Hanover

By Marty Lenzini Murray

Hanover s history is deeply intertwined with Hanover College s beginnings. Both grew from a tiny band of determined pioneers under the leadership of Williamson Dunn, who set out from Catnip Hill Road near Lexington, Kentucky, in 1809 with his wife, two children, and three slaves. Upon crossing the Ohio River, Dunn freed the slaves and founded Hanover, which was first called Dunn s Settlement. Presbyterians and Methodists played prominent roles in the fledgling community, and local historians recall a log cabin that served as an Indian trading post. At least two houses are reported to be haunted, and three others have secret hiding places, which used to lead to caves. The reader is invited to Hanover where home seems just around the corner, and where Midwestern values of unhurried thoughtfulness set each day s pace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Apr 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781439625606

Marty Lenzini Murray

Author Marty Lenzini Murray earned degrees from Florida State University and Florida International University and a journalism degree from the University of Central Florida (UCF). Marty has served as an educator, a public relations specialist, and an instructor at UCF. She and her husband, Dennis, live in Orlando, Florida, and Hanover, Indiana. Their home in Hanover includes an 1809 log house built by her great-grandfather that is now tucked inside the walls of the larger house.

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INTRODUCTION

Why Hanover? Hanover was called Dunn’s Settlement in the early 1800s after its European founder Williamson Dunn who crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky. The name Hanover came from the village’s first church.

That first church was organized in 1820. The Reverend Thomas C. Searle was called as its first minister. His wife, Annette Woodward, was held in high esteem by the settlers so they named the Presbyterian church after her hometown of Hanover, New Hampshire. When people first tried to call their village Hanover in 1830, the name was being used by another Indiana community. So they settled on South Hanover. When the other town called Hanover folded, South Hanover switched its name to Hanover.

In the beginning, oceans covered all of Indiana and the surrounding places. After a time, small sea animals lived in the water. When they died, their remains were deposited on the sea bottom. The seas were also inhabited by fish and sharks. After the sea went away, the land that emerged was filled with layers of rocks. Geologists find evidence that the seas came and went numerous times, so distinct layers of ocean bottoms, rich in limestone and distinct coral layers, can be seen today at waterfalls and in cuts through passes for roads.

After seas no longer covered the land, a long period of erosion came about and dinosaurs dominated. Later large sheets of ice covered nearly all of present-day Indiana and blocked northward flowing drainage. This blockage created large lakes next to the ice sheets. The largest lake of all overflowed and carved out a deep channel, which became the Ohio River.

Indiana’s first animals were followed by different animals more suited to the climate. Large animals during those later times included dire wolves, saber-toothed tigers, Jefferson’s mammoths, American mastodonts, Jefferson’s ground sloths, Pleistocene jaguars, Pleistocene horses, giant beavers, stag-moose, caribou, ancient bison, giant short-faced bears, Pleistocene black bears, and giant land tortoises. Smaller animals came later and included skunks, moles, porcupines, otters, deer, opossums, shrews, bats, mice, and rats. Passenger pigeons, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, and ring-necked pheasants were also found in what would become Indiana.

Native Americans lived in Hanover for thousands of years before any Europeans. However historians and scientists find it hard to pinpoint which tribes lived in the area and when for several reasons.

One of those reasons is that the boundaries of Indiana are arbitrary. Native Americans lived in broader areas. Also, in the early 1800s, tribes from as far away as the East Coast of America were being driven from their traditional lands into or through Indiana.

Another difficulty in saying exactly which Native Americans used to live in Hanover involves artifact collection. Funding for archaeological digs has been scarce in Indiana. Very few artifacts found by farmers and collectors are catalogued by precise collection sites, depth in soil, orientation, or location near bones.

From the 1600s, Native Americans were given blankets, trinkets, animals, whiskey, and weapons. Europeans hoped to ensure their own safe passage through Native American lands and to get from them items they could sell. Expansion of influence and the desire to own more land also drove Europeans to become friends with Native Americans. These relationships changed Native American cultures.

In addition to the gifts, Europeans brought deadly diseases to North America. Native Americans did not have weaker immune systems than Europeans, they just had not been exposed to the plagues that had earlier killed millions of Europeans. When the diseases were introduced into Native American populations, they ravaged through entire tribes, often killing almost every person just as they had in Europe.

Some Native Americans were manipulated by various groups to fight their battles for them. French traders and explorers tried to incite Native Americans against the English. The English tried the same with the Native Americans against the French. During the American Revolution with England, Native Americans were encouraged by the English to side with them against the colonists. Also some tribes did not have peaceful relations with other tribes so they fought battles with Native American against Native American.

In the end, it can be certainly said of the Native American presence in Hanover, It’s complicated. Without crucial information, which has been permanently lost, archaeologists cannot pinpoint exactly which tribes lived in Indiana, let alone Hanover.

However it is possible to read proceedings from meetings as well as treaties and capture a glimpse of Native American and European relations. From these records a pattern of disregard for Native Americans, plans for their relocation, and even elimination of Native Americans emerges.

A series of treaties, which addressed land shared by multiple tribes, led to what is called Indian removal. The way the removal worked was something like this: a treaty was made with Indians to buy their land. Other tribes that shared that land were not consulted about the terms of the treaty. Additionally most Native Americans did not consider themselves owners of plots of land. They shared the land. Most felt the land was owned by the land’s creator. Misunderstandings and war came from the confusing dealings. In the end, Native Americans said the Europeans did not understand. Europeans said the Native Americans did not understand. Both were correct.

The land that became Hanover was acquired by a deal called the Treaty of Grouseland in 1805. By 1840, almost all of the Native Americans had left or were driven out of Indiana.

While there may not be many Indians left in the state named for them, some Native American villages, towns, and burial sites have been identified in the area. A mound on the farm of W. W. Walker in what was called Hanover Bottoms was excavated in about 1884. Around 1904, a dig was conducted in Graham Township on the farm of Hiram Foster. Graham Township also was the site of a fortification, which was described in detail by Hanover professor Glenn Culberson who taught at the college from 1893 until 1927.

Elaborate funeral rites and deep appreciation of a creator are evident from artifacts left behind. Highly developed, exquisite art pieces and the use of stones and metals also shine through the ages.

According to Lynne Brunelle, who wrote Indiana, the Hoosier State, the following tribes lived at one time or another