Hartford City

History

Hartford City, Indiana began in the late 1830s as a few log cabins clustered near a creek. Folklore taught in local elementary schools suggests that Hartford City was originally known as "Hart's ford," a place to cross Lick Creek. The name evolved to Hartford, and eventually to Hartford City. (This was to avoid confusion with another Hartford in the state.) Prior to European-American settlement, the area that became Hartford City was frequented by several Native American tribes, including the Miami, Delaware Lenape, and Potawatomi. While no permanent Native settlements are known to have existed at the future city site, Miami and Delaware peoples lived nearby on the Godfroy Reserve in northeastern Blackford County until increasing white settlement prompted their removal westward around 1839. The first known non-Native settler in the area was Benjamin Reasoner, who arrived in 1831 and returned the following year with his family to establish a homestead in what later became Licking Township. Additional settlers arrived throughout the 1830s, including Andrew Boggs, John Grimes, George and Joseph Atkinson, Jacob Slater, and Robert Stewart. As settlement increased, the Indiana General Assembly created Blackford County in 1837, and the county was formally organized in June 1839. Named for Isaac Newton Blackford, the county held its first election in a settler's log cabin in the village of Hartford after Governor David Wallace appointed Nicolas Friend as acting sheriff. The newly elected county commissioners soon designated Hartford as the county seat and began planning infrastructure projects, including a road connecting the community with Portland, Indiana. Located near Lick Creek, Hartford initially consisted of only a handful of log cabins but quickly emerged as the…

Geography

Hartford City sits on top of former natural gas fields. The area also has limestone formed from silt and mud deposits of an ancient sea. The land is flat from the effect of a prehistoric glacier, and the soil is excellent for farming. According to the 2010 census, Hartford City has a total area of , of which (or 99.46%) is land and (or 0.54%) is water. * Indiana State Road 3 * Indiana State Road 26 * Interstate 69 (less than west of city) * Upland − about 8 highway miles west * Montpelier − about 12 highway miles northeast * Dunkirk − about 14 highway miles southeast * Muncie − about 19 highway miles south * Marion − about 23 highway miles northwest Hartford City has a typical Midwestern humid continental seasonal climate. There are four distinct seasons, with winters being cold with moderate snowfall, while summers can be warm and humid. The highest average temperature is in July at , while the lowest average temperature is in January at . However, summer temperatures can top , and winter temperatures can drop below . Average monthly precipitation ranges from about , with the heaviest occurring during June, July, and August. The highest recorded temperature was on June 29, 2012, and the lowest recorded temperature was on January 19, 1994.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Blackford Jr-Sr High School
  High · Hartford City · 717 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Blackford Intermediate School
  Elementary · Hartford City · 427 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Blackford Primary School
  Elementary · Hartford City · 352 students · 14.1:1 ratio