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Lawrence County, Indiana collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S2085

Scope and Contents

This collection includes the following items related to Lawrence County, Indiana: land patents ranging from 1816 to 1833; documents regarding orders for books and equipment for the county library ranging from 1819 to 1827; a typewritten copy of “The Story of an Indiana Pioneer Village – Spring Mill,” an address given by E.Y. [Elam Young] Guernsey at the State Federation of Art Clubs convention in April 1929; an undated print of a winter scene at Spring Mill State Park; undated notes found in the papers of Mrs. Ollie Lanham and made by her father, Ollie Owens, regarding Lawrence County and Owensburg, Greene County, Indiana and copied and typed by Mrs. Rosco Wagner, a historian of the John Wallace Chapter, D.A.R., Bedford, Indiana circa 1960; and an undated manuscript of the history of Lawrence County written by Mabel Sturtevant.

V155 is also part of the collection and includes a record book of the county recorder with entries ranging from 1847 to 1852 and undated; a plat book used in the 1840s and later used by Emma Glover; and two record books used by the county assessor in 1863 and 1879. The assessor record books also have blank and partially filled out “Notice of Assessment” and “Statistical Statement” forms dated from 1887 to 1902 tucked inside the back covers of the volumes.

Dates

  • 1816-circa 1960

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

Lawrence County, Indiana was established in 1818 and was named for Captain James Lawrence, a United States Navy officer who was killed in the War of 1812. The first county seat was Palestine, but after being deemed an unhealthy location, the county seat was moved to Bedford in 1825. The law that established the county also set apart 10 percent of the sales of the county seat town lots to establish a county library. The library's first books were purchased in 1819 and were kept in the courthouse by the county clerk John Lowrey. John Milroy was the first president of the library board and Rollin Dewey served as librarian and secretary of the board in the 1820s. Spring Mill, one of Indiana’s 24 state parks, was established in the county in 1927 and is located just east of Mitchell in Marion Township.

Sources:

Information found within collection.

History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana: Their People, Industries, and Institutions. Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen and Company, Inc., 1914.

Extent

0.04 Cubic Feet (4 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by chronologically by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Dorothy Russo on 1950/04/18 and other donors.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Materials

Materials relating to this collection may be found in the following collections in Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN:

V155: Lawrence County, Indiana record books

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2021/07/14 by Laura Eliason. EAD finding aid created 2021/07/14 by Laura Eliason.
Title
Lawrence County, Indiana collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671