Fountain, Indiana

Fountain (originally named Portland) is an unincorporated community in Shawnee Township, Fountain County, Indiana, United States. The Wabash and Erie Canal formerly passed through the community.

Not to be confused with Fontanet, Indiana also known as Fountain, or Fountain City, Indiana in Wayne County.
This town in Fountain County was formerly named Portland; it is not to be confused with Portland, Indiana
Fountain, Indiana
Unincorporated community
Fountain County's location in Indiana
Fountain
Fountain's location in Fountain County
Coordinates: 40°13′23″N 87°20′07″W
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountyFountain
TownshipShawnee
Elevation
551 ft (168 m)
ZIP code
47932
GNIS feature ID434710[1]

History

Portland was laid out in April 1828 by surveyor William Miller, Barnard Preble and Major Whitlocke. Keep's store, an early trading point at Portland, supplied goods to people along a lengthy stretch of the Wabash River. Sandford C. Cox in Personal Recollections of Early Settlements writes that "powder, lead, salt, iron, whiskey and leather were the staples of the trade in those days, and were exchanged for the productions of the country, such as beeswax, tallow, feathers, ginseng, furs, deer-skins, wild hops, etc." Portland grew to include 11 stores, a hotel, six physicians, various craftsmen and a "considerable population."[2]

The post office Fountain once contained was called Portland from 1828 until 1868.[3] The post office operated under the new name of Fountain from 1868 until it was discontinued in 1905.[4]

Geography

Fountain is located at 40°13′23″N 87°20′07″W on the southeastern banks of the Wabash River, at an elevation of approximately 560 feet. To the south is Bear Creek, which joins the Wabash on the western edge of town, and the wooded Portland Arch Nature Preserve.

References
  1. "Fountain, Indiana". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  2. Beckwith, H. W. (1881). "Shawnee Township". History of Fountain County. Chicago: H. H. Hill and N. Iddings. p. 343.
  3. Baker, Ronald L. (October 1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History. Indiana University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-253-32866-3.
  4. "Fountain County". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.



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