Wildcat Township is one of six

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Tipton County,

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 ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,260 (down from 1,421 at 2010) and it contained 589 housing units.

History

It was originally part of the

Miami Indian The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now ...

reservation until 1847, when the land was available for purchase by white settlers. However, the area had begun to be settled by white

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

s as early as 1845.Pershing, p. 132
/ref> Early farmers traveled to Lafayette to sell farm animals like hogs. Wheat was sold in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and settlers traveled as far as Perkinsville to have access to a mill.Pershing, p. 135
/ref> The earliest religious congregation in the township was founded in the mid 1800s, it was of

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

denomination.Pershing, p. 208
/ref>

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which (or 99.94%) is land and (or 0.06%) is water.

Natural environment

Historically, Wildcat Township is very flat. Prior to extensive white settlement, the area had

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s with spicebush,

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

, poplar,

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

, sugar tree,

ash Ash is the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is the ...

, and linn. By the early 1900s, the majority of timber had been cut down.Pershing, p. 131
/ref>Pershing, p. 137
/ref> The soil is made of "deep, black vegetable mold," that sits on top of "impervious clay sub-soil" and is good for agriculture.

Cities, towns, villages

* Windfall

Adjacent townships

* Union Township, Howard County (north) * Green Township, Grant County (northeast) * Duck Creek Township, Madison County (east) * Madison Township (south) * Cicero Township (southwest) * Liberty Township (west) * Taylor Township, Howard County (northwest)

Governance

Political districts

Indiana's 5th congressional district Indiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana comprising Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton, Madison County, Indiana, Madison, Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware, Grant County, Indiana, Grant, and ...

* State House District 32 * State Senate District 20

Education

Early history

The first school in the township was built near Mud Creek in 1848. David Decker was the first teacher. After three years the school was abandoned. A second school was built in Windfall. A former settlement, called Pierce, was the site of the first frame school. Public schools became available in the community after 1855.Pershing, p. 193-194
/ref>

Today

Students in Wildcat Township attend Tri-Central Community Schools.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

The first road in the township was surveyed in 1849. It traveled southwest through the township towards

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

. In 1851, a second road was built in the northern part of the township, traveling east to west. By 1855 the township had an extensive roadway system for the time period.Pershing, p. 136
/ref>

Airports and landing strips

* the former Zea Mays Airport

Cemeteries

The township contains these three cemeteries: Brookside, Salem and Wheeler.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Pershing, Marvin W. "History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions". Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen (1914).

External links

Indiana Township Association

United Township Association of Indiana
{{authority control Townships in Tipton County, Indiana Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area Townships in Indiana