Cassville, Indiana

The settlement of Howard Township by the whites dates back to the year 1840, at which time the first pioneer, a man by name of Kimball, made his appearance and located on Wild Cat, a short distance south of David Farley's farm. The country at that time was in possession of the Indians, with whom Kimball lived for several years. He adopted their mode of dress, passed the greater part of his time at their camp, participated in their hunting excursions, and was to all intents and purposes a savage himself. He remained here until about the year 1843, when, becoming restive under the increasing civilization, he took his departure and joined his red companions in the West. Several other transient settlers, whose names were not learned, came about the same time with the foregoing, and located temporarily near Cassville. They associated with the Indians also, and took their departure about the same time the latter quitted the country.

Passage source: Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana. Historical and Biographical.., published 1883.

On the 6th day of August, 1845, Elder Laomi Ashley held a meeting at the residence of Thomas Martindale, near the present site of Cassville, and organized a society of the Christian, or "New Light" Church. A sermon was preached upon the occasion, and the following persons received into membership: John Hicks, Rebecca Hicks, Thomas Martindale, Francis Martindale, Jonathan Martindale, Elizabeth Martindale, William Stanley, Nancy Stanley, William Pearson, Mary Pearson, Keziah Garrett and Elizabeth Dale. For several years, Martindale's residence was used as a meeting place, and the society increased in numbers under the earnest labors of Ashley, and his successor. Elder Isaac Johnson. Amcng the early pastors was Abraham Sneethen, who deserves more than a passing notice. He was a native of Virginia, and a man of unblemished character, and was considered quite a noted preacher in his day. At an early age, he moved to Ohio, when that State was on the outskirts of civilization, and settled with his parents near Cincinnati. He entered the ministry while yet a young man, and preached at Cincinnati Avhen that city was a mere hamlet of a dozen houses. From Ohio he came to this State, where he became widely and favorably known as a pioneer evangelist. He was a sincere Christian, whose life was spent in

Passage source: Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana. Historical and Biographical.., published 1883.

The Cassville Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about the year 1849, with a strong membership. Their first house of worship was built in 1856, but was not completed until three years later. It was used until the year 1874, at which time their present edifice was erected. This is a large, commodious brick building, the finest in the county outside of Kokomo, and cost the sum of $4,000. The church at the present time has a large membership, and is in a flourishing condition.

Passage source: Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana. Historical and Biographical.., published 1883.

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 Howard Township - it names this place 7 more 7 times.