Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy Culver, Marshall, Indiana

Culver, Marshall, Indiana  







Culver's name has varied throughout the first years - on a plat map of 1843 it is found listed as Geneva. Then for a short time was known as Yellow River Post Office which was ran by Mr. Kennedy.

In 1844 it was plated and laid out by Bayless L. Dickson,who owned farm bordering Northwest side of Lake Maxinkuckee, officially filed, on June 8, a 26-acre plat for a village, -- and became Union Town or Uniontown for the township it was within. Dickson's log cabin only dwelling on town plat roughly extends today (Culver) from Mill Street, south to a bit north of Lake Shore Drive; from Lakeview-Plymouth Streets, east to Slate Street, west. Some early county maps show village of Geneva, Northwest of Lake Maxinkuckee . . . Established U.S. Post Office near Rutland. . . . Rector House, 1st 2-story log house, built, Maxinkuckee Hill. Here is the original description of Uniontown as found:

    Original Plat of Uniontown
    now Marmont, Indiana

    Uniontown is pleasantly situated in the S.W.1-4 of Sec. 16-Tp. 32 N. R. 1 E. It is laid out in such a manner that it presents to the eye a view of Lake Maxenkuckee and is surrounded with as good a country as can be found in Northern Indiana. It has the advantage of three State, and two County roads running through it. The lots are all 77 feet in width by 82 1/2 in 'breadth'. The streets are all 66 feet in width. The alleys are 16 1-2.
    Platted June 8' 1844 by Bayless L. Dickson Proprietor.
    Lots number from 1 to 51 inclusive.
    Records Plat Book page 10.
    Deed Record D page 66.


At some point in time during this period it was also referred to as Birmingham - but no d documentation for that name has been found to day - maybe an abstract will turn it up.

A re-survey of the village was made on 24 April 1851 (but was not recorded until 1857) and its names was changed to Marmont, Dr. Gustuvus A. Durr was the instrumental party in this name change.

On the 9th of June 1857 Thomas K. Houghton filed a certificate and became the owner of Union Town.:

    Resurvey and new Plat
    of Uniontown (now) Marmont

    Uniontown re surveyed April 24' 1851 by Thomas K. Houghton, Proprietor, as follows: - 'Uniontown is situated in the S. E. [sic S.W.] corner of 16-32-1.E. Marshall County, Indiana, the S.E. corner of said section is the commencing point to the town plat; the streets are all of a width being 66 ft. the alleys are 16 1-2 ft.; the lots are 66 feet in front and 99 feet back, so planned by the original survey. All lines running North and South bear N. O degrees 10 min E. and those that run E and W. bear S. 89 degrees E. The magnetic variation at this date is 5 degrees 10 min. E. This survey made and acknowledged by Thos. K. Houghton Proprietory April 24' 1851.
    Recorded Plat Book 1 pg. 44.
    Recd. for record June 9' 1857.
    Lots run from 1 to 66 inclusive.


Thus in 7 years Uniontown had expanded in size by 15 lots.

In 1895 it was proposed the name be changed to Culver City but the Post office Department in Washington D.C. declined the name as a village in Tippecanoe county Indiana existed under that name. Mr. Henry H. Culver negotiated with their town officials after finding out that it was named for Crane Culver. He offered to pay all expenses involved with the name change from Culver to Crane. He prevailed and Marmont became the town of Culver during a Special Fall Term of court in 1895 It is recorded in the Miscellaneous Deed Book D pg. 497 In part it reads: Change of Name of the Town of Marmont, Indiana to Culver City, Indiana ...At a term of the Board of Commissioners of said county, begun of Wednesday the 23rd day of October 1895.. the following proceedings were had on the 24th day of October 1895 in the cause of...Comes now O. A. Rea and ninety-nine other qualified electors of the town of Marmont, Indiana and present their "verified" petition... And it is now ordered, considered and adjudge by the board that said town of Marmont, Indiana shall from and after this date be known as Culver City, Indiana....Received for record October 25th, 1895 at 9 1/2 o'clock A.M. Thomas H. Walker, Recorder Marshall County, Indiana.

The abstraction of the original document page 1 and page 2 as found in many of the old abstracts of culver

One can find the name on maps and documents as: Town of Culver and Culver City

But it was not until 1949 that it was officially and legally changed to just - Culver.

Population of Culver:
    As of the census of 2000, there were 1,539 people, 655 households, and 410 families residing in the town

    As of the census of 2010, there were 1,353 people, 598 households, and 354 families residing in the town


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A description of the town found in the Citizen dated Mar 29 1922
    Culver is located on the South Bend-Terre Haute division of the Pennsylvania railroad, 33 miles south of South Bend and 33 miles north of Logansport on the shour for Indiana's most beautiful Lake, Maxinkuckee, a spring-fed body of water, 2 1/2 miles long and 2 miles wide.

    About 200 summer houses are built around the lake.

    The population is 1200.

    Culver is the home of the famous Culver Military academy the largest and most completely equipped military school outside of West Point in the united states.

    The town's commercial interest include's nearly 48 business concerns.

    It is also served by a telephone company, a telegraphy company, a bank, and has water works, electric light and sewer lines, a motor equipped fire departmenr, a Carnegie library, a #150,000 school plant, four churches, five hotels, two restraunts, two garages, two lumber yards, two elevators, two cement block factories, large ice houses

    Culver has a mile of brick paving anf all streets are corbed and improved with cement sidewalks.

    The population is moctly native American.