Farmersburg
Farmersburg as a business and population center originated with the building of the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad. James Cummins and George Hopewell laid out the village in 1853 on forty acres of land which lay west of the railroad. The founding of the Ascension Seminary here just before the war was the principal institution of the town, and the basis of its growth and prosperity. The word Ascension was used to designate the place quite as often as Farmersburg. Heap and Crawford laid out an addition to the village east of the railroad, and about that time the town was incorporated. When Captain Crawford moved the seminary in 1872, the departure almost caused the death of the town. One member of the Jenning's family moved to the town about 1872, and a little later ran for the office of Councilman. Only twenty-two citizens were entitled to vote, and he received 21 votes, the other suffragist remaining at home. There were about fifteen or sixteen families in town then. Some of the town lots which a few years before had brought a good price came near reverting to farm land. About 1903 Church Taylor laid off an addition of forty acres west of the original plat, and soon afterward Farmersburg began to grow, and has since been on a permanent basis of steady prosperity.
On the site of the old seminary stand the present Farmersburg Public School Building, constructed of brick and concrete, the cornerstone of which was laid September 1, 1905, and which was dedicated for use on Washington's birthday, 1906, the principal address being delivered by Capt. W. T. Crawford. At the close of 1907 a comparative review of the public schools included the contrast between the old crowded four room building and the new schoolhouse of ten rooms, the increase of enrollment from 275 to 385, from 35 high school pupils to 85, and a faculty of eight teachers.
In 1892 the Presbyterians of the village and vicinity erected a small church just east of the railroad, the dedication services being held about November 1st. In 1906 the church had increased so that a new building was needed, and with the expenditure of about four thousand dollars the church was remodeled into a pretty little edifice of Bedford stone with cathedral glass windows, and in May was dedicated by the Rev. George Knox.
On January 20, 1907, the new Central Christian Church was dedicated. This is a stone church, of modern design and pleasing architectural lines.
In 1902 were organized the two banks of the town, the Citizens State Bank and the Farmersburg Bank, W. S. Baldridge being at the head of the former organization.
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 207-208.