Help on a town that is no more

[frogginfish]

Has anyone ever heard of Massacre, Indiana? I've seen it on a few old maps but not any information on the town or its history. With a name like Massacre, there has to be a good story behind it. Its location is just north of Sullivan and south of Shelburn. Any info on this would be great!

Hope everybody has a great new year and happy hunting!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Mackaydon]

Could you be referring to the Fall Creek Massacre of a peaceful group of Seneca and Miami Indians by white settlers that occurred on March 22, 1824 in Madison Co., between Fall Creek and Deer Lick Creek? Just guessing........
Don....

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Check TNet "Ghost Towns" THREAD...

 

[frogginfish]

I will have to look into that Mackaydon....Rebel, I have looked through the ghost towns thread and couldn't come up with anything.

Thanks though, for the quick replies!

HH

 

[GRiley]

I sent a note asking about Massacre to the Sullivan Historical Society and received this polite and quick respose......G

Thanks for the question. Massacre was one of those unincorperated, named places that sprang up before and after the Civil War. It may hav consisted of nothing more than a general store, church and cemetery, we have no mention of it in Sullivan's history. The location on the map puts it right on US hwy 41, so it may have been busted up when the highway was put in. The 1899 county map doesn't have it, or any structures, and the area is owned by the Campbell family. That same map shows the road that later became US 41, and no church or cemetery. The only massacres that took place in the county were the two attacks on supply trains west of Fairbanks (Fairbanks massacre) but those are almost to the Wabash river. Of the other shootings and killings in the county up until 1870, there were no other "massacres" that could have led to the name.
Places like Cass, Cantwell, Pittsburg, Currysville and Jackson Hill are gone now and many others are almost just memories like Paxton, New Lebanon, Merom Station, Riverview and Pleasentville. Sometimes all we have is a name on an old map to remind us of history.
Thanks for the Interest

Tom Frew
Pres. SCHS

 

[frogginfish]

Wow...very interesting! Thanks for sharing the info!

 

[Target1972]

Wow, all of those old hamlets on old maps have just disappeared. Wonder if most were over by the river?

 

[soupie]

Massacre,IN was located in the northeast corner of section 9 hamilton twp sullivan county
just from looking at the 1876 map and starting from the Northeast corner of the section and going south...the town would have been located in the northeast corner of the second 40acres or there about's
I found no mention of the town or settlement in the history books I have access to but sure there is something out there mentioning massacre...be it newspapers or whatever.... I would try and locate the current owner and give it a shot if they will let you....some of my best finds have come from sites like this,Goodluck...

these are some links to history books and maps for sullivan county full of info if you read between the lines...

https://archive.org/details/historyofsulliva01wolf

https://archive.org/details/historyofsulliva02wolf

https://archive.org/details/ahistorysulliva00compgoog

Historic Map: Putnam, Vigo, Clay, Owen, Sulivan, Greene, Atlas: Indiana State Atlas 1871, Indiana - Historic Map Works, Residential Genealogy ?

Historic Map: Sullivan County, Atlas: Indiana State Atlas 1876, Indiana - Historic Map Works, Residential Genealogy ?

 

[deodra]

Any updates on this, by chance? I'm very much interested...