Boston, Indiana

This township Avas formed from Wajne in February, 1835, and lies in the south-east corner of the county. Its length east and west is 6 miles ; its breadth north and south is 4 miles, making an area of 24 square miles. The principal stream in this township is the Elkhorn, which enters it about IJ miles west of Ohio line, and, running a south-westerly course, leaves the township IJ miles south of the north-west corner, about half a mile above the mouth of the stream. Some of the earlier settlements in the county were n ade within its limits. With the exception of Ilohnan, Rue, and a few others in that neighborhood, and John Cox, tlie Endsleys, aud perhaps a few others in what is now called Abington, there were probably no earlier settlers in Wayne county. Thomas Bulla, Jacob Fonts, and Jesse Davenport settled on the Elkhorn, 4 or 5 miles south-east of Kichmond ; Davenport and one or two of the Foutses, lower down, within the present townsliip of Boston - all tlie same year in which the Hoovers settled north of Richmond. The Hunts, the next year, settled on and near the Elkhorn, several miles below where Davenport settled.

Passage source: History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time : with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches, published 1872.

In the north part of the township. Fielding Gaar settled on a part of section 21, lately occupied by R. Rue, now owned by Justice Kroskopf. Wm. Williams settled in 1814, where Isaac Bulla resides. He was a maker of spinning wheels, and removed to Richmond ; was also a minister in the society of Friends. Asa Jeffers settled on land now owned by Alonzo Osborn and Daniel W. Shatter. Adjoining this section on the south, James, William, and Robert Grimes owned the land now owned by John T. Williams. Daniel Hart, from N". C, settled, in 1814, on the land now owned by Francis Hendricks. Jesse Davenport, before mentioned, in 1806, settled on section 22, adjoining Wayne. A part of his laud is now owned by the heirs of George Grimes. Other parts of the section were owned or settled by Jeremiah Parker, Clark Williams, and Daniel Clark. Portions of the section are now owned by James McLain, Samuel S. Brown, Clayton Brown, Joseph Kokayne, Wm. Roberts, W. Elmer, and others. On the section adjoining, south, [27,] John McCombs, afterward John Ray, settled where now Wm. Ray resides. Jonathan Townsend, on the land now owned by Edward Timberlake.

Passage source: History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time : with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches, published 1872.

The first Gi'ist-mill in the county was built by Charles Hunt, in 1807, on the Elkhorn, about a mile above its mouth, iu:>w near the west line of Boston township. It was a tub mill, and a cheap one, called in those days ''corn-cracker." lie afterward built anew mill, which, after four or five years, was destroyed by fire. A steam saw-mill on the same site, is now owned b}^ James and John Ensley. [Since the above was written, John Ensle}'' has died.] Jesse Davenport bnilt a grist-mill on the falls of Elkhorn creek, believed to have been the third one in the county. A few years later he built a saw-mill at the same place. These mills are but a few rods above the present mills, on the Richmond and Boston turnpike. There are at present a grist-mill and a saw-mill, called "Eelief Mills," owned by Samuel S. Brown, "Wm. A. Elmer, and John "Wolf. A steam saw-mill was built in 1837, by Eliphalet Stanley, at Boston, and sold soon after to Jacob W. Fisher and Wm. Fonts, who sold to Smith Rader, and he to Irvin and others. James L. Harris, half a mile north of town, built a steam saw-mill, which is now owned by Wm. T. McCoy. There was for a time attached to it a run of burr stones for grinding corn. A lath-machine is now attached.

Passage source: History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time : with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches, published 1872.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Boston Township - it names this place 54 more 54 times.