Dugger
Dugger, near the east line of Cass Township, originated in the population and community growth that often center about coal mines. A coal operator named Dugger had a large mine on the "narrow gauge" railroad about twenty-five years ago, and his name was given to the little village that was formed at that point. Dugger has ever since been a coal town. The Vandalia Coal Company about the beginning of this century acquired control of most of the mines in this vicinity, and about 1903, preliminary to the election, showed the population to be 757, there being 172 heads of families. The townsite, to which some extensive additions had been recently made, covered about four hundred acres. When the matter of incorporation was submitted to the voters in October, it was defeated by a majority of sixteen, said to be the result of opposition on the part of the saloonkeepers.
Some of the important improvements in the village made about this time were the erection of the Odd Fellow's building, the founding of the Dugger Enterprise (October 2, 1903), and the dedication of the M. E. Church (June 19, 1904). It was estimated in the summer of 1905 that the population of the village was 1,200 most of it the result of the growth of the previous four years. There were then about twenty stores and merchandise houses, and the Christians and Methodist both had churches. The State Bank was established in July, 1904, by Joseph Moss.
The movement to incorporate the village has recently succeeded. At an election held January 2, 1909, 147 votes were cast for and 40 against incorporation, and Dugger has now a town government.
Source: A History of Sullivan County, Indiana. Closing of the first century’s history of the county and showing the growth of its people, institutions, industries and wealth. Thomas J. Wolfe, Editor. The Lewis Publishing Company, 1909, page 215, 216.