Ladoga

History

Ladoga was platted in 1836 by John Myers. Myers invited his friends to help him find a name. He required that the name not end in -burg or -ville and that it would not be named after another town. He chose "Ladoga" after finding Lake Ladoga on a map of Russia. In 1837, the town's post office was established, which still operates today. In 1840 there were fifteen buildings in Ladoga, including two large stores selling general merchandise — one owned by Taylor Webster and one owned by William Nofsinger. By 1848, there were thirty families living in the town. The Haw Creek Academy was built two miles south of Ladoga in 1838 by the Christian Church. In 1855, the Ladoga Female Seminary was established by the Baptist Church, which quickly decided to allow male students, and shortly afterward the Ladoga Male Academy was established, which soon allowed female students. (Both decided to let in the other gender because of financial concerns.) Central Normal College was founded in Ladoga in 1876; it moved to Danville in 1878. The original building still stands in Ladoga. Known as Normal Hall, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The town of Ladoga lays claim to the Chicago World's Fair Ferris Wheel. Designed by Pittsburgh bridge-builder George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., Luther V. Rice of Ladoga agreed to build it. After the Chicago World's Fair, it was placed in Ferris Wheel Park for a while, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, for its World's Fair.

Geography

Ladoga is located in southeastern Montgomery County. Indiana State Road 234 passes through the town as Main Street, leading east to Jamestown and west to Shades State Park. Crawfordsville, the Montgomery county seat, is to the northwest, and Indianapolis is to the southeast. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ladoga has a total area of , all land. Big Raccoon Creek crosses the southeast and southwest corners of the town, flowing southwest, then northwest to the Wabash River south of Montezuma.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Crawfordsville Sr High School
  High · Crawfordsville · 692 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Crawfordsville Middle School
  Middle · Crawfordsville · 580 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Southmont Sr High School
  High · Crawfordsville · 477 students · 14:1 ratio
• New Market Elementary School
  Elementary · New Market · 471 students · 18.8:1 ratio
• Southmont Jr High School
  Middle · Crawfordsville · 376 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Mollie B Hoover Elementary School
  Elementary · Crawfordsville · 375 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Ladoga Elementary School
  Elementary · Ladoga · 163 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Walnut Elementary School
  Elementary · New Ross · 160 students · 13.3:1 ratio