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Washington County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
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Washington County was created on December 21, 1813, by an act of the Legislature, which became effective January 17, 1814 and was formed from Clark and Harrison Counties. Orange and Jackson counties were taken from it in 1815, and Scott was carved out in 1820, reducing Washington County to its present boundaries. The County was named for U.S. President George Washington. The County Seat is Salem. An 1849 publication titled "The Indiana Gazatteer" by E. Chamberlain noted that in 1832 the town suffered from a cholera epidemic, but by 1849 the population had reached 1,500 ... Drew Wright was kind enough to point out that his great, great grandfather, Eli Wright, was a victim of this epidemic which actually occurred in 1833; see "The Stevens Centenniel History of Washington County." During the Civil War there was one significant invasion of Indiana by Confederate troops who are commonly known as Morgan's Raiders. At 9 .a.m., on July 10, 1863, Salem was taken over by this band who made their departure by 2 p.m. on the same day. See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to Washington County are Jackson County (north), Scott County (northeast), Clark County (southeast), Floyd County (south), Harrison County (south), Crawford County (southwest), Orange County (west), Lawrence County (northwest). Washington County is divided into 13 Civil Townships as follows: Brown, Franklin, Gibson, Howard, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Pierce, Polk, Posey, Vernon and Washington. Cities, Towns and Communities include Bartle, Becks Mill, Blue River, Bunker Hill, Campbellsburg, Canton, Claysville, Daisy Hill, Farrabee, Fredericksburg, Georgetown, Haleysburg, Hardinsburg, Harristown, Hitchcock, Kossuth, Little York, Livonia, Martinsburg, McKinley, Mt. Carmel, New Liberty, New Pekin, New Philadelphia, New Salem, Norris (Harristown), Old Pekin, Organ Spring, Plattsburg, Prowsville, Pumpkin Center, Rosebud, Rush Creek Valley, Salem, Saltillo, Smedley and South Boston.
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NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered. See also the Washington County Courthouse History Washington County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1815 , Probate Records from 1814 and Court Records from 1814 and is located at 99 Public Square, Suite 102, Salem, IN 47167; Phone: 812-883-5748 — E-Mail: rita.martin@washingtoncountyindiana.com Washington County Recorder has Land Records from 1814 and is located at 99 Public Square, Suite 100, Salem, IN 47167; Phone: 812-883-4001 — 812.883.4020, E-Mail: Recorder@wahsingtoncountyindiana.com.
Washington County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 806 Martinsburg Road, Suite 100, Salem, IN 47167; Phone: 812-883-5603 — 812-883-2349 — 812-883-5017 Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Washington County, Indiana are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Washington County, Indiana are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms. See Also Statewide Records that exist for Indiana Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states. You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Maps. Email us with websites containing Washington County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically. Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over. Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Washington County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Washington County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Washington County Tombstone Transcription Project. Baptist records are found at Franklin College (in Franklin); Methodist at DePauw University (in Greencastle); Mennonite at Goshen College (in Goshen); Presbyterian at Hanover College (in Hanover); Disciples of Christ at their historical society in Nashville, Tennessee; and French Catholic at Vincennes University in the Byron R. Lewis Collection. There are also Catholic church histories and records at the Catholic Archives, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Quaker records are at Earlham College (at Richmond). The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862. The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found. Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Washington County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Washington County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Washington County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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On December 21, 1813, the state legislature of Indiana passed the act creating Washington County. This act took effect on January17, 1814, making this date the official birth date of the county. The governor commissioned Isaac Blackbird as the first clerk and recorder. Other commissions were sent to William Hoggart for sheriff; William Lindley, surveyor; Jeremiah Lamb, coroner; and to Johnathon Lindley, Moses Hoggart, and Simeon Lamb as judges of the Washington County Circuit Court. The commissioners appointed by the state to select a site for the county seat were Joseph Paddox, Peter McIntosh, and Ignatius Abel of Harrison County and Marston G. Clark and Joseph Bartholomew of Clark County. They were directed to meet on January 17,1814, at the home of William Lindley who lived near the geographical center of the new county. Only Ignatius Abel did not attend. The men examined Royse’s Lick, Beck’s Mill, Camp Spring, Mill Creek, Fort Hill, and other prospective sites. Mr. Lindley, their host and the county surveyor, accompanied the men on their journeys and never failed to point out the suitability of the site near his home at the fork of Blue River and Brock Creek. This site was finally chosen and 174 acres purchased to be laid out in lots. After long discussion about what the name of the town should be, Mrs. Lindley suggested Salem, in memory of her home town in North Carolina, All this was accomplished by February 2, 1814. John DePauw was appointed agent to lay out the town, advertise, and sell the lots. On February 14, the work was completed, the plat filed, and the sale of lots began the second Tuesday in April of 1814. The town of Pekin, second largest in the county, was laid out by Christian Bixler November 15,1831, but it was not surveyed until 1837 by John I. Morrison. When the New Albany and Salem Railroad was built, the station for Pekin was built across Blue River from the town. A new town built up around the train station and was officially registered with the state government as New Pekin. At some point in time, the Pekin postmaster moved the post office across the river without officially changing the name. While it is all one town today, as far as the state of Indiana is concerned the name is New Pekin, but the U.S. Post Office and common usage is still Pekin. The town is known nationally as a site of the oldest consecutive Fourth of July celebration in the country! Campbellsburg, first known as Buena Vista, was started by John Pollard and named after the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War. It was surveyed and platted on August 31, 1849, by John I. Morrison. In January 1838 Aaron Hardin planed a town in Posey Township and named it Hardinsburg. Fredricksburg was laid out in the year 1815 by Frederick Royse and named in his honor, Little York, so named because the families who lived there were from New York, was laid out by George Davison on August 3, 1831. There are other towns and villages in Washington County. but these are the ones still offering U.S. postal services. Washington County has the distinction of participating in one of the only two forays by the Confederate troops into northern territory during the Civil War. General John Hunt Morgan, in his raid across southern Indiana, captured Salem and a fine meal was prepared by Salem ladies for Union troops who were due later. Some historians say that if Morgan and his men had not dallied in Salem a whole day to eat that meal, they might never have been caught. Morgan and his men were unsuccessful in their attempt to capture Thomas Rodman, a citizen of Washington County and inventor of the gun which bore his name. Rodman guns were considered the best field artillery pieces of the Civil War, and the South didn’t have any. The most prominent native son of Washington County is John Milton Hay. He was the private secretary and the biographer of President Abraham Lincoln. He served Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of the new county. Only Ignatius Abel did not attend. The men examined Royse’s Lick, Beck’s Mill, Camp Spring, Mill Creek, of State, being responsible for the open door policy with China and the purchasing of the Panama Canal. He later served as ambassador to the Court of St James in London, England. His birthplace has been preserved by the Washington County Historical Society and is part of the John Hay Center. The center also contains the Stevens Memorial Museum, a pioneer village, and a national award-winning genealogy library. Other men who have lived in Washington County and attained prominence outside the county include Christopher Harrison, first Lieutenant Governor of Indiana; Indiana Governor Winfield T. Durbin, who grew up in New Philadelphia; Major General Jack Elrod, who was also Adjutant General of the State of Indiana; Washington C. DePauw, founder of DePauw University; Dr. Wilmer Souder, handwriting expert for the FBI on the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case; and Everett Dean, coach of NCAA champions and author of ‘the book” on basketball. Washington County, Indiana, has always been noted for its many churches and the high standards of its schools. Its citizens just dedicated an addition to the hospital making it a fine facility with state-of-the-art equipment and offering a wide variety of medical services. With its fertile cropland and the scenic beauty of its rolling hills, Washington County‘s location in the heartland of America is ideal. 1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain Washington County, organized in 1813, is bounded north by Jackson, east by Scott and Clark, south by Harrison and Crawford, and on the west by Orange and Lawrence. It contains about 510 square miles. The civil townships are Monroe and Gibson in the north; Franklin in the east; Washington Central; Jackson in the south; and Posey, Vernon and Brown in the west. The population in 1830 was 13,072, in 1840, 15,269, and at this time [1849] about 18,000. The county of Washington presents more variety of surface and soil than any other part of the State of equal size. The range of hills called the Knobs passes along the east line of Washington, separating it form Clark and Scott, until they lose themselves in the bluffs of the Muscackituck and White rivers. In the south are extensive barrens, parts of which are thickly matted, almost, with brush and grubs; other parts have wild grass only, and other parts are curiously diversified with sink holes, varying in shape and size, but all showing the cavernous nature of the earth underneath. In other parts of the county are swelling ridges ever changing their features as you advance along them, presenting beautiful groves of walnut, sugar tree or chestnut, and having a fine clay soil on a limestone basis. From 1820 to 1830, the author of this article occasionally passed through different parts of Washington County, and he still retains in his memory a vivid impression of the beauty of its scenery, the apparent healthiness of situation, and the taste and elegance with which many of the farms were laid out and improvements made, and he has no doubt that many beneficial changes in these matters have since taken place. He is aware, too, from general information, that manufactures have been established, that railroad schemes are agitated, that much that deserves praise has bee done to promote education, and that the Presbyterians, Methodists, Friends, and other religious denominations, have enlarged their spheres of influence and activity; but he has been furnished with no statistics on these or any other subjects so far as Washington County is concerned, although his employer has attempted through various sources, then times and again, to procure this information. The good people of Washington, Knox and Shelby, who are alike in this respect, seem to be "too busy" to answer inquiries. The taxable land amounts to 264,673 acres, and there must be still near 50,000 acres belonging to the United States, the most of which is probably very poor land. 1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature Washington is one of the picturesque southern Indiana counties, characterized by its extremely varied surface and numerous caves. About one-fifth of the land is productive bottomland along the Muscatatuck, Blue, Lost, and east fork of White Rivers are very productive. The upland is rolling and in many parts, especially along the watercourses, is quite broken. Corn, wheat, oat, hay, tobacco, potatoes, butter, wool, pork and livestock are produced in abundance. No portion of the state is better adapted to fruit growing, and fruits and berries of all kinds are raised and shipped yearly from the county. A number of streams traversing the county, many of them fed by never-failing springs of pure cold water, render it one of the very foremost for stock raising. Fine quarries of oolitic limestone are found in almost all parts of the county. In the eastern portion, however, it is sandstone, and after being worked, becomes quite hardened. Good clay for the manufacture of brick and tile is also found in abundance throughout the county. Fossils of every variety are found, especially at Spurgeon's Hill, four miles east of Salem, which has been visited by geologists from all over the United States. There are quite a number of caves in the county, the largest and most noted of which is located one mile west of Salem and has been explored for some distance. Clifty Cave, in the northwest part of the county, is quite a resort and the county is marked generally with scenery of a romantic character. About 10% of the territory is embraced by what is known as "The Barrens," so named for the reason that the land is nearly barren of timber. The range of hills called "The Knobs" passes along the east side of Washington County separating it form Clark and Scott counties until they are lost in the bluff of the Muscatatuck and White Rivers. Other parts of the county are curiously diversified with "sink holes" varying in shape and size, but all showing the cavernous nature of the earth beneath. The county is watered by the Muscatatuck and east fork of White River on the north and northwest, Lost River in the west and by the headwaters of Blue River in the east and south. The incorporated city is Salem, 3,194; towns: Campbellsburg, 558; New Perkin, Hardinsburg, 254; Fredericksburg, 216; Liviona, 168; Saltillo, 160, and Little York, 140. The county population in 1890 was 18,619; 1900, 19,049; 1910, 17,445; 1020, 16,645; 1930, 16,285. Salem is located thirty-nine miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, and is served by one railroad. Its principal industry is the quarrying of limestone. Other industries include the manufacture of furniture, flour, and phonographs. This city is sometimes called "the Athens of the West" because of its excellent school system. There are a number of markers, memorials, and points of historical and cultural note. The city is best known as birthplace of the distinguished John Hay, one time private secretary of President Lincoln. Hay represented the United States as Secretary of the legations at Paris, Madrid, and Vienna. He was Charge d'Affaires at Vienna, Ambassador to England (1897-98), Secretary of State (from 1898 to September 20, 1905), and author of "Pike County Ballots," Castulian Days" and the "Biography of Lincoln. Others of importance who were natives of the county included Christopher Harrison and Washington C. DePauw, founder of the university of that name. The first woman ever to be graduated from Indiana University, Sarah Morrison, was born in Salem. Among the memorials is a panel to the gold star boys of the county, located in the Courthouse. Also in the building is an exhibit of pioneer relics by the Washington County Historical Society. In Crown Hill cemetery some of the state's most prominent pioneers are buried. Among these were Benjamin Parke, first Territorial District Judge and the first Congressional Representative, and John Hay Farnum, a brilliant lawyer. The most notable points of interest in addition to the caves are Millport Knobs, the rock formation known as Chimney Rock, ten miles south of Salem, a limestone formation formed by erosion, standing about twenty feet in height. Lovers' Leap "Clifty" is another unusual formation about twenty-five feet high. Five miles southwest of Campbellsburg at a scenic waterfall is Beck's Mill, a waterpower mill, built in 1808. Washington County had nineteen manufacturing establishments, according to 1935 federal census figures. A total of 408 wage earners were employed on pay rolls totaling $270,218. The value of the products was $1,318,109. The county had 2,843 farms averaging 118 acres each, their total value $6,447,961. A total of 47,302 head of livestock were reported. The total county tax valuation for the year of 1936 was $9,858,739. ? |
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