, Built 1839
The Vernon Presbyterian Church was founded on May 11th, 1825 by the Rev.
John Finley Crowe. This Greek Revival church was completed in 1839. The building
has had slight modifications since its construction. Originally the front entry
had two separate doors. In 1815 they were reconfigured to the present central
door. Additional mondifications included the addition of a Sunday school to the
rear and the removal of pillars from within the sanctuary.
Elizabeth
Wiggam House, 22 Brown Street, Built c. 1860
Dating to
aroung 1860, this house was the residence of Elizabeth Wiggam for several years.
Noted "Hoosier group" impressionist painter T.C. Steele is said to have stayed
at the house during a visit to Vernon. Steele was interested in Indiana's
landscape and painted several scenes of Vernon and its rural surroundings.
Vernon Seminary, Montgomery Street, Built: 1838
Opened around 1830, the Vernon Seminary was the town's first high
scollts. High schools were often referred to as seminaries at the time. The
Federal style building originally had a single room on each floor with and
exterior stairway. Additions have resulted in it looking the way it does now. It
was updated in 1860. In 1917 a Tornado struck Vernon and caused considerable
damage to the north end of the building. The effect to the second story and the
roofline of this area can still be seen. It was at this building that the
Clionian Society, the first women's club with a constitution, organized on
July 17th 1858. The Clionian Society was active in Vernon's educational matters
and laid the cornerstone for Vernon's second high school. The Vernon Seminary
was later converted to residential use.
Town Hall, 29 Montgomery Street, Built 1838
John B. New House, 119 Pike Street, Built: c. 1820
John B. New moved to Indiana from Kentucky in 1815. He was a noted
pioneer preacher and for several years he preached with the Baptists. In 1830 he
joined with a group of reformers and organized Vernon's Desciples of Christ
(Christian) Church in this house the following year. He followed up that
success with the establishment of Christian Churches throughout the state.
Additions were made c. 1840 and c. 1890. The exterior remains the same
while the entire interior has been updated in the last few years.
M & I R.R. Overpass, Pike and Gaines Streets, built
1837
This imposing stone arch was erected in
1837 as part of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad through Vernon. The M
& I was the first railraod in Indiana, and this segment was the first
elevated rairoad constructed west of the Alleghenies. The railroad was elevated
in Jennings County so that it would be above the flood waters of the Muscatatuck
and to eliminate a steep grade.
The town founder, John Vawter, campaigned
hard for the railroad and faced heavy opposition from other residents. When
built, the line was laid directly through Vawter's property, requiring him
to move his house. The home of John B. New was also affected, its view and
value being diminished by the construction of the elevated railroad near its
doorstep. The line from Madison to Vernon was completed in 1841 and in 1847 the
line was completed to Indianapolis.
William Bullock House, 70 Brown Street, Built: c.
1844
This house was built around 1844 for William Avery
Bullock. After studying law at Williams College in
Massachusetts, Bullock became active in Vernon's politics. He served as
Jennings County Postmaster from 1829 to 1841. He also served as Justice of the
Peace and Mayor. In 1828 he was one of the organizers of the Jennings Academy.
He served three terms in the Indiana General Assembly during the 1820s.
Following Bullock's death in 1867, the home became the residence of Basnett
family. Recently it was a restaurant.
Martha King
House, 230 Pike Street, Built: c. 1906
The Vernon Methodist Church was organized in
1817 at the home of William Prather. The congregation built this building in
1865. The church is a simple structure.
Jennings County Courthouse, Courthouse
Square, Built: 1860
In 1816 Vernon was established as the
county seat for Jennings County. John Vawter provided a sate at the center of
the town for a Courthouse. The first courthouse would be suffiecient until the
mid 1850s, when the need for space required new construction. Work began on the
present courthouse in 1858 and it was completed in 1860. The building was
formally dedicated on July 4th 1861 with a great celebration. The new courthouse
was designed by Isaac Hodgson, who designed a similar courthouse for Morgan
County. The clock at the top of the 75-foot tower was not added until recently,
considered too expensive when the building was built.
Jennings County Historical
Society, 134 Brown Street, Built: 1838
The home of the
Jennings County Historical Society dates to 1838. Thomas J. Storey opened his
stage coach stop and inn in this building that year. In the 1840s the building
became a hotel known as the North American House. It has seeen a number of
additional uses over the years, including a drug store, wallpaper store,
residence and now the Jenning County Historical Museum.