Wayne County Indiana:: The Battles for the Courthouse

by Carolyn Lafever

Overview

The residents of Wayne County, Indiana, have battled about the county seat location since its formation in 1810.

There have been three county seats and six courthouses. The disagreement-started between settlers from Salisbury and Centerville-was bitterly debated in the Indiana Territory legislature. Although Salisbury was the first county seat, it was moved to Centerville soon after Indiana's ratification as a state, and Salisbury faded into a lost town. For fifty-two years, Centerville maintained power, building two courthouses and a jail, until Richmond asserted its dominance in the state legislature. The struggle for the reins of power in Wayne County was Indiana's longest-running feud, igniting untold amounts of community pride. Join Wayne County historian Carolyn Lafever as she shares this story of conflict and courthouses, from tumultuous beginning to peaceful end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596298828
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	05/14/2010
Series:	Brief History
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Carolyn Ruth Lafever has been writing about the history of Wayne County and Hagerstown since 1982. She became a member of the board of trustees of the Hagerstown Museum and served as secretary and president. In 1986, she became the first director of the museum.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 Northwest Territory and the First Wayne County 13

Chapter 2 Indiana Territory 19

Chapter 3 A New Wayne County 23

Chapter 4 Indiana Becomes a State 39

Chapter 5 Centerville: The Notable Town of the County 49

Chapter 6 County Seat Business in Centerville 59

Chapter 7 Richmond Outgrows Centerville 63

Chapter 8 Second Courthouse in Centerville 71

Chapter 9 Politics, Radicals and Slavery 77

Chapter 10 The Civil War and a New County Battle Threatens 87

Chapter 11 Richmond's First Courthouse 103

Chapter 12 Wayne County's Sixth Courthouse 109

Chapter 13 Historical Tidbits 125

Conclusion 135

Bibliography 137

About the Author 143