Cottage Hill, Indiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cottage Hill
Unincorporated community
1950 USGS map showing Cottage Hill along Indiana State Road 340
Cottage Hill, Indiana Location in Clay County, Indiana
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Clay
Township	Posey
Elevation	640 ft (200 m)
GNIS feature ID	433013

Cottage Hill is a small, historic place in Clay County, Indiana. It's part of the larger Terre Haute area. In the 1830s, it was home to a post office.

This spot was also famous for Cunningham's Tavern in the early 1800s. This tavern was a popular stop along the National Road. Many important people, like Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and Abraham Lincoln, are said to have visited it. Cottage Hill also had a special racetrack for training horses. Later, the Cottage Hill Cemetery opened in 1876. It even had a stop on the local street railway, like an early train system, in the 1890s.

History of Cottage Hill

How Cottage Hill Started

Cottage Hill was once home to Native American tribes before the 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne.

The National Road was planned through Indiana in 1827. At that time, the area between Terre Haute and Indianapolis was mostly wild forests. There were only a few small villages. Life was tough, and people often traded things like deer skins and wild honey.

In the early 1830s, the first post office in Clay County was set up near Cottage Hill. It was called Van Buren. This post office was also a tavern and a place where people could gather for worship.

Tales from the Tavern

This map from 1904 shows the Cumberland Road (National Road) through Illinois and Indiana.

The building at Cottage Hill was first known as Hedge's Tavern. It was one of nine taverns along the National Road in Clay County. These taverns were usually a few miles apart. They served travelers on stagecoaches, which carried people, goods, and mail.

These taverns were like hotels for travelers and their horses. They had large rooms with fireplaces where people could sleep. They also had big yards and barns for horses. Cunningham's Tavern was a well-known spot. It was described as a large, long building. Travelers would stay there, sometimes sharing rooms with several beds.

A history book from 1909 tells us more about the area. Across the road from the tavern was the Usher homestead, a very nice house built in 1838. Cunningham's Tavern was a log building that was bought from Benjamin Hedges. Cunningham made it bigger and better. He also had a racetrack where people from Terre Haute trained their horses.

Famous Visitors and a Comet

This map shows stagecoach and wagon routes through Indiana in 1838.

Many important people stopped at Cunningham's Tavern. For example, Martin Van Buren, who later became president, once had breakfast there. His stagecoach got stuck in the mud, and he was a bit shaken up. After his stagecoach was fixed, he continued his journey.

Old stories say that Henry Clay and even Abraham Lincoln also visited the tavern. The tavern was known for its great service. Travelers would plan their trips to make sure they could stay there. The tavern was very popular until railroads became common. The old building was destroyed by fire around 1855 or 1856. Even after stagecoach travel ended, the location was still used by people traveling in covered wagons.

"Fun with Lanky Stranger" from the New York Sun on March 3, 1907.

In 1858, a lawyer named Thomas H. Nelson said he saw Comet Donati outside Cunningham's Tavern. He was with Abram A. Hammond, who later became governor of Indiana, and a tall stranger. The stranger joked that the comet might "twist its tail around the earth and go off with it." That stranger was Abraham Lincoln! Lincoln later remembered the joke and asked Nelson about it again.

Cemetery and Early Public Transport

This map shows the Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company tracks around 1911.

Joseph Stough bought the Usher farm in 1856. He made many improvements to it. The Cottage Hill Cemetery, also known as Stough's Cemetery, was started on his land. It opened for burials in 1876. You can find the cemetery at coordinates 39.51860, -87.15170.

In 1893, the Brazil Rapid Transit Company opened a streetcar line. This line went from Cottage Hill to Harmony, Indiana. One of the company's leaders wanted to make Cottage Hill Cemetery a beautiful burial ground. This was one of the first "interurban" lines out of Terre Haute. Interurban lines were like electric trains that connected towns. People could wave their hand or light a newspaper torch to signal the motorman to stop.

The Schoolhouse

Cottage Hill also had its own school. The Cottage Hill School was open before 1907 and closed sometime after 1925.

Geography of Cottage Hill

Cottage Hill is located at coordinates 39°31′01″N 87°08′57″W. It is along Indiana State Road 340. This road was later bypassed by U.S. Route 40. Cottage Hill is about 6.7 miles south of Spook Light Hill. Spook Light Hill is a place known for ghost stories in Indiana.