Has anyone ever heard of an area in Jackson County that was called "Hoosiertown" (or something similar) in the 1800's? If so, can you tell me where it was located?

Thanks,

Gary N. Phillips

Hello Gary:

I have heard of Hoosiertown all my life. Of course, it is on Caney Fork. I talked to my 79 year old sister this morning all she could tell me was that you turned left off the Caney Fork Road to go to Brasstown, but went on up Caney Fork to Hoosier town. She did not know a road that turned off going there. We just think it was the prong of Caney Fork Road that went on from the Brassown turnoff. I checked the North Carolina Gazetteer and they do not list it. Naomi

Hi Naomi,

Great to hear from you. Thanks for the Hoosiertown update. I had heard from one source about a place that was once referred to as Hoosier town (in the Caney Fork area) but I had not run across the name. I wonder if there is a cemetery in the vicinity of what was Hoosier town?

Thanks again,

Gary

Hello Naomi,

After your response, I did a little more digging on this Hoosier question. I finally found the town of Hoosier listed in the 1895 U.S. Atlas index. The index webiste is:
http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/NC/Index/hi.htm
Hoosier is listed as a town in Jackson County, North Carolina located in the Southwest part of the state. No population is given but it says there was a Post Office in Hoosier in 1895.

The 1895 Atlas Jackson County map website is:
http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/NC/County/jackson.htm
The map doesn't show where in the county the town of Hoosier was located, but based on the information from you and your sister (as well as a few others by now), it seems likely to me that the "town" of Hoosier was probably little more than a stop in the road up on Caney Fork.

Why a Hoosier in Jackson County? I did find another interesting website at:
http://www.indiana.edu/~mmweb98/Hoosier.html
The article on the site is entitled "What is a Hoosier?" The etymology of the word indicates that before its use in America, the term was used in England to mean someone from the hills or mountains. During the American western settlement in the 1700 and 1800's, the term Hoosier was widely used in the Appalachian Mountains to refer to subsistence farmers who were generally poor and uneducated, and lived up in the hills and mountains. Apparently it was considered to be a mildly derogatory term, somewhat along the lines of hillbilly. I'm guessing this explains how there came to be a place called "Hoosier" in Jackson County, why it was up on Caney Fork, and why the term fell out of use.

According to this article, by the 1830's the term Hoosier made its across America way to Indiana. There, it was used to describe "poor farmers or..rustic people in general" and became so widely used and accepted there that by the time of the Civil War, the Hoosier became a nickname to describe people and units from Indiana.

I'm done with Hoosiers. Just thought I'd post this to follow-up with you and in case anyone else ever stumbles across Hoosiers in Jackson County and wonders about it. As always, thanks for you help.

Gary

Gary,

I don't have your email address; can you send it to me? Dan Johnson, danyjohnson2000@yahoo.com