GenealogyPatoka Twp. Cities Past & Present |
Pike County,Indiana |
| Aberdeen | Arthur | Ayrshire | Black Community | Brownstown |
| Crowville | Dogwood Ridge | East End | Goose Hill | Hosmer/Glezen |
| Ingleton | Kitchen Corner | Little | Logtown | Martin Springs |
| Massey | Merradyville | Pumpkin Hollow | Sophia Carbon | Turkey Hill |
| ***** | Wiggs | ***** | Winslow | ***** |
| Aberdeen No History at this time. Future Project |
| Arthur No History at this time. Future Project |
| Ayrshire No History at this time. Future Project |
| Black Community No History at this time. Future Project |
| Brownstown No History at this time. Future Project |
| Crowville No History at this time. Future Project |
| Dogwood Ridge No History at this time. Future Project |
| East End / Winslow See Winslow |
| Goose Hill / Winslow See Winslow |
| Hosmer / Glezen |
| Glezen is located in the northeast corner of Patoka Township. It was laid out February 28,
1854, by Stephen R. Hosmer and at first, and for many years, was called Hosmer in his
honor. Mr. Hosmer owned lands on the Wabash and Erie Canal. A steam-mill and other
improvements were begun on a large scale, and streets laid out bearing as pompous names as
those of a large city, but on the failure of the canal, in 1855, the place began to decay.
In 1882 a Railroad was completed, and this stimulated considerable business in the lumber
trade. Later the deep vein coal mines provided work for men of the area. Two churches, General Baptist and Presbyterian, were established. A lady by the name of Miss Mary Glezen of Petersburg, drove to Hosmer every Sunday to teach Sunday School. Miss Glezen had, in her youth, become a successful business woman in the late 1800's, long before womans lib. She had established a successful insurance business in Petersburg and was Notary Public. She so endeared herself in her spiritual service of the Hosmer community that in 1939, the name of the town was officially changed to Glezen in her honor. However, to this day, the older residents of the county still refer to the community as Hosmer. Also a lot of ex residents still refer to it as Hosmer. The keeper of this web page is among that group.. On June 4, 2015 at a Hosmer - Little's - Beckville school reunion, I talked to Ford Carr. His father Grover was the postmaster in Hosmer. His father told him the reason Hosmer became Glezen, there was a town in Indiana named Homer. The mail from both got mixed up on a regular basis. So the town of Hosmer became Glezen. This story may well be the reason for the change. |
| Ingleton No History at this time. Future Project |
| Kitchen Corners No History at this time. Future Project |
| Littles No History at this time. Future Project |
| Logtown No History at this time. Future Project |
| Martin Springs No History at this time. Future Project |
| Massey No History at this time. Future Project |
| Merradyville No History at this time. Future Project |
| Pumpkin Hollow No History at this time. Future Project |
| Sophia Carbon / Muren |
| Turkey Hill No History at this time. Future Project |
| Wiggs No History at this time. Future Project |
| Winslow |
| Located
in the heart of Pike County is the community of Winslow in Patoka Township. based on
the 1990 the population is 892. The land on which the town is located was not purchased
from the United States until 1835 when John Hathaway and Mathia Foster entered land claims
for 160 acres on the Patoka River. Prior to that time the area was important as the hunting grounds for the native Indian tribes and the settlers who followed. The Yellow-Banks Trace(Weesoe Wusapiuk), a well known Indian hunting trail which crossed Pike County, came right through the area. There was no want for food in the early days as game was plentiful in the area. Hunters could find deer, turkey, quail, rabbits, wild hogs, bears, wolves and panther all in the same day. John Hathaway purchased Mathia Fostre's share of the land in 1837 and had Hosea Smith survey and lay out a new town. The streets were laid out to run parallel and at right angles to the river. The parallel streets were Patoka, Union, Jefferson, Washington, Center, Lafayette, and North. Cross streets were West, Mill, Main, Walnut, Cherry, and East. Winslow was named in honor of William Winslow Hathaway, the first child to be born in the community. John Hathaway owned the first mill on the river at the lower edge of town. In the early days, Winslow had a thriving shipping business. Flat boats were loaded at the dock daily for the trips down the river to New Orleans. This was mainly due to the fact it was a central location in the county. Those flatboats were loaded with deer hams, hides, corn, and pork. Some of the early businesses and merchants in the community were George Deen who opened the first dry goods store in 1837. Warren Smith, hotel owner, Matthew Foster, mill owner, William DeBruler, merchant; Dan Crow, merchant; William Long; blacksmith; H. Katterjohn, flour mill; Capt. Nathan Evans; carpenter; Joseph Taylor; potter; and H. Beard and H. Springton, tanners. A man named Lewis was the first doctor in the community in 1837. Other early doctors were Perry Brown, Josiah Brown, C.B. Montgomery, and J.M. Beardsley. With the opening of the Ayrshire Mine in 1900 by David Ingel the community prospered and grew. The first grade school, school # 4 built in 1880, was located at the corner of Center and West Streets on lot number 68. The first high school in town was commissioned in 1911. A new gymnasium was added to the high school in 1951 at a cost of $106,964. The gymnasium accommodated 2,200 people. The gym was left standing when the school was razed after the consolidation of the Pike County High Schools in 1974. In his will, George Deen, a wealthy merchant from Winslow left a large portion of his estate to form " The Charity Farm ". His plan was to establish a charity fund for " the sole relief and benefit of poor widows over the age of fifty years, of improachable character who have resided not under three years within eight miles of the town of Winslow."( Excerpt from George Deen's will, dated May 22, 1854.) The property stipulated in the Deen's will is located just north of Winslow west of State Road 61. According to the will, the property can never be sold. Some noted people from the Winslow area include Wilmer Whitehead, a United States Marshall; Richard Farley, basketball player at Winslow High School and Indiana University; and Reed Crandall, cartoonist and illustrator for Quality Comics ( Blackhawks). This Article was written by SANDY McBETH and ROSE EVANS of the Pike County Historical Society for the Pike County Press-Dispatch. This piece of history appeared in the June 25, 1998 newspaper. Our thanks to Sandy, Rose and Frank Huering, Editor of the Press-Dispatch for allowing its use on this Web Page. |