A DATE TO REMEMBER IN INDIANA HISTORY:
THE TEN O’CLOCK LINE TREATY BI-CENTENNIAL
By David Black
Now is the TIME, in Two Thousand and NINE, to remember an exceptionally important event that occurred in Indiana history. Two hundred years have elapsed since The Treaty of Fort Wayne of 1809, the official name of The Ten O’clock Line Treaty, was signed on September 30th. This treaty was negotiated between William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indiana Territory, and Little Turtle, a Miami chief.
The treaty acquired approximately 3 million acres of American Indian land for white settlers who were coming in large numbers to establish homesteads. When Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816, The Ten O’clock Line established the state’s northern boundary. You well may ask, "How did this treaty become known as The Ten O’clock Line, and what distinct relationship does it have to Gosport?"
It has been reported that at the time of the treaty the Native Americans did not trust the equipment used by Harrison’s surveyors. Instead, they insisted that the line follow the shadow of a spear cast into the ground at ten o’clock in the morning. Gosport is the only town in the State of Indiana that rests on this treaty line. A large stone monument, on the west side of State Highway 67, marks the location of the line. This monument was provided by David Gray and the Gosport Lions Club and sculpted by Gosport artist, professor and minister, Frederick Hollis.
The officers of The Ten O’clock Line Treaty Museum in Gosport invite you to join them in 2009, to remember this significant and important event. More information about this celebration will be provided in forthcoming issues of the TEN O’CLOCK NEWS and on this website.