Your Source for Monrovia History

Roughly seven miles southwest of Mooresville is the town of Monrovia, in Monroe Township, Morgan County, Indiana.  Founded in 1834 (ten years after Mooresville), Monrovia was incorporated in 1995 and has a current population of 1,641, as of the 2020 U.S. Census, according to the town's website.

Google Map Showing Monrovia & Mooresville, Indiana

(Click Images to Enlarge)

Monrovia has a long and proud history, and Mooresville Public Library's Indiana Room has some of this information, but if you're really interested in Monrovia history, you should speak with the expert:  Steve Reeder, a history & psychology teacher at Monrovia High School.  Steve knows the history of Monrovia, Monroe Township (and neighboring Gregg Township), and northern Morgan County like the proverbial back of his hand.  His general Morgan County historical knowledge is pretty awesome, too.  When I have a question about Monrovia and vicinity, I contact Steve.  So should you.

Steve Reeder

Monrovia High School

In 2021, Steve received the WISH-TV Channel 8 Golden Apple Award for outstanding teaching, particularly in preserving and promoting history (and, specifically, local history) for and to students and the overall community.

Steve works with students at Monrovia High School to create exemplary local history videos in his Monrovia Moments series, available to watch free on YouTube.  Everyone interested in Monrovia history should definitely subscribe to this channel.  You won't find better local history videos on the Internet.

Besides consulting Steve, those of you with local history questions should also visit the Monrovia History website, as well as the Monrovia Branch of Morgan County Public Library.  For Morgan County history in general, you should visit the Genealogy Department at Morgan County Public Library (main branch in Martinsville), as well as the Morgan County History Center & Museum (also in Martinsville).  Another terrific resource is the Morgan County History & Genealogy Association website.  Of course, Mooresville Public Library's Indiana Room also has many local history materials for the region (and for Indiana overall), so you should surely visit there, too.

Pandemics & Epidemics in Mooresville, Indiana During the Last Century

Mooresville and Morgan County, Indiana are no strangers to pandemics, epidemics, and quarantines, as newspaper clippings from the last hundred years or so testify.  Mooresville Public Library has a video about it, which you may watch below.

"Pandemics & Epidemics in Mooresville and Morgan County, Indiana"

(Mooresville Moments #21)

(Click Clipping Above to Play Video)

During the 1918 Influenza pandemic, public gatherings were banned, schools closed, and masks were required apparel for persons in theaters, stores, factories, and other public places.  (Click the articles below to enlarge.)

 Martinsville Daily Reporter, November 19, 1918, p. 1

 

 Martinsville Daily Reporter, October 12, 1918, p. 4

A 1926 scarlet fever outbreak forced Mooresville schools to be closed, and students, staff, and their families were quarantined.  Once again, churches, movie theaters, and public entertainments and gatherings were prohibited.

 Mooresville Times, February 19, 1926

During the scarlet fever quarantine, measles forced a popular baby conference to be cancelled.

Mooresville Times, February 26, 1926

A 1939 smallpox epidemic compelled a quarantine, with school closings and restrictions upon public gatherings.

Mooresville Times, April 20, 1939 to May 4, 1939

Of course, the severity of these disease outbreaks was nowhere near as great as the 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but they illustrate how citizens and government leaders faced such health crises in our community in the past.
 

Mooresville's Great Fire of 1842 (Mooresville Moments #16)

Learn about the Great Fire of 1842 that consumed nearly all of Mooresville, Indiana, and the amazing acts of generosity that assured the town's resurrection.

Mooresville's Great Fire of 1842

(Mooresville Moments #16)

by Mooresville Public Library

The fire occurred on Tuesday night, November 22, 1842.  According to the New York Tribune, the blaze began in the home of James G. Slocum, in which an unidentified woman and three unidentified children were sleeping, and all four tragically died in the inferno.  Slocum was apparently away at the time.

The New York Tribune, Friday, December 16, 1842, page 2

(Click images to enlarge)

The New York Tribune article was repeated verbatim in several newspapers, including the following:

The Schenectady (N.Y.) Cabinet, Tuesday, December 20, 1842, page 2

 The Boston (MA) Trumpet and Universalist Magazine, Saturday, December 24, 1842, page 3

The Montpelier (VT) Watchman, Friday, December 23, 1842, page 3

The New York Spectator, Wednesday, December 28, 1842, page 46

The identification of Slocum's residence as the start of the conflagration is an amazingly precise detail for a New York City newspaper to relate about a small Indiana village, especially when one considers the following:

• Mooresville historian Clara S. Richardson stated that the 1842 fire was "of unknown origin," and she does not mention the Slocums nor any deaths from the fire (page 24 of A Brief History of Mooresville, Indiana, 1824-1974.  [1974].  Mooresville, IN: Dickinson Publishing Company--available online here);

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) is buried in any cemeteries in Morgan County, Indiana;

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) was listed as living in Mooresville or Morgan County, Indiana, in the 1840 Federal Census, although a James Slocumb was shown to reside in Monroe County, Indiana in the 1840 and 1850 Federal Censuses and was extensively discussed (spelled as both Slocumb and Slocum) in Charles Blanchard's 1884 historical and biographical sketches of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown Counties (available online here). 

• No one named Slocum (or with variant spellings, such as Slocumb or Slocom) was mentioned in Almira Harvey Hadley's A Brief History of Mooresville and Vicinity (1918) (available online here) or in Margaret W. Fogleman's Early Mooresville (1884) (available online here) or in John Matthews' Ye Early Pioneers (1875) (available online here) or in The Pioneers of Morgan County:  Memoirs of Noah J. Major (1915) (available to checkout from Mooresville Public Library).

So, did the 1842 fire start in James Slocum's home and kill four people?  There is no local evidence to support the New York Tribune's claim, but it can't be completely ruled out.  The deceased woman and children could have had a different surname (or surnames) than Slocum, and they might have been visiting from another community (to which their remains could have been returned and interred).  Thus, looking for Slocums in the county cemeteries or federal censuses would not have identified the fire victims, if they were not named Slocum or came from out-of-town.  Nonetheless, the absence of James G. Slocum from the local historical record and U.S. censuses weighs against the Tribune's account, as does the paper's failure to identify the victims.

Let's quote from Clara Richardson's Mooresville history:

"In 1842 a fire of unknown origin hit Mooresville.  Before the fire, there were eleven stores and houses in this wooded area; next morning only the Moore Store and house were left.  Trees were cut, burned, houses and shops were deliberately torn apart to try to check the blaze on both sides of the street.  Work to construct new homes and stores started immediately, so the story goes."  (Page 24 of A Brief History of Mooresville, Indiana, 1824-1974.  [1974].  Mooresville, IN: Dickinson Publishing Company--available online here).

Quoting from Margaret W. Fogleman's Early Mooresville:

"About 1842 Mooresville was visited by the greatest fire it has ever known.  Beginning with Pa's [Samuel Moore's] store there were ten houses and shops before the fire.  Next morning there was Pa's store and our house left.  The Dr's [doctor's] shop at the west and a dwelling house at the east were torn down to check the fire."   (Early Mooresville [1884] [available online here]).  Margaret Fogleman was the daughter of town founder Samuel Moore (and his wife, Eliza Moore).

I'm inclined to give the local sources greater credence than the New York Tribune's account.  Perhaps Horace Greeley's reporters enlivened the tale to make for more interesting reading.  Clearly, the eastern newspapers that reprinted the story didn't check the facts further.

During December 1842 news of the Mooresville catastrophe was related in several papers across the United States as well as one in England (click images below to enlarge).

 

The Bristol (England) Mercury & Daily Post, Saturday, 31 December 1842, page 4

The Philadelphia (PA) Saturday Courier, December 17, 1842, page 3,

reprinting the Iowa mistake from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see below)
 

 

The Brooklyn (N.Y.) Daily Eagle, Monday, December 12, 1842, page 2,

which incorrectly placed Mooresville in Iowa 

 The Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, Tuesday, December 13, 1842, page 2,

 reprinting the Iowa mistake from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see above)

 The New York Tribune, Thursday, December 15, 1842, page 1

 

The Niles National Register, St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday, December 17, 1842, page 16

Some of the accounts quoted the original story that appeared in the Indiana State Sentinel, November 29, 1842, without adjusting for the time delay in printing.  For instance, the New York Tribune on December 15, 1842, incorrectly stated that the fire took place "Tuesday night of last week," which would have been December 6, two weeks after it happened.  This mistake was repeated in the Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, The Philadelphia (PA) Saturday Courier, and the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Daily Eagle.   The Niles National Register was only a week off (reporting November 29 as the fire date, when it was actually the Tuesday before, November 22).

Indiana State Sentinel, November 29, 1842

The fire consumed nearly all of the town, sparing only Samuel Moore's general store and residence on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville.  Moore supplied lumber and labor free-of-charge to help citizens rebuild their homes and businesses.

Fall Creek Furniture Company (Mooresville Moments #15)

At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Mooresville, Indiana, was about 1,200.  During that time, local businesses employed roughly 2,500 workers, most of whom commuted to town from surrounding communities on the interurban railway.  Among the largest employers here were Bolton Sorghum Factory (the world's largest in 1897), the Indiana Brass & Iron Bed Factory, two brick manufacturing facilities, and Fall Creek Furniture Company.

In the following installment of Mooresville Moments, a local history video series, Fall Creek Furniture Company is showcased.

Fall Creek Furniture Company

(Mooresville Moments #15)

by Mooresville Public Library

 

Pure Oil Gasoline Station (Mooresville Moments #14)

This installment of Mooresville Moments, a local history video series, looks at the Pure Oil gasoline station, which was located on the southwest corner of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville, Indiana, which had been the site of the Lindley Block (burned down in 1925).

Pure Oil Gas Station

(Mooresville Moments #14)

by Mooresville Public Library 

G. R. Scruggs Dry Goods (Mooresville Moments #12)

Watch this Mooresville Moments local history video (below) to learn about George R. Scruggs' dry goods store, which was located in downtown Mooresville, Indiana at 9-11-13 East Main Street from 1891-1918. We also have a digitized handout and a flashcard available that review the store's history.

Mooresville Moments #12

Scruggs Dry Goods Store,

by Mooresville Public Library

Comer & Scearce (Newcomer) Lumber Co. (Mooresville Moments #11)

The latest installment of Mooresville Moments, a local history video series, looks at the Comer & Scearce Lumber Company, which later became Newcomer Lumber Co., in Mooresville.

Comer & Scearce (Newcomer) Lumber

(Mooresville Moments #11), by Mooresville Public Library

Mooresville Academy School (Mooresville Moments #9)

We have a new local history video featuring Mooresville Academy School.

Mooresville Academy School

(Mooresville Moments #9)

by Mooresville Public Library

McCracken House (1870-1951)

In this installment of Mooresville Moments, our local history video series, we learn about McCracken House, once a popular downtown destination for 80 years.

Click Above to Play Video

McCracken House was originally numbered as 23 West Main Street (in the late 1890s-early 1900s). This designation was subsequently changed to 25 West Main Street. McCrackens owned land surrounding their hotel/restaurant, leasing a building (just to the east of their hotel/restaurant) that was designated 23 West Main Street.  This became Dorsett Insurance Agency in the 1950s. After McCracken House was demolished in 1951, the lot remained vacant for a few years, becoming Worrall Propane Company in the early 1960s (see the 1962 Robinson's Mooresville, Indiana City Directory).

To watch other videos in this series, please visit our YouTube channel local history playlist.

New Local History Video Series

Mooresville Public Library has begun a new video series (see playlist) called Mooresville Moments: Our Local History, based upon its collection of local history postcards and flashcards.  The title is borrowed from the popular newspaper column, "Mooresville Moments" (1999), written by town historian Wanda Potts (1921-2012), who served as MPL's Indiana Room librarian from 1966 to 2002.

In this first installment, we feature the official Mooresville Town Banner, designed by Bonita Marley, who served as library director from 1961 to 1984. The flag commemorated the 150th anniversary of the town's founding. You can see it flying downtown in Bicentennial Park.

Mooresville's Town Banner (video)

(Mooresville Moments #1)

by Mooresville Public Library

Thanks to Wanda and Bonita, the library has an extensive local history collection preserved to share with the public. We hope this new video series does justice to their treasure trove of Mooresville history.

Mooresville's Oldest Murder Mystery (Mooresville Moments Series)

In the July 20, 1916 edition of the Mooresville Monitor, Solon M. McNabb wrote a newspaper article entitled "Mooresville's Oldest Mystery." It was reprinted in the September 1, 1999 newspaper column, Mooresville Moments (below), edited by Wanda Potts, local historian and Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, Indiana.

Click (above) to enlarge

There's a video available, too (click below to watch).

Mooresville's Oldest Murder Mystery

(Mooresville Moments 29)

by Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library