Hayden, IN

Hayden is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in central Spencer Township, Jennings County, Indiana, United States. The 2020 census counted 501 residents. Hayden is the birthplace of Edgar Whitcomb, the 43rd Governor of Indiana. Hayden was platted in 1854, the year the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad reached the site; J. Hayden Elementary School, part of the Jennings County School Corporation, serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade. The community was formerly served by a consolidated high school housed in a twelve-room brick building. Taken together, these details give a newcomer a usable picture of Hayden, where its history, geography, and current gathering places meet.

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For Hayden, the memorable detail is the way older history and current gathering places share one local map. Swarthout built the first house and served as the community's first railroad station agent. Hayden lies along CR700W, west of Vernon, the county seat of Jennings County. U.S. Route 50 passes through the CDP south of the village center; the highway leads northeast 7 miles to North Vernon and west 8 miles to Seymour.