Bobtown, Indiana
Bobtown, Indiana | |
|---|---|
Bobtown on Jackson County plat map circa 1920s | |
Bobtown Bobtown | |
| Coordinates: 39°01′10″N 85°56′46″W / 39.01944°N 85.94611°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Jackson |
| Township | Hamilton |
| Elevation | 577 ft (176 m) |
| ZIP code | 47274 |
| FIPS code | 18-06256[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 431275[1] |
Bobtown is an unincorporated community in Hamilton Township, Jackson County, Indiana.[3]
Location and history
The community is located in northern Jackson County along N. County Roads 525E and 500E,[4] about five miles northwest of Seymour, or about eight miles by road.
The community once had a school and a store, and there was also a gunshop from 1870 to 1895.[5] The one-room schoolhouse was open from 1897 through 1939, and closed due to school consolidation.[4][6] Residents in the 1990s reported that the community was named after Bob Chasteen, who owned the grocery store.[7] Chasteen's 1926 obituary notes he ran a general store at Bobtown for 35 years, but doesn't mention whether the community was named after him.[8]
One source describes Bobtown as likely established after 1900 because it does not appear on prior maps.[9] A 1900 plat map of the county shows the schoolhouse and multiple smaller residential lots around it, but without a place name affixed.[10] Local newspaper references to "Bobtown" appear as early as 1895.[11][12] The community does appear on local maps as early as 1917 and USGS maps as early as 1957.[13][14][15] It also appears on official county maps.[16]
The working title of John Cougar Mellencamp's 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee was named Bobtown, because his grandparents had lived there after they were married.[17]
References
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bobtown, Indiana
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ (4 March 2016). ‘We do anything we get called for’, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) (article mentions Bobtown as among the unincorporated areas served by the township's volunteer fire department)
- ^ a b Spicer, Zach (15 August 2015). One-Room Memories, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
- ^ Belden, Roy H. Early Gunsmiths of Jackson County, p. 145, Indiana History Bulletin, Vol 27, No. 7 (July 1950)
- ^ (23 August 1941). Sale of School Property, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) (notice for public auction of "Bobtown school grounds, schoolhouse and out buildings located on said grounds")
- ^ (11 May 1996). Small Community undergoes changes, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
- ^ (10 March 1926). Hamilton Township Man Dies After Long Illness, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana)
- ^ Baker, Ronald L. (October 1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History. Indiana University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-253-32866-3.
This community must have been established after 1900...
- ^ Descriptive atlas of Jackson County, Indiana, 1900
- ^ (19 September 1895). Notes, Jackson County Banner ("N. Nelson was our guest on Sunday and piloted us to Bobtown on Monday.")
- ^ (27 November 1899). Notes, The Tribune (Seymour, Indiana) ("The Bobtown school was closed this morning on account of scarlet fever near there")
- ^ Plat book of Jackson County, Indiana (c. 1925)
- ^ USGS - Jonesville Quadrangle (1957)
- ^ Map of Jackson County, Indiana (1917)
- ^ Road Map of Jackson County, Indiana (Updated:March 22, 2005), Jackson County Board of Commisssioners (2005)
- ^ White, Timony (8 December 2001). A Portrait of the Artist, Billboard, p.19