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Steuben County History and Information

Steuben County was created on May 1, 1837 and was formed from Unorganized Land. The County was named for Baron Frederick von Steuben, an officer of the American Revolutionary War. Beginning in February 2, 1832, the territory of Steuben County was included in the organization of LaGrange County.

The County Seat is Angola and by 1849 it contained eight dry goods stores and a population of 400. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Steuben County are Branch County, Michigan (north), Hillsdale County, Michigan (northeast), Williams County, Ohio (east), DeKalb County (south), Noble County (southwest), LaGrange County (west).

Steuben County is divided into 12 Civil Townships named as follows: Mill Grove, Jamestown, Fremont, Clear Lake, Jackson, Pleasant, Scott, York, Salem, Steuben, Otsego and Richland.

Cities, Towns and Communities include Alvarado, Angola, Ashley, Berlein, Clear Lake, Cold Springs, Courtney Corner, Crooked Lake, Ellis, Enterprise, Flint, Forest Park, Fremont, Glen Eden, Hamilton, Helmer, Hudson, Inverness, Jamestown, Lake James, Metz, Nevada Mills, North Benton, Oakwood, Orland, Otsego Center, Page, Panama, Pleasant Lake, Ray, Salem Center, Steubenville, Turkey Creek, Wildwood and York.

The Steuben County Official Government Website
Steuben County Township Map
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Extended History

The inhabitants of Steuben County are noted for their thrift, intelligence and enterprise. Churches and schools abound. The statistics of intelligence and education, collected during the last census, prove that Steuben is, in this respect, one of the foremost counties in Indiana.

In accordance with the law of emigration, which makes people, as a rule, move in the same lines of latitude, we find Steuben to have been populated principally by New Englanders, New Yorkers and Ohioans.

Owing to the want of roads leading from the older settled regions into the county, many of the settlers, in coming from the east, were forced to proceed further west than Steuben, and then, turning, they came into the county from LaGrange County on the west, and by way of the older settled regions of Michigan to the northwest.

It was upon the adjoining settlements in LaGrange County, and those in Michigan to the northwest, that the pioneers were forced to depend for their doctors in time of sickness. They also patronized the mills and stores in the same region, until they became sufficiently numerous in Steuben County to support establishments of this class in their own vicinity.

The smoke from the first permanent settler's cabin first arose within the present limits of Steuben County in the spring of 1831. That settler was Gideon Langdon. His rude cabin was in the southwest quarter of Section 5, Jackson Township, afterward known as the Town farm. Langdon, on the 17th of September, in the year following, made the first entry of land recorded in the county, being the east half of the quarter named. It was in what is now Jackson Township that the first settlers mostly located. The county was then part of LaGrange, and was not erected into a separate organization until 1837. Jackson Township contains considerable prairie land, and the first immigrants, at a time when their choice was unrestricted, naturally selected the rich, fertile soil there, because of the comparative ease with which it was brought under cultivation.

The next settlers were John and Jacob Stayner, and their families - twelve persons in all. The Stayners came form Ohio, and arrived in Jackson Township on May 16, 1831. John built on the north side of the prairie, and entered the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 5, September 27, 1832, being ten days after Langdon's entry, and the second made in the present limits of the county. The two brothers had been soldiers under Jackson in the War of 1812, and were both strong and hearty men. John Stayner lived upon the land entered by him until his death in 1870. He was sent to the Legislature, and the township in which he lived was, at his instance, named Jackson in honor of his old military chieftain.

The first white child born within the present limits of the county was Zephaniah Stayner. He is still a resident of the township in which he first saw the light.

The first death was that of Mrs. Gideon Langdon, in 1832. The remains were interred in the prairie burying ground, on land that has since passed into the possession of D. H. Roberts.

The first marriage was contracted between James Huntsman and Hannah Davis, in 1832, before the organization of the county.

The first schoolhouse erected in the county was on the north side of Jackson Prairie. Hannah Davis, the first bride in the little community, was the first teacher. The first schoolhouse was a rude tamarack cabin, erected at a cost of about $50, by John Stayner and Adolphus Town. Eliza Eaton was the next teacher, and received $2 for each pupil, that being the tax levied on those sending their children to the school.

James McConnell was the first physician.

The first Postmaster was Adolphus Town.

The first Methodist ministers were Andrew W. Young and the Rev. Messrs. Smith and Newell. The first Baptist minister was Elder John Hall; he preached the first sermon in the county in 1834. Elder Stealy was another pioneer of the same denomination.

Israel Stoddard was the first Justice of the Peace. His opponent was Adolphus Town. The election was held in John Stayner's door-yard, who, with David Sams and John Kiles, were the Judges.

When Langdon and the Stayners came, in 1832, to this, the nucleus settlement of Steuben County, it was not a perfect wilderness - they and their families the sole white inhabitants - nor did they have a neighbor of their own race in all the region between Fort Wayne and Bushy Prairie. In a little more than forty years, that region, afterward erected into Steuben County, has increased in wealth and population until it now contains a prosperous community of over 13,000 souls.

There was an abundance of game in the woods, and the numerous lakes were filled with fist, so that the pioneer had but little trouble in securing the means of sustaining life, while the proceeds of the pelts of deer and furs of other animals trapped by them enabled them to secure such supplies from abroad as could not be procured at home.

The first bridge built in the county was near the Hogback Hills, on the Defiance Road. The first sawmill in the county was at Flint, and the first gristmills patronized by the settlers were at White Pigeon, Michigan, and the Union mills, in LaGrange County. The first gristmill in the county was also at Flint, in Jackson Township, and was in connection with the sawmill built by one Gillette. The mill was a primitive affair, with home made stones, and was used mostly for cracking corn. The bolting-cloth was turned by hand.

Jackson Prairie, for years after the first settlement, from its productiveness, was a point from which the less fortunate settlers drew corn until they were able to raise enough to supply their own wants.

Millgrove Township was the next place in the county into which immigration began to flow. The first comers were from the town of Jamaica, Windham County, Vermont, and, in course of time, a considerable colony from that region became established in the county. When John Stocker came into the township to prospect for land, in April 1834, there was not a cabin within its limits. In June 1834, Abel Blanchard, S. A. And G. D. Palmenter, with their families, came and erected cabins in what was called the Vermont settlement, where Orland now stands. Stocker returned in October of the same year, and joined his fortunes with the new comers. In 1835, these were joined by others from Vermont, and a considerable number from Ohio. In 1834, Jeremiah and Demary Tillotson settled where Fremont now is. The first named laid out the town of Fremont, and his first cabin was very near the site of his late residence, in the village.

The first settler in Steuben Township was Isaac Glover, who came from Huron County, Ohio, in 1835. He built the first log house in the township, and was the founder of the village of Steubenville, once a candidate for the seat of justice, but now defunct. Abner Winsor, who came from New York in 1836, built the first farmhouse in this township.

John Fee, who came from Ohio, in 1835, first settled Otsego Township. The first settler in Clear Lake Township was John Russell, who came in 1836. He also came from Ohio.

1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain

Steuben County, organized in 1837, was named in honor of Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer of distinction, who joined the army during the Revolutionary War, and was a very efficient disciplinarian. It lies in the northeast corner of the State, being bounded north and east by Michigan and Ohio, south by DeKalb, and west by Lagrange, and it contains about 330 square miles. The civil townships are Millgrove, Jamestown, York, central tier; and Salem, Steuben, Otsego, and Richland, in the south, commencing on the west in each case. The population in 1840 was 2,578; at this time [1849] it is about 6,000. About one half the county is timbered land, one-third is oak openings or barrens, and one-sixth prairie. The timbered and prairie land is generally equal in quality to any in the State. The barrens have a poorer soil. The principal surplus product is wheat, of which 200,000 bushels have been exported in a year. There are in the county nineteen sawmills, five flouring mills, the most of which make first-rate flour, fifteen dry goods stores, five groceries, four lawyers, five physicians. School districts have been laid out, and houses built in the most of them, where schools are taught a portion of the year. The taxable land amounts to 169,077 acres.

Emigrants from Ohio, who located on Jackson Prairie, first settled Steuben County in 1833. The increase of population and improvement has been steadily progressing since that time. Its beautifully diversified woodlands, oak openings, and prairies, interspersed with small clear lakes, present a great variety of fine scenery, which is not surpassed in any part of the west.

1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature

Steuben County is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of Indiana" because of its great number of enchanting lakes. There are nearly a hundred of them, including the beautiful Lake James. Steuben County has become one of the most popular summer resort sections in the state. Some of its other better-known lakes are Crooked, Clear, Gage, and Fish.

Before the settlers came, the Indians, attracted by the many lakes and good fishing, were here in great numbers. They were Pottawatomies, and their chief was BawBeese. Indian mounds and burial places are found on all the shores of the larger lakes, indicating that this had been their favorite resort for ages. They left Steuben County in 1840.

The land surface is somewhat broken, particularly in the central portion. The western part is level to rolling, embracing the prairies. The soil is good for specialized agriculture, peppermint and onions thriving in the lowlands. Cereals are grown, and the raising of livestock is engaged in extensively.

The county forms the northeast corner of Indiana, bordering the states of Michigan to the north, and Ohio on the east. It has an area of 305 square miles, divided into twelve townships. The incorporated city is Angola, 2,665; towns: Fremont, 802; Ashley, 623; Hudson, 431; Hamilton, 357; Orland, 310, and Clear Lake, 80. The population for Steuben County in 1890 was 14,478; 1900, 15,219; 1910, 14,274; 1920, 13,360; 1930, 13,386.

Angola is forty-two miles northeast of Fort Wayne and is served by one railroad. The city's industries include manufacturing of brick and tile, cement building blocks, caskets, electric operators for punch presses, automobile accessories, awnings, brick and tile machinery, condensed milk, flour, lumber, electrical specialties, and crates.

Tri-State College, which association was formed July 23, 1823, at Angola. L. M. Smith, the first President, has remained at the head of the school for thirty-two years. Tri-State is a college of respectable departments planted and grown wholly by private enterprise, receiving no assistance from church or state, nor has it any income through the beneficence of the rich. All its expenses, including teachers' salaries, are obtained from the tuition fees. The State Board of Education as a standard normal school rates it. The enrollment varies from 350 to 650 students, usually being greatest in the spring and summer terms, when teachers' training classes add to the attendance.

One of the county's outstanding features is Pokagon State Park, a 727-acre tract on Lake James.

Steuben County had seventeen manufacturing establishments, according to figures of the 1935 federal census. A total of 115 wage earners were employed on payrolls totaling $90,949. The value of the products was $1,027,668.

The county had 1,703 farms averaging 105.2 acres each. The total value of these farms was $6,590,900. A total of 56,638 head of livestock was reported. Total county tax valuation for 1936 was $16,749,140.

Courthouse History

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Steuben County History and Information

County Courthouse

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County Genealogical Addresses

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County Church & Cemeteries

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Extended History