Jefferson County, Indiana History
"Jefferson County was ceded by the Indians by a treaty on August 21, 1805, in a tract including Jefferson, Ripley, Jennings, Scott, Jackson, Washington and Orange counties. The treaty, signed by the Delaware, Eel River, Potawotomi, Miami and Wea tribes, was made by General William Henry Harrison.
John Paul and Lewis Davis purchased the land where the city [Madison] now stands from the government in 1809. Paul, Davis and Jonathan Lyon laid out the town in 1810. The first sale of lots was held the following year."
"At first John Paul called the town Wakefield but soon changed it to Madison... The county, named Jefferson, was organized in 1811 and county records date from that time."
--Extracted from Madison's 175th Anniversary Commemorative Book
Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana
Written by William Wesley Woollen, 1883.
Transcriptions by Ruth Hoggatt & Howard Maxwell.
Lancaster and Eleutherian College
Written by George S. Cottman, 1925.
Transcription by Ruth Hoggatt.
Early History of Madison and Jefferson County
Transcription by Ruth Hoggatt.
Jefferson County: Township Histories
Transcriptions by Robert Scott.
Jefferson County: Business and Industry
Histories Written by Robert W. Scott:
Jefferson County: Before the Beginning
Barbersville and Buchanan's Station
Canaan, Indiana, in the Nineteenth Century
Jefferson County: First Visitors and First Settlers
Jefferson County Post Offices
External Links:
The Underground Railroad In Indiana
by Kelly Rimsa, Indiana University of South Bend.
Jefferson County Newspapers
Indiana State Library's list of county old newspapers.
WPA Life Histories from Indiana
Several accounts of Morgan's Raid thru Jefferson County.
Texts & Documents From the History of Hanover College
Madison and Her Steamboats
Lanier Mansion
