Jefferson, Indiana

Coordinates: 40°16′45″N 86°35′28″W / 40.27917°N 86.59111°W / 40.27917; -86.59111
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Jefferson
Jefferson is located in Clinton County, Indiana
Jefferson
Jefferson
Coordinates: 40°16′45″N 86°35′28″W / 40.27917°N 86.59111°W / 40.27917; -86.59111
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountyClinton
TownshipWashington
Named forThomas Jefferson
Elevation860 ft (260 m)
ZIP code
46041
FIPS code18-37908[2]
GNIS feature ID2830344[1]

Jefferson is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Clinton County, Indiana.[1] The town is named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.[3]

History[edit]

Jefferson was one of the earliest settlements in Clinton County, being laid out and platted before 1829 and situated in the most thickly settled part of the county at that point. It early on had a post office, which handled mail bi-weekly, and a store operated by Abner Baker and Aaron Southard which sold supplies both to the early pioneers and to the Indians.[4]

When Clinton County organized in 1830, local landowners led by Abner Baker lobbied for Jefferson to be chosen as the county seat, but its non-central location worked against it. John Pence offered 60 acres (240,000 m2) of land and $100 for the establishment of the seat at Frankfort, and the commissioners appointed to select the site accepted.[5]

A post office was established at Jefferson in 1830, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1905.[6]

Jefferson was the 1958 birthplace of the now defunct neofascist National States' Rights Party.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Jefferson, Indiana
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Claybaugh, Joseph (1913). History of Clinton County, Indiana. Indianapolis: A. W. Bowen & Company. pp. 32.
  4. ^ Claybaugh, p. 81
  5. ^ Claybaugh, p. 97
  6. ^ "Clinton County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  7. ^ Carter, Dan T. (1995). The politics of rage : George Wallace, the origins of the new conservatism, and the transformation of American politics. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 164. ISBN 0-684-80916-8. OCLC 32739924.