Roll, Indiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roll, Indiana
|
|
|---|---|
Welcome to Roll, Indiana
|
|
Blackford County's location in Indiana
|
|
 Roll, Indiana
Location in Blackford County, Indiana
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Blackford |
| Township | Washington |
| Elevation | 873 ft (266 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
47348
|
| Area code(s) | 765 |
| FIPS code | 18-65592 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2830321 |
Roll (pronounced "r-awl", like "fall") is a small community in Blackford County, Indiana. It's called an "unincorporated community" because it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. Many of Roll's businesses have closed over the years. Even though some people call it a ghost town, homes are still lived in and cared for. The U.S. Geological Survey still lists Roll as a place where people live. You can find this rural community on Indiana State Road 18, about a mile west of Indiana State Road 3.
In the 1890s, Roll was part of the exciting Indiana Gas Boom. This was a time when lots of oil and natural gas were found nearby. Roll even had its own gas company, the E.C. Storms Natural Gas Company. The Gas Boom slowly ended in the early 1900s. Many small communities in the area struggled after that. Also, cars and roads got better, which meant people could drive to bigger cities to shop. This made it harder for small towns like Roll to keep their businesses.
Roll was the biggest community in its area, so it did better than tiny places nearby. It had a better school and more shops. But as transportation kept improving, Roll's shops lost even more business to larger towns. After the gas boom, farming became the most important way to make a living in Roll's part of Blackford County again. However, farming success doesn't always help small towns nearby. Many small towns in the "Corn Belt" (a farming region) continue to shrink in size and wealth.
Contents
History
In the early 1800s, parts of what is now Indiana were home to Native American tribes. The powerful Miami tribe often visited the area that would become northern Blackford County. Other tribes like the Potawatomi and Delaware also came through. Settlers who were not Native Americans started arriving in the 1830s. Blackford County was officially created in 1838 and 1839. It was made from a swampy area that was once part of Jay County.
How Roll Got Its Name
The community we know as Roll was first called Dundee. A Post Office list from 1855 shows a Dundee in Blackford County. The 1860 United States Census also lists Dundee as the Post Office for Washington Township. At that time, Dundee had 353 people living in 71 houses. Most people there were farmers.
One of these farmers was Mathias Roll, who was 55 years old and from Ohio. He lived with his wife and five children. Records show that one of his children was born in Dundee in 1853. This means the Roll family likely moved to Dundee between 1843 and 1853.
A story from the Roll family says that Mathias Roll used to ride his horse to Hartford City to pick up mail for everyone in Dundee. Eventually, he was carrying so much mail that a Post Office was opened in Dundee. But there was already another town in Indiana named Dundee. So, the Post Office in Washington Township was named the Roll Post Office instead.
Mathias Roll and his family were still in Washington Township in 1870. The Census listed Hartford City as their Post Office, not Dundee. By 1875, Post Office lists didn't show Dundee or Roll. But an atlas map from 1876 still showed the town as Dundee. Over time, because of the other Dundee and the Post Office name, Blackford County's Dundee became known as Roll.
By 1880, the area was still mostly about farming. Washington Township had 1,273 people. The county had 866 farms. There were also 46 small factories, but they only hired 171 people in total. In 1882, Blackford County had 25 doctors, and three of them lived in Roll (not Dundee). The Roll Cemetery in Roll has graves for at least twelve members of the Roll family, along with other families. A Mathias Roll was buried there in 1885.
The Gas Boom Arrives
In the late 1880s, a huge discovery of natural gas in east-central Indiana started the Gas Boom. Many factories moved to the Blackford County area. They were promised free or very cheap natural gas. In 1895, Blackford County had 18 natural gas companies, including the E.C. Storms Natural Gas Company in Roll.
In 1901, oil was also found on a farm near Roll. Oil fields near Roll were even considered the best in the state! Blackford County's population grew a lot, from 8,020 people in 1880 to 17,213 in 1900. However, by 1905, the boom was mostly over. A lot of the natural gas had been wasted or not managed well.
This short boom changed much of east-central Indiana. It went from being mostly farms to also having factories. From 1880 to 1900, the populations of Blackford, Delaware, and Grant counties all doubled. In 1901, factories in Hartford City hired 1,077 people, and Montpelier factories hired 269.
Roll did not have a river for boats or a railroad (look at the 1890s map). Nearby cities like Marion, Montpelier, and Hartford City had these important transportation routes. Because Roll lacked these, it couldn't attract factories like other communities. So, it didn't benefit from the natural gas and oil as much as they did.
Life After the Boom
The gas boom ended in the early 1900s as the natural gas ran out. Blackford County's population reached its highest point in 1910 with 17,000 people. It has never had that many people since. (In 2010, the county's population was 12,766.)
In 1907, Roll's schoolhouse was declared unsafe by the state. It was a two-room building built in 1893. But by 1916, Roll had a new school for all grades, including high school. A gym was added in 1938. The school's sports teams became known as the "Red-Rollers." The last class to graduate from Roll High School was in 1963. However, the gym was still used as late as 2010. After Roll's school closed, children from the area went to school in nearby Montpelier. In 1969, all the schools in the county joined together into the new Blackford High School. The new school chose red, white, and black as its colors. The red was chosen to honor the old Roll Red-Rollers!
Even after the Gas Boom was over, the area was changed. Many factories stayed, even without the gas. But these factories were in cities like Marion or Hartford City, not Roll. Also, farming communities started to grow less because new machines meant fewer people were needed to farm the same amount of land.
By 1930, Edmund Roll, who was 73, was the only person named Roll living in Washington Township. He was buried in the Roll Cemetery in 1943. Another Roll family member was buried there in 1951.
In 1951, something called Hoosier Hysteria (a term for Indiana's love of basketball) swept through Roll. The Roll Red-Rollers won the Hartford City sectional in the Indiana High School basketball tournament! By the 1960s, Roll was still a small community. It had a barbershop, a general store, a gas station or two, and a church or two. The old school building was empty, but the gym was still used for elementary school basketball games.
Today, the barbershop and general store are closed. The old building in the 2010 photo is thought to be one of the few buildings left in Roll from the Gas Boom. "Doc" Banter's barber chair is now in the Blackford County Historical Society's museum. The old school building has been torn down, but the gym is still standing. Even today, the spirit of "Hoosier Hysteria" lives on in Roll. The red color worn by Blackford High School honors the Red-Rollers. You can probably still find a basketball hoop somewhere in the Roll community!
On the evening of May 27, 2019, a strong tornado with winds of 150 miles per hour happened north of Roll. It caused two serious injuries. The tornado moved along the county line near Wells County.
Geography and Geology
The Blackford County area, where Roll is located, sits on top of old gas and oil fields. The land also has limestone, which formed from mud and silt left by an ancient sea. The area is flat because of glaciers that once covered it. The soil is very good for farming.
Main Roads Nearby
Indiana State Road 3 is one mile east
Indiana State Road 18
Nearby Cities
- Hartford City (about 5 miles south)
- Montpelier (about 6 miles east)
- Marion (about 14 miles west)
