Finley Township
Also called Finley Crossroads
Information taken from History of Leota and Surrounding Finley Township
by Bonnie Terrell
To purchase the book, $3.50 plus 7% sales tax and shipping, contact the Museum, 812.752.1050 or email Jeanne Abbott, Director, contact@schcam.org for the complete total.
In 1799 Captain Ephraim Kibbey started laying out the “Cincinnati Trace”, a road from Cincinnati to Vincennes through Scott County including the town of Lexington, Vienna and Leota. Later the road was called the Lexington and Salem Road. Many of the earliest settlers of Scott County came from the Ohio River at Madison over this historic trail.
The second road crossing the Scott County area cut across what is now Finley Township was the Charlestown and Brownstown Plank Road. The Cincinnati Trace and this road cross at the community of Finley Crossroads (later named Leota).
People that purchased land in Finley township were in 1816 James Anderson; 1820 Francis McGuire; 1820 William Jones; Thomas Collins; Samuel Beach; and Solomon Beach; 1821 Thomas Broady, James Stark, George Gardner, Abraham Richey, David Huckleberry, Benjamin Collins; 1822 William Hobbs; 1835 John Mount; 1836 James Dean; 1837 John Finley and in 1856 Dr. John Richey.
At one time, there were several businesses including a post office in Leota.
The first covered bridge built in Indiana since 1923 was built at the crossroads over Cooney Creek by L.L. Brown Construction Co. Inc. and was dedicated on August 25, 1995.
Partial list of the 1889 Residents:
Alsup, Applegate, Arbuckle, Bartle, Beadle, Bell, Broady, Carlile, Close, Collins, Comer, Craig, Cruson, Davis, Dean, Dismore, Everhart, Everitt, Finley, Gardner, Garriott, Gillespie, Gladden, Hazzard, Hobbs, Hubbard, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Lewis, Lynch, Marsh, McCullough, Miller, Morgan, Murphy, Nichols, Pounds, Ray, Richey, Schneck, Shields, Shirley, Stark, Stewart, Stout, Strouse, Tash, Terrell, Thomas, Weddle, Weir, Zaring and many more.
There are many descendants today living in the same area.