Leroy Mayfield House

In 1840, there were then two stores, one liquor shop, one blacksmith shop, one grist mill, one saw mill, a post office and about five families. James Whitesell started a store in 1841, continuing until about 1845. Jobnson Stites sold liquor in 1840; Isaac Wampler sold liquor in 1841. A Mr. Manville was in business about 1846. H. R. Seall opened a good general store in about 1848, and continued nine or ten years. S. B. & O. A. Harris started with about $1,000 worth of goods in 1848, and in one form or another have continued until the present, if their sons who succeeded them are included. Emanuel F. Faulkner opened a store in about 184yY. Parks & Coffey started soon afterward, as did also John H. Reeves, Harris & Dean, Dowell & Moore. The McCallas. of Bloomington, had a branch store in Ellettsville. Dowell & Stearns were in business in the fifties; G. B. Moore the same, and is yet in business, having accumulated a fortune. R. W. Akin & Co. opened with a general store in 1856. J. M. Campbell started up about the beginning of the war, and F. E. Worley began during the war. W. H. Jackson opened a store about the close of the war, and still continues to make a living over the counter. Parks & Puett were in business early in the village. 'The Perry Brothers came to the village twenty or twenty-five years ago, and have amassed comfortable fortunes. They are now engaged extensively in the stone business. Among the business ventures at the village have been the saw mill of Sanders & Knighton, many years ago; Houston's steam saw mill, started in the fifties, and transferred to Perry & Sedwick, was afterward burned. Late in the fifties, David Allen built and equipped a grist mill at a total cost of about $13,000. It was an excellent mill. After a few years, it was sold to Jesse Draper, and ten or twelve years later to W. it. Jackson, upon whose hands it burned down last winter (1882-83). S. B. Harris built a grist mill about 1870, at a cost of $9,000, and after four or five years added a set of machinery for carding wool. Both are yet in operation. The woolen factory cost $3,000. It is said that John Whisenand carded wool at the village as early as 1842, his motor being the tread-wheel. It ceased running about 1850. Early in the fifties, Gilbert May started a good cabinet shop. Shook & Faulkner began manufacturing carriages about eight years ago, and are still engaged in the same pursuit. F. E. Worley opened a private bank in the village about twelve years ago, with a capital of from $40,000 to $60,000. He still continues doing a general banking business, and has the confidence of the community. He owns one of the finest residences in Monroe County. George Fletcher started a planing mill five or six years ago. He is an extensive contractor and builder. About five years ago, a German from Indianapolis erected a spoke factory, which is now owned by Sedwick & Grant, and is not in operation. William Walls is now conducting a good wagon shop. Judson Sanders started a steam saw mill in 1888. These are the more important business industries. In 1850, the population of the village was about 60; in 1860, about 250; in 1870, about 450; in 1880, 585, and in 1883 about 625.

Passage source: 1884 History of Monroe County Indiana, published 1884.

The old Vernal Baptist Church was one of the very first, if not the first, organized in Monroe Connty. Meetings were held during the winter of 1817-18, but probably no organization was effected until several years later. Among the first members were the families of James Parks, Benjamin Parks, George Parks, Lewis Noel, Leroy Mayfield, John Sanders, the Coffeys, Mr. Shreeves, the Martins, Frank Hall, and others. A rude log church was built in the Sanders neighborhood, in about 1826, and was used until about 1838, when a frame church, built further north and within about three-fourths of a mile of Ellettsville, took its place. The old log house was so open that in cold weather meetings were held in the residences of the members - principally in that of James Parks, who for many years was Deacon of the church and its most prominent member. Rev. James Chambers was the first minister, but within two or three years he was succeeded by Rev. Leroy Mayfield, who was pastor over thirty years. The Bethany Baptist was organized quite early, some of the early members being the families of John Wilburn, William Sparks, Abe May, Henry Flood, Wiliam H. Treadway and Henry Sanders. Another famous early church was the Cumberland Presbyterian, of Richland Township. Citizens of Bloomington of this faith often went out to attend this church. It was organized before 1830, and among the members were the Sharps, Constables, Figgs, Johnsons, Halls, Clays. The church was built on Section 4, and was known as the Pleasant Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Thomas J. Sharp furnished the land on Section 4. Another early class was the Christian Church, organized in the thirties, among the early members being the families of Pleasant York, Andrew Reeves, James Everman, Wesley Acuff, James Hall, J. H. Houston, and others. The Church was called North Liberty Church of Christ. The old Methodist Church in Richland was organized in the twenties. It was called Wesley Chapel, and among the early members were the Kerbys, the Smiths, the Hopewells, the Sedwicks, the Reeveses, the Knightons, the Stinesons, the Moots, the Sharps, and others. Others were organized early and later. The Presbyterians, Methodists, Christians and Baptists, remnants of the old organizations, have churches in Ellettsville and in the township.

Passage source: 1884 History of Monroe County Indiana, published 1884.

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 Richland Township - 18,040 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.