Welcome to the May 2022 Issue of Wabash Township Telegraph!
Vol 2022.05.31
In this issue, you will find links to the May 3rd Primary Results, notes from the township board meeting, and developments from the APC. We also start a two-part series on our local cemeteries.
Primary Votes Were Certified on May 13, 2022!
The Indiana primary elections were held on May 3, 2022. Click below to find primary election results and your candidates for the November 2022 general election.
Township Updates
Wabash Township Board
The May Township Board Meeting was postponed until June 7th. The fire department retirement fund will be discussed during this meeting.
You can always find the next meeting here:
West Lafayette Council Meeting Agenda
The West Lafayette City Council regularly meets at 6:30 PM every 1st Monday of the month.
You can always find the next meeting and past minutes here:
Area Plan Commission
There were several rezoning activities this month located within the township. Wiggins Farm subdivision in Wabash 06 is requesting rezoning on 29.61 acres for a 78-lot subdivision. The request will be considered during the June 15th APC meeting. A request for rezoning from Tippecanoe Acquisitions, LLC was also approved for a multi-building, residential condominium development containing 158 units in Wabash 11. Additional information can be found on the APC’s Website.
This month’s edition starts a two-part series on our township’s cemeteries, with some history, notable people laid to rest in them, and other interesting facts. The series is written by David Tate.
Did You Know?
How many cemeteries are located within Tippecanoe County?
If you guessed something like, oh, more than a dozen and less than thirty? Boy, are you way off. Honestly, until I began serving on the Township Board, I’d have guessed about that number too. Using data published in 1988 from the Area Plan Commission (APC), the documented number of sites is 133, with an unofficial estimate of 30-40 additional sites. While some information is available on these sites, it can’t be officially documented. There are various reasons for the lack of documentation including their location on private land, too few graves, or overtime becoming too neglected.
Okay, next question: What is the date of the first recorded cemetery in the county, that can be documented? If you guessed the Davis-Higman cemetery in Fairfield Township, you’d be correct with Hebron cemetery being the first in Wabash Township in 1824. Within Wabash Township, there are four cemeteries the trustee is responsible for maintaining. They are Hebron, Sandridge (1830), Burton (1831), and McCormick (1838).
Burton Cemetery
Also known as the Old Bilderback or Klondike, is 1.86 acres on the corner of Klondike and US 52 in front of the Menard’s store. The information shows the Wabash Grange Hall was adjacent and to the west of the cemetery prior to the Civil War. What is interesting about this cemetery is the grave of a Revolutionary War Veteran, Cornelius Morris, 1759-1834.
Canal Cemetery
While not within Wabash Township, there is an interesting tidbit of information regarding Canal Cemetery that may have some link to the township. Canal Cemetery is also known as the Irish and Stuart Cemetery and is located in Union Township. It sits on a bluff above Canal and the Wabash River and was used as a mass burial location for the Irish who worked on the Wabash/Erie Canal and died of malaria. I had no idea and had never heard of this.
Child Burial Cemetery
A truly sad entry, also outside of the township, is listed for the Child Burial Cemetery in Lauramie Township as the grave of a child buried in the 1890s by a poor migrant family traveling south and was granted permission to bury their child here. The location is the southwest corner of US 52 and CR 800 S with the unmarked grave on the southwest corner of the intersection.
Driscoll Cemetery
Back to Wabash Township. Driscoll Cemetery (1878), which is owned by the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF), is the site of burial for the family of Jeremiah Driscoll and others. A few remaining grave markers are located on the southwest corner of CR 200 N, which is Lindberg Road and McCormick Road.
Grandview Cemetery
Grandview Cemetery is roughly 25+ acres, and while in Wabash Township, it is overseen by the Grandview Cemetery and has the very unique river rock type stone caretaker house on it that is currently being restored.
Hebron Cemetery
Hebron Cemetery, also known as the Grand Prairie Baptist, is between CR 500 N and the intersection of McCormick Road and CR 250 W. The cemetery was established in 1826 and sits across from one of the 1838 Potawatomi Trail of Death historic markers.
Next time, I’ll write about Sand Ridge and its uniqueness and McCormick cemetery.
Request for Articles, Township News, and Ideas
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Wabash.Telegraph@gmail.com
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Correction - board meeting postponed to 6/7 not 6/3.