Clark County was organized in 1801 as part of the Northwest Territory.  Its name honors General George Rogers Clark, a distinguished soldier and leader who claimed the Indiana Territory from the British.  As payment for military services, General Clark and his men were granted approximately 150,000 acres of land, most of which is situated in Clark County.

By 1808 as settlers forged through the wilderness and down the Ohio River, Barzilla Baker and James McCampbell selected a site on a hill within two miles of the Ohio River to establish a new town.  The surveyors, Charles Beggs and John Hay, laid out the original 159 lots on 95 wooded acres.  Three acres were set aside for the town square.  To encourage growth and economic development, the money from the sale of 30 lots was used to build pubic buildings around the square.  The new town was named Charlestown to honor Charles Beggs. 

By 1812 Charlestown was named the county seat of Clark County.  It was a prosperous village of 300 residents surrounded by rich farmland.  River traffic at Charlestown Landing was constant, bringing goods and people to the settlement.  Brick, log, and wooden houses, a courthouse, a market house, offices and stores sprung up quickly. 

Jonathan Jennings came to town from Pennsylvania in 1809 to seek his political career.  He was a handsome, young lawyer.  Within two years, he was elected a delegate to Congress and had married Ann Gilmore Hay, daughter of the founder John Hay.  Jonathan and Ann left the Hay home on the square and traveled on horseback to Washington, D.C., 550 miles and 17 days.  After serving three terms in Congress, Jennings was elected the first governor of Indiana in 1816. 

In the next 50 years settlers continued to arrive by boat, wagon and horse.  The population reached 1,200.  Charlestown was the seat of government and commerce.  On a Saturday afternoon, the town square was filled with horses and wagons with good to trade and store purchases made.  A new and larger brick courthouse was built in the early 1850’s.  Along with the courthouse on the public square, a well, jail and hotel served the community.  In the mid-1860’s William and Augusta Prather built an imposing two-story building on the northeast corner of the town square.  It anchored on end of Longworth Row on the corner of Main and Main Cross Streets and is City Hall today.  The building provided an Opera House on the upper floor and served such merchants as Kunath, Beeler, Lewman.  Now, as then, this building is an eyewitness to history unfolding at its doorstep. 

It witnessed the removal of the courthouse in 1878 and the transition of the courthouse building into a proud school  It witnessed a new Jonathan Jennings school being built in the early 1900’s.  And it witnessed the Centennial Celebration in 1906, the year the Interurban, sidewalks and electricity came to town.  It was a day of picnicking, sac races, cake walks, a dog and pony show, and greased pig races.

Charlestown was known for its caves, springs, hotels, and rural relief from the polluted city.  Fern Grove Amusement Park was just across the bridge at Charlestown Landing.  This was later called Rose Island which was a popular summer spot until the depression and the 1937 flood sealed its doom.

The 1940’s brought a great boom to Charlestown with the construction of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.  Many trailer camps, chicken houses, sheds, and tents housed the thousands of workers.  In 1954 town leaders decided to build a new high school on Monroe and Park Streets.  While the Jonathan Jennings School would stand for ten more years, the square would no longer be filled with the sounds of school children at play.

In 1958 Charlestown celebrated its 150^th birthday with a week-long party featuring an old-fashioned parade with costumed settlers, a beard growing contest, a festival queen pageant, an historical play, a wild west show and plenty of amusement rides. 

The early 1960’s brought urban renewal projects to Charlestown.  Many of the old buildings on Main, Main Cross, Market and Short Streets were removed.  A fountain was built on the square and the Jay-C store was conveniently located across the street for pranksters to purchase soap powder to suds the fountain. 

Since that time Charlestown has seen its boundaries expand, parks pleasingly fitted, gazebo built, and many other improvements.  As the city readies itself for its 200^th birthday, it can look to its proud past and anticipate a prosperous future.

- Provided and authored by the staff of the Charlestown Public Library