Roll

History

In the early 19th century, much of what would become the state of Indiana was still frequented by native Indian tribes. The Miami tribe was the most powerful group of Indians in the region, and they were known to visit what would become northern Blackford County. Other tribes that visited the area were the Potawatomi and Delaware. Non-native settlers began arriving in what would become Blackford County during the 1830s. Blackford County was established in 1838 and 1839, as a section of swampland split from the west side of Jay County. Originally, the Roll community was named Dundee. A national Post Office directory for 1855 lists a Dundee in Blackford County. The 1860 United States census lists Dundee as the Post Office for Washington Township in Blackford County. The Dundee population at that time was 353 people living in 71 houses. Eight structures were listed as unoccupied. Almost every occupation cited is farmer. One of the farmers was Ohio-born Mathias Roll, age 55, living with his wife and five children (see picture of Census page in Wikimedia Commons). Ancestry and Census records indicate the Mathias Roll's second marriage was in Ohio in 1843, and from this marriage a child was born in Dundee in 1853. This indicates that the Roll family probably came to Dundee between 1843 and 1853. A story told by two Roll family members/descendants states that Mathias Roll used to ride his horse to Hartford City to pick up mail for folks living in Dundee. Eventually, the mail load became too much for one horse, so a Post Office was established in Dundee. Because a community named Dundee already existed elsewhere in the state, the Dundee Post Office in Washington Township was called the Roll Post Office. Mathias Roll was still living with his family (including…

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