Prairie, Indiana

This township was not reduced to its present limits with its present name until March 13, 1822. It was named in honor of the Black family who came fi-om North Carolina in 1806 and settled a short distance northwest of Mount Vernon.

Passage source: History of Posey County, Indiana : from the Earliest Times to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. : Together with an Extended History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana, published 1886.

William Henry Harrison entered a portion of the land on which the city of Mount Vernon now stands. His claim called for 317 acres of Section 8. This claim he tried to sell to James Black, but he refused to buy because one of the McFaddin's had squatted on the land and refused to yield possession. Harrison afterward sold the land to Aaron "Williams, of Big Prairie, 111., for a horse and some money borrowed of James Black.

Passage source: History of Posey County, Indiana : from the Earliest Times to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. : Together with an Extended History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana, published 1886.

The schools of Mount Vernon were properly brought to a system under Prof. A. J. Snoke, who was the first superintendent. He began his work in 1870. The school buildings are named respectively: High School, East Ward, West Ward and Seminary (colored school). The high school building was erected in 1868 at a <!ostof about $17,000. The east and the west building were erected 1869 at a cost of $5,500 each. The other superintendents have been N. E. Clark and Davis. In 1882 Prof. P. P. Stultz took charge of the schools, under whose management they have been very successful. The h^h school course requires three years to complete. The teachers for the school year of 1885-86 are P. P. Stultz, superintendent; Chris Menmann, assistant superintendent and teacher of German ; O. S. Levell, principal of high school ; E. O. Oavanah, principal of West Ward; P. D. Alexander of the East Ward and Ollie Cooper, principal of colored school, with Gertrude Bland assistant and teacher; intermediate teachers are Mary Brown and Alice Howard ; primary teachers are Emma Khine, Sallie Whitworth, Mary P. Jaquees, Etta Larkin, Jennie Lichtenberger, Julia Abbott, and Nannie Foshee. The following graduated in 1883 : Jennie Lichtenberger, Miss Loveland, Julia Schisley. Rose Armhuster, Jessie Spencer, Mabel Thomas, Belle Fuhrer, ZeUa Harris, Emma Rhine, Sherman Carr, Minnie Sullivan, and Nora Woody. There were no graduates for 1884; for 1885 there are Mamie Dunn and Cora Duckworth.

Passage source: History of Posey County, Indiana : from the Earliest Times to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. : Together with an Extended History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana, published 1886.

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 Black Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.