Timeline

Various incidents of note in the history of Owen County

1809

  • The Treaty of Fort Wayne is signed. Three million acres of Indian land, including part of Owen County, are obtained for the United States from the Delaware, Eel River, Miami, and Potawatomi tribes.

1816

  • Indiana becomes a state.
  • Philip Hart, his wife Susan, and seven children settle near what is now Spencer, along with James Bigger.
  • John Dunn, John Bartholomew, Richard Beem and some others buy land at the land sales in Vincennes. Beem bought the land upon which most of what is now the town of Spencer is located.

1817

  • John Dunn arrives with his wife Margaret and six children, including Samuel and Margaret. Others soon follow, and Dunn Settlement soon becomes the home to the cabins of:
    • John Bartholomew and family
    • Thomas, John and Robert McNaught
    • Neely, Enoch, and Levi Beem (sons of Daniel Beem)
    • Isaiah Cooper
    • Jacob McIntire
    • Dudley Milner
    • Richard Kirby
    • William Anderson
    • Robert Blaine
    • George McHenry
    • Hugh Barnes

1818

  • The Treaty of St. Mary's is signed with the Miami tribe, ceding most of central Indiana and Owen County to the United States.
  • More settlers and their families arrive, including Thomes Allan, Elijah Chambers, James Galletly, Joel Shields, John Moore, Hugh McDonald, Abraham Henderson, William Boalds, Martin Hardin, James Blair, John Franklin, William Latta, Alexander Eason, Peter Teal, Andrew and Jessie Evans, Eli Tarbutton, and Alexander McBride. Others begin new settlements, including John Hudson and the Steeles in what is now Montgomery Township; the Gosses and Alexanders in Gosport; the Speases, Arneys, and Fiscuses in what is now Jefferson Township

1819

  • An act of the Indiana Legislature establishes Owen County.

1822

  • (Est.) A tornado moves through the county from southwest to northeast, about nine miles northwest of Spencer.

1825

  • A new brick courthouse is constructed by Philip Hart.

1838

  • The first murder in Owen County occurs when William Leak, a grocery keeper, killed James Carter at Leak's grocery by a blow on the head with a heavy hoe.

1847

  • A great flood on the White River sweeps away vast amounts of property.

1880

  • Henry Stoneman's log house in Clay Township burns. It is a total loss to Mr. Stoneman, already a poor man who was rendered almost destitute by the fire.

1883

  • On May 28, a tornado forms near Coal City. An Eel River bridge is destroyed, and the residence of John Croft.

2007

  • In March, Everett Lynn Shaw is reported missing from his Gosport home. That September, his body is found at a home on Ison Road in Monroe County, a murder victim.

2015

  • February - Former County Auditor Angie Lawson is arrested for embezzlement. Investigators said she had made more than $310,000 in personal purchases with county-issued credit cards.