Montpelier, IN

Montpelier got its start in the late 1830s when settlers from Vermont arrived and named the new settlement after their home state capital. It grew along the banks of the Salamonie River as a quiet agricultural community until 1887, when the Indiana Gas Boom hit. The sudden rush of natural gas and oil brought factories, railroads, and brick storefronts, quickly making it one of Blackford County's most active towns.

You can still see pieces of that boom-era past in the downtown architecture, right alongside local history like John Dillinger robbing the town bank in 1933. Today, Montpelier has returned to a much quieter routine. It is a friendly, low-key community surrounded by open fields, offering a peaceful rural lifestyle with local shops, river views, and easy drives to bigger neighboring cities.