Warrenton, Indiana

Warrenton is an extinct town in Warren County, Indiana, and was Warren's original county seat.

History

Warrenton was selected as the Warren County seat in March 1828 by commissioners appointed under the act forming the county. It was laid out "on the east fraction of the southwest quarter of Section 31, Township 22 north, Range 7 west," which today is in the extreme southwestern corner of Warren Township, a little over two miles (3 km) northeast of the current county seat of Williamsport.Warren County Historical Society (2002), A History of Warren County, Indiana (175th Anniversary Edition) The site overlooks the confluence of Big Pine Creek with the Wabash River.

The town was surveyed by Perrin Kent and platted by County Agent Luther Tillotson on July 8, 1828, on a tract of land which had been donated to the county by a local landowner named Hollingsworth. Tillotson laid out seven full blocks of eight lots each, four half blocks of four lots each, and a public square of . On August 5, 1828, the lots were sold at public auction for between $10 and $20 each, during which free whiskey was served at the county's expense, "probably to loosen the tongue of the auctioneer or 'crier' and the generosity of the buyers".

Warrenton's status as county seat was short-lived. An act approved on January 22, 1829, ordered a relocation...
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