Our County’s Story
200 Years
Reinvention is in our DNA. Generations of grit turned a stretch of Indiana farmland into a manufacturing powerhouse, and today we’re building our next chapter through recreation, healthcare, and more. Explore the moments along the way.
Early Beginnings
1790–1885
Lenape (Delaware) indigenous tribes occupy land near the White River.
The Treaty of St. Mary’s is signed by indigenous tribes of Indiana and the federal government, greatly increasing the area of present-day Indiana, including Delaware County.
Indiana map, 1817
First settlement in Perry Township by Cornelius Van Arsdoll and others.
Mary Jane Gilbert, the first settler child in Muncie, is born.
Goldsmith Gilbert purchases the Hackley Reserve and founds Munseetown.
Goldsmith C. Gilbert, History of Delaware County, Indiana, 1881 • Internet Archive
Delaware County is established by an Act of the Indiana General Assembly.
Muncie is established as the county seat.
The first Delaware County school is built in Perry Township near New Burlington.
The first Delaware County courthouse is built in Muncie.
Albany is founded and platted by William Venard.
The second Delaware County courthouse is built in Muncie.
Postcard produced for Delaware County centennial activities, 1927 • Mike Mavis Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
The first newspaper, The Muncietonian, is published.
Yorktown is platted by Oliver H. Smith.
Yorktown, early 1900s
Munseetown is officially renamed Muncie by the Indiana Assembly.
The Indianapolis and Bellefontaine railroad arrives in Delaware County.
The first Delaware County Fair is held.
Selma is platted when the railroad was extended to that point.
Muncie is incorporated as a town.
Gaston is platted by David L. Jones under the name New Corner. The name Gaston was adopted in 1901.
Cowan, named for Charles McCowan, is founded.
Eaton is incorporated.
Opera singer Orville Harrold is born near Cowan.
Poster announcing a concert featuring Orville Harrold at the Wysor Grand Theatre, ca. 1905 • Delaware County Historical Society
The third Delaware County courthouse is built in Muncie.
Mike Mavis Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Gas Boom & Middletown Era
1886–1959
The first natural gas well is dug in Eaton, ushering in the Gas Boom era.
1890s • Mike Mavis Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Construction begins on the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company plant in Muncie.
Milton Masing Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
The first glass is produced by Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company.
Minnetrsita Heritage Collection
Emily Kimbrough, author of How Dear to My Heart, is born in Muncie.
Kimbrough Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Eastern Indiana Normal University is founded, one of several predecessors to Ball State University.
W. T. Stokes is hired as the first African American Muncie police officer.
Theodore Roosevelt campaigns for the William McKinley / Theodore Roosevelt presidential ticket in Muncie.
Minnetrista Heritage Collection
Dorothy Drumm Hamilton, author of books for adolescents, is born in Selma.
Devastating flooding in the Midwest affects the entire east central Indiana region.
Delaware County Historical Society
Temple Beth El is dedicated.
A tornado hits Wheeling in northwest Delaware County damaging several buildings.
Robert and Helen Lynd arrive and begin their study of Muncie as a typical Middle-American city.
The Delaware County Historical Society was established to coordinate celebration of the County's centennial in 1927.
Robert and Helen Lynd publish their study of Muncie in the book Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture.
Ball State Teachers College is established.
Ball Memorial Hospital opens.
Muncie Airport established on South Hackley Street.
Ball Memorial Hospital, 1929 • Mike Mavis Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Durham Manufacturing receives the Army-Navy E award for production of war equipment.
A German prisoner of war camp is established in Eaton.
Delaware County Historical Society
A polio epidemic hits Delaware County. Ball Memorial Hospital superintendent Nelly Brown works with manufacturer Jack Reichart to build iron lungs.
The Muncie Central High School Bearcats are defeated by the Milan Indians in the Indiana state basketball championship. The game is the inspiration for the movie Hoosiers.
Plans are announced for building a reservoir in Perry Township to be called Prairie Creek.
Prairie Creek Reservoir, 1965 • Jeff Koenker Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Muncie Airport Johnson Field is dedicated by Vice President Richard Nixon.
Abbott Johnson receives flag from Vice President Richard Nixon • Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
The Indiana General Assembly passes the Indiana School Reorganization Act for school districts with fewer than 2,000 students creating the need to consolidate several schools in Delaware County.
Modern Reinvention
1960–2027
Senator John F. Kennedy visits Muncie while campaigning for President.
Mike Mavis Collection, Delaware County Historical Society
Ball Brothers Company ceases making glass in Muncie.
Ball State Teachers College becomes Ball State University.
Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
The Delaware County building is built replacing the third Delaware County courthouse.
Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
Robert F. Kennedy visits Muncie while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for President.
Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
A group of African American parents filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop construction of Northside High School. They lost their case, and the school was built.
David Letterman graduates from Ball State University.
Late Show host David Letterman with President John Worthen and Alumni Association President Sally Mauck, 1987 • Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
Hurley Goodall is the first African American to be elected to the Muncie Community Schools Board of Trustees.
Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
The public broadcasting station, WIPB-TV, begins broadcasting in Muncie.
Interstate-69 from Indianapolis to the Michigan state line is completed, passing through the western side of Delaware County.
Angela Hoyt at WIPB-TV, 1980 • Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
Muncie Children’s Museum opens.
Blizzard conditions hit Delaware County, closing all schools and most non-essential businesses.
An explosion rocks High Street Methodist Church and a large portion of the roof of Yorktown High School collapses during the blizzard.
Paws, Inc. is founded by Jim Davis, creator of the Garfield cartoon. The company is located near Albany.
Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
Daleville is incorporated becoming Indiana’s newest town. The town was settled in the 1820s.
Bob Ross begins filming his Joy of Painting series at WIPB, which is located in the former home of the Lucius L. Ball family.
Minnetrista Heritage Collection
Minnetrista Cultural Center (now Minnetrista Museum and Gardens) opens.
Minnetrista Heritage Collection
The Academy of Model Aeronautics national flying site opens.
Ralph McGairk is appointed the first African American chief of police.
The first ten miles of Cardinal Greenways rails to trails are completed.
An ice storm in January causes widespread power outages and destruction of trees.
Borg Warner (formerly Warner Gear) closes. The company made automobile transmissions.
Water heated by the earth begins flowing through the geothermal district heating and cooling system at Ball State University.
Muncie Community Schools is placed under the direct control of the state government. In 2018, Ball State’s Board of Trustees appoints a new board.
Ball State University
Delaware County celebrates its bicentennial.
