Pigeon Township

    In September, 1849, the Board of County Commissioners passed an order for the organization of Pigeon Township out of Owen Township. It is the northeastern township of the county, and is bounded on the North by Pike and Dubois Counties, on the East by Spencer County, on the South by Spencer County and Skelton Township, on the West by Owen and Lane Townships. It's total area is forty-two square miles or 26, 880 acres. Little Pigeon Creek crosses it entirely from North to South, and the township contains much fine farming land.

    As elsewhere stated Zachariah Skelton was one of the early pioneers in this portion of the county. He lived in this township until 1837. About the year 1820, and a few years later, Pigeon received many of its prominent early settlers. Among them were George, Nicholas and John Taylor, and for them the town of Taylorville was named. In this same part of the township John Greenaway, Samuel Ingram, Jesse Spradlin, Job Spradlin, Frederick Aust, Joseph Greenaway and Bryan Spradlin settled. In the eastern portion of the township B. A. Ward, A. M. Jones, Jesse Isaacs, Morgan Chinn, P. N. Whitinghill, Hiram Bruner, John Beardsley, William Edwards, Jefferson Edwards, C. B. Allen and the Kitchen family were among those who came first and helped to clear away the native forests.

    The first elections in the township were to be held at the house of Mitchell Bryant, so said the county Board when ordering the township. The land bought of the Government up to 1820 was by George Taylor 1819, Elijah Scales 1819, Joseph Winkler 1818, Zachariah Skelton 1817, David Winkler 1818 and James Gentry 1818, making one purchase for every seven sections.