Blairsville, Indiana Explained

Official Name:Blairsville, Indiana
Pushpin Map:Indiana#USA
Pushpin Label:Blairsville
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Indiana
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Posey
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Robinson
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Coordinates:38.0794°N -87.7631°W
Elevation Ft:413
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:47638
Area Codes:812, 930
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:2830500

Blairsville is an unincorporated area in Robinson Township, Posey County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

the U.S. Census Bureau had established a census-designated place for this settlement.[1]

History

Blairsville was laid out in 1837 by Stephen Blair, and named for him.[2] A post office was established at Blairsville in 1838, and remained in operation until 1902.[3] With the construction of the railroad in 1880, business activity shifted to nearby Wadesville, and the town declined.[4]

Blairsville contains the historic Blairsville Cemetery. A number of the interments are Civil War veterans.

The town of Blairsville is located on Big creek in Robinson township.[5] It was named in honor of Stephen Blair who, in company with Ebenezer Phillips, laid out the town on the Fourth of July, 1837. It soon grew into prominence as a half way place on the Evansville and New Harmony stage road, besides it was fairly well located for the convenience of settlers in all directions from the town as a trading point.[4]

Political speakings were held here quite often in the old days of the Whig and the Democrat. A joint discussion was held here during the campaign of 1842 between Robert Dale Owen, the Democratic candidate for Congress, and John W. Payne, the Whig candidate.[6] Among the first residents of Blairsville were Stephen Blair, after whom the town was named, Ebenezer Phillips, who surveyed the town, Charles Kimball, a Robert Owen and later a Dr. Mitchell, Henry Theuerkauf and Henry Weber, shoemakers. Henry Newman was one of the first blacksmiths. Charles Kimball ran a horse feed mill.[4] [7] Dr. Owen refers to the areas surrounding Blairsville as "the mecca of geologists" due to the preservation of fossilized palm trees and Lepidodendron.[8] John B. Gardner and John Becker were among the early successful merchants and business men. The extension of the Evansville & Terre Haute railroad through Wadesville in 1880 was a severe blow to Blairsville from which the town never recovered. For several years the population has been composed largely, if not entirely, of Germans. The importance of the town in 1842 may be judged by the fact that the following petitioned the "honorable board" for tavern licenses (which meant to sell whiskey also): J. H. Owens, Daniel Cox, William Watson, David R. Downen, M. Duty, Robert Stevens, William Dodge, Nelson Doty, Daniel Elkins, Benjamin Garris, Soren Sorenson, M. Watson, H. W. Young, William F. Phillips and Richard Ramsey.

Education

Robinson Township is in Metropolitan School District of North Posey County.[9]

South Terrace Elementary School is in Blairsville.[10] The district was scheduled to begin building this school in fall 1957. 10 classrooms were planned to be built.[11]

North Posey High School is the district's comprehensive high school.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023_gaz_place_18.txt. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-06-13.
    Compare to the 2020 U.S. Census settlement list, which does not show this CDP
  2. Book: History of Posey County, Indiana: from the earliest times to the present . Goodspeed Publishing Co. . 1886 . 409.
  3. Web site: Posey County . Jim Forte Postal History . 1 November 2015.
  4. Book: Leffel, John C.. History of Posey County, Indiana. 1913. Standard Publishing Company. 115.
  5. Web site: Describing the Watershed . Indiana State Government . 8 March 2021 . 21.
  6. Book: History of Posey County, Indiana: from the earliest times to the present . Goodspeed Publishing Co. . 1886 . 115.
  7. Book: History of Posey County, Indiana: from the earliest times to the present . Goodspeed Publishing Co. . 1886 . 82.
  8. Web site: Neuropteris Ovata in Lacustrine Fades Sequence below Raben Branch Member (Patoka FM.) at St. Wendel, Indiana and Related Carboniferous Reconnoissance Investigations . 321 . Indiana University Departments of Geology and Biology.
  9. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Posey County, IN. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-06-11. - Text list
  10. Web site: Home. South Terrace Elementary School. 2024-06-13. 8427 Haines Rd. Wadesville, IN 47638. - Location resolved to Blairsville.
  11. News: North Posey School Projects to Be Started This Fall. Evansville Press. Evansville, Indiana. 1957-08-18. 13 (Text detail 1 and Text detail 2). Newspapers.com.