Middlefork is an unincorporated town in Warren Township

Warren Township, Clinton County, Indiana

Warren Township is one of fourteen townships in Clinton County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 634.-History:Originally part of Jackson Township, Warren was made a separate township in 1834. The first settler in the area was A. F...

, Clinton County

Clinton County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,866 people, 12,545 households, and 9,057 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 13,267 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

, 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 named for the Middle Fork of Wildcat Creek which runs along the north side of the town.

History

Middlefork was founded along the Michigan Road

Michigan Road

The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkholes, stumps, and deep, entrapping ruts...

, an important early Indiana thoroughfare, but the site never gained a railroad line and remained a small social and business center for local residents. The town's first store was operated by William Sims, then by John Evans. Its first postmaster was John Purdum.

Several lodges and fraternal organization operated at Middlefork, including the Masons

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

, Red Men

Improved Order of Red Men

The Improved Order of Red Men traces its origin to certain secret patriotic societies founded before the American Revolution. They were established to promote Liberty and to defy the tyranny of the English Crown. Among the early groups were: The Sons of Liberty, the Sons of St...

, Odd Fellows

Independent Order of Odd Fellows

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...

, GAR

Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...

 and the Independent Order of Good Templars, the latter being dedicated to temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

work. The Templars "bought out the only saloon keeper in the place and emptied his stock of liquors into the street, after which there was no further sale of intoxicants in the village."