Templeton, Indiana

Templeton
Unincorporated community
Animals along Ann Street. Animals along Ann Street.
Benton County's location in Indiana
Templeton Freeland Park's location in Benton County
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Benton
Township	Bolivar
Elevation	699 ft (213 m)
Population (2006)
• Total	100
ZIP code	47970
GNIS feature ID	444630

Templeton is an unincorporated community in Bolivar Township, Benton County, Indiana. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Templeton was laid out by Col. William J. Templeton and his wife Melissa on December 23, 1873, and contained 225 lots. Two railways, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (the "Big Four") and the Lafayette, Muncie and Bloomington (the "Nickel Plate"), intersected at the site. Its first building was a shanty occupied by John Cosgrove, and was soon followed by the dwellings of Col. Templeton and others. The town gained it first grain elevator in 1874 and a tile factory in 1881 which operated two large, steam-powered kilns. By 1883 the town's businesses included David Lanham & Co. and Finch & Son (both purveyors of dry goods and groceries), Joseph Dehart's notions and butcher shop, John Rosa's grocery, Dr. C. W. Fall (physician and pharmacist), Jasper Bristow (physician) and the Railroad House.

Templeton's population numbered around 150 in the 1920s, at which time it also had a grain elevator, grade school and three or four stores.

Geography

Templeton is located at in Bolivar Township. It is surrounded by open farmland, with Big Pine Creek less than a mile to the southeast. U.S. Route 52 passes along the town's northeast side, and the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad, which comes in from the east, splits into two lines that head west and northwest.