Before the earliest settlers came from Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1836 the Bourbon area was the land of the Potawatomi Indians. Old surveys in the county surveyor's office show the Indian trails, including one that runs from the Potawatomi Park village site in the South Bend area through the present town of Bourbon. Two of the old trails ran through the woods between 14B and 15th Roads east of IN 331. Between these trails (traces of one which can still be seen) is a natural amphitheater, which the old timers said, was where the Indians held their council meetings.

Bourbon Township was organized in 1840, including what is now Tippecanoe Township. In 1842, Tippecanoe became a separate township. In anticipation of the arrival of the railroad, the town of Bourbon was laid out in 1853. The railroad arrived in 1856; the town incorporated in 1865.

continue . . .

return to previous page . . .