Pence, Indiana

Pence
Unincorporated community
Pence Location in Warren County
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Warren
Township	Jordan
Founded	1902
Founded by	Frank R. Pence
Elevation	696 ft (212 m)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	47993
Area code(s)	765

Pence is a small unincorporated community in Jordan Township, Warren County, Indiana.

History

Pence was founded in September 1902 by Frank R. Pence, who purchased 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land for the purpose. In 1903, Pence became the smallest town in the United States to have a central water system. In the early part of the 20th century, Pence had numerous businesses including a grain elevator, a blacksmith shop, a welding and machine shop, a lumber yard, a coal yard, the Bank of Pence (which closed in the 1920s), a hotel (which also housed the post office for a time), restaurants, a general store, grocery stores, a hardware store, a weekly newspaper, a funeral home, a jewelry store, and various others. As of 1913, the population was about 150.

Pence had a baseball team from 1910 to 1955, and also had a basketball team (the Pence Aces).

The post office operated from October 12, 1903 to April 5, 1957.

Geography

Pence is located less than a mile east of the Indiana-Illinois state line and a quarter mile from Jordan Creek, which flows southwest toward the Vermilion River. It is on County Road 300 North, which (in Illinois) runs into the town of Rossville about 9 miles to the west.

References

• Warren County Historical Society. A History of Warren County, Indiana (1966), pages 20–25.
• Warren County Historical Society. A History of Warren County, Indiana (175th Anniversary Edition) (2002).

• Pence, Indiana plat.png

  Pence's 1902 plat

• Pence, Indiana.png

  The corner of First and Jordan streets