BlockFrom the record
22 National Register listings published here · the county-history sources tell 1 story.
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
Hendricks County, Indiana
59 topographic sheets cover 37 settlements here, and 22 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Research this county
What the record shows
- 532 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
- 22 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 16 buildings, 4 districts and 2 structures.
- The Geographic Names Information System records 37 populated places in this county; 37 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
- 3 public-domain county histories, 1885 and 1914, supply 133,348 words of narrative reproduced here.
What happened here
1 accountsAmong them: History Of Hendriok8 County. These passages come from the identified county-history source books. Each inset names its own source and opens the exact section it comes from.
History Of Hendriok8 County
1 1 He was found dead in bis stable and was supposed to have been i murdered by his servant for his money. He was a man of note and ] influence. The Hadleys have been noted for their thrift, both in this and the old country. The most of them have been farmers i and all have owned the land they worked. Until the last genera- ; tion or two all have been Friends, and none were military men 1 until the late civil war, when several bore arms in defense of the !
Places on the National Register
22Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
Wildfire, 2003 to 2010
7 firesEvery wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 7 of them, burning about 6 acres. None started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 October 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Hoosier National Forest | BLANTON |
| 15 April 2003 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 11 March 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 7 October 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 7 April 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 12 April 2006 | Smoking | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 21 May 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms, 1954 to 2026
60 of 569 shownThe NOAA Storm Events Database holds 569 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 22 injuries and about $14,838,650 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 269 |
| Hail | 209 |
| Tornado | 33 |
| Flash Flood | 25 |
| Flood | 17 |
| Lightning | 14 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
| Heavy Snow | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tilden | 1 killed, 3 hurt, $50,000 | A partially constructed building collapsed due to non-severe thunderstorm wind gusts associated with a gust front ahead of an approaching line of thunderstorms. At the time, only the wooden framing was in place which allowed for the collapse to occur more easily when the wind gusts arrived. No other damage was noted in the immediate area and only very small limbs (inch or less in diameter) were down in the area indicating wind gusts were less than 50 knots. 3 people that were working on the building at the time were injured with a fatality also occurring at the location where the wood frame collapsed. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Stilesville | 1 killed, $5,000 | A Coatesville man drowned Saturday afternoon on June 7th after his airboat capsized on floodwaters in Mill Creek in southwestern Hendricks County. He attempted to turn the boat to avoid a fallen tree, causing the boat to take on water and capsize. His boat was found at 1430 EST on Sunday and his body was found at 1030 EST on Monday, roughly 100 yards from his boat. |
| June 1990 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 5 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1968 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 5 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| August 1975 | Tornado (F0) | not stated | 4 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plainfield | 2 hurt, $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF2) | Brownsburg Arpt | 1 hurt, $1,200,000 | This third tornado to impact central Indiana tracked from rural areas southwest of Brownsburg through the southern portion of downtown Brownsburg and across Northfield Drive where the greatest damage occurred. Sporadic tree and roof damage occurred across southern portions of Brownsburg. The most significant damage was inflicted to several warehouses on Northfield Drive. One injury occurred at a warehouse where the wall caved in. Over 20 homes in the Branches neighborhood had roof and minor structure damage. The circulation tracked into Marion County where additional tree damage occurred in Eagle Creek Park just before the vortex lifted near Interstate Route 65. Peak wind gusts were 120 mph. |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Brownsburg | 1 hurt | A construction worker was injured by lightning striking a crane. |
| July 1998 | Lightning | Brownsburg | 1 hurt | Lightning struck a man at a golf course. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brownsburg | $5,000,000 | Straight line winds demolished a large hangar at Speedway Airport. Twenty small aircraft inside were damaged. Bleachers and ticket booths were damaged or destroyed at Indianapolis Raceway Park. |
| September 2003 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Six Pts | $1,000,000 | A weak tornado of EF-1 intensity and winds estimated from 90 to 100 mph caused damage along an approximate three-mile path in Plainfield and Indianapolis. The tornado touched down near Perry Road and US40 in Plainfield at approximately 2:32 PM EDT. The first significant damage occurred at a vehicle auction facility with one building heavily damaged and over 200 cars impacted by flying debris. Minor straight-line wind tree damage was observed west of the auction facility near Township Line Road and Smith Road. The tornado traveled northeast causing damage to nearly two dozen homes in Hendricks County with the most severe damage along County Road 200 South near County Road 1050 East. At this location the tornado lofted a camping trailer into the air and tossed it approximately 175 feet to the east onto a house and also removed a substantial portion of that houses roof. This damage was rated EF-1 with winds estimated at 95 to 100 mph. ||The tornado continued tracking northeast through the Bentwood subdivision in east Hendricks County and into the Cameron Meadows subdivision of Indianapolis. At approximately 2:38 PM EDT, the most significant damage occurred as the tornado moved into Marion County and Indianapolis, along Raceway Road near Blue Pine Drive, where a couple homes had portions of their roofs removed by the tornado. This damage was rated EF-1 with winds estimated near 97 mph. The tornado lifted at approximately 2:42 PM EDT northeast of this subdivision though intermittent straight-line wind damage to trees occurred from here to near Rockville Road and I-465 all the way to the town of Speedway.||Indianapolis officials estimated 75 to 100 homes received at least minor damage in Indianapolis. Also, including the automobiles damaged at the auto auction center, more than 200 vehicles sustained varying degrees of damage. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon | $750,000 | Damaging thunderstorm winds caused significant damage to ten homes and minor damage to nearly fifty homes near County Road 800 East and 100 North along Captain Drive. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | Brownsburg Arpt | $250,000 | Widespread reports of water flowing over roads in Brownsburg and Avon. Total rainfall was between 2 and 3.50 inches. |
| March 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Salem | $250,000 | Reports of trees uprooted by thunderstorm wind gusts with some falling on a couple of houses. Powerlines were also downed. At least three garages were lifted off their foundation. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Avon | $250,000 | Very intense rainfall led to brief flash flooding across portions of Avon and Plainfield. Several roads had water over the curb while also rapidly flowing. Avon High school was partially flooded after the roof began to leak. 2 reports of rainfall over 4 inches were received with the rainfall occurring over a period of less than 2 hours. |
| October 1988 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1973 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Brownsburg | $200,000 | This fourth tornado to impact central Indiana was a secondary circulation that tracked north of the main tornado, from west of County Road 1000 East to west of Raceway Road. The tornado began west of County Road 1000 East where scouring occurred in a field, between Shoals Creek Road and County Road 700 North. The tornado then moved east, only bending a small utility pole before reaching the northwest corner of the Branches subdivision where several homes sustained roof and siding damage. The circulation then continued northeast, crossing County Road 750 North, destroying two older barns and a silo, which was only low EF-1 damage due to the age of these buildings. Debris was strewn to the northeast about a quarter mile with clear ground scouring and a debris field, with the tornado ending in this area. Peak wind gusts were 100 mph. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plainfield | $150,000 | Numerous trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm wind gusts in Plainfield and across the county. Over 3000 power outages caused by the storm. |
| July 2023 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $150,000 | Lightning struck a house on the west side of Brownsburg and caused a fire. |
| May 2020 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $150,000 | Lightning is believed to be the cause of two house fires in Hendricks County early Sunday morning. The first happened on Reel Creek Lane in Brownsburg at around 2 a.m. Fire crews say nobody was hurt in the incident, and the family living in the home is not expected to be displaced.||The other fire happened on Beale Street in Plainfield just before 5 a.m. That fire was mostly contained to the exterior of the building. No injuries were reported, however, officials say the family was displaced by the blaze. |
| April 2004 | Tornado (F1) | North Salem | $150,000 | A tornado associated with a low-topped supercell touched down a quarter of a mile south of the Boone/Hendricks county line in Hendricks county. The tornado continued northeast through Jamestown and into Boone county causing significant damage to a dozen homes. 2 homes had their roofs blown completely off and tossed several hundred feet into a corn field. There were 8 minor injuries including one man whose semi was blown over along Interstate 74. Estimated wind speeds were around 110 mph or on the high end of an F1 rating. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lizton | $80,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts downed multiple trees and branches. A long section of chain link fence was torn off its support pole at Tri West Middle School. School also had damage to athletic facilities and a shed. Some shingles were also torn off a home across the street and a nearby family pole barn was destroyed with significant roof damage. |
| June 2002 | Lightning | Plainfield | $80,000 | Lightning struck a bank. |
| April 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Lizton | $70,000 | This third tornado, also reported by the Sheriff Department, began at 6:37 P.M. EDT about two miles southwest of Lizton, or about 8 miles northwest of Brownsburg. This tornado passed southeast of Lizton and lifted about one mile west of Pittsboro around 6:50 P.M. EDT. Several garages and barns were destroyed, several homes suffered lighter damage. Trees and power lines were also reported down. This tornado was rated an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale with winds estimated around 90 mph.| |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon | $65,000 | A building was destroyed along US Route 36, west of Ronald Reagan Parkway, due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. A few other structures and barns were heavily damaged or destroyed across the county. |
| August 2003 | Lightning | Avon | $60,000 | A house was struck by lightning. The home received 60K in damage to the roof and attic. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center Vly | $50,000 | Semi truck blown over on Indiana Route 39 by thunderstorm winds. |
| December 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hazelwood | $50,000 | A non-thunder convective squall's winds contributed to the destruction of an old grain bin with considerable rust at 2227 West County Road 800 South. |
| May 2023 | Lightning | Speedway Arpt | $50,000 | A fire in the attic area of Brownsburg Cardinal Elementary School was caused by a thunderstorm's cloud to ground lightning strike. The school was closed on Monday, May 8th; clean up of water damage from the fire suppression system continued into at least Tuesday May 9th. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Danville | $50,000 | Numerous trees and power poles snapped across the county due to thunderstorm wind gusts. Damage was locally concentrated in Danville. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Danville | $50,000 | Four to five roads were washed out with numerous roads flooded county-wide due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Danville | $50,000 | Approximately 10 homes were damaged, due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts, in the Clear Creek housing edition. One home had major roof damage. The others had mainly vinyl siding and garage door damage. No injuries were reported. |
| March 2006 | Tornado (F0) | Brownsburg | $50,000 | A small tornado touched down near Brownsburg on 31 March 2006. Damage was confined mostly to outbuildings and trees. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Avon | $50,000 | The roof was torn off of an industrial building, and quarter size hail fell in Avon. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Plainfield | $50,000 | High winds downed numerous trees, destroyed a two car garage and flying debris damaged the adjacent home. |
| April 2007 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $40,000 | The roof of a home was struck by lightning causing a fire. Fire crews were able to contain the fire to a bonus room over the garage. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Danville | $30,000 | A house was heavily damaged on the southwest side of Danville due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| November 2007 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $30,000 | Lightning struck a house in Brownsburg and started a fire in the house as storms moved through the area. Large parts of the ceiling fell down and the roof will have to be replaced. Clothes, bedding, and other items in the house were also damaged. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hadley | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds in the Danville area downed power lines and three trees onto a road, before snapping a large maple tree limb in Plainfield. |
| June 2021 | Lightning | Speedway Arpt | $25,000 | A lightning strike led to a fire on Sage Meadow Drive. |
| November 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hadley | $25,000 | A semi-trailer and a 500 gallon propane tank both overturned in this location due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Also, some structural damage was reported along with trees and power lines down. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | Plainfield | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1987 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| March 1976 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| July 1954 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Hazelwood | $20,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed 15 to 20 trees at 9173 South County Road 100 West. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pittsboro | $20,000 | Utility poles were laid down, power was reported to be out, and trees were downed due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| June 2006 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $20,000 | A home was damaged by a lightning-induced fire. |
| August 2016 | Tornado (EF1) | Clayton | $18,000 | An EF-1 tornado, with maximum winds estimated at 105 mph, caused minor damage to a few farm buildings, rolled a trailer, and uprooted trees. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Avon | $17,000 | Storms Wednesday led to some major damage in Hendricks County, toppling the batting cages at baseball fields managed by the Avon Junior Athletic Association.||Poles were ripped up from the ground and left in a pile. Nets for the batting cages were strewn about.||The storm came quickly Wednesday night and was gone just as suddenly. Video provided to FOX59 showed strong winds churning up what appeared to be a gustnado, according to the National Weather Service. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brownsburg | $15,000 | A six to eight inch diameter tree was blown down onto utility lines due to thunderstorm wind gusts. Power line was snapped in 4 locations due to the fallen tree with power out for more than 36 hours. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Danville | $15,000 | The roof was blown off a barn, east of Danville, due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brownsburg | $15,000 | Siding and shingles were blown off a home due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Patio furniture and an gazebo were damaged at neighboring homes. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brownsburg | $15,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were reported down throughout town. A trailer storage facility had the roof blown off at US 136 and CR 900 E. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brownsburg | $15,000 | A large tree limb fell onto a house and into the living room due to damaging thunderstorm winds. Another limb fell on a truck and was damaged. |
| November 2007 | Lightning | Brownsburg | $15,000 | Lightning struck a house in Brownsburg during the early morning hours. The lightning strike set the house on fire and blew out lighting figures and outlets. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Salem | $15,000 | A trailer was destroyed by straight line winds. |
| August 2002 | Lightning | Danville | $15,000 | Lightning struck an office building. |
Mines and quarries
3 recordedThe Survey's mineral resources record lists 3 workings inside this county. 2 still produce and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
| Stone | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendricks Co. Hwy. Dept. | Stone | Producer | ||
| Happy Valley Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| U. S. Aggregates, Inc. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
The townships, in 1914
133,348 wordsHistory of Hendricks County, Indiana, Her People, Industries and Institutions devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 11 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
| Shape and position in the county | Township | Settlements in it | Length | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | Danville, Gale, Nash | 36,715 words | 31 | |
| Clay Township | Amo, Coatesville, Pecksburg, Reno, Springtown | 6,757 words | 7 | |
| Eel River Township | North Salem | 11,488 words | 13 | |
| Franklin Township | Stilesville | 7,970 words | 10 | |
| Guilford Township | Friendswood, Joppa, Plainfield | 10,518 words | 14 | |
| Liberty Township | Belleville, Cartersburg, Center Valley, Clayton, Hazelwood, Magnetic Springs, North Belleville, Summit | 9,884 words | 9 | |
| Lincoln Township | Brownsburg, Clermont Heights | 7,547 words | 9 | |
| Marion Township | Hadley, New Winchester | 10,486 words | 7 | |
| Middle Township | Maplewood, Pittsboro, Tilden | 7,065 words | 6 | |
| Union Township | Lizton, Montclair, Raintown | 15,349 words | 11 | |
| Washington Township | Avon, Big Four Yard, Six Points, Wynbrooke | 9,569 words | 9 |
The county's history books
355,634 words2 books written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 20 chapters in all. Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's towns is not repeated in this list.
History of Hendricks County, Indiana, Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens (1885)
| Chapter | Length |
|---|---|
| Chapter with an unread heading (no. 1 of those read) | 1,326 words |
| Chapter 7: The Bar | 5,851 words |
| Chapter 8: The Press | 2,545 words |
| Chapter 9: Miscellaneous | 11,233 words |
| Biographical sketches | 2,801 words |
History of Hendricks County, Indiana, Her People, Industries and Institutions (1914)
| Chapter | Length |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Geology and Topography of Hendricks County | 756 words |
| Chapter 2: Related State Histokv | 4,964 words |
| Chapter 3: Early Settlement and Organization | 3,196 words |
| Chapter 4: Brown Township | 616 words |
| Chapter 10: Liberty Township | 2,130 words |
| Chapter 12: Marion Township | 525 words |
| Chapter 14: Union Township | 742 words |
| Chapter 16: Political History and Official Roster | 981 words |
| Chapter 17: Military History | 2,460 words |
| Chapter 18: History of Journalism | 4,067 words |
| Chapter 20: Church History | 6,600 words |
| Chapter 21: The Bench and Bar | 2,055 words |
| Chapter 22: Education | 3,684 words |
| Chapter 23: Miscellaneous | 1,054 words |
| Biographical sketches | 298,048 words in 19 parts |
Every populated place in the county
37Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
-
Avon
Washington township · 46123 · On Lake Forest Creek · Brownsburg quadrangle
15 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
Brownsburg
Lincoln township · 46112 · On West Fork White Lick Creek · Brownsburg quadrangle
15 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
Cartersburg
Liberty township · 46168 · On Cosner Branch · Plainfield quadrangle
16 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
Clermont Heights
Lincoln township · 46112 · On Bullard Creek · Clermont quadrangle
16 sheets, 1953 to 1998
-
Friendswood
Guilford township · 46113 · On Hendricks Creek · Bridgeport quadrangle
17 sheets, 1953 to 1998
-
Magnetic Springs
Liberty township · 46168 · On Cosner Branch · Plainfield quadrangle
16 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
North Salem
Eel River township · 46165 · On Middle Fork Big Walnut Creek · North Salem quadrangle
13 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
Six Points
Washington township · 46168 · On Bridge Creek · Bridgeport quadrangle
17 sheets, 1953 to 1998
-
Stilesville
Franklin township · 46180 · On East Fork Mill Creek · Coatesville quadrangle
14 sheets, 1953 to 1986
-
Tilden
Middle township · 46122 · On West Fork White Lick Creek · Brownsburg quadrangle
15 sheets, 1953 to 1986
Provenance
- Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
- Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
- Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
- Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
- Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
- Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.