Warrenton, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Warrenton is an extinct town in Warren County
, Indiana
, and was Warren's original county seat
.
, a little over two miles (3 km) northeast of the current county seat of Williamsport
. The site overlooks the confluence
of Big Pine Creek
with the Wabash River
.
The town was surveyed by Perrin Kent and plat
ted by County Agent Luther Tillotson on July 8, 1828, on a tract of land which had been donated to the county by a local landowner named Hollingsworth. Tillotson laid out seven full blocks of eight lots each, four half blocks of four lots each, and a public square of 1.8 acres (7,284.3 m²). On August 5, 1828, the lots were sold at public auction
for between $10 and $20 each, during which free whiskey was served at the county's expense, "probably to loosen the tongue of the auctioneer or 'crier' and the generosity of the buyers".
Warrenton's status as county seat was short-lived. An act approved on January 22, 1829, ordered a relocation of the county seat, and in June 1829 it was moved to nearby Williamsport. Not all the reasons for the move are clear, but an 1883 history cites concerns that "donations" to the county from Warrenton landowners were less than expected, and that much better sums had been received from William Harrison (founder of Williamsport) and Thomas Gilbert. Consequently, "this induced the citizens to wish a re-location of the county seat where the county could receive much greater benefit, or a re-establishment of it at Warrenton if the proprietors of that town would come down, in a handsome manner, with satisfactory donations."
Very few improvements were ever made to the lots at Warrenton and it quickly faded away. No evidence of the town remains at the site.
Warren County, Indiana
Warren County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River in the United States. Before the arrival of non-indigenous settlers in the early 19th century, the area was inhabited by several Native American tribes. The county was officially established in 1827 and...
, 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...
, and was Warren's original county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
.
History
Warrenton was selected as the Warren County seat in March 1828 by commissioners appointed under the act forming the county. It was laid out "on the east fraction of the southwest quarter of Section 31, Township 22 north, Range 7 west," which today is in the extreme southwestern corner of Warren TownshipWarren Township, Warren County, Indiana
Warren Township is one of twelve townships in Warren County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 754.-History:Warren Township was one of the original four created when the county was organized in 1827.-Geography:...
, a little over two miles (3 km) northeast of the current county seat of Williamsport
Williamsport, Indiana
Williamsport is a town in Washington Township, Warren County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,898 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Warren County and is the largest of the four incorporated towns in the county...
. The site overlooks the confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of Big Pine Creek
Big Pine Creek (Indiana)
Big Pine Creek is a creek in northwestern Indiana, USA. It begins in Round Grove Township in southwestern White County and flows generally southward through Benton and Warren counties before meeting the Wabash River near the town of Attica...
with the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
.
The town was surveyed by Perrin Kent and plat
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....
ted by County Agent Luther Tillotson on July 8, 1828, on a tract of land which had been donated to the county by a local landowner named Hollingsworth. Tillotson laid out seven full blocks of eight lots each, four half blocks of four lots each, and a public square of 1.8 acres (7,284.3 m²). On August 5, 1828, the lots were sold at public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
for between $10 and $20 each, during which free whiskey was served at the county's expense, "probably to loosen the tongue of the auctioneer or 'crier' and the generosity of the buyers".
Warrenton's status as county seat was short-lived. An act approved on January 22, 1829, ordered a relocation of the county seat, and in June 1829 it was moved to nearby Williamsport. Not all the reasons for the move are clear, but an 1883 history cites concerns that "donations" to the county from Warrenton landowners were less than expected, and that much better sums had been received from William Harrison (founder of Williamsport) and Thomas Gilbert. Consequently, "this induced the citizens to wish a re-location of the county seat where the county could receive much greater benefit, or a re-establishment of it at Warrenton if the proprietors of that town would come down, in a handsome manner, with satisfactory donations."
Very few improvements were ever made to the lots at Warrenton and it quickly faded away. No evidence of the town remains at the site.