History

Walnut Ridge History

The history of Walnut Ridge is well documented. Its original residents were the Miami Indians. The Treaty of Greenville, signed on August 2nd, 1795, established a line of separation between Indians and settlers. The Greenville Treaty Line ran through the current Walnut Ridge property. In 1809 William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Indiana Territory, signed a treaty with the Indians which opened for settlement a 12-mile strip west of and paralleling the Greenville boundary line. This was called the Twelve Mile Purchase. This opened the entire Walnut Ridge property for legal settlement.

The First 55 Acres

Through church records, newspaper articles and genealogy records we know Beale Butler, born June 1, 1766 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, was the first settler documented to own the property now known as Walnut Ridge. Beale moved with his family from Chester County Pennsylvania to Georgia in 1777. He married Mary Stubbs on Abt. 1792 in Columbia County, Georgia. Beale moved from Georgia to Wayne County Indiana in 1806. He purchased 314 acres of land in Wayne County Indiana. He entered land (314 acres) southeast of Centerville on 4 September 1806. Center Township in Wayne County was formed in August 1817. Beale was recorded to be a Wayne County Commissioner in 1818. The census records for 1820 indicate Beale was a resident of Wayne County. From 1829 to 1838 Beale Butler was an associate judge of the courts of Wayne County. Records indicate Beale died June 12, 1842 in Wayne County, Indiana.

According to an 1872 book entitled History of Wayne County, Indiana, from its First Settlement to the Present Time Beale Butler settled on land that “now” belongs to Stephen Farlow and Isham Smelser. Based on the 1846-1869 Wayne County Center Township Transfer of Ownership Ledger Stephen Farlow owned 194? acres located NE 23-13-2 and NW 3-15-14. Although it is unclear exactly when he took ownership of the land, Stephen Farlow can be traced to have moved to Indiana in 1807 and moved to Center Township in 1853. He was documented to be the owner of the current Walnut Ridge land on an 1856 county map.

County ledgers record Stephen Farlow transferred ownership to two of his sons, John Homer Farlow and James M. Farlow on March 26th, 1868. On August 9th, 1909 John and James transferred 4.3 acres to Charles Sitloh and on February 4th, 1911 two acres were transferred to Gilbert Morgan. On February 14th, 1927 John Homer Farlow was listed as the only owner (194 acres?).

Homer Farlow was the third son of Stephen and Nancy (Leviston) Farlow. Homer moved with his family to the current Walnut Ridge Property in Wayne County when he was ten years of age (1853) and continued to live on the family farm after his father moved to Boston Township. Homer Farlow followed farming throughout his life. He farmed the 194 acres and bred hogs. He was considered among the successful cattle raisers of Center Township. On May 31, 1868 he was married to Eliza C. Railsback, a native of Wayne County, and daughter Nathan Railsback. They were parents of four children - Estella M., Bessie L., Nora and Percy.

Stella (Estella) M. Taylor, daughter of John Homer Farlow, took possession on ? as an heir of J. Homer Farlow.

Percy L. Farlow and Nora Farlow, two children of John Homer Farlow received the property on June 6th, 1934. After Percy’s death, Nora Farlow retained ownership until her death.

On July 3rd, 1961 Walter Farlow took ownership of the land.

Wayne C. and Thelma E. Duff took ownership on October 10th, 1962. While we are still researching this family, we know Wayne was born March 30, 1897 in Richmond and died in September 1983 in Richmond. Thelma was born December 15,1901 in Richmond and died in October 1985 in Richmond.

Louis J. and Eva M. Hufnagel were the next owners beginning on April 21st, 1964. Louis J. Hufnagel was born March 3, 1927, in Richmond. He was a graduate of Richmond High School, attended Notre Dame, Earlham College and was a 1949 graduate of Florida Southern University. Louis served as a First Class Seaman in the U.S. Navy. He married Eva M. McCashland on December 27, 1948. They started their family in Centerville where he farmed until 1957. The family then moved to Indianapolis where he was employed by Parke Davis as a pharmaceutical salesman. He and his family returned to Centerville in 1962 where they remained until 1982, successfully farming 1,000 acres along with a dairy operation, beef cattle and horses, including Walnut Ridge. Louis retired from farming and later moved to Fishers, Indiana. Louis died September 4, 2010.

Helen Hale Stilwell, Sarah S. Coblentz, and Nancy L. Lewis began ownership in June 25th, 1990. They sold the land to John E. Miller, Mark T. Webb, and Stacy L. Webb in July 12th, 2002 (176.18 acres.)

On August 16th, 2008 John E. Miller split and sold 54.446 acres on the north and east side to Daniel Walter Arndt and Laura Lynn Arndt to form the first parcels of the Walnut Ridge property. Daniel and Laura are both music teachers employed with Richmond Community Schools. Daniel serves as a Command Sergeant Major in the Army Reserve.

The Next 32 Acres

On December 19th, 2011 Walnut Ridge expanded to include an additional 32 wooded acres to the north of the original property. This was a welcomed addition purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Quigley. The property contains a small pond and the fireplace and foundation from a former cabin once located on the property. Walnut Ridge (north) has property in two sections, section 23 and 24.

The history of Walnut Ridge (north) in section 23 is connected to the original Walnut Ridge property. Beale Butler originally purchased the entire section 23 on September 4, 1806 from the United States of America, which included this property. Beale Butler sold this northern part of section 23 to Robinson Conwell on May 30, 1839. Robinson Conwell owned this land until it was transferred to Robert K. Conwell on September 25, 1847.

The eastern part located in section 24 was sold by the United States of America to Alexander Miller on February 8, 1812. Alexander Miller and wife Mary sold to Nathan Smith on November 1, 1816. Nathan Smith and wife Mary sold to John Gorden on January 2, 1818. John Gorden and wife Mary sold to Henry Hollingsworth on April 30, 1836. Henry Hollingsworth and wife Maria then sold to Lercy Larsh on January 22, 1848. Lerci M. Larsh and wife Elizabeth then sold to Robert K. Conwell on February 21, 1849.

At this point the combined properties (tracts in sections 23 and 24) are now owned and continue to be owned together by Robert K. Conwell. He and his wife Malinda sell the entire property to George W. Stevenson on April 13, 1867. George W. Stevenson and wife Mary A. sell to Timothy McCoy on November 17, 1873. Timothy McCoy and wife Ann sell the land back to George W. Stevenson on April 27, 1880. George Stevenson then sells to Gerhardt Heitbrink on May 24, 1882. Gerhardt Heitbrink (also recorded as Garrett Heitbruk) sold the land to Rudecil Hunt and wife Mahala J. Hunt on May 16, 1893. Later, the widow Mahala Hunt transferred the property to George Hunt on August 31, 1914, as a life estate until her death which was recorded as April 25, 1925.

George W. and Joseph T. Hunt transferred the property to Robert E. Graham and wife Marjorie on May 15, 1944. Robert E. Graham transferred the 5 acre parcel (section 24) to Thomas K. and Mary Louise Quigley on August 30, 1954. Robert E. Graham transferred the other 27 acres (section 23) to Mary Louise Quigley on January 26, 1966. On August 21, 1989 Thomas was added to that parcel, apparently an oversight that was corrected.

Thomas K. and Mary Louise Quigley sold the property to Daniel Walter Arndt and wife Laura Lynn Arndt on December 19, 2011 and it became part of of the current Walnut Ridge property.

Addition of another 100 Acres

On March 7th, 2018 Walnut Ridge expanded again by purchasing 100 acres directly north of our existing property. This land, which was purchased from Amid and Nazanin Shayesteh is a welcome addition and expands our capability. We have begun a multiple year effort to remove the invasive species growing on the property. We have purchased a large order of hardwood trees from the Indiana nursery and have plans to plant additional hardwood trees native to Indiana in spring 2021. We have already developed some of our trail system on this property. We will update our progress later in the Spring and summer 2021.