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 ...
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 ...
of
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 ...
.
History and culture
Originally called Finley Crossroads after John Finley, an early settler, Leota, Indiana is described as being rich in agrarian culture. Two of Scott County's oldest roads, Cincinnati Trace (now Leota Road) and Brownstown-Charlestown Rd (Bloomington Trail Rd) intersect where there is now a covered bridge. The community was named for the first postmaster's (Mathias Mount) daughter who died when she was only two years old. At one time there was a general store, a canning factory, a post office in Leota and eleven one room schools in the township. The post office ran from 1884 to 1901.
The first doctor in the area was Dr. John Richey who married Sichy Collings, both survivors of the
Pigeon Roost Massacre
Pigeon Roost State Historic Site is located between Scottsburg and Henryville, Indiana, United States. A one-lane road off U.S. Route 31 takes the visitor to the site of a village where Native Americans massacred 24 settlers shortly after the ...
.
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid (also the Calico Raid or Great Raid of 1863) was a diversionary incursion by Confederate States Army, Confederate cavalry into the Union (American Civil War), Union states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia during the A ...
went through the township in the summer of 1863 taking horses, food, money, etc. while requiring ladies of the area to cook meals for them.
Over the years, Leota has remained deeply connected to agricultural roots. Much of the surrounding township remains active in agriculture through large farms, subsistence farms, household gardens and local husbandry.
Bethel Baptist Church is the primary church in the village with 100 or so active members. Her location on the hill overlooks the valley just below and carries one's eyes to the hills of the Knobstone Escarpment to the west.
Helen Trueblood has hosted a nationally recognized
Daffodil
''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...
Show here in April for many years. The Leota Frolic is held here each August as a way to celebrate the rich cultural history and spirit of this place.Pictorial History of Scott County, Indiana - Volume 1, Turner Pub. 2002
Geography
Leota is located about 30 miles (47 km) north of
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...