Sheridan

History

Sheridan, once the second-largest town in Hamilton County, lies on the south edge of land originally owned by George Boxley, a merchant and miller in Virginia who had fled from there ahead of bounty hunters because he was also an abolitionist suspected of fomenting a failed slave rebellion in 1815. Considerable recent development has greatly increased the population of this historic town. The Sheridan Downtown Commercial Historic District encompasses approximately four blocks along Main Street from the former Monon railroad right-of-way north to Veteran's Park and Pioneer Hill, the site of the George Boxley Cabin, listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The origins of Sheridan, which started out as Millwood, are vague, owing partly to the loss of all the town's records in 1913 when a disastrous fire destroyed the town hall and many other buildings. No documentation supports the popular contention that Egbert Higbee started the town in 1860. Higbee, born in Ohio and brought to Adams Township as a child, did, indeed, lay out a town he called Millwood on land adjacent to the district school (built 1851) on the state road. He had acquired his land in parcels and filed his town plat in April 1866. Only two-and-a-half blocks divided into twenty lots, it was oriented in an east–west direction along the south side of the Lafayette-Noblesville state road, which Higbee designated as Main Street (present day Second Street; his "West Street" became Main). Higbee immediately began to sell off lots to enterprising merchants and a few mill owners, and the little village got its start. Higbee himself built a mill and laid out additions to his original plat. Caswell Boxley, however, subdivided the south edge of his land, which adjoined Higbee's plat across the state road…

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Sheridan has a total area of , of which (or 99.81%) is land and (or 0.19%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,279
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  7,015
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  5,776
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,630
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,550
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  5,374
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,361
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,318

Largest nearby schools

• Westfield High School
  High · Westfield · 2,665 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Westfield Middle School
  Middle · Westfield · 1,429 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Westfield Intermediate School
  Middle · Westfield · 1,420 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Hinkle Creek Elementary School
  Elementary · Noblesville · 927 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Hazel Dell Elementary School
  Elementary · Noblesville · 647 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Carey Ridge Elementary School
  Elementary · Westfield · 635 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Washington Woods Elementary School
  Elementary · Westfield · 621 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• Shamrock Springs Elementary School
  Elementary · Westfield · 615 students · 16.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2023-10-31
  7 km ESE of Linden, Indiana
• M 3.82 — 2021-06-17
  Illinois-Indiana border region
• M 3.8 — 2010-12-30
  6 km SE of Greentown, Indiana
• M 3.8 — 2004-09-12
  4 km NW of Manilla, Indiana