How did we get Richmond?

Franklin and Union counties were formed a bit earlier, in 1804. But as the treaties with native tribes began to take hold and warp out of shape, settlers moved farther from the Ohio Valley into areas closer to the flatlands.

One area, in what would be Wayne County, in 1802, David Hoover and four others traveled from Ohio to inspect the Whitewater in search of a suitable place in which to live. By spring, they had found it.

Most of the early settlers in Wayne County were Quakers who had migrated from North Carolina, ostensibly to escape the social pain of dealing with slave owners. The Quakers took root in Indiana.

The Indiana Magazine of History:

Hoover's party came north across the Kanawha River HERE to the Ohio and set up at Cincinnati. Naturally it took time for the settlement to move into Indiana, and it was not until 1806 when structures were erected. Originally, the Hoover party had planned to settle in Ohio, which was a state. Indiana would not be a state until 1816.

Others who settled in that area were Richard Rue, George Holman and Thomas McCoy. It's difficult to fine-tune their connections or where they came from. In 1806, Andrew Hoover entered several sections of land into the federal register and later that year, John Smith built a cabin that most likely was the first permanent house in present-day Richmond, south of what is now U.S. 40.

Jeremiah Cox claimed to be the first permanent Quaker in Richmond.

After a fashion, immigration and settlement was rapid. By 1812, Richmond was a thriving post.

The two principal reasons for the migration of the Friends appears to have been a desire for economic betterment and opposition to slavery. Stephen Grellet, a famous Quaker preacher, visited North Carolina in 1800 and described conditions there. Many were living on “poor, sandy, and unhealthy soil.” 

Some had migrated to Ohio to try to find suitable places in which to live. Of slavery he said: “Another great inducement to Friends to wish for a change of their residence, was the great sufferings of the poor slaves around them.” 

The slavery issue is a story of manifold proportions and connects strongly to another Richmond feature -- its track as part of the Underground Railroad that focused on the Coffin home in Fountain City. BLOG ITEM HERE

This is a blunt blog item and barely skims the surface of what's available on the settlement of Indiana. The Richmond area is loaded with interesting historical factoids, trivia and fascinating research.

A GRELLET LINK

Canal stuff, generally interesting

 There are several blog items on this site that deal with the canals that ribboned across Indiana in the early 1800s. Generally, the claim is that the canals were bankrupt by 1840 and out of business 20 years later.

This photo from a state government canal history site, was probably taken around 1855, and shows how wide the trench was at the time. 

It's not a third that wide now. The photo appears to be somewhat near the aqueduct, which can be seen in the distance. That would put it just downstream from Metamora.

This clip from the Brookville American from January 1857 suggests that the people who did commerce on the canal weren't giving up without a fight. It's generally conceded that not much was being hauled by canal boat by then. The railroad was just next to it.

Most likely, shipping was quite local, perhaps from Brookville to Laurel. Not much farther because the canal wasn't useful by then.

As of this writing 2022, the village of Metamora and the state DNR have not replaced the boat that has fascinated tourists for a couple of decades. The Ben Franklin III was doomed to time.

The canal and the area around it in Metamora have been a rather constant drain on resources over the last 40 years. The place was old when the state made it into a memorial. 

A Whitewater Canal friends Facebook group exists.