North Vernon, Indiana

North Vernon is a city in Jennings County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,608 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Jennings County. It grew up in the 1850s at the crossing of two railroads about two miles north of the county seat of Vernon, from which it takes its name; originally platted as Tripton, it was incorporated as North Vernon in 1867.

History

North Vernon grew up at the crossing of two railroads—the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad and the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, construction of which began in 1852—about two miles north of the older county seat of Vernon. The junction, at first known simply as "The Crossing" and derided by Vernon residents as "Lickskillet," was developed by Colonel Hagerman Tripp, who with Hiram Prather acquired some 250 acres and platted a town there in 1854. It was named Tripton for Tripp, but the name was soon dropped—reportedly because of confusion with Tipton, Indiana—and the town was renamed North Vernon; it was incorporated in 1867.

During the American Civil War, the rail junction and the nearby railroad bridges over the Muscatatuck River made the area a target of Morgan's Raid. On July 11, 1863, Confederate cavalry under Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan demanded the surrender of Vernon, which was held by about 100 Indiana Legion militia under Colonel Hugh Williams and additional Union troops. The defenders stalled Morgan—asking first for time to consider and then to evacuate women and children—until roughly 1,000 troops under Brigadier General John Love arrived from Seymour. Rather than force a fight, Morgan bypassed the town toward Dupont, though his men burned railroad bridges and cut telegraph lines in the area.