The Shelbyville News
Saturday June 19, 1948
Page 8 column 1
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YOUR TOWN — NEW PALESTINE
By Hortense Montgomery
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Villages usually get their name from
some event connected from their founding, from a person, directly
interested in their settlements or from a place held in memory or
reference by their founders. Many times the prefix “New” is
placed before the name of the place from which the pioneers migrated. Did those who named this village have in mind a reverence for the
ancient Holy Land, and hoping that their new home might hold the
promise of the ancient “Promised Land” give it the name New
Palestine? We do not know but we have a feeling that there was some
good reason for naming this very attractive village “New
Palestine.”
However it was known as a post office
as “Sugar Creek Post Office” and was not called New Palestine
until January 16, 1889. It was laid out as a town in 1838 but was
not incorporated until 1871. It was laid out by Jonathan Evans
who became the first merchant and the postmaster. His place of
business was located where the bank and drug store now stand. Other
pioneer merchants were Amos Dickinson, Andrew McGahey, Robert
King, S. Johnson, Joseph Cones and Brown Schildmeier.
A frame business building was erected
in 1860 and seemed modern then but this was replaced in more recent
years by a three-story brick building and owned by the fraternal
order of F. and A.M. As showing growth another business frame
building, which was built in the early days was replaced by the brick
building bow owned by D.A. Sutherland.
New Palestine is in Hancock county and
is situated on the C.H. and D.R.R. and also on what was for a long
time an improved gravel road but which is now a modern paved highway,
No. 52. This is a much traveled highway leading tourists and trade
into the capital city of Indianapolis. The railroad was completed in
1860. Mail was first carried by horseback and before the Civil War
there were but two mails a week, one from the west on Tuesday and one
from the east on Friday.
The present bank of New Palestine was
organized in 1897 and, in modern improvements, electric lights were
installed in 1915.
Four church faiths have established
congregations in the village. The English Methodist church was
organized in 1830 and so preceded the laying out of the town. It
built its first church in 1856. The German Methodist Church was
organized in 1851 and its people built the first church in 1852. A
Christian church was organized in 1870 and its church was built in
1871; the German Evangelical Zion was organized in 1887 and the
church was built in 1888. Thus we see that these villagers had their
differences in religious faith and sought to have a place for their
expression. Whatever their faith they have been ardent workers and
have contributed good citizenship to their community.
Mr. Ben Fout, one of the older
residents of the village, and to whom we are indebted for many of the
facts of this brief history, tells that some of the exciting events
of the town were an explosion that blew up the saloon in 1881 and
another similar in nature which blew up a pool room in 1882. Could
there have been any significance in these explosions? And again in
1906 an explosion occurred in which the town hall was blown up. But
we would fear to call attention to any significance in this.
The business and social interests of
the businessmen of New Palestine find expression in a Lions Club; and
the town’s war veterans have a Legion Post No. 182.
Aside from its groups of women
connected with their churches, there is a very active Woman’s
Temperance Union of seventy-two members; for a town of its size this
is a very large organization.
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A little to the southeast of New
Palestine and about two miles from Fountaintown, in Hancock county,
lies the village of Carrollton made famous in history and literature
by Riley the Hoosier Poet as “The Little Town of Tailholt.” Nothing in the way of Big Business could give a large city as much
luster as this poem has given to this small village. Hancock county
would need nothing else to bring it into prominence as long as it is
connected with this beloved poet and its tiny town bears the name
which he has given it.
Contributed by Barb Huff
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