Rob Roy, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Rob Roy is an unincorporated town in Shawnee Township
, Fountain County
, Indiana
.
by local John I. Foster, a lover of literature who was especially fond of Walter Scott
's novels. Foster, described as an inventor and a worker of iron, lived in Rob Roy for six or seven years and founded a Methodist church there.
The town was platted
around 1826 and contained 48 lots, with a further addition on the east side by Hiram Jones in 1829. A writer in 1833 described Rob Roy as a small interior village with few inhabitants but increasing in improvement and population; by 1836 it had "five dry goods stores and four groceries, a hotel, three physicians, and was in the center of a very active settlement." The passage of the Chicago and Block Coal Railway through the town also stimulated growth, but competition with nearby Attica (which was on the Wabash and Erie Canal
) eventually led to Rob Roy's demise.
The town today consists only of a small gathering of homes.
along U.S. Route 41
. Big Shawnee Creek, spanned by a covered bridge
, snakes along the north side of town and Little Shawnee Creek flows along the south. The confluence
of the two is half a mile to the west.
Shawnee Township, Fountain County, Indiana
Shawnee Township is one of eleven townships in Fountain County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 616.-Geography:Shawnee Township covers an area of ; of this is water. It contains no incorporated settlements. The unincorporated communities of Aylesworth and Rob Roy both...
, Fountain County
Fountain County, Indiana
Fountain County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana on the east side of the Wabash River. The county was officially established in 1826 and was the 53rd in Indiana. The county seat is Covington....
, 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...
.
History
Rob Roy was destroyed by a tornado named after the Scottish outlaw Robert Roy MacGregorRobert Roy MacGregor
Robert Roy MacGregor , usually known simply as Rob Roy or alternately Red MacGregor, was a famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century, who is sometimes known as the Scottish Robin Hood. Rob Roy is anglicised from the Scottish Gaelic Raibeart Ruadh, or Red Robert...
by local John I. Foster, a lover of literature who was especially fond of Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's novels. Foster, described as an inventor and a worker of iron, lived in Rob Roy for six or seven years and founded a Methodist church there.
The town was platted
Plat
A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....
around 1826 and contained 48 lots, with a further addition on the east side by Hiram Jones in 1829. A writer in 1833 described Rob Roy as a small interior village with few inhabitants but increasing in improvement and population; by 1836 it had "five dry goods stores and four groceries, a hotel, three physicians, and was in the center of a very active settlement." The passage of the Chicago and Block Coal Railway through the town also stimulated growth, but competition with nearby Attica (which was on the Wabash and Erie Canal
Wabash and Erie Canal
The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico...
) eventually led to Rob Roy's demise.
The town today consists only of a small gathering of homes.
Geography
Rob Roy is located at 40°14′12"N 87°14′36"W, approximately three miles south of AtticaAttica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
along U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41 is a north–south United States Highway that runs from Miami, Florida to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was U.S...
. Big Shawnee Creek, spanned by a covered bridge
Covered bridge
A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
, snakes along the north side of town and Little Shawnee Creek flows along the south. The confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the two is half a mile to the west.