Claysville, Indiana

John Collier settled north of the Livonia road leading to Salem in 1814. Jesse Elgin settled at Claysville in 1814. Jacob March, Rowland Brown and Mark Mandlin settled near the head of Lost river in 1815. Other early settlers were James McGrue, Samuel Linn, Elisha Pollard, the Hoars, Starks and Arnolds. The earliest .squatters were Audra and Mounts. For a number of years everybody went to Beck's for their meal and flour. There were seven swamps or small lakes in the township, and a section of country called the "Flat Woods," where all kinds of game was found in abundance. The lakes swarmed with geese and ducks in late fall and winter.

Passage source: Centennial History of Washington County, Indiana : Its People, Industies and Institutions : with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, published 1916.

Among the first organizations of Methodists in this township was the Lost River church. They worshipped in what was known as the Washington school house, a log structure, located one and one-half miles east of Claysville. The earliest records of this church date back to December 7, 1838. It was in the Salem circuit, Rev. Calvin Ruter, was presiding elder; Rev. George K. Hester, circuit preacher; and Joseph Bates, class leader. The members of this class numbered seventy-five. Joseph Bates was a prominent citizen as well as an ardent church member. He was lx)rn in the state of Maryland, migrating to this county in 1820, with his wife and four children. He settled one mile east of Claysville and died here in 1845. Henry M. Hacket also emigrated from Maryland with Bates and located near Clays\ille, where he died in 1841. He was a man of considerable taknt, representing this coimty in both houses of the Legislature. He was a strong advocate of internal improvements and voted for the internal improvement law, \\'hich afterward became a very unpopular measure and was accordingly repealed. He also held the office of associate judge, in which capacity he acquitted himself with credit.

Passage source: Centennial History of Washington County, Indiana : Its People, Industies and Institutions : with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, published 1916.

The town of Claysville was laid off by Julius Turner, October 24, 1828. It was first called "Middletown," but was changed by act of the Legislature, in March, 1839, in order that a postoffice might be established. It never had any additions, but comprises fifty-seven lots on sections 9 and 10. Simeon Porter opened the first store in 1827, succeeded by Lyman Gould in 1830. In 1835 Aaron Walker established a grocery which he afterwards sold to Madison Bowles. William Lemon operated a store here for several years and did an extensive business, up to 1862, when the store burned with all its contents. For many years Royal B. Child was a prominent physician, lawyer and general business man of the settlement. At the present time there is one store in the place, conducted by Arch Padgett.

Passage source: Centennial History of Washington County, Indiana : Its People, Industies and Institutions : with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, published 1916.

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 Vernon Township.