Lewis, also known as Lewisburg or Centerville, is an unincorporated town in Pierson Township

Pierson Township, Vigo County, Indiana

Pierson Township is one of twelve townships in Vigo County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,269.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Pierson Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.-Unincorporated communities:* Blackhawk* Brown...

, Vigo County

Vigo County, Indiana

Vigo County is a county located along the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Terre Haute....

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. It is part of the Terre Haute

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The town was laid out September 9, 1838, by Addison Williams. In the very southeast corner of the county, Lewis was originally on the Centerville wagon road and got its mail by pony express

Pony Express

The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...

. The first business in town was a tannery

Tanning

Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 established by Joseph Stutman, and the first house was built by Charles Stewart in 1842. A cabinet shop run by the Buskirks and John B. Smith's blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 shop soon followed. Dodson & Jenkins opened a store in 1844. Lewis had a log school-house for many years and established itself as a canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

town as well.