Helmsburg (also Helms) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in southern Jackson Township, Brown County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. It lies along State Road 45 north of the town of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Brown County. Its elevation is 666 feet (203 m). Although Helmsburg is unincorporated, it has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, with the ZIP code of 47435.

History

The first post office at Helmsburg was established as Helms, in 1904. The community was named in honor of John Helms, a local resident. The children of Helmsburg are served by Helmsburg Elementary School. Industry in Helmsburg includes Helmsburg Sawmill, Inc. (Bill Pool and Sons Sawmill), Electric Metal Fab, which produces stainless steel equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries (now closed), and For Bare Feet Sock Factory (now moved to Martinsville, IN), which makes many of the socks, headbands, and wristbands NBA players wear during games. Sights in Helmsburg include the Helmsburg General Store, Helmsburg Antiques, and Figtree Gallery & Coffee Shop (now closed) which includes an art gallery, Star Wars memorabilia display, and uniquely painted zebra stripe

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

. Travelers to Helmsburg may find accommodation at McGinley Vacation Cabins or in nearby Beanblossom or Nashville, Indiana. Areas surrounding Helmsburg are heavily forested, much of this being

Yellowwood State Forest Yellowwood State Forest, originally Beanblossom Land Utilization Project, is a state forest located in Brown County, Indiana, near the more famous Brown County State Park. The forest features seventeen different areas within Brown County, com ...

. Local wildlife includes whitetail deer, ruffed grouse, squirrel, turkey, fox, woodcock, raccoon and opossums. Residents participate in numerous outdoor recreations including hunting in

, fishing in Yellowwood Lake and Beanblossom Creek, and hiking on Ten O'Clock Line and Tecumseh Trails nearby.

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

delineated Helmsburg as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2022

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

Notable people

* Bobby Helms, the country music singer known for his songs "

Jingle Bell Rock "Jingle Bell Rock" is an American Christmas music, Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then, and is generally considered Helms' list of sign ...

", " Fraulein", and "

My Special Angel "My Special Angel" is a popular song by Jimmy Duncan, published in 1957. It was first recorded by the Sonny Land Trio and released by them in 1957, and was a crossover hit that year for Bobby Helms. "My Special Angel," which Bobby Helms rec ...

", was born in Helmsburg.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Brown County, Indiana Unincorporated communities in Indiana 1904 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1904