Shiloh Meeting House and Cemetery

Ireland. This town is situated four miles northwest of Jasper. It was once intended to be called American City, and its settlers were proud of its proposed name. The name "American City" was not approved by the post office department, so the name Ireland was retained in honor of the nativit}' of John Stewart, who bought the land of the United States, on December 23, 1S16, a short time after Indiana became a state. John Stewart died in the autumn of 1842. His son, James G. and four others laid out the town. The map bears date of May 20, 1S65, but the place was a small village many 3'ears before that. Ireland has parochial, common, and high schools, three churches, and many lodges. The Masons and the Odd Fellows own more improved real estate at Ireland than at any other point in Dubois county. James G. Stewart, one of the founders of Ireland, was born October 4, 1814, and died November 12, 1S74. [Page 129.] The first house erected in Ireland was built by Henry Green. It stood on the line between sections nineteen and twenty, on the Jasper and Petersburg road. It was built about 1842, and is yet in use. The second house was erected in 1852 by Dr. E. A. Glezen. A steam flour mill was erected in 1855 by John Cooper. This had much to do toward the future progress of Ireland. The mill was lost by fire in September, 1882. A new one was erected. Ephraini Woods is reported as first merchant at Ireland. Alsephus McGinnis and Harvey Green were also merchants in the early history of this place. Others were Taylor, Dillon, Fleming, Armstrong, and Hardin. Later, Stewart, Thomas, Hobbs, Wilson, Dillon, Fowler, Kahn, and Calvin were merchants. The doctors or druggists were Kean, Kelso, Blackburn, Strain, Parr, Glezen, Harrison, Freeland, and McCown.

Passage source: History of Dubois County from Its Primitive Days to 1910, published 1910.

Samuel Postlethwait secured the establishment of the first post office in Madison township on February 12, 1851. It was called "Alder Creek Postoffice," and was located about one mile west of Ireland. It was discontinued October 27. 1852. On July 26, 1853, the office went to Ireland and Ephraim Woods became postmaster.

Passage source: History of Dubois County from Its Primitive Days to 1910, published 1910.

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 Madison Township - 619 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.