| The Jasonville Story continued.... |
| Chapter II Local citizens who are Kentuckians by birth will be pleased to learn that Jasonville was at one time a part of Kentucky. This should forever end the gibes, taunts and insults that have heretofore been poked at the native state of these citizens. The most pointed of all these derisive remarks was when a local miner, Hungarian by birth, said,� I come to this countree twenty tree year ago and no speeck good English yet. These fellar come from Kentucky and talk good as anybody in six weeks.� Briefly, here is the record. By charter, England granted to Virginia the territory comprising the present states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. In 1776 Virginia organized all this territory into the County of Kentucky, thereby embracing what is now Jasonville in the County of Kentucky. I didn�t pursue the matter further to learn how and why Kentucky rid itself of Jasonville. I leave the assignment of the cause or reason to the scornful tongues of those long maligned ex-Kentuckians. Later the land that is now Greene County became a part of Knox County. In 1817, the year after Indiana was admitted to the Union, Sullivan County was formed by legislative enactment and what is now Jasonville was included in this new county. On January 3, 1821 the legislature passed an act creating Greene County. Two days later the law was approved by Governor Jonathon Jennings, who appointed a full set of county officers for the new county, to serve until the next general election. So sparsely settled was the new county and so few settlers had the essential educational qualifications for filling county offices, that Governor Jennings has to appoint the same men to two or more offices. The site of the first county seat of Greene County was selected and named �Burlington� in 1821. This site was about two miles Northwest of the present court house. Here a rough log county building was erected and used until the county seat was reestablished at Bloomfield in 1825. Older citizens have told the writer that being unable to sink wells that assured an adequate supply of water was responsible for the move. All visitors to the county seat came by horseback or by horse drawn vehicles and water, particularly for the horses, presented quite a problem. I well remember long after the turn of the century the hand bills advertising Old Soldiers Reunions, Old Settlers Days, and Fourth of July Celebrations always carried one assurance to visitors. At the bottom of the hand bill you found in bold face type, �Plenty of Shade and Water For Men and Beast�. A gathering that could not give this assurance could expect limited attendance. It required perhaps five hundred horses to bring together a crowd of 2000 visitors. Finding water and shade was no little problem. People of those days loved their horses and would not suffer them to stand all day in the �boiling� hot sun and without drinking water. From the forming of Greene County in 1821 until 1838 the land that is now Wright Township was included in Smith Township. Richard Wright. a Justice of the Peace residing in this section of Smith Township, carried a petition and presented it to the county commissioners requesting that a new township be created by dividing Smith. In 1838 this petition was granted and a new township was formed by removing a tract six miles square from Smith extending West to the Sullivan County line. The commissioners named the new township �Wright� in honor of the man who carried and presented the petition. This Richard Wright was a grandfather of William Wright who long resided on the West side of Doolittle Hill. In addition to his holding office as Justice of the Peace, he was a preacher, farmer and blacksmith. He met his death while working att the forge by the accidental discharge of a muzzle loading rifle. |
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