Prairieton, Indiana
unincorporated community in Vigo County, Indiana
Prairieton is an unincorporated community in Prairieton Township, Vigo County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. Today, due to its proximity to both Terre Haute's southern shopping district (along U.S. Route 41 for approximately two miles south of Interstate 70) and the Terre Haute Federal Penitentiary, it has mostly become a commuter town (State Road 63 provides Prairieton residents access to Terre Haute), with fewer than ten businesses within its "city limits".
Prairieton is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Prairieton was laid out July 22, 1837, by Robert Hoggatt. Situated on Honey Creek, the town also was on the old Vincennes wagon road. Moses Hoggatt had established a post office and store there around 1818, and in its early years the town was known simply as Hoggatt's Store. Hoggatt and then his son Robert Hoggatt were the first shopkeepers. The Quakers were the predominating influence in this prairie in the pioneer days. It became incorporated as a town in 1870 and by 1890 had a population of approximately 236.
A post office was established under the name Hoggatts in 1818.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Prairieton, Indiana” as unincorporated community in Vigo County, Indiana. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as unincorporated community in Vigo County, Indiana. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7238059. VIAF identifies the subject as 144386133. The Library of Congress control number is n91099961. Authority coordinates are 39.370, -87.474. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1837, 1818, 1870 and 1890.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Prairieton, Indiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Prairieton, Indiana primary sources, Prairieton, Indiana archive and Prairieton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Prairieton, Indiana”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Prairieton, Indiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.