La Fontaine, IN

La Fontaine is a town in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana, with a name that reaches back to Francis La Fontaine, a Miami leader. Early maps called the settlement Ashland, but La Fontaine became the lasting name, carrying its French meaning, The Fountain, into the town's streets and signs. A post office has operated here since 1848, giving the community a long-running civic marker in the county's rural map. The town sits among the fields, roads, and small communities of north-central Indiana.

ATTRPublic domain

The LaFontaine Historic District gives the central part of town a particularly clear time line. The district developed from about 1848 through 1930 and includes commercial and residential buildings in styles ranging from Gothic Revival and Italianate to Queen Anne and Craftsman. It was listed on the National Register in 2014. La Fontaine's local story therefore rests on two connected layers: the older post office and town center, and the buildings that preserve how the settlement grew around them. It is a small Wabash County place, but the Francis La Fontaine name, the long post office history, and the surviving district give it a recognizable character.