On a trip awhile back, I had the pleasure of driving through Paoli, Indiana, and was impressed. I was taking US-150 from Vincennes, Indiana to the New Albany Turnpike across the state.
Paoli is in Ornage County, named after North Carolina's governor's son, Pasquale Paoli Ash. Must be an interesting story in itself. It turns out that Paoli's early settlers in 1811 were Quakers fleeing slavery from their homes in Orange County, North Carolina.
They brought freed slaves with them who were given 200 acres. An Underground Railroad site was there, but nothing remains of their settlement but a cemetery.
During the Civil War, a Confederate scouting party under the command of Captain Thomas Hines briefly occupied Paoli. They captured some Home Guards before leaving. There is a Hines Road in town.
From 1884 to 1928, Williamson Post of the GAR operated.
The courthouse, which is striking, was built from 1847 to 1850 and is one of Indiana's two oldest continuously used courthouses. The Greek Revival Style building was renovated in 2009. A clock was installed in it in 1856 and the 1898 replica is still ticking away. The building was placed on the NRHP.
The West Baden Springs Hotel, once touted as the 8th Wonder of the World, is located five miles from Paoli. French Lick Springs Resort is also nearby.
Worth a Stop. --Cooter
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