Born into poverty and unable to read or write, James Vance (1835-1909) nevertheless built a fortune through tireless energy and thrift, with his obituary estimating his wealth at nearly half a million dollars. He began with a small farm and steadily added to it until his holdings became immense. He continued working the land until only a few years before his death, by which time he was known as the “land king of Allison.” He married Minera Gowin in 1864, and both of their ch

The first "Farmers’ Institute," was a three-day event held in December,1902 at the County Courthouse. This event was like the county fair, but without rides or ‘fried anything’. Attendance was limited to county exhibitors, admission was free, and enthusiasm was apparently unlimited. The Lawrenceville Republican ran several front-page articles leading up to the event, and the December 11 issue proudly published the winners in the various classes. Conservative estimates (which

Happy Thanksgiving from the Pat Jenny Collection at the Lawrence County Historical Society

October 15,1880 Eighteen days until the Presidential election. More mudslinging in the newspapers. The decrease in local news articles...

When the farmers first arrived in Lawrence County in the early 1800s, their farm implements were generally made and repaired by...

The Rural Republican , an eight-page newspaper, was published once a week on Friday by Miss Mary Buntin. The cost per year was $1.50...

June 25th, 1880 Lots of folks around Lawrenceville had mumps. Henry A Clubb was acting as postmaster during the illness of Nellie...

James Andre died in Lawrence County about 1858. Not much is known about the family other than he was married and had children who...

Bridgeport August 18, 1926 All roads led to Bridgeport from the muddiest narrowest lane in Lukin to Len Small’s 16- foot pavement were...

A review of the local news from the Vincennes, Mt Carmel and Lawrence County newspapers for November 1879. The shareholders of the...