Lexington, Indiana
| Lexington, Indiana | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
 | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 38°39′16″N 85°38′43″W / 38.65444°N 85.64528°WCoordinates: 38°39′16″N 85°38′43″W / 38.65444°N 85.64528°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Scott |
| Township | Lexington |
| Elevation | 682 ft (208 m) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 47138 |
| Area code(s) | 812 |
| FIPS code | 18-43164[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0453549[2] |
Lexington is an unincorporated community in Lexington Township, Scott County, Indiana, United States, located about 10 miles west of the Ohio River and 28 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky. The town itself was founded before Indiana became the 19th state in 1816 and was located in Jefferson County at the time it was platted. It was the original county seat from 1820 to 1874, before local leaders decided on a more central location at nearby Scottsburg, which created animosity between the residents of the two towns for several decades afterwards.
Geography
Lexington is located at 38°39′9.09″N 85°37′34.50″W / 38.6525250°N 85.6262500°W (38.652525,-85.62625)[3].
History
Lexington was originally settled in 1804 and platted in 1810. It was one of eight towns that were considered for the first state capital of Indiana, with Corydon gaining the honor. It was originally in Jefferson County until 1820, when Scott County was created from parts of Jennings, Jefferson, Clark, Washington and Jackson counties. Since there were no other towns in the county, Lexington was selected as the county seat. Due to its location in the southeastern portion of the county, there were several unsuccessful attempts at relocating the county seat to a more central location, which did not actually take place until 1874 when it was relocated to Scottsburg, the name of which at the time was spelled "Scottsburgh". Records were removed from the courthouse at night to avoid a civil war between residents. The removal of the county seat to Scottsburg created animosity between the two towns for several decades.
Morgan's Raiders passed through Lexington during the Civil War on July 10-11, 1863, meeting little resistance upon entering the town.
The Reno Gang, who committed the first and second train robberies in the United States were held at the Scott County Jail in Lexington in 1868 for the robbery which occurred on May 22 at Marshfield, now a defunct community north of Scottsburg. They were moved to the Floyd County Jail in New Albany and ultimately hanged in the stairwell of the jail when a mob broke in on December 11, 1868.
Notable person
- William Hayden English, Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 1880
References
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
External links
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