Lodi (also called Fullerton, Gilderoy or Waterman) 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 ...

Liberty Township, Parke County, Indiana Liberty Township is one of thirteen townships in Parke County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 598 and it contained 296 housing units. History The W.H. York Round Barn, Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge, Marsha ...

. Located on

Indiana State Road 234 State Road 234 exists in two sections in Indiana. The western portion begins at the Illinois border from a Vermilion County, Illinois, county road. It runs east from there to U.S. Route 136 (US 136) near Jamestown. Much of the route is ...

, the most prominent feature is Waterman Baptist Church, which occupies a red brick building in the north-east corner of town. Just south of the town is one of the first round barns, the W. H. York Round Barn, which was built in 1895.

History

Founding

Lazarus Shirk first settled on Coal Creek in 1826 followed by James Marks in March 1830. The town was platted as Fullerton by Peter Blakewell on April 11, 1836. It may have been named for

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who built the first successful

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. Jesse Bowen and Elijah Thompson owned all of the land and the east hill was called Golderay.

Renamings

Less than a year later though the town would change its name to Lodi on January 26, 1837. It may have been named for the city of Lodi,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

near

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, where

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

won a great victory over the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

ns in 1796. The Post Office was officially call Lodiville. Once again the town's name changed in 1857 to Waterman in honor of Dr. Waterman who had opened a pork packing plant and store in town. In 1874 an R.M. Waterman owned large coal fields north of town.http://www.indianagenweb.com/inparke/Maps/1874AtlasPage91And90bLibertyTownshipMap.jpg

Industry and Businesses

The

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passed around Lodi on the west side and wrapped around the south side before crossing Coal Creek and continuing its journey south. A feeder dam was built on coal creek. The last canal boat to pass Lodi was in 1875 heading north to Lafayette. Along with the pork packing plant by the 1880s Lodi's businesses included the Lewis Davis and Charles Bright flour mill, drug store, dry goods store, grocery store, two blacksmith shops, sawmill,

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, G.A.R. Post, and a school. North of town there was a health spa, that was built around the Lodi Artesian Well, that operated for many years. In 1913 the well was purchased by a group of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

capitalists. They installed a large pipe that allowed the well to flow into a basin. A large dance pavilion and a baseball diamond were built and the resort was most popular during the Depression. The dance pavilion was later converted to a roller skating rink and the well was used to fill the swimming pool. The business came to an end though when, in an attempt to clean the pipe, Fred Clingan instead plugged it. While it may be noted that many were sad to see the local landmark close, others expressed their gratitude for the relief of the sulfurous smell that came from the water. Today, Lodi remains a small town served by a garage, thrift shop, sign shop, mower and bait shop, vegetable stand, and an archery and gun shop.

Geography

Lodi is located adjacent to the small community of

Silverwood Silverwood Theme Park is an amusement park located near the city of Athol, Idaho, Athol in northern Idaho, United States, near the town of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Coeur d'Alene, approximately from Spokane, Washington on U.S. Route 95 in Idaho, US ...

References