Hebron - Putnam

The Hebron Christian Church of Russellville (bad picture can’t get a copy from the online newspaper found at newspapers.library.in.gov) ranks as one of the oldest in Putnam County. It was organized in 1826 and became a Christian Church in 1829. One of its famous ministers of the pioneer days was a man named “Blind Billy Wilson,” who is accredited with the founding of 16 churches in Indiana pioneer settlements. Legend has it that Blind Billy had no trouble riding the wilderness circuit except “when his horse threw him he had a hard time finding it.”  He was recognized as one of the 10 outstanding pioneer ministers in Indiana in the early 1880s. During the Civil War when all Christian Churches refused to take sides in the bloody conflict the old church was burned to the ground by marauding night riders. This quaint structure pictured was built by the congregation in 1905. The minister of the 400-congreation church is Rev. Charles Davis.