Fountain, Indiana Explained

Official Name:Fountain, Indiana
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Mapsize:150px
Pushpin Map:USA Indiana Fountain County
Pushpin Label:Fountain
Pushpin Map Caption:Fountain's location in Fountain County
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Indiana
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Fountain
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Shawnee
Coordinates:40.2222°N -87.3353°W
Elevation Ft:551
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:47932
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:434710

Fountain (originally named Portland) is an unincorporated community in Shawnee Township, Fountain County, Indiana, United States. The Wabash and Erie Canal formerly passed through the community.

History

Portland was laid out in April 1828 by surveyor William Miller, Barnard Preble and Major Whitlocke. Keep's store, an early trading point at Portland, supplied goods to people along a lengthy stretch of the Wabash River. Sandford C. Cox in Personal Recollections of Early Settlements writes that "powder, lead, salt, iron, whiskey and leather were the staples of the trade in those days, and were exchanged for the productions of the country, such as beeswax, tallow, feathers, ginseng, furs, deer-skins, wild hops, etc." Portland grew to include 11 stores, a hotel, six physicians, various craftsmen and a "considerable population."[1]

The post office Fountain once contained was called Portland from 1828 until 1868.[2] The post office operated under the new name of Fountain from 1868 until it was discontinued in 1905.[3]

Geography

Fountain is located on the southeastern banks of the Wabash River, at an elevation of approximately 560 feet. To the south is Bear Creek, which joins the Wabash on the western edge of town, and the wooded Portland Arch Nature Preserve.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Beckwith , H. W. . History of Fountain County . 1881 . H. H. Hill and N. Iddings . Chicago . Shawnee Township . 343 .
  2. Book: Baker, Ronald L.. From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History. registration. October 1995. Indiana University Press. 978-0-253-32866-3. 136.
  3. Web site: Fountain County . Jim Forte Postal History . 7 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140907074459/http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Fountain . 7 September 2014 .