Plainfield

History

In 1822, a tract of land which included the area now known as Plainfield was obtained by Jeremiah Hadley of Preble County, Ohio. Ten years later he sold it to his son, Elias Hadley. Levi Jessup and Elias Hadley laid out the town in 1839. Plainfield was incorporated as a town in 1839. The town got its name from the early Friends (Quakers) who settled around the area and established several meetinghouses throughout the county, including the important Western Yearly Meeting of Friends in Plainfield. The Friends were "plain" people, and thus the name "Plainfield". The high school continues to honor the Quakers, using the name for the school's mascot. Plainfield has long been associated with the National Road, U.S. Route 40, which goes through town as Main Street. One incident which brought Plainfield national attention occurred in 1842 when former President Martin Van Buren was spilled deliberately from his stagecoach into the thick mud of the highway. The practical joke came as a result of Van Buren's vetoing a bill from Congress to improve the highway, a move which angered Western settlers. When Van Buren came through Plainfield on a swing to shore up his popularity for the 1844 election, a group of perpetrators set up the incident. The elm tree whose roots caused the president's carriage to topple became known as the Van Buren Elm.[https://n.pr/pcxd1f] An elementary school near this site is named Van Buren Elementary School. In the 1980s Plainfield became the headquarters of the Islamic Society of North America.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Plainfield has a total area of , of which (or 99.51%) is land and (or 0.49%) is water. Plainfield is located in the Central Till Plains region of the United States. There are few moderately sized hills, and a mix of deciduous forests and prairie covers much of the area within the town limits. White Lick Creek, a tributary of the White River, flows north to south through the western side of Plainfield. On the eastern side of town, Clark's Creek, a tributary of White Lick Creek, flows towards the south.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Avon High School
  High · Avon · 3,348 students · 19.5:1 ratio
• Brownsburg High School
  High · Brownsburg · 3,177 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Plainfield High School
  High · Plainfield · 1,782 students · 19.8:1 ratio
• Plainfield Community Middle School
  Middle · Plainfield · 1,370 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Brownsburg East Middle School
  Middle · Brownsburg · 1,340 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Brownsburg West Middle School
  Middle · Brownsburg · 1,043 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Avon Middle School North
  Middle · Avon · 854 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Avon Intermediate School East
  Middle · Avon · 849 students · 16.3:1 ratio