Huntertown, Perry Township, Allen County, Indiana.
Episode 194: Huntertown April 13, 2023 Granite Ridge Builders on YouTube.
Who knew Huntertown had so much to offer?! From cold brews at Ted's to some of the best schools in the area, the Between the Studs crew explores all things Huntertown.
On Lima Road and the only town in Perry Township, was a natural gathering place for settlers’ homes. Known as the “opening” it was the only spot for miles around that was not covered by forest. It was situated on a slight rise of ground with muck land both on the north and the south. At some earlier date these prairies had burned out, destroying the trees. A number of settlers lived in houses at “the opening” while making clearings for their farms. There had been a village there for some time before the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad crystallized the settlement into an organized town. As many as forty-five town lots were sold in one day after the plat was opened and Huntertown grew rapidly as a shopping center. Today Huntertown has a population of about 1350. See Huntertown Historical Society Family Files From the Huntertown Historical Society at The Genealogy Center.
Huntertown was originally referred to as "The Opening" due to it being a natural forest clearing. Huntertown was first settled circa 1837 and was founded by William T. Hunter. The village was located along the Lima Plank Road connecting Lima (now Howe) and Fort Wayne. The Perry Centre Seminary was founded in Huntertown in 1856, only to close five years later when the entire faculty and adult students enlisted in the Union Army. The town was platted in 1869, but not incorporated until 1966.
Some of the nation's oldest reliable weather observations are from a nineteenth-century Huntertown farm. Rapin Andrews began keeping meteorological records on July 17, 1839, and continued until his death ten years later. His family continued the observations until April 30, 1874. The diary of weather records was presented to the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) in 1934. The record highest temperature was 102 °F (39 °C) in July 1846 and the record lowest temperature was −34 °F (−37 °C) on January 29, 1873.
Photos include Anderson school, Huntertown school, and Caswell school.
Huntertown Heritage Days & The Huntertown Historical Society are happy to present our 2022 festival theme: 100 Years of School Spirit!
This years theme comes from the consolidation of one room school houses of Perry and Eel river township in 1922. The consolidation of these one room school houses brought them here to the heart of Huntertown. We are beyond thrilled to celebrate 100 years of school spirit by celebrating Northwest Allen county schools!
We have been hard at work since our last festival to bring you new and exciting events! Our 2022 festival will be held August 12th, 13th and 14th. This year we decided to embrace change and move into a new chapter to bring our community together. We want to celebrate our community and everyone that makes it what it is today! Thank you for all the support over the years. We hope you will be just as excited as we are! Here is a list of events that have been approved and a list of events that are pending approval or sponsor. If you would like to participate or sponsor an event please feel free to message us.
2022 Events:
Friday, August 12th
- The Cincinnati Circus Company One ring circus thrill show! 2 shows, times pending
- Movie in the park amphitheater - will be a family movie at dusk
- The Beer Tent featuring live music from Big Caddy Daddy! 6pm-12
- Timmy’s BBQ and Fair Food!
Saturday, August 13th
- The Cincinnati Circus Company One ring circus thrill show! 4 shows, times pending.
- The Allen County Marketplace Vendor Event 9am-3pm
- The Parade 10am
- The Car Show put on by the Huntertown Fire Department 12-4pm
- The Huntertown Historical Society Display will be in the Park Pavilion
- The Bake Walk put on by the Huntertown Historical Society time pending.
- Timmy’s BBQ and Fair food!
- The Beer Tent featuring DJ Farlow for Karaoke and Dancing! 6pm-12
Sunday, August 14th
- The Cincinnati Circus Company One ring circus thrill show! 3 shows, times pending.
- Timmy’s BBQ and fair food!
Events pending approval or sponsor:
- 5k
- Fireworks
- Miss Huntertown Heritage Days Pageant
- Field Day
- Bingo in the tent
Our Donation letters are ready to be sent out and we are still in need of volunteers! Thank you all for your amazing support. We are looking forward to this year!
