Mayor's Blog
As we celebrate our nation’s founding, I wish to look back in this month’s writing to our city’s humble beginnings and to connect them to today:
“When the first year of the nineteenth century rolled around, what is now within the confines of Dubois County was practically one unbroken wilderness.”
- The opening line of Chapter 1 of George R. Wilson’s History of Dubois County
When the author published these words in 1910 it was 100 years beyond the wilderness he described. Dubois County was birthed from Pike County in 1818; the county seat had moved from Portersville to a new town called Jasper in 1830 and we gave birth to an industry – wood office furniture - with the founding of Jasper Desk Company in 1876.
From the City of Jasper website we learn the original town of Jasper was situated on land acquired by the Enlow family and contained 120 acres. A relative of the Enlows gave this account of naming the new town:
"The commissioners were going to call the new town "Eleanor" in honor of Mrs. Enlow, wife of Joseph Enlow, when the good lady said, "No, wait, let me select a name," and going to her Bible she suggested the word "Jasper" and thus the town was named. Mrs. Enlow had read the Book of Revelation, Chapter 21, Verse 19, "And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was JASPER."
Currently, the Jasper City Mill occupies the site attributed to the founding of our community, the third mill to do so. The first mill was constructed in 1817 by Andrew Evans, and in 1820 the Enlow family began operating it. During the 1870’s flour was shipped by flatboat down the Patoka River to the Wabash and Ohio Rivers and as far south as New Orleans, Louisiana. The old mill’s most famous visitor was young Abraham Lincoln, who came with his father, Thomas, in 1828 to grind the family’s grain.
The second mill was constructed in 1865 by the Eckert family and stood until 1964, when it was torn down due to flood damage. The latest Jasper City Mill, opened in 2009, incorporates features of the two earlier mills, including a water-powered wheel and grindstones. The mill stones originated in France and are approximately 200 years old. The waterwheel hub and gears were obtained from a mill in Virginia and are between 120 and 150 years old.
I encourage you to observe for the history and the stories all around you each day. May you marvel at what has been accomplished and imagine with delight what is still to come!
Mayor Seitz
