Elizabethtown

Township Washington

Location: Ghost Town

North Side of Mississinewa River, section 12 - In Section 12 of Washington Twp an "ELIZABETH MILLS" is indicated in the area where this town was located. Since this is in all caps it indicates a place and not a name on the map. [S3, p 19]

A grist mill is also indicated near the river. In the 1980's a stone wheel could be seen laying on the ground north of the river and west of the road.

Platted by Joseph Wilson. Named after, and in honor of, Elizabeth Wilson, his daughter. Was quite busy during the 1830's. It was hoped Blackford County would take them in as part of it and make Elizabethtown the county seat. The town declined quickly after 1839 when Blackford County decided not to include them.

"In its early days Elizabethtown had homes, a large mill on the river, shops and a physician. The community existed for several decades, and the mill survived into the 20th century." [S5, 15 Feb 1994, p 4A]

Elizabethtown Cemetery

Other Names: Elizabeth [S7] -

Date Platted:

Town Plat Map - 1874 - [S11 p 19] -
- North-South Streets: No Street Names shown
- East-West Streets: No Street Names shown
- Grist Mill Shown
- Mill Race on Mississinewa River Shown

Maps:
1870: [S8] - "Elizabethtown" A mill is also shown
1874: Town Plat Map - Business Directory [S11 p 19] -
1876: [S7] - (Elizabeth)
nd: [S4]

Post Office Data:

Post Office Established:
Post Office Closed:
Post Office Names:
Postmasters:
- M. B. Lake -

- Money Order Office, established 1892 [S15, p 852]
- Post Office Open 1 July 1851 to 31 March 1857 - [S15, p 743-756]
- Postmaster Postmark - M. B. Lake, P.M. - [S15, p 540]
- Postmark Description & Illustration - Postmaster Frank [S15, p 436]

Sources:

[S2, p 100] - [S3, p 19] - - [S5, 29 Jun 1992] - [S6, p 299] -

Platted by Joseph Wilson, named town after his daughter - had homes, a mill, stores, and a doctor - The mill was still in existence into the 20th Century - There had been hope that a new county would be formed and that Elizabethtown would become the county seat - this did not come to pass. [S9] -

"Elizabethtown, the oldest village of the township, it is said, once aspired to the honor of becoming a county seat. But as fate would have it, the county lines were drawn in the wrong place, and the court house and other public buildings seen in the day dreams of the people of the northeast corner of Washington township proved to be but 'castles in the air,' ... and Elizabethtown is no more." [S10, p 184]

"It was in this section [Section 12, Washington Township] that the old town of Elizabethtown was laid out, on the north side of the Mississinewsa but was never destined to reach the prominence and importance anticipated for her by the founders." [S10, p 188]

Washington Township (Wheeling & Elizabethtown) Delinquent Taxpayers, 1847 - [Delaware County Genealogist and Historian, March 1996, p 15, 16] - Doc2704.pdf

"...another Mississinews River community, was located about a mile northeast of Wheeling in WashingtonTownship. The man who platted it was Joseph Wilson; it was named for his daughter Elizabeth. His hope was that the community would become the seat of a new county to be formed from the northern part of Delaware County and some unorganized territory to the north. Formation of Blackford County in 1839 left out the territory then in northern Delaware County. So Elizabethtown's hopes to be a county seat were dashed. In its early days Elizabethtown had homes, a large mill on the river, shops and a physician. The community existed for several decades, and the mill survived into the 20th century. [Source Unknown]

"Outside of the recorder's office, very few people have an practical knowledge of the site once known as Elizabethtown, which was situated on the north bank of the Mississinewa rive in section 12. Joseph Wilson, the original proprietor of the town, platted the site because it was believed to be the central location and the natural selection for a county seat of a county which was to be formed from part of Delaware and the land situated to the north. the name was given in honor of Elizabeth Wilson, whose grandson is Mark Powers, of Gaston. A village was started, merchants and blacksmiths and other mechanics located there, town lots brought fancy prices, and during the thirties Elizabethtown had more importance than some of the present-day towns that were not then on the map. But the boundaries of Blackford county, when formed in 1839, did not even include Elizabethtown. This humiliation was more than the natural vigor of the town could endure, and in a few years little remained to mark the site of this ambitious enterprise." [S2, p 100]

A Contender for the County Seat of Blackford County - [Our Neighborhood, The Muncie Star, 6 May 1991]

Sources Source List

Source Citation

Image
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Google Maps:

Kemper, G.W.H., M.D., ed. A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County Indiana, 1908; reprint ed., Evansville, Indiana: Whippoorwill Publications, 1984. Bk3012,

An Atlas of Delaware County, Indiana. Philadelphia: Griffing, Gordon & Co, 1887, reprint ed., Knightstown, Indiana: Mayhill Publications, 1971, Bk1849

Bracken Library Special Collections. Ball State University. Map #61-2

"Our Neighborhood" by Bill Spurgeon. The Muncie Star, (Muncie, Indiana), 15 Feb 1994, page 4A

Helm, T.B. History of Delaware County, Indiana. Chicago: Kingman Brothers, 1881, reprint ed., Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, Inc., 1976, Bk1595

Map: Delaware County, Indiana, 1876. (Published by Baskin, Forster & Co. Lakeside Building Chicago, 1876. Engraved & Printed by Chas. Shober & Co. Props. Of Chicago Lithographing Co.) David Rumsey Map Collection. http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~23110~790090:Map-of-Delaware-County---Published-# Accessed, 27 Feb 2012. Acc002078/Ph9386-001 to 041.jpg

Detail: Elizabeth, Washington Township

From 1876 - Delaware County Map

Ph9386-002.jpg

Map: Asher, Adams & Higgins. New Topographical Atlas and Gazetteer of Indiana, multiple counties including Delaware, Blackford, Madison, and Hamilton and others. Indianapolis: Higgins & Ryan, 1870, pages 19, 20. David Rumsey Map Collection. http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~33585~1171285:New-topographical-atlas-and-gazette?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No# Accessed 28 Feb 2012. Acc002079/Ph9387.jpg

Map Detail: Washington Township, Delaware County

Newsletter Article: "Ghost Towns". DCHA Newsletter (Delaware County Historical Alliance, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana), Vol. 1, No. 1, 19 Jan 2000.

Doc2847.pdf

S10

Book: Ellis, John S. Our County: [Delaware County, Indiana] Its History and Early Settlement by Townships. (1890). Evansville, Indiana: Whipporwill Publications, Reproduction, 1987. Bk2082.

S11

Book: Map of Delaware County Indiana: Indexed and Printed in Atlas Form from 1874 Wall Map. Original: Philadelphia: A.L. Klingman, 1874. Reprint: Muncie, Indiana: D & N Research, 1989. Bk3642

S12

Wikepedia Article

S13

Elizabethtown Historical Marker

S14

"Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood", Richard A. Greene. Muncie Star, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana.

S15

Baker, J. David. The Postal History of Indiana, Vol. 2. Louisville, Ky: Leonard H. Hartman, 1976, Bk3010.

Repositories: Bracken Library, Ball State University and Anderson Public Library

S16

"Delaware County's Delinquent Taxpayers of 1842" - Delaware County, Genealogist and Historian, March 1995, page 13 - Doc2904.pdf

S17

"From Snagtown to Gaston: A Washington Township Story" Delaware County Genealogist and Historian, Vol. 7, No. 2, Summer 1998, page 48-50. Doc2906.pdf

S18

"Delaware County Delinquent Taxpayers of 1847" Transcribed by Joyce Colleen Libes. Delaware County Genealogist and Historian, March 1996, pages 15, 16 - Doc2908.pdf

S19

Flook, Chris. Lost Towns of Delaware County, Indiana. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2019. Bk4212

http://lostdelawarecounty.chrisflook.org/

S20

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S23

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