Silvertown…an Indiana Ghost Town

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Standing in the middle of the intersection between Williams Silverville Rd and Iron Bridge Lane, staring at an old wooden building, tangles of vines and weeds eating their way up the side, it takes a good amount of imagination to believe that just over a hundred years ago, I would have been standing  in the middle of a bustling small town of 270 people.  The cracked and weed strewn roads would have been lined with wooden and brick structures, people standing under covered porches talking about the news of the day, buying goods, visiting a doctor.  Where there are weeds and wild flowers stood homes and offices.

Silverville was platted in 1855 by Robert C. McAfee.  The original town consisted of 76 lots.  Folklore says that the name originated because the land was purchased with silver dollars or the rumor that Native Americans in the area buried silver in a local cave. 

Like many small pioneer towns in Indiana, the town started with a general store and a post office, which opened in 1851.  As with other towns, it would have had a livery, law enforcement, and offices for doctors, lawyers, and businessmen.  Early records indicate the town included a grist mill run on steam power operated by J.E. Kern, had two doctors, Hornachre  and J.S. Blackburn, and at least one general store (perhaps even the one at the corner), which opened in 1882 by W.S. Sentney who was the son of English and Irish immigrants.  Residents attended the Silverville Baptist Church, a Christian Church, or the Methodist Episcopalian Church.

Given the location of the town, one has to wonder why anyone chose this location to settle.  Documents created by state geologist indicate that the town was near a large pocket of kaolin, a soft pinkish to reddish brown clay and that a mine was located just to the south of the town.  The area was also rich in sandstone and limestone, and still has active quarries nearby.

There don’t appear to be any records as to when Silverville died.  The post office closed in 1906.  76 lots have dwindled to the decaying general store and a few buildings that are slowly being reclaimed by nature.  A handful of homes and farms surround what used to be the main street.  Records show that the town was still active into the 1920’s.

For more information:

Adamson, Jason. Rush Genealogy: Captain Peter Rush of Pa., and His Decendants, with Notes on Dr. Benjamin Rush. United States, J. Adamson, 1965.

Blatchley, Willis Stanley. A Preliminary Report on the Clays and Clay Industries of the Coal-bearing Counties of Indiana. United States, Indiana. Department of geology and natural resources, 1896.

History of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties, Indiana: From the Earliest Time to the Present, Together with Interesting Biographical Sketches, Reminiscences, Notes, Etc. United States, Higginson Book Company, 1884.

Terrell, William H. H.. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana …. United States, A.H. Connor [etc.] State Printer, 1866.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverville,_Indiana