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Richland Township is one of twelve townships in Steuben County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 415, down from 570 at the 2010 census,[3] and it contained 163 housing units, making it the smallest township in the county.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of 15.58 square miles (40.4 km2), all land,[3] second smallest after Clear Lake township.

Unincorporated towns

(This list is based on USGS data and may include former settlements.)

Cemeteries

The township contains five cemeteries: Alvarado, Amish, Metz, Mount Pleasant, and Bethel.[4]

One of the first cemeteries in the area, Bethel Cemetery has graves dating from the late 1840s. Bethel cemetery was associated with the now-disbanded Bethel United Brethren church, the building of which was "sold and moved away".[5]

Major highways

History

This old brick house stands on the southwest corner of present-day Alvarado.

The first land registration was made by John Douglas on October 11, 1835 but Robert Jackman and family were the first to settle in the township, in 1836.[5] The 1840 census shows only 16 families, including those of Douglas and Jackman.[6]

Much of this early community was centered on what came to be the village of Richland Center, where a log cabin schoolhouse as well as a Methodist church were built in 1850.[7] When this village, which was never incorporated, organized a U. S. post office, there was already an Indiana post office named "Richland Center", so this post office was named "Alvardo", which eventually became the name for the village.[8] Like the rest of Richland township, Alvarado slowly lost population during the 20th century and, in the 21st century, is a small collection of dwellings, farm buildings, and the Alvarado United Methodist Church.

Notable native

Notes and references

  1. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "Census Bureau profile: Richland Township, Steuben County, Indiana". United States Census Bureau. May 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place -- 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  4. ^ "Steuben County Cemeteries"
  5. ^ a b Imhof, p. 83.
  6. ^ 1840 U.S. Census.
  7. ^ Kelly (log cabin schoolhouse), and Imhof, p. 83.
  8. ^ Alvarado United Methodist Church, which says: "How the name Alvarado originated or came about is not known."
  9. ^ See 1920 Federal Census, Richland Township, Steuben County, Indiana, page 5B, Enumeration District 161; and; Theory and Practice of Communism in 1972 (Southeast Asia), Part I. Hearings of the House Committee on Internal Security, May 25, 1972, on northeastern Laos. pp. 1-4, 7761-7817. Testimony of Edgar M. Buell.

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