CHAPTER 1. THE GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION OF 
COUNTY H. 
County H. presents a curious and distinctive study in 
degeneracy. The geological formation and the drift of early 
settlement have both and severally determined the progress 
of the county and have at the same time hastened the decay 
which has accompanied the progress. 
The Knobs in the eastern part of the county and the many 
narrow valleys of erosion have fixed the character of the 
county : a central, arable portion surrounded by a deep, irreg- 
ular fringe of rugged and barren hills. West of the center, 
the oolitic limestone belt extends north and south spreading 
and continuing in the county to the south. It is a strip of 
land cutting diagonally across the county from Harrisburg 
to the city of Stonetown, and from the south into the next 
county thru Townships 8 and 11. The first quarry was opened 
as late as 1850 near Harrisburg. Then for 25 or 30 years 
nothing, or little, was done towards developing the industry. 
In 1915 there were 17 quarries, 22 mills, and 15 complete 
cut-stone plants. These give employment not only in the 
city of Stonetown but also in the little towns which have 
sprung up near the quarries all along the left. These quarries, 
together with the factories, tend to bring in many unskilled 
laborers from Kentucky and the surrounding counties. 
County H. was surveyed in 1812, and all land along the 
waterways was soon entered. At that time the central part 
of Indiana was a howling wilderness, and it was necessary to 
settle along the creeks in order to have a way out to the 
more civilized parts of the county. Most of the streams in 
the county are small, but at a time when there were no rail- 
ways or highways, all produce was stored during the year, 
and each spring in time of flood was sent downstream on flat 
boats and rafts constructed for the purpose. The population 
rapidly increased, spreading first thru the level fertile valleys, 
and out into the hills later. In 1820 the population was 
2,679; in 1830 it was 6,577; in 1840, 10,143; in 1850 it had 
increased to 11,286; in 1860 to 12,847; in 1870 to 14,168; 
in 1880 to 15,875 ; and in- 1920 it was 24,500. 
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