Deming, Indiana

40°06′55″N 86°05′55″W / 40.11528°N 86.09861°W / 40.11528; -86.09861CountryUnited StatesStateIndianaCountyHamiltonTownshipJacksonElevation892 ft (272 m)ZIP codeFIPS code18-17650^[1]GNIS feature ID433464<refname=gnis>U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Deming, Indiana</ref>

Deming is an unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States.

In 1833, David Anthony, Joseph Hadley, William Pickett, and Jesse Beals became the first recorded American Pioneers to permanently inhabit the region that is near/at the present site of Deming, Indiana. Later that same year, Hansil Bartholomew, Peter Lowrance, Jacob Hadley, William Ramsey, Levi Cook, Elihu Pickett, James Fisher, Jacob Crull, Joseph Moon, John Countryman, Daniel Lane, Samuel Pickerill, Squire Tucker, and John Hatfield also settled in the area. From thereon out, a steady stream of pioneers trickled into the community.^[2] This early wave of settlement ended with the Panic of 1837 and the subsequent failure of the Indiana Mammoth Internal Improvement Act.^[3] The aforementioned early settlers of this region noted how “the land was naturally well drained, the soil a little sand in it which proclaimed easy cultivation. The forest was thick with sugar, poplar, walnut, and oak, and that fact also denoted good fertility."^[4] The Land Office of Indianapolis, which was managed by the General Land Office, sold land in the locality for $1.25 (approximately $47 in August of 2024) an acre.^[5][6][7] Surrounding the community to the north and east was Hinkle Creek.^[8] On the western side of the community, the upper part of Lick Creek formed a swamp known as “The Dismal.” Lick Creek was named for a salt spring (likely located within The Dismal) that the deer enjoyed licking. Springs and quagmires made The Dismal a bad place for farming.^[9] The fact that it was infested with wolves and panthers made it even less appealing.^[10] Although these predators were of little threat to the pioneers themselves (excluding small children), they were known to prey on livestock.^[11] During these early days, The Dismal stretched diagonally southwest for the three miles between Deming and Hortonville.^[12]

The community was laid out on August 10, 1837, by Elihu Pickett, Solomon Pheanis, and Lewis Jessup.^[13][14] It was originally called Farmington. When the first post office in the community was established on April 7, 1846, the community was renamed to Penfield as there was already a Farmington post office in Indiana. The name of the community (and thus the post office) was once again changed, this time to Deming, on January 14, 1854. As many of the inhabitants of the community were abolitionists, they renamed the community in honor of the Liberty Party's 1843 Indiana gubernatorial election candidate, Dr. Elizur Deming.^[15] The post office ceased operations on October 15, 1902.^[16]

When the town was first laid out, a "corn cracker" mill was in operation a half mile to the east of the community.^[17][18] It was known as Cook's mill. For a time, the people of Deming had their corn grounded at this mill. This mill only lasted a few years, and S. & G. mill was later constructed in 1865 near or on the remains of Cook's mill. The mills were located a half mile to the east of the community on Hinkle Creek near where Hinkle Road meets 225th Street.^[19][20]

Many inhabitants in and around present-day Deming were actively involved in assisting runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. In 1837, runaway slaves John and Louann Rhodes, along with their daughter Lydia Rhodes, arrived in present-day Deming via the Underground Railroad. The family recuperated in preparation for continuing their journey to Canada at the home of Joseph Baker, which was located to the west of Deming. Finding the area to their liking, the Rhodes family settled in nearby Bakers Corner. In 1844, they were involved in the Rhodes family incident. After the incident was resolved, the family continued living as before on their homestead.^[21]

Hinkle Lodge No. 310, A.F. & A.M., is a Masonic lodge in the community that was founded on May 26, 1864. It is part of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. By 1869, the lodge had 47 members. Five years later, they were down to 27 members. Their numbers steadily increased, and by 1936 the lodge had close to 125 members.^[22] The Hinkle Creek Friends Church, located near where Hinkle Road and 215th Street intersect, was organized in 1836 by settlers in the Deming and Bakers Corner area who moved here from North Carolina and Virginia because of their opposition to slavery. The church is active to this day.^[23]

In 1853, the Quakers of Deming and the other local communities constructed the West Grove Friends Church to the southwest of where Anthony Road meets 226th Street, which is less than a mile to the west of Deming. Jesse Beals donated the land and a portion of the lumber for the building's construction. A tanning yard, located to the southeast of where Anthony Road meets 226th Street, provided the oak bark strips that were used to insulate the building. The original frame church building was described in an article in The Noblesville Ledger that was dictated by Andrew Beals as having "a partition through the center to separate the men and women during their business meetings. Raised galleries or platforms held the seats for the head of the meetings." The original church building was eventually replaced, with the second church building "mostly [being] constructed by Mr. Porch from Westfield. Porch had a sawmill east of the church near where Will Hiat lived." The church also laid out the West Grove Friends Cemetery.^{[24][25][26][27]} The West Grove church, school, and cemetery were located a little over half a mile outside of Deming. By 1874, the church had a membership of 130. In November of 1946, it was noted that there were 33 attendees at the church's Sunday school class. The congregation continued meeting at West Grove Friends Church until 1963, and the building was razed in 1964.^[28] Where the church and schoolhouse once stood is now a private residence to the southwest of where Anthony Road and 226th Street intersect.

An incident occurred at the church on June 25, 1918, during the United States involvement in World War I, when the church refused to fly an American flag for an event. Later that night, four automobiles loaded with men pulled up to the church and placed multiple American flags on the church property. The men warned the church not to remove the flags, and as no further incident was noted in the local newspapers, it can be assumed that the flags were left untouched.^[29][30]

For a time, there were two schools that served the students who lived in/around Deming. One was known as the Deming school. First built around 1855 on the eastern side of the community, it was originally a small one-room schoolhouse.^[31][32] In 1871, The Noblesville Ledger described how the Deming school filled the place of "seminary, church, town hall, and club room."^[33] In 1881, a two-room brick schoolhouse was constructed to replace the older schoolhouse. The architect and builder of the new schoolhouse was Ira Shoaf, while the brick work was done by Philip Leace and George Deerwester.^[34][35][36] Classes began there later that same year. ^[37] It was officially known as Public School No. 18, but most people still referred to it as simply the Deming school.^[38] A stable was built for the student's horses in 1905.^[39] During the summer of 1906, the 1881-schoolhouse was demolished.^[40][41] It was replaced with an all-brick schoolhouse that was two-stories tall (plus a basement) and had eight rooms. 75 students began classes there on March 1, 1907. All of the students at the school were between the ages of 5 and 25 years old.^[42][43][44] In 1915, a tennis court was added to the school's playground.^[45] The last recorded school activities at the Deming school took place in the spring of 1930.^[46] In September of 1931, the schoolhouse was sold for $160 (approximately $3,310 in August of 2024) to a nearby property owner by the name of Mrs. Griffin. Mrs. Griffin planned to "convert the building into a stable and use the basement for hogs and cattle. Feed will be stored in the upper rooms."^[47][48] The former schoolhouse was partially dismantled and then razed in circa 1939, with the lumber from the building being sold to a sawmill owner in an auction.^[49][50][51] Beginning in 1941, the former students and teachers from the Deming school held annual reunions so that they could reminisce together about their days at the school. Many of their decedents and friends also attended the reunions. During the reunions, participants would enjoy "special music, entertainment, [and] prizes." From 1941 to 1945, the reunions were held in mid-to-late July at Forest Park in nearby Noblesville. In 1946, they met at the Wesleyan Church in Deming.^{[52][53][54][55][56][57]} Again from 1947 to 1950, the reunions were held in July at Forest Park. On average, between 90 and 125 people were in attendance during the 1940s.^{[58][59][60][61]} In 1951 and 1952, the reunions were held in July at the Hinkle Lodge in Deming. After that, the gatherings took place in August. The number of attendees dwindled in the 1950s, and at the last recorded reunion in 1958, only 15 former students and 8 guests attended.^{[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]} The second school used by the Deming community was generally referred to as the West Grove school, though it was officially known as Public School No. 20. It was located next to the West Grove Friends Church.^[70][71] The original schoolhouse was constructed sometime before 1867, with a second schoolhouse being built at an unspecified time and for an unspecified purpose on/near the location of the original.^[72][73] The fate of the school remains unknown, though in 2003 it was noted that the "school buildings are no longer there."^[74]

For several years in the mid-1800's, a congregation of Wesleyan's gathered in the Deming schoolhouse. In 1865, they built a two-story tall Wesleyan church next to the Masonic Lodge. The church was called the Deming Wesleyan Church. The last record of the church is from 1976.^[75] Lick Creek, which was an offshoot of Hinkle Creek, once ran along the northwestern and western side of Deming. Sometime between the years 1909 and 1919,^[76] the creek was rerouted and renamed to Isaac Jones ditch. The ditch was likely named for a local named Isaac Jones Jr. In 1936, the community was put on the electrical grid. Less than a mile upstream from where Issac Jones Ditch and Hinkle Creek split, the Revis-Carson ditch was dug into Hinkle Creek. Based on satellite imagery, it is believed to have been constructed sometime between the years 1956 and 1962.