Deputy, Indiana

Deputy
census-designated place
Deputy
Coordinates: 38°47′39″N 85°39′12″W / 38.79417°N 85.65333°W / 38.79417; -85.65333Coordinates: 38°47′39″N 85°39′12″W / 38.79417°N 85.65333°W / 38.79417; -85.65333
Country United States
State Indiana
County Jefferson
Township Graham
Elevation 627 ft (191 m)
ZIP code 47230
FIPS code 18-17812[1]
GNIS feature ID 433488[2]

Deputy is an unincorporated census-designated place in Graham Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, approximately 14 miles northwest of Madison, the county seat. Part of the area straddles into Montgomery Township, Jennings County.

Geography

Deputy is located at 38°47′39″N 85°39′12″W / 38.79417°N 85.65333°W / 38.79417; -85.65333.

Deputy is located on land that is considered to be of karst topography. The town and the area around it contain numerous sink holes and caves.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Deputy has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[3]

Description

Primarily an agricultural community, Deputy residents farm timber, corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, tobacco as well as vegetables and fruits in season. Cattle, hogs, chickens, goats, sheep, horses and donkeys are typical of farm animals many residents raise in the Deputy area.

There is no other town or community in the United States named Deputy.

History

Deputy, Indiana was laid out as a town in March 1871 by Foster C. Wilson, the husband of Margaret Mary Deputy and son-in-law of John and Harriet Deputy.[4]

Local lore - and probably the source of the town's name - indicates that the area was first settled in the 1810s by a number of Deputy families that migrated to Clark County, Indiana from Sussex County, Delaware, probably as a result of the conclusion of the Treaty of Fort Wayne in September 1809 which opened up lands in the Indiana territory to American settlement.[5]

Religious Centers

Some notable churches in the area are the Deputy United Methodist Church, the Pisgah Methodist Church, the Open Door Baptist Church, the Bethany Baptist Church and the Lick Branch Baptist Church. Deputy is the area where the historic Deputy Camp Meetings were held by the Methodist Episcopal Church as part of the Second Great Awakening movement in the mid-1800s. These Camp Meetings - which initially featured 'round the clock' evangelism and passionate 'fire & brimstone' preaching to win new converts - were central features of the outreach of the Methodist church in the American frontiers. The Deputy Camp Meetings were the first such meetings held in the Indiana Territory in the late 1840s. They became part of the network of Camp Meetings organized under the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Camp Meetings continued in the Deputy area into the 1870s, gradually evolving into permanent congregations who built their own church buildings.[6] Pisgah Methodist Church is the location of the Pisgah cemetery which holds many graves from the Revolutionary Era and Civil War Era to the present.

Important Places

One of the most important places in Deputy (at least to Deputy natives) is Gaffney's Grocery, previously (and still often known as) Nays. Gaffney's Grocery is a small store located at Deputy which supplies many groceries and other needs to Deputy natives. Gaffney's offers a variety of hot meals and also a quality deli selection. Gaffney's is an everyday meeting place for many residents, where they can go and converse with old and new friends. Prior to 2008, Gaffney's was owned and operated by David and Judy Gaffney. It is now owned and operated by Bill and Phyllis Miller, a local farm family.[7]

Deputy Pike is the historic road which connects Deputy to the county seat, Madison. It begins as Main Street and then heads east for 13 miles, becoming Deputy Pike at State Hwy 3 and W. Deputy Pike Road at N. Home Road. It eventually merges with State Hwy 7 before turning southeast to Madison. Deputy Pike is a scenic route along the Muskatatuck River ("Big Creek" as it is known locally) along the western and central portions and along Harbert's Creek to the east. It runs by several cemeteries such as Robertson Cemetery and through the smaller communities of Wakefield and Volga. It was originally a toll road but is now publicly maintained by the county.

A notable historic site that once overlooked the small town was a large tree. This tree was hundreds of years old and tales of the tree were said to be heard in Native American tribes throughout the area. The tree was located where the United States Post Office is now located.

Some other important places in the Deputy area are the United States Post Office, the Deputy Elementary School and Crop Production Services. The heavily forested rural area surrounding Deputy supports several sawmills including TinyTIMBERS (http://tinytimbers.com) and Baxter Lumber and Phillips Millwork.

Schools

Located in Deputy is the Deputy Elementary School, part of the Madison Consolidated school system. As of 2008, the present principal is Kevin Saner, who was recently awarded the Educator of the Year Award. Deputy Elementary School is located near the site of the old Deputy High School. The Deputy Elementary School and the old Deputy High School mascot is a panther.

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "Deputy, Indiana". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  3. ↑ Climate Summary for Deputy, Indiana
  4. ↑ Gresham, John M. Biographical and historical souvenir for the counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott and Washington, Indiana (1889), p. 197
  5. ↑ "US Census Reconstructed Records, 1810, Indiana, Deputy".
  6. ↑ Corn, Kevin J. (2007). Forward Be Our Watchword: Indiana Methodism and the Modern Middle Class. University Press. p. 92. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  7. ↑ Peggy Vlerebome (04/10/2010). "Gaffney's Grocery: Deputy store to change hands but little else as Millers take over". Madison Courier. Check date values in: |date= (help)
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