New 185 Page Booklet

Early days in Johnson County, IN -- encompassing the towns of Amity, Bargersville, Edinburgh (Edinburg), Franklin, Greenwood, New Whiteland, Nineveh, Peoga, Providence, Rocklane, Samaria, Smith Valley, Stones Crossing, Trafalgar, and Whiteland -- are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this booklet, a reprint of D.D. Banta's A Historical Sketch of Johnson County Indiana (1881), and additional excerpts from several other histories. The 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" spiral-bound booklet is printed on 60# paper. The covers are protected with vinyl sheets.

Among the many subjects discussed are: how creeks were named; the legal profession; names of past state and county officials; prices; population growth; the flood of 1847; development of the railroad; Indian encounters; pioneering hardships (snakes, wolves, mosquitoes and gnats, squirrels, sickness, etc.); voting, whiskey and fisticuffs; organization of the county government; murders; and the history of Franklin College, including insights in a "letter  home." There are individual histories of each of the nine townships -- Blue River, Nineveh, Franklin, White River, Pleasant, Hensley, Union, Clark and Needham. The White River section is especially rich in family genealogies.

Most of the booklet is devoted to the 1800s, with the names of early residents interspersed with anecdotes, but a brief excerpt from Indiana, a Guide to the Hoosier State, a WPA project, looks at the county from a 1941 perspective.

Unfortunately, the original Banta book had no illustrations. Nonetheless, this booklet is illustrated. We've added a few sketches of pioneer life from another old Indiana history, primarily to break up the text.

Wouldn't this make a unique gift?

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