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Johnson County, Indiana

89 topographic sheets cover 57 settlements here, and 22 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

22 National Register listings published here · the county-history sources name 26 people · people the book names include Mr. Baker (White River Township, 1881) (machine-read).

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service

Indiana within the United States
Johnson County within Indiana

What the record shows

  • 974 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 22 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 11 buildings, 9 districts, 1 structure and 1 site.
  • 2 of the 22 listings were added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 57 populated places in this county; 57 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
  • 3 public-domain county histories, 1881 to 1913, supply 123,591 words of narrative reproduced here.

Places on the National Register

22

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Bagby-Doub Farmsteadbuilding2021100006200
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Churchbuilding201515000886
Edinburgh Commercial Historic Districtdistrict199191000789
Franklin College Historic Districtdistrict2024100011041
Franklin College Library (Shirk Hall)building197575000021
Franklin College-Old Mainbuilding197575000022
Franklin Commercial Historic Districtdistrict198989000773
Franklin Senior High Schoolbuilding201212001058
Furnas Mill Bridgestructure200101000985
Greenlawn Cemeterydistrict201313000421
Greenwood Commercial Historic Districtdistrict199191000792
Greenwood Residential Historic Districtdistrict2017100001059
Heck-Hasler Housebuilding200000000204
Herriott Housebuilding198282000044
Hopewell Presbyterian Churchbuilding200000000680
Johnson County Courthouse Squaresite198181000017
Martin Place Historic Districtdistrict198787000951
Masonic Templebuilding199191001863
South Walnut Street Historic Districtdistrict201111000126
Toner Historic Districtdistrict201111000127
Van Nuys Farmbuilding198787000100
August Zeppenfeld Housebuilding198787002188

Storms, 1954 to 2026

60 of 424 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 424 reports for this county, causing 5 deaths, 39 injuries and about $162,674,300 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind204
Hail126
Lightning27
Tornado23
Flood21
Flash Flood18
Heavy Rain5

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGreenwood3 killed, 2 hurt, $10,000Thunderstorm winds contributed to the collapse of a wall and scaffolding at a construction site in the Precedent South Business Center south of Main Street near I-65. The incident killed 3 and injured 2. All were male workers.
October 1954Tornado (F3)not stated2 killed, $250,000no account filed
July 1992Tornado (F3)not stated25 hurt, $2,500,000no account filed
June 2008Tornado (EF2)Princes Lakes3 hurt, $23,000,000In Brown County near Peoga damaged occurred to twenty to thirty homes, a barn, powerlines, trees, and a carport due to a tornado. One indirect injury occurred when I firefighter suffered heat stroke. In Johnson County at Camp Atterbury forty buildings were damaged, dozens of vehicles including a 6,000 pound Humvee and a bus were tossed and crushed, the chapel was damaged, and a trailer was tossed on top of a building. Also in Johnson County in Edinburgh 59 buildings were damaged or destroyed. One woman suffered an ankle injury during the tornado. Damaged occurred in Shelby County to a gas station. One woman at the gas station sustained minor injuries when her car windows were blown out. The tornado touched down at 2024 EST in Brown County near the intersection of Sweetwater Trail and Beech Tree Road. The tornado tracked to the northeast for 2.83 miles before crossing into Johnson County approximately 1000 feet west of County Road 900 at 2030 EST. The tornado continued to track to the northeast for 7.19 miles until 2046 EST when the tornado entered Shelby County just south of the County Road 900 and West State Road 252 intersection. The tornado lifted at 2047 EST in Shelby County after tracking to the northeast and lifting at exit 80 on Interstate 65. The tornado was an EF-2 while in Brown County causing 200 thousand dollars in damage. The tornado was an EF-2 while in Johnson County causing 23 million dollars in damage. The tornado weakened to an EF-1 while in Shelby County causing 15 thousand dollars in damage. Based on damage indicators, at the tornadoes peak intensity wind speeds were around 130 miles per hour. The tornado formed from a supercell and was on the ground for 23 minutes or 10.59 miles.
March 1986Tornado (F3)not stated3 hurt, $2,500,000no account filed
October 2020LightningKinder2 hurtTwo non-life threatening injuries after lightning struck an asphalt roller. The driver and a nearby worker were checked out by first responders and released.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindFranklin1 hurt, $20,000Part of a ceiling of a Wal-Mart department store collapsed. One person had minor injuries.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindBluff Creek1 hurt, $20,000no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindEdinburg1 hurt, $10,000A tree fell on a car, injuring the driver.
July 1992Tornado (F0)not stated1 hurtno account filed
June 2008Flash FloodPrinces Lakes$90,000,000Flash flooding occurred at the hospital and at least two bridges failed on county roads due to flash flooding caused by heavy rainfall and a breach in a dam. Large agricultural areas underwater. About 500 homes were flooded in Whiteland with all roads closed into the town. Multiple people were rescued from cars and homes. In Edinburgh, flooding left an estimated 40 to 50 homes uninhabitable. Bluff Creek flooded. The Prince's Lake area flooded as a man made dam eroded in sections and left a gash in the dam. In Franklin, apartments, shops, and homes were flooded. More than 400 water rescues took place in the county. Seventeen police cars were swept away.
September 2002Tornado (F3)Greenwood$25,000,000no account filed
March 2023Tornado (EF3)New Whiteland$6,670,000The rotating supercell's fifth and final tornado was a violent EF3 that immediately followed the Johnson County EF0. Following the storm's east-northeasterly track, a tornado redeveloped (2.8 miles after the end of the EF0) in an open field, 0.15 miles west of the intersection of South Sawmill Road and Park Forest South Drive. The tornado moved through mainly northern portions of the Park Forest neighborhood while strengthening from EF1 to EF2 intensity. The circulation continued towards US Highway 31, damaging a communications tower near Whiteland Sewer Department. After crossing US Highway 31, the tornado inflicted mainly EF2-intensity damage to southeastern portions of Whiteland, especially east of West Street and south of Main Street. Multiple homes sustained major roof damage, while a few homes had most exterior walls collapse, and one poorly constructed home had only one wall left standing.||Higher-end EF2 damage was observed as it crossed the railroad track and hit the neighborhood near Paris Lane and East Pearl Street. Numerous homes sustained roof damage. A poorly constructed and very poorly anchored home along East Pearl Street was completely destroyed down to its concrete slab. The tornado produced damage to a home along Whiteland Road before crossing an open field as it departed the Whiteland community. The vortex maintained intensity before hitting a few more homes along County Road 225 East (Graham Road). Many trees were uprooted or snapped with significant roof damage and a collapsed garage. A warehouse further east-northeast along Graham Road sustained EF3 damage from winds of 140 mph. Portions of the warehouse were completely gone and blown onto Interstate Route 65.||The circulation crossed Interstate 65 and weakened while continuing to the east-northeast. The tornado produced ground scoring through a field to the south of County Road 600 North, and then turned more northeasterly when approaching the intersection of 600 North and Hurricane Road. EF1 damage occurred on either side of Hurricane Road immediately south of its bridge over Hurricane Creek, where a large garage's walls were collapsed and minor tree damage occurred. Finally, the circulation strengthening to EF2 while turning back to more east-northeasterly, completely destroying two farm outbuildings one-third of a mile northeast of the Hurricane Road bridge. The tornado continued another 0.3 miles before ending on a slight rise of land, 0.3 miles west of County Road 500 East.
March 2006Tornado (F2)Greenwood$3,000,000A tornado touched down just west of Interstate 65 and Main Street in Greenwood on the evening of 31 March 2006. This tornado was on the ground for 25 minutes, covered an area 17 miles long, and caused significant damage to several homes and businesses along its path, which continued into neighboring Shelby County. At its peak, near the small town of London in Shelby County, the tornado was a strong F2, with a width of four tenths of a mile. The tornado lifted near US 52 and State Road 9 in north central Shelby County. According to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, more than 140 homes were damaged, some of them severely. Fortunately, no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported, although at least one driver, Megan Mahoney of Chesterfield, MO, sustained a concussion when her car was rolled or tossed off of Interstate 74 in Shelby County and into the yard of a home over 150 feet away. This was the third significant tornado in just over three and a half years to affect the southern suburbs of the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
April 1996Tornado (F1)Mooresville$2,000,000no account filed
June 2023Tornado (EF2)Bluff Creek$1,200,000A rotating supercell thunderstorm spawned the tornado just west of the intersection of Travis and Mullinix Roads. Moving east, it intensified quickly while producing mainly high-end EF1 damage (winds up to 110 mph) near and around this intersection, with bricks blown off of a large house, roof damage, a trailer moved into an adjacent yard, trees snapped, and a few snapped power poles. Spotty low-end EF-2 (up to 115 mph) damage was also probable here.||The tornado continued east and went through parts of the Kensington Grove subdivision causing substantial roof damage to some homes while several trees were downed and snapped, indicative of EF1 intensity (95-110 mph). The tornado continued east through the Waters Edge neighborhood and over the area's pond while maintaining EF1 strength (90-100 mph). The tornado continued past the Old Marsh by Indiana Route 135, just before impacting portions of an apartment complex under construction. Here the roof was torn off the length of one of the apartment buildings while many windows were broken and even a few pieces of debris were impaled into the ground, indicative of low-end EF2 winds (115 mph).||The tornado then started to turn southeast and pass over an open field where a narrow debris swath was deposited. In this area the tornado may have skipped off the surface a bit. The tornado then came down and snapped and uprooted numerous trees along West County Road 600 North just south of the Restoration Church. More high-end EF1 damage was evident here (100-110 mph). The tornado lifted about 1500 feet southeast of the church.
March 2023Tornado (EF0)Hopewell$800,000This was the rotating supercell's fourth tornado, and the first and weaker of two tornadoes spawned in Johnson County. The tornado started to the north-northeast of the village of Providence, although most of the sporadic tree damage noted in the town was from straight line winds, with slightly more intense tree damage seen from the tornado. The tornado continued to move east-northeast and crossed Indiana Route 135, with multiple power lines damaged and downed across the highway. Metal roofing of a barn just east of Route 135 was peeled back from winds nearing 85 mph. The tornado continued to the east-northeast towards Indiana Route 144, but lifted just before reaching this highway, southeast of Bargersville. Sporadic tree damage was noted to the south of Route 144.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindPrinces Lakes$500,000no account filed
May 2000LightningNew Whiteland$500,000no account filed
June 2001LightningFranklin$425,000no account filed
May 1969Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
December 1967Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
February 1956Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
February 1956Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
June 2005LightningGreenwood$200,000Lightning sparked a fire that heavily damaged the third floor of the Polo Run Apartments in Greenwood.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindGreenwood$200,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindGreenwood$200,000no account filed
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSmith Valley$150,000Numerous trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm wind gusts across the county. Over 7500 power outages caused by the storm.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindFranklin$150,000Roof was blown off of building at 90 East Jefferson due to thunderstorm wind gusts. Partial collapse of home at 1001 N Home Ave. Damage to steeple and church at 100 E Madison. Emergency manager also reported significant tree damage across the county with no specific locations.
July 2005LightningStones Crossing$150,000Lightning sparked a fire which severely damaged a home.
October 1994Tornado (F0)not stated$150,000Narrow, short path tornado blew down the west wall and blew off the roof of a large barn. Roof debris was carried over 50 foot tall trees and deposited 200 yards northeast. The flying debris crashed through a nearby house roof and also totalled a pickup truck in the driveway at that house. Trees adjacent to the barn were blown down or partially sheared off above ground level. Outbuilding near the barn was lifted off its anchored foundation, turned 90 degrees and deposited intact 10 feet from its foundation.
April 2006LightningGreenwood$100,000A lightning strike set fire to a home in Greenwood. The fire spread quickly up a chimney space and destroyed an upstairs bedroom and the roof, and collapsed some of the second floor.
July 2005LightningStones Crossing$100,000Lightning set a home ablaze. The damage amount is estimated.
August 2000LightningGreenwood$100,000no account filed
July 2015Tornado (EF0)Samaria$75,000A sporadic path of trees were downed from State Route 135, just southwest of Samaria, southeast to near Princes Lakes. Corn stalks and a few trees in a field along County Road 450 West, south of County Road 525 South, were laid down in multiple directions. The maximum width of damage was found in this area. Several homes sustained property damage to trees falling on them in a neighborhood along County Road 750 South and on the northwest side of Princes Lakes.||Radar analysis combined with the survey information is suggestive that areas of straight line downburst winds may have occurred within the damage path as well.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindEdinburg$75,000The grandstands at the Edinburgh Community High School were bent in two and dragged onto the track and football field due to damaging straight-line thunderstorm wind gusts from a microburst. Also, numerous trees were downed in a cemetery and surrounding area. Some of these trees were blocking roads. A roof was blown off of an unknown structure and power lines were reported down as well. Nickel sized hail was also reported.
January 1999LightningGreenwood$75,000Lightning struck a church a caused a fire which inflicted heavy damage on it.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindBargersville$60,000A barn was destroyed near 400 W just south of 300 N due to damaging thunderstorm winds. Also damaged were at least 24 homes, a business, trees, a utility pole, and a school.
August 2000LightningGreenwood$60,000no account filed
March 2026Thunderstorm WindAmity$50,000Thunderstorm wind gusts flipped a semi-trailer truck on Interstate 65.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindFrances$50,000Thunderstorm winds downed a few 12-inch diameter trees along Fairview Road at Leaning Tree Road and Peterman Road. Some fences and roofs were also damaged.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindEdinburg$50,000Thunderstorm produced widespread straight line winds of 80 to 90 mph that downed and uprooted numerous trees within a wide area as well as along the damage path of a nearby EF0 tornado in southeastern Johnson County. A downed tree blocked a road in Edinburgh at 1456 EST.
April 2020LightningBargersville$50,000Fire department was responding to two fires in southern Johnson County that were started by lightning.
July 2015Flash FloodSmith Valley$50,000Honey Creek was overflowing at Paddock Road due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall. One car was abandoned because of the rising water. Water was filling yards and starting to flow over the road south of the bridge. The worst of the flooding is just north of the bridge to approximately Smith Valley Road.
June 2008Flash FloodBargersville$50,000Youngs Creek at Amity is over State Road 252 due to heavy rain that caused flash flooding.
June 2006LightningBargersville$50,000A house was heavily damaged by fire caused by a lightning strike.
May 2002Flash FloodCountywide$50,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindFranklin$40,000A roof on a skating rink was partially peeled up by thunderstorm winds.
May 2022Tornado (EF0)Princes Lakes$40,000The second tornado to impact central Indiana on May 21st, was a weak EF0 that briefly touched down in Camp Atterbury. The steeple at a church was blown over while shingles were blown off, and several vehicles were lifted slightly with plywood debris from the roof of the church underneath the tires of the cars. Peak winds estimated at 84 mph.
February 2019Flash FloodNew Whiteland$40,000The fire department reported water flowing over numerous roads in Johnson County with a swift water rescue completed near Greenwood due to flash flooding from heavy rainfall.
May 2009LightningWhiteland$40,000Lightning struck the roof of a home, leaving a gaping hole during heavy rain. Firefighters were called about 7 PM EST. The lightning sparked an attic fire that took about 20 minutes to put out, according to the fire chief. The rest of the home had smoke and water damage. Time of event is approximate. Damage cost is grossly estimated.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindFranklin$40,000Trees, power lines, and at least one stoplight were downed by thunderstorm winds. One tree fell into power lines. These lines started a fire which damaged a residence.
August 2000LightningFranklin$40,000no account filed
April 1996LightningTrafalgar$40,000no account filed
June 2006LightningNineveh$30,000A house was heavily damaged by a lightning strike-induced fire.
March 2026FloodNew Whiteland$25,000Standing water caused vehicles to become stranded on roads with at least one road closed by the high water.
April 2025Flash FloodFrances$25,000Flooding temporarily closed sections of US 31 with several water rescues across the county. Total rainfall ranged from 2.6 to 4.0 inches.
December 2015Tornado (EF1)Critchfield$25,000EF-1 tornado damage was observed near Smith Valley Road and State Road 135 with winds estimated at 100 mph. Some siding was stripped off one side of a house. Also, the roof was lifted off the back portion of a business.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWhiteland$25,000An estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph was observed in this location. Trees up to 2 feet in diameter were downed. A barn was destroyed. There was partial roof damage on another barn.
May 2002Flash FloodFranklin$25,000no account filed

Mines and quarries

5 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 5 workings inside this county. 4 still produce and 1 is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction5

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Central Aggregates PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hill #1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Jefferson Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kelsay & York Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Shelby Gravel, Edinburg Div.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

The townships, in 1881

123,591 words

A Historical Sketch of Johnson County, Indiana devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 9 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.

The county's history books

510,023 words

3 books written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 22 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.

A Historical Sketch of Johnson County, Indiana (1881)

History of Johnson County, Indiana : from the Earliest Time to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Notes, Etc. Together with a Short History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana (1888)

ChapterLength
Chapter 10 (1 of 2 so headed)94,926 words in 6 parts
V D. D. Banta23,105 words in 2 parts
Chapter 3: By D. D. Banta17,127 words in 2 parts
Chapter 4: By D. D. Banta13,161 words
Chapter 619,679 words in 2 parts
Chapter 781,884 words in 6 parts
Chapter 818,938 words in 2 parts
Chapter 10 (2 of 2 so headed)37,380 words in 3 parts

History of Johnson County, Indiana (1913)

ChapterLength
The whole text163,442 words in 11 parts

The people it describes

26 named

Everyone A Historical Sketch of Johnson County, Indiana stops to write about, with the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in the words of 1881.

Every populated place in the county

57

Named 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.

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.