Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
“Rufus and Amanda Black House is a historic home located in Sugar Creek Township, Hancock County, Indiana. It was built about 1870, and is a two-story, L-shaped, Italianate style brick dwelling.”
Wikipedia article Rufus and Amanda Black House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 13 National Register listings published here for Hancock County · listed in 2014 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Sugar Creek Township in History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882 names Philadelphia. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Philadelphia, named in commemoration of the city of brotherly love, is located four miles west of Greenfield, on the National road. The P., C. and St. L. R. R. runs by it. It contains a two-story public school building, one sawmill, a flouring mill, post-office, express office, daily mail, druggist, grocer, merchants, mechanics, physicians, and other necessaries to a village of her dimensions. Philadelphia was laid out by the records fail to show whom, on the nth day of April, 1838, being about six months prior to the laying out of New Palestine. The original plat consists of one hundred and two lots and six out-lots. The first and only addition was made by Clark, on the second day of April, 1864, and consisted of nineteen lots, located south of the old plat. Among the first business men of this place were: Charles Atherton, Sen., general merchant and post-master; Allen McCane, Joseph Marshall, G. W. Willett, Samuel McConaha, J. B. Sting, J. B. Conover and O. S. Meek. First physicians. Dr. Hodson McCallister & Son, J. H. Hazen, W. H. Dye, G. T. Rennick and H. B. Tilson. We will not consume space in ijivinij a full list of the business throuirh her entire history, but will now come up to the present, and furnish for this date a
Passage source: History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882.
About the 3'ear 1835, the Methodists organized a class at Philadelphia. Among the first members were Owen Griffith, wife and two daughters ; William Brown, wife and daughter; Mrs. Willett ; Charles Atherton, Sr., and wife ; Jonathan Hornida}' and wife, Thomas J. Smith and wife, and Joseph Grey and lady. The first ministers were J. B. Burch, Rev. Edwards and Landy Havens.
Passage source: History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882.
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 Sugar Creek Township - 46,576 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Rufus and Amanda Black House: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leary's Gravel Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Leary's Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Strubbe Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Philadelphia, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 2012 and 2020: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Philadelphia | $15,000 | Several trees were downed in Spring Lake with some power poles down as well due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Philadelphia | $1,000 | Water was reported to be over the road on County Road 100 North due to heavy rainfall. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Philadelphia | - | An estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was observed in this location. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Philadelphia | - | An estimated 60 mph damaging wind gust was observed near the intersection of County Roads 150 West and 150 South. |
| April 2020 | Hail | Philadelphia | - | no account filed |
| September 2015 | Hail | Philadelphia | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Lilly Biological Laboratories | 2.3 miles | 1977 |
 | Lincoln Park School | 3.5 miles | 2009 |
 | James Whitcomb Riley House | 3.6 miles | 1977 |
 | Greenfield Residential Historic District | 3.7 miles | 2011 |
 | Charles Barr House | 3.8 miles | 2008 |
 | Greenfield Courthouse Square Historic District | 3.8 miles | 1985 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 14000802 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Hancock County | All 13 listed properties in this county. |
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