Blackford County, Indiana

Blackford County is located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana. The county is named for Judge Isaac Blackford, who was the first speaker of the Indiana General Assembly and a long-time chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. Created in 1838, Blackford County is divided into four townships, and its county seat is Hartford City. Two incorporated cities and one incorporated town are located within the county. The county is also the site of numerous unincorporated communities and ghost towns. Occupying only , Blackford County is the fourth smallest county in Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 12,112. Based on population, the county is the 8th smallest county of the 92 in Indiana. The county has two railroad lines. A north–south route crosses the county, and intersects with a second railroad line that connects Hartford City with communities to the west.

Before the arrival of European-American settlers during the 1830s, the northeastern portion of the future Blackford County was briefly the site of an Indian reservation for Chief Francois Godfroy of the Miami tribe. The first European-American pioneers were typically farmers who settled on arable land near rivers. Originally, the county was mostly swampland, but more land became available for farming as the marshes were cleared and drained. Over the next 30 years, small communities developed throughout the county. When the county's rail lines were constructed in the 1860s and 1870s, additional communities evolved around railroad stops.

Beginning in the late 1880s, the discovery of natural gas and crude oil in the county (and surrounding region) caused the area to undergo an economic boom period known as the Indiana Gas Boom. Manufacturers relocated to the area to take advantage of the low-cost energy and railroad facilities. The boom period lasted about 15 years, and is reflected in Blackford County's population, which peaked in 1900 at 17,213. The construction associated with the additional prosperity of the boom period caused a significant upgrade in the county's appearance, as wooden buildings were replaced with masonry structures. Much of the infrastructure built during that time remains today—including Montpelier's historic Carnegie Library and many of Hartford City's buildings in the Courthouse Square Historic District.

Agriculture continues to be important to the county, and became even more important after the loss of several large manufacturers during the 20th century.

History

Following thousands of years of varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the historic Miami and Delaware Indians (a.k.a. Lenape) are the first-recorded permanent settlers in the Blackford County area, living on the Godfroy Reserve after an 1818 treaty. The site is located in Blackford County's Harrison Township, east of Montpelier. Although the Godfroy Reserve was allotted to Miami Native Chief Francois (a.k.a. Francis) Godfroy, Delaware Indians were also allowed to stay there. The Miami tribe was the most powerful group of Natives in the region, and Francois Godfroy (who was half French) was one of their chiefs. By 1839, Godfroy had sold the reserve, and the Natives had migrated west. He entered the area on July 9, 1831. Reasoner and his sons built the county's first mill, on their farm.

The land that would become Blackford County was originally the western part of Jay County. A January 30, 1836, act of the Indiana General Assembly created Jay County, effective March 1, 1836. In December 1836, a motion was made in the Indiana House of Representatives to review dividing Jay County, but that resolution was not adopted.

Two Blackford County communities, Matamoras and Montpelier, originally existed as part of Jay County. They lie along the Salamonie River in what became the northeast portion of Blackford County. John Blount founded Matamoras, arriving in 1833.

Adjacent counties

Wells County (north)
Jay County (east)
Delaware County (south)
Grant County (west)

The terrain of Blackford County shows the influence of glacial passage in the distant past. These glaciers were responsible for the rich farmland that became available after the county was cleared and drained. During the early 20th century, the Renner Stock Farm, in Licking Township, was known statewide for its quality cattle, hogs, and horses.

Waterways

The county has some small streams, and several man-made lakes. The Salamonie River, flowing out of Jay County (Indiana) from the east, crosses the northeast corner of Blackford County. Big and Little Lick Creek flow westward in Licking and Jackson townships in the southern half of the county. Early settlers were attracted to Lick Creek, and then the Salamonie River, because the nearby land had suitable drainage for farming. The county's lakes include Lake Blue Water in Harrison Township; Cain's Lake, Shamrock Lakes and Lake Mohee in Licking Township; and Lake Placid in Jackson Township. Lake Blue Water is a spring-fed former stone quarry located one mile (1.6 km) east of Montpelier. The Shamrock Lakes (a group of six lakes) were created between 1960 and 1965, and the first lake was originally intended to be a water supply for a farmer's cattle.

Licking
Washington Township (named after President George Washington; created by County Commission June 29, 1839.

Communities

<imagemap>File:Blackford County Indiana diagram V4.jpg||alt=Map of Blackford County showing current and former communities, state highways, and railroads.|400px|thumb|right

rect 280 175 385 230 Roll

rect 590 175 675 250 Indiana SR 18

rect 740 140 885 200 Montpelier

rect 999 140 1185 200 Matamoras

rect 600 95 800 120 Wells County

rect 100 285 505 330 Washington Township

rect 710 285 1050 330 Harrison Township

rect 770 500 900 570 Mollie

rect 70 655 225 710 Renner

rect 20 555 50 705 Grant County

rect 350 740 510 800 Hartford City

rect 350 540 510 600 Indiana SR 3

rect 1040 770 1200 830 Trenton

rect 700 840 800 890 Indiana SR 26

rect 1360 415 1390 535 Jay County

rect 70 920 380 960 Licking Township

rect 805 920 1095 960 Jackson Township

rect 70 1020 255 1090 Shamrock Lakes

rect 880 1060 1050 1105 Millgrove

rect 1025 1150 1275 1200 Converse/Crumley's Crossing

rect 1200 1250 1380 1300 Dunkirk

rect 1250 990 1360 1070 Indiana SR 167

rect 520 1350 720 1380 Delaware County

rect 650 655 700 730 Norfolk Southern Railway

rect 650 940 700 990 Former railroad line

desc bottom-left

</imagemap>

Cities

Hartford City (county seat)
Montpelier
Dunkirk (mostly located in adjacent Jay County)

Towns

Shamrock Lakes (incorporated May 21, 1973)

Unincorporated communities

Converse (formerly named Crumley's Crossing)
Matamoras
Millgrove
Roll (formerly named Dundee)
Trenton (former post office named Priam)

These communities are sometimes listed as ghost towns, most businesses in these communities have closed.

Dorsey Station—This Harrison Township community was a railroad stop, and had a post office during the 1870s.
Greenland—Located in Harrison Township at 400 North and 600 East. The Harrison Township oil fields were located nearby.
Slocum (southeastern Harrison Township, exact location not known) - had a post office 1886–1902.

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790-1960 1900-1990<br />1990-2000 2010-2013

The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.1% of the population.

There were 5,179 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.5% were married-couple households, 20.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. In terms of ancestry, 16.7 percent were German, 15.5 percent were American, 9.3 percent were Irish and 7.8 percent were English.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana and the Indiana Code. The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms and are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes and service taxes. In 2010, the county budgeted approximately $3.95 million for the district's schools and $3.18 million for other county operations and services, for a total annual budget of approximately $7.1 million.

The executive body of the county is a board of commissioners. They are elected county-wide, in staggered four–year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue and managing day-to-day functions of the county government. The trustee is assisted in these duties by a three-member township board. The trustees and board members are elected to four-year terms.

Climate and weather

Blackford County has a typical Midwestern humid continental seasonal climate, and its Köppen climate classification is Dfa. There are four distinct seasons, with winters being cold with moderate snowfall, while summers can be warm and humid. In recent years, average temperatures in county seat Hartford City have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June. The county has recorded at least five other tornadoes. The most recent tornadoes occurred in Hartford City in 2002. However, those Hartford City tornadoes were rated F1 on the Fujita scale—much less dangerous than an F4 tornado.

Blackford County has a record for hail. Hailstones in diameter fell in Hartford City on April 9, 2001. In a tie with the city of Cayuga, those hailstones are the largest ever recorded in the state of Indiana. Low temperatures, high winds, and deep snow caused Hartford City to appear vacant, as schools and businesses closed. Wind gusts to caused snowdrifts high, making travel almost impossible. Snowmobiles were the only viable means of transportation, and volunteers from Hartford City's Snowmobile Club provided emergency assistance.

Economy

thumb|alt=Autumn Soybean fields awaiting harvest in Blackford County|right|Autumn Soybean fields awaiting harvest in Blackford County Blackford County's economy is supported by a labor force of approximately 5,900 workers with an unemployment rate for June 2013 of 9.8 percent. There are industrial parks in Montpelier and Hartford City, and both cities are served by railroad line owned by Norfolk Southern. Over 30 employers of varying size are located in the county. The Blackford County School System has the most employees, with locations in both Hartford City and Montpelier. Another business employing more than 100 people is Blackford County Community Hospital, located in Hartford City.

Four categories account for over half the county's employment: manufacturing, government, retail trade, and health care. Agriculture has a significant impact on the county, although farm workers account for only about 5 percent of the county's workers. so four-fifths of Blackford County is farmland. Nearly are devoted to soybeans and corn. Wheat, hay, and oats are also grown. Livestock include over 24,000 hogs and pigs. State Road 18 runs west–east through the north end of the county, on its way from Marion to the Ohio border; it passes through Montpelier and Matamoras.

State Road 26 also runs from west to east, entering from Upland in Grant County and crossing Hartford City at State Road 3. It continues through Trenton to Jay County.

State Road 167 runs along the eastern border of the county for about as it goes north from Dunkirk; it terminates when it reaches State Road 26.

A Norfolk Southern Railway railroad line enters the county from the south after leaving Eaton; it runs about a mile to the east of State Road 3 until it reaches Hartford City where it veers to the northeast and passes through Montpelier. It continues into Wells County to the north. The line is still in service north of State Road 26, between Hartford City and Upland in Grant County. In October 2009, Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis pursued a leasing agreement to operate the east–west line with Norfolk Southern Railway in Blackford County. However, the line currently does not appear on the Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis system map.

Education and health care

The county's five public schools are administered by the Blackford County School Corporation. During the 2010–11 school year, a total of 1,943 students attended these schools. The county school system was reorganized in 1963, after a county-wide vote favored a single school system for the entire county. As a result, Hartford City and Montpelier High Schools graduated their last classes in 1969, and a new high school serving the entire county was constructed in time for the 1969–1970 school year. Current high school enrollment is less than 650. All students in grades 7 and 8 attend Blackford Junior High School. Although the county was served by eight elementary schools during the 1980s, consolidations have decreased the number of elementary schools to three. In Hartford City, Southside Elementary School serves kindergarten through grade 3; students in grades 4–6 attend Northside Elementary School.

Four universities are near to Blackford County:

Ball State University (Muncie)
Ivy Tech State College-East Central (Muncie)
Indiana Wesleyan University (a private school in Marion)
Taylor University (a private school in Upland)

Montpelier and Hartford City both have public libraries. The Public Library of Montpelier and Harrison Township was built in 1907 and 1908. The building is known as the Montpelier Carnegie Library because it was made possible by a grant from philanthropist (and former business magnate) Andrew Carnegie. The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Hartford City's Public library, built in 1903, was also funded by a grant from Carnegie. The Carnegie Fund required local towns to do fundraising to match the grants, and to commit to operating the libraries after their construction. In many localities, women's groups were instrumental in organizing and doing fundraising for the libraries, both at the time of construction and since. Another library located in Hartford City belongs to the Blackford County Historical Society, and a museum is housed in the same building.

The Blackford County Health Department is located in Hartford City. The county's hospital is Indiana University Health Blackford Hospital, a 15-bed facility in Hartford City. It opened January 2005.

Media

The first newspaper in Blackford County was The Hartford City Times, started by Dr. John Moler in 1852. Moler ran a drug store and print shop, and the Times was mostly an advertiser. At least one source considers The Blackford County News, which was started later in 1852, as the county's first newspaper—possibly because the Times was mostly for advertising. The Montpelier Examiner was first published in 1879, and that newspaper is the predecessor of The Montpelier Herald. The county's first daily newspaper, the Evening News, was started in 1894 by Edward Everett Cox in Hartford City. It was later renamed Hartford City News. After Cox's death in the 1930s, his family sold the Hartford City News to the owners of Hartford City's Times-Gazette, and the combined entity became the Hartford City News-Times. It continued through the years under several owners. In the twenty-first century, the newspaper titled itself News-Times, and calls itself "Blackford County’s only daily newspaper".

The two major television markets that reach Blackford County are Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Although a few lower-powered stations are located closer to Blackford County in cities such as Muncie, Marion, and Kokomo, these stations typically do not have a broadcast range that covers all of Blackford County. There are no AM radio stations based in Blackford County, although several adjacent AM signals are available, including from Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Muncie, and Marion. Several adjacent FM radio signals are also available; there are also FM stations in Hartford City and Montpelier. Hartford City, Montpelier, and portions of the county's rural areas have internet access available.

Notable people

Astronaut Kevin A. Ford lived in Montpelier, Indiana, for several years and graduated from Blackford High School in 1978. He was born in Portland, Indiana, in 1960. Holding four academic degrees, Ford retired from active duty as a colonel in the United States Air Force in 2008. He was the pilot for the Space Shuttle Discovery during its August 2009 flight, and has logged over 332 hours in outer space. On October 23, 2012, Ford returned to the International Space Station aboard a Russian spacecraft.

Radio DJ Larry Monroe was born in Hartford City, Indiana, on August 29, 1942. He graduated from Hartford City High School in 1960. From 1981 until his death in 2014 he was one of the most popular radio personalities in Austin, Texas. His shows are rebroadcast every Monday evening on KDRP-LP.

Clarence G. Johnson, who lived in Hartford City from 1923 until he died in 1935, was the first president of Overhead Door Corporation.<!--

--> United States Patent No. 1,824,212, and United States Patent No. 2,026,091.|group=Note One of Johnson's more notable inventions is the first "electric operator for sectional upward-acting doors". Johnson's Overhead Door Corporation was a major employer in Blackford County for over 60 years, employing as many as 515 people during its peak years.

Former Indiana governor Maurice Clifford Townsend was born August 11, 1884, in Blackford County's Licking Township. After graduating from college in Marion, Indiana, Townsend served as superintendent of Blackford County schools, superintendent of Grant County schools, and as a representative of the Blackford-Grant District in the Indiana General Assembly. He was elected as Indiana's lieutenant governor in 1932. He won the 1936 election for governor, and served the single four-year term allowed by law. After his service in his home state, Townsend worked in the federal administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in agriculture–related assignments. One memorable achievement: he directed school buses be painted yellow for safety and identification purposes, an idea that spread nationwide.

Golfer Erika Wicoff, a native of Hartford City, is one of the most decorated female athletes in Indiana University history, earning three Big Ten Player of the Year awards. She was the Big Ten women's golf champion in 1994, 1995 and 1996. She later competed in the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Wicoff was inducted into the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Cited works

External links

Blackford County Website
Blackford County Historical Society
Blackford County United Way website
Hartford City/Blackford County Chamber of Commerce website
Blackford County Schools
Blackford County Economic Development Corp