Jeffersonville City

Clark County, Indiana

Home | Whats New | Site Index | Contact

Jeffersonville City Hall is located at 500 Quartermaster Court, Jeffersonville, IN 47130.
Phone: 812‑285‑6426.

Beginnings [1]

The plan of Jeffersonville was one devised by Thomas Jefferson, from whom the place was named. The town was laid off in squares similar to a checker-board, with streets crossing diagonally through each alternate square, leaving four triangular spaces for parks in each square through which streets passed. The original plan looked well on paper, but does not seem to have been followed in practice, as the squares were all eventually occupied by homes and businesses.

Neighborhoods

The land on which the city was laid out was owned by Isaac Bowman, of Shenandoah County, Virginia. To sell his tract he disposed of this portion through his attorney, John Gwathmey, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, June 23, 1802, to Marston Green Clark, William Goodwin, Richard Pile, Davis Floyd and Samuel Gwathmey as trustees to lay off a town and sell lots, all money accruing from such sales to be used in establishing ferries and improving the facilities of the new town. John Gwathmey laid off the town, consisting of 150 acres on the lower part of the Number One Indiana Grant. 2 acres were reserved for use as a public square.

In 1836 an association of several persons was formed, called the Jeffersonville association, which made an addition to the town, of land owned by Peter G. Fiore. A 2nd addition was made in 1839. The eastern division was platted by the same association in 1841, and Benson's addition was platted by Samuel Church in 1848.

The original plan was changed by an act of the Legislature in 1817, which allowed the alternate lots that were reserved on the Jefferson plan to be sold.

The population of the city in 1839 was 518. By 1882 the population was about 10,000.

  1. History of The Ohio Falls Cities and Their Counties, 1778-1882, volume II, L. A. Williams & Co., Cleveland, OH, 1882.

Nearby Towns: Clarksville Town • Louisville City • New Albany City •


Home | Whats New | Site Index | Contact
Privacy | Disclaimer

Copyright © 1997-2024, The Gombach Group