Sharpsville, IN

Sharpsville was laid out by E. M. Sharp in 1850, when the founders expected the new town to become the county seat. The square at the center became a park, and the post office has been operating since 1851. Early churches and subscription schools filled in the blocks, while the Nickel Plate railroad and a four-story grain elevator tied the town to the surrounding farms. The elevator is gone, but its silos and the old square still give Sharpsville a readable center.

ATTRJim Hammer from Lafayette, Indiana, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0

Sharpsville Park occupies the grounds of the old high school on West Walnut Street, keeping the original gymnasium alongside play areas, courts, a pavilion, open field, and a nine-hole disc golf course. Town Hall is on South Main, and the Kelley Agricultural Historical Museum sits out on U.S. 31 with a round barn, pioneer home, and farm equipment. The local calendar is a mix of board business, park games, and a food stop on Main Street: Gabe's Pizza. Sharpsville reads as an Indiana farm town whose school, rail, and park histories overlap in a few central blocks.