 John Sprinkle is credited with founding the first settlement in Warrick County back in 1803 - a small community aptly named Sprinklesburg, better known today as Newburgh. One of Sprinkle's more colorful counterparts was Bailey Anderson, an early pioneer rumored to have lived in a tree while building his cabin. Anderson's treetop abode is affectionately referred to as "Bailey's Roost."
It wasn't until a few years later in 1813 that Warrick County was officially organized by the Indiana Territorial Legislature. The county was named in honor of Captain Jacob Warrick, a war hero killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The county's borders drastically changed within those first few years, with Warrick serving as the "Mother County" of southern Indiana - originally encompassing all of Perry, Posey, Spencer and Vanderburgh counties, as well as a portion of Crawford County.
In fact, when Abraham Lincoln and his family moved from Kentucky to present-day Spencer County in 1816, their homestead was then considered to be within Warrick's boundaries. The future president frequently walked to Boonville to borrow books and watch local
attorney John Brackenridge argue cases, thus earning Boonville the distinction of being "where Lincoln learned the law."
 When the Civil War split the nation during Lincoln's presidency, Warrick County was not immune to the turmoil.
|
|
Newburgh became the first town north of the Mason-Dixon line to be captured by the Confederacy in July of 1862. Although no blood was shed here, the war certainly left its mark on the town. Several Newburgh homes helped foster the Underground Railroad, and the present RiverTown Antiques building at Jennings and State Streets served as a wartime hospital.
Despite its Civil War ties, perhaps Warrick County's most visible part in history is in the coal mining industry, with the Phelps Coal Bank being established in 1850. An 1849 Warrick County Retrospect from the Indiana Gazeteer reported "coal is found in abundance, but as of yet it has not been used to much extent. The streams run sluggishly and afford but a small amount of water power." This was to radically change within the next few decades as Warrick County harnessed the power of its most valuable resource. Coal mines and company towns soon flourished here, making it one of the top coal producers in the state.
It wasn't until 1958 when a new industry began to dominate Warrick County. The arrival of Alcoa's Warrick Operations forever changed the industrial makeup of the area. The influx or new workers caused a large shift in the population, and the success of Alcoa soon garnered Warrick County the title of "Coal and Aluminum Capital of Indiana."
During the 1990s, Warrick County saw a steady demise in the coal industry, although the county's mining heritage still runs strong today. Building on its successful past, the future of Warrick County promises to be as vibrant as its first two hundred years.
|
