History of Lawrence County, Indiana

Transcribed passages are from the following book:
History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties Indiana
1914 B. F. Bowen & Co. Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana

Adandoned Towns

Scattered over the county are several towns, or rather, sites of towns, which stand as lonely monuments to villages once flourishing, but abandoned to decay on account of some climatic or commercial reason.

Liberty, four miles and a half southwest of Bedford, is one of these. This village was platted in 1829. and several small buildings immediately sprang up. John S. Daughton, Frank Tilly, Alexander H. Dunihue were among the early merchants. The health conditions finally became so bad that residence there was dangerous, and accordingly the town was abandoned.

Woodville, laid out December 10, 1849, by Edwin Wood, was located on the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railroad. The proprietor of the town manufactured lumber.

Redding was laid out by Robert Porter and John R. Nugent on August 25. 1842, and was situated on the southwest quarter of section 15. This town has passed into history.

Juliet, also, has been relegated to the ages. This village was opened in 1850 on the southwest corner of section 11. During the first years, the town was the terminus of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railroad, and consequently became a trade center. The completion of the road to the north ruined the town, however, and early death was its fate.

Village Plats

• Avoca was platted in the south half of the northwest quarter of section 32, township 6, range 1 west, July, 1819, by Hayden Bridwell.
• Bedford was originally platted on a two-hundred-acre tract in sections 14 and 23, township 5 north, range 1 west, by the county seat locating commissioners, March 30, 1825.
• Bono, platted April 4, 1816.
• Bryantsville (first called Paris), platted May 28, 1835, by Dr. F. Crooke.
• Bartlettsville, platted by Samuel J. Bartlett on the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 8, township 6, range 1 east, January 19, 1860.
• Dixonville, platted in the center of section 10, township 4, range 2 east, by Lucy and Sarah Dixon, April 8, 1853.
• Erie, platted by Dr Joseph Gardner, April 2 1901 on the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 11, township 5, range 1 west.
• East Oolitic, platted by James D. Farmer, in the west half of section 3, township 5, range 1 west, September 1, 1900.
• Fort Ritner, platted by Michael Ritner, May 29, 1857.
• Fayetteville, platted by Ezra Kern, February 6, 1838.
• Georgia, platted February 14, 1853, by John and Alexander Case, on section 12, township 3, range 2 west.
• Guthrie, platted January 3, 1866, on the northeast quarter of the north west quarter of section 3, township 6, range 1 west, by Winthrop Rinser.
• Heltonville, platted on the west half of the northeast quarter of section 26, township 6, range 1 east, by Andrew Helton and wife, September 18, 1845.
• Hancock, platted by Mrs. Martha E. Hancock, on the southeast quarter of section 11, township 5, range 1 west, April 18, 1893.
• Huron, platted March 15, 1859. on the northeast quarter of section 6, township 3, range 2 west, by John Tewell and others.
• Leesville was platted February 27, 1840, by William Flinn, Sr. and William Flinn, Jr.
• Liberty was platted May 25, 1829, by John Lackey and Silas Beezley.
• Lawrenceport was platted May 11, 1837.
• Limestone was platted December 11, 1888, by Isaac H. Crim, on Section 4; township 5, range 1 west.
• Mitchell was platted September 29, 1853, on section 36, township 4, range 1 west, and on the north half of section 1, township 3, range 1 west, by John Sheeks and George W. Cochran.
• Moore’s Hill was platted November 10, 1904, on section 10, township 5, range 1 west, by William N. Matthews.
• Oolitic was platted by the Bedford Quarries Company, March 23, 1896, on section 4, township 5, range 1 west.
• Pattonville, platted March 10, 1891, by Enoch Patton, on the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 5, township 5, range 1 west.
• Peerless was platted November 13, 1891. by John Williams, on section 27, township 6, range 1 west.
• Redding was platted by Robert Porter and wife and John R. Nugent and wife, August 25, 1842 on the southeast of section 15, township 4, range 1 west.
• Rawlins was platted April 20, 1893, by the Standard Stone Company, on sections 10 and 11, township 5, range 1 west.
• Springville was platted on section 22, township 6, range 2 west, by Samuel Owens, July 11, 1832.
• Silverville was platted July 26, 1855, on sections 19 and 20, township 5, range 2 west, by Robert C. McAfee.
• Sunset was platted June 27, 1905, on section 15, township 5, range 1 west, by Euphennia R. Dunn.
• Tunnelton was platted by Isaac Newkirk, on section 19, township 4, range 2 east. August 28, 1859.
• Woodville was platted on section 26, township 4, range 1 west, by Edwin Wood and wile, December 10, 1849.
• Williams was platted May 20, 1889, by Henry Cox, on sections 4 and 9, township 4, range 2 west.
• Zelma, platted May 23, 1890, by Stephen and James Fountain, on the southeast quarter of section 21, township 6, range 2 east.

Read 1997 newspaper article on abandoned towns.