APRIL 22, 1814

200 years ago this week, Sheriff William Hoggatt realized how much territory he had to cover in Washington County which was now his new bailiwick. Without a jail or available deputies, he must have hoped that settlers on the Indiana frontier would be generally civil and neighborly. The patrolling of the Indiana Militia to protect against Indian depredation should also help maintain general conduct in the area. In addition to keeping the peace, the primary duty of Sheriff Hoggatt was the collection of taxes. In April 1816, Hoggatt along with Marston G. Clark and Joseph Kitchell laid out the town of Bono between Clifty Creek and Sugar Creek near the south bank of Driftwood River in the newly created Orange County, Indiana.  Later in 1816, he had moved on to western Indiana where he selected the site for Terre Haute for a group of investors called The Terre Haute Company. An agreement regarding the transfer of shares in this company included enough Salem speculators so as to prompt its recording with Washington County Recorder Basil Prather.

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