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
SPICE VALLEY TOWNSHIP
Indianapolis News
written by Hon. James H Willard
"...The story of Palestine, the first county seat of Lawrence county, is romantic and mournful. Since the days when Oliver Goldsmith wrote The Deserted Village a tinge of melancholy reminiscence has surrounded those abodes where men had experienced the hope and disappointments and vicissitudes of life, had made their homes for years and then relinquished them for silence and decay. The story of Palestine is indeed a strange one, for it is of a town that at one time promised to be a metropolitan city, but was abandoned by man and reclaimed by nature. Green meadows and forest trees now occupy its former site and not even a foundation stone tells of a vanished town."
Another of the five original townships in the southwest portion of the county is Spice Valley township... To the year 1820 there were thirty four purchases of land, while in Indian Creek township there were fifty-eight during the same time, thus indicating the relative value of land. These entries were Simon Gilbert, William Lindley, C. and T. Bullitt, Ezekiel Blackwell, Jonathan Lindley, Aquilla Gilbert, Henry Speed, Absalom Field, Thomas Lindley, Joseph Hastings, Abraham Holaday, Thomas Coulter, Josiah Trueblood, Joel Connelly, Josiah Connelly in 1816; Josiah Connely, Joel Connelly, Robert Fields, John Chapman, Gideon Coulter, Henry Cosner, John Connelly in 1817; Jesse Beazley, Nicholds Koon, John Quinn, David Bruner, William Cochran, John Luttrell, Roger McKnight, and John Swaim in 1818; William Maxwell, Francis Tincher, in 1819; John Sanders, William Hoard in 1820. Josiah Connelly was the first constable.
"William Hoard, at the time of his death, in 1853, owned about six hundred acres of land and out of this farm the town of Huron was platted in 1859 by his heirs and descendants. No one of the earlier settlers had left so many direct descendants in this and neighboring townships as William Hoard. They furnished twelve or fifteen soldiers to the Union army during the Civil War.
"Owing to the lateness of her settlement Spice Valley cannot boast of any Revolutionary or 1812 veterans, and only two Mexican veterans (known to the writer) sleep within her borders, Jospeh Bosler and George Brinkworth. But it was in the Civil war that Spice Valley made a record that is unequaled by any other of her sister townships in Lawrence County and doubtless by few in the entire state. Her quota was always full and the draft was never resorted to. I feel safe in saying that this was true of no other township in Lawrence or the neighboring counties of Orange and Martin. I dare say there are more old soliders residing in the vicinity of Huron in proportion to the population than any community in the state barring a soldiers home.
"George W. Jones... his grandfather Thomas Jones settled a mile east of Huron in the early twenties and on this farm he was reared and later owned it and collected together a farm of over one thousand two hundred acres. He is the last of the early settlers and soon will sleep with the stalwart pioneers by whose side he struggled so faithfully to build up a community.
"The townhip is indebted to two branches of the powerful Burton
family which did so much in the development of the sister township of
Marion, but two came to Spice Valley, Harden and Eli. The first was
a Baptist preacher and farmer and a great deal more. He was a splendid
type of man. He reared an intelligent family. Drs. John W. Burton and
George W. Burton were his sons and did splendid service in their profession.
Two other sons Isom and Hardin taught many schools in Spice Valley and
were instrumental in bringing the schools to the high plane they have
attained.
A grandson, Jackson Burton,
also did yeoman service in the uplift of the schools of this section. For
the last twenty years he has been engaged in the mercantile business and is
now a leading merchant in this part of the country
..."
Written by T. M. Brinkworth
[The last two sentences above, and the following excerpts from the History, were provided by Randi Richardson in June 2016.]
From History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana (Indianapolis IN: B. F. Bowen & Co., 1914), p. 51-2:
The schools of Spice Valley were few and the teachers indifferent until about the year 1857 when the legislature created the office of township trustee giving the system some head and a marked improvement both in the number of school houses and in the character of teachers is noted. John McGinness, one of the old teachers, far above the average of that time, was elected as the first trustee at the April election 1857, re-elected in 1858 and 1859, the last time for a term of two years, and served till 1861, at the April election of which year Jesse Connerly was elected trustee and served continuously until 1868.
From History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana (Indianapolis IN: B. F. Bowen & Co., 1914), p. 51-2:
Jesse Connerly was elected trustee (of the Spice Valley Township) and served continuously until 1868. He bears the unique distinction of being the only Democrat elected to that office during the entire history of the township. He was not of much education but possessed a remarkable personality that drew men to him. The writer regards it one of the greatest fortunes of his life to have known Jesse Connerly. He lived at the old Connerly Switch on the farm his father bought in 1823, and he lived in that same spot until his death in 1891. His home was a rendezvous for the neighbors for miles around and the traveler never asked in vain for a rest at his place.
To him and George W. Jones must largely be ascribed the credit for the good showing of the township during the Civil War. They saw to it that the families of the absent soldiers did not want and this assurance induced many a man to go to the front.
Mr. Jones still lives at the advanced age of 86. His grandfather, Thomas Jones, settle a mile east of Huron in the early twenties and on this farm he was reared and later owned it and collected together a farm of over 1,200 acres. He is the last of the early settlers and soon will sleep with the stalwart pioneers by whose side he struggled so faithfully to build up a community.
HURON
On February 12, 1859, John Terrell platted the town of Huron, on a part of the northeast quarter of section 6 township 3 north, range 2 west, and in April 1868 an addition was made. In January 1873 Huron was incorporated.
BRYANTSVILLE
The date of the platting of Bryantsville was May 28, 1835 and Henry Connelly was the first settler. The town was first named Paris but was later changed to its present name.
