Metz, Indiana

The first entry of land was made by Kichard Peters, May 12, 1836, being all of fractional section 4. During the same month Koyal B. Hix, George W. Johnson, Martin Eldridge and several other persons located lands in the township. The first white settler was Fayette Barron, who built his cabin on the site of the present village of Metz, in the summer of 1836. In 1837 Clark and Calvin Powers, who had visited the county the previous vear and located land, arrived, also Stephen A. and Winn Powers, Augustus Wood worth and Jackson Cory. From that time to 1840 there came Jeremiah Dillingham and his sons, John Larue, Adam Dygert, Cowee Barns, Griswold and Alvah Phelps, Charles F. Hodges, George Jenks, who was a half brother of the Powers, Royal Hix, George W. Johnson, David K. Jones, John Croy and others. These pioneers and a large portion of those who followed in after years were from the State of New York.

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

About the year 1840, the Methodists organized a class near the center of the township. They met in private houses, and later in the school-houses. They were occasionally cheered and revived by visits from the circuit preachers. In 1850 a church was fully organized at Hathaway's corners, the membership of which became quite numerous, and in 1853 they erected a meeting-house at that point, which is still standing. Very early in the history of the county the Free-Will Baptists had an organization, and met for worship at the houses of Adam Dygert, Cowee Barns, and at other places. Their ministers were Elder J. H. Miner, Silas Ileadley and occasionally others. In 1842, a few Disciples, who had recently emigrated from Bedford, Ohio, organized a church of which Burdett B. Goodale was made pastor. This formed the nucleus for the present flourishing church at Metz, which now numbers about 150 members, and has a pleasant and commodious house of worship. Through the efforts of the Powers family a free church building was erected a few years since on section 2i^, on land donated by Clark Powers. It was called by its founders the Free church, but is now and probably will always be called the Powers church.

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

The village plat of Metz covers portions of sections 5 and 6 of Richland Township, and of sections 31 and 32 of York. The first settler of this village was Fayette Barron, who came here in the fall of 1836. His home was made in the limits of York Township, being the pioneer settler of that township. This was years before any thought of a village here was entertained. The next settler was Joseph Bennett. One half a mile south a store was started in 1841 by Henry Letcher.

Passage source: History of Steuben County, Indiana, Together with... Biographies of Representative Citizens, published 1885.

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 York Township - it names this place 10 more 10 times.