BlockDemocrat Township
The complete chapter on this township from History of Carroll County Indiana, published 1916. 328 words, covering 5 settlements. Source changes inside the text are labelled at the exact paragraph where the next book begins.
Contents
1 sectionThe section headings the book prints inside this chapter. Each one jumps to where it begins.
The modern record here
5 settlementsWhat the federal record holds for each settlement inside this township: wildfires and storm reports since the 1950s, mineral workings, and museum specimens collected nearby. These are counted within a few miles of each settlement, so neighbours share them and the columns are deliberately not added up. Every row links to the settlement's own page, where each figure is broken out.
| Settlement | Fires | Storm reports | Mines and quarries | Specimens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams Mill | - | - | 1 | - |
| Cutler | - | 4 | 2 | - |
| Lexington | - | 6 | - | - |
| Prince William | - | - | 2 | - |
| Ray | - | - | 2 | - |
Settlements in this township
5 placesEvery populated place the Geographic Names Information System records inside this township's Census boundary. 3 of the 5 are named in the chapter; the rest were founded later or were never more than a post office.
The chapter
328 wordsReproduced complete and unedited from History of Carroll County Indiana, published 1916. The text is machine-read from scans, so expect recognition errors: misspelled names, dropped words, and stray characters. Nothing has been corrected, because correcting a proper name invents one. The headings below are the books' own; source changes are labelled in place.
Democrat Township
Democrat township was organized by the board of county commission¬ ers in May, 1835, and William Dawson was appointed inspector of elec¬ tions. The first election was held at the house of James McNeil in 1838. (The first school house was a log building erected in 1833^; The villages were Prince William and Lexington, and later the town of Cutler was established. Cutler is located on the Vandalia railroad. The Presbyterian and Baptist denominations were the first to organize churches. At Cutler, Wild Cat lodge No. 31 1, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized in 1864; and Cutler Lodge No. 571, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was organized in 1879.
The oldest mill was the Adam's mill, located on Wild Cat creek, east of Cutler, in 1831. Mr. Adams erected a flouring-mill in 1835. Samuel Weaver operated a carding-mill, also manufactured linseed oil, and later operated a woolen-mill at Prince William. A tannery was operated by a Mr. Campbell from 1835 to 1840. Lexington was laid out on land of Eli Patty in 1835, and was a good trading point. Prince William was noted in early times as a popular place for the holding of political meetings. Considerable business was transacted at this place during the palmy days of the "Plank Road" existence. Wild Cat creek is the principal stream in the township, having several branches in the southeastern part of the town¬ ship.
The laying out and building of roads occupied the people during the first years of the township organization. The township trustees had charge of the management of the public schools and establishing school districts. Dr. R. D. Herron was the earliest physician in the township. Jacob Watson and family were the first settlers of this township. David Motter was a close second.
James Chittick, Robert Simpson, Anthony Burns, Bolton Smith, John Black, Joshua Craner, Jacob Watson, Jeremiah Ashba, William Mustard and others. All of the above named settled in this township prior to 1833.
Provenance
Text from History of Carroll County Indiana, published 1916, in the public domain in the United States and digitised by the Internet Archive. The settlements listed against this township are matched by point-in-polygon test of each Geographic Names Information System coordinate against the Census Bureau's county subdivision boundary, not by name.