Paula Dunn

By Paula Dunn Fall Creek Township is the Bicentennial celebration’s featured township for September. That means it’s time for the Fall Creek Township Quiz! 1. What year was Fall Creek Township first settled and who was the first settler? 2. Who is the “Geist” in Geist Reservoir? 3. What old Fall Creek Township community now…

From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn If you’ve lived in this area as long as I have, I don’t have to tell you today’s Noblesville is nothing like the city I knew growing up here in the 1960s and ‘70s. I used to be comforted by the thought that at least I was surrounded…

From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn Another month, another township in the Bicentennial spotlight! Wayne Township is being featured in August. That means it’s time for the Wayne Township quiz. 1. Who were Wayne Township’s first white settlers? 2. Is the township’s largest creek “Stoney Creek” or “Stony Creek?” 3. What was Clarksville’s original…

By Paula Dunn While I was trying to decide on a topic for this week, I ran across an item in the July 21, 1904 issue of The Times that made me chuckle and I just couldn’t let it pass. The “Curbstone Ranger,” a columnist for The Times, observed that Will H. Craig, the editor…

By Paula Dunn After being so slow getting the last reader column together, I’m now in the unusual position of needing to do one sooner than I expected. The last two columns (the Noblesville Township quiz and the Hamilton Heights Huskies history) prompted readers to send in some good information. Jim Macy wrote that back…

By Paula Dunn Hamilton Heights Huskies’ Family Tree My cousin, Kermit Ross, recently showed me a program book from the 2015 Hamilton Heights Alumni Association reunion that contains an impressive history of the Jackson Township and White River Township schools. (Both Jackson and White River Townships are covered because the two school systems have been…

By Paula Dunn A Glorious 1836 Fourth In 1976 With Hamilton County marking its bicentennial in 2023, I thought it would make an interesting column to describe how the Fourth of July was celebrated during the county’s centennial in 1923. I quickly discovered one big problem with my “brilliant idea.” Nothing special happened. No organized…

By Paula Dunn Why Did The Surveyor Dig A Hole In The Road? After I mentioned the Public Land Survey System or PLSS (actually, I’m told that should be USPLSS) recently, I heard from surveyor Gary Kent, who offered to answer some common questions related to the USPLSS. I have a slight acquaintance with that…

By Paula Dunn Washington Township Quiz As I noted a couple of weeks ago, the Hamilton County Bicentennial Commission is featuring Washington Township this month. Are you ready to test your knowledge of Washington Township history? 1. Who were Washington Township’s first settlers? 2. During World War I, Westfield’s George Van Camp and Sons canning…