at New Castle 200

A heart for art. And two centuries of lasting legacies.

New Castle

1819

Asahel Woodward, born in 1791, 25 years after the American Revolution, is the first settler in what is now New Castle.

1823

New Castle is platted and named after New Castle in Henry County, Kentucky.

1841

The Indiana Courier, forerunner of The Courier-Times, now the eighth-oldest newspaper in Indiana, is first published in New Castle.

1853

David Nation, future husband of future temperance leader Carrie Nation, opens a book shop in New Castle.

1864

Henry County’s second courthouse is destroyed by fire.

1869

The third and present Henry County Courthouse is constructed. Cost: $120,000.

1870

Gen. William Grose, who was in many historic battles during the Civil War, has his 16-room home built on what is now S. 14th Street

1886

The Henry County Historical Society is founded in New Castle. It is believed to be the oldest, continuously operating organization of its kind in Indiana.

1897

New Castle artist Frances Goodwin’s bust of U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax is placed in our nation’s capital.

In 1901, brothers Myer Heller (left) and Herbert Heller created “the American Beauty Rose,” a flower inspired New Castle’s nickname of “Rose City.”

1902

The former home of Civil War General William Grose is dedicated by the Henry County Historical Society as its new headquarters and museum.

1907

U.S. Vice President Charles Fairbanks is in New Castle for the laying of the cornerstone at the MaxwellBriscoe Automobile Plant, regarded as the largest in the country.

1918

New

1871

President Ulysses S. Grant and family stop in New Castle on their way to Chicago.

1873

Citizens State Bank, the third bank to receive an Indiana charter, opens it doors, three days after the state’s new banking laws went into effect.

1900

Gen. William Grose dies at his home in New Castle. The Civil War general was 87 -- or -somewhat poetically, four score and seven years.

The stately former home of Civil War General William Grose has been the site of the Henry County Historical Society for more than 100 years.

1913

Bus service is brought to New Castle by Ray Ridenour. A national magazine calls him “America’s first bus driver.”

New Castle native Gen. Omar Bundy refuses an order to retreat during the battle of Belleau Wood and his forces repel the enemy, likely saving Paris from capture by the Germans.

STORY BY DARREL RADFORD | HENRY COUNTY HISTORIAN

Nothing but an untamed wilderness – 200 years ago – greeted weary travelers from North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Ohio to this place that would be called New Castle.

But roses would bloom. War generals and floor generals would be born. Artists would sculpt and paint iconic images. Largest and finest would be built.

As the Henry County seat celebrates its 200th anniversary, the birthday cake oozes with history.

On April 8, 1823, a new town was officially platted among trees and a river. Formed from 100 acres of land near what is now Broad and Main streets, this place named New Castle was born.

Located in almost the exact center of Indiana’s Henry County, most believe the town was named after

1928 the former home of Ezekiel Leavell: New Castle in Henry County, Kentucky.

Leavell was the first agent appointed to sell land here, and his Kentucky home, 35 miles northeast of Louisville, is one of the oldest in the state. It was settled in the 1790s, less than two decades after America won its independence.

Indiana’s New Castle has its links to the American Revolution: l Both grandfathers of Gen. William Grose, New Castle’s Civil War hero, served during the Revolutionary War. One died for the cause of American freedom. l A monument not far from town marks the burial site of Christopher Long, who was in several major Revolutionary War battles and spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge. Later in life, he reportedly claimed to stand “thirty steps from

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1932

1940

Internationally

1959

New Castle Fieldhouse opens and called “the world’s largest and finest high school gymnasium” by IHSAA Commissioner L.V. Phillips.

1983

Steve Alford breaks multiple records by scoring 57 points in the IHSAA Semistate, leading New Castle past Broad Ripple and into the “Elite Eight.”

1990

The new Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame opens.

2009

Donald C. “Danny”

Danielson receives the “Sachem” Award from Gov. Mitch Daniels, the highest award an Indiana citizen can receive.

Timeline providedphotos by: l Henry County Historical Society l Doug Magers historical photo collection l Henry County News Republican archives l The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame l Kurt Hostetler/JMG, Chamber Magazine archives

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