When researching house and family histories, one of my favorite things to do is discover the local placenames that were historically synchronous with the subjects of my research. Placenames often reveal hidden stories, forgotten landmarks, and deep connections to the people who shaped a community. They add a layer of depth that traditional historical sources sometimes lack. Hopkins Ford in Brown Township, Hendricks County, is one such placename. In the not-so-distant past, Hopkins Ford referred to the shallow crossing where County Road 800 North intersected White Lick Creek—long before a bridge was built at the location in 1915.
I first came across this placename while examining historic bridge petitions submitted to the Hendricks County Board of Commissioners. One of these petitions, seeking a bridge over White Lick Creek in Brown Township, specifically referred to the crossing as Hopkins Ford. Though the petition is undated, research into the death dates of its signers suggests it was submitted prior to 1893.
Being familiar with the area but having never heard of Hopkins Ford, I began tracing its history—a journey that started in 1820, when Brown Township was nothing but old-growth forest dominated by beech and sugar maple trees. The future location of the ford was first documented on January 18, 1820, when deputy U.S. Surveyor Stephen S. Collett recorded a “brook” in his field notes while surveying the boundary line between sections 27 and 34 of township 17N-1E:
The brook that Collett encountered was White Lick Creek, and the boundary line that he laid intersecting it would bring about the creation of Hopkins Ford in the decades to come. Along with his field notes, Collett produced a plat map that would be used by future settlers to purchase land:
Due to its swampy nature, Brown Township was one of the last portions of Hendricks County to be settled. In 1835, Aaron Harding and his wife, Hannah Hollett Harding, purchased 80 acres in the northeast quarter of section 34 of township 17N-1E, moved to Hendricks County from Kentucky, and built a log cabin home about 350 feet southeast of where White Lick Creek intersected the boundary line Collett laid in 1820.
By the time Aaron and Hannah had relocated to Hendricks County, most of their children were old enough to have established their own households. The 1840 census for Hendricks County lists Aaron's household consisting only of himself, Hannah, and a young woman between the ages of 15 and 20. This young woman was likely their youngest child, Ruah, born in 1822. Ruah and her parents were undoubtedly familiar with crossing White Lick Creek, as the western portion of their farm could only be accessed by fording it.
In 1841, Ruah married William Hopkins, a Marylander who had settled in Hendricks County the year before. They started their family in 1843 with the birth of their daughter, Sarah, followed by their son, Erastus, in 1844. In 1845, William purchased the Harding farm after Aaron and Hannah left Hendricks County, moving to Jasper County, Illinois, where Hannah later died in 1853. William and Ruah likely moved into the Harding log house and then added two more children to their family: Wyatt born in 1846 and Liston born in 1848.
In 1830s and 1840s Brown Township, county roads were scarce. The Mooresville-Lebanon State Road (today mainly SR 267)—running just east of the Hopkins home—would have been one of the only well-established roads familiar to the family and the surrounding community. This changed in the early 1850s when residents of Brown Township submitted a petition to the Commissioners of Hendricks County to establish a road along the north boundary of the Hopkins farm. The proposed road, crossing White Lick Creek just west of the Hopkins home and following the original survey line laid by Stephen Collett in 1820, extended west and then southwest, connecting the Mooresville-Lebanon State Road with the Indianapolis-Crawfordsville State Road (modern-day US 136). The Board of Commissioners received the petition during their December 1850 term, appointed viewers to examine the proposed route, and then ordered the road to be built after accepting the viewer's report at their March 1851 term.
This road brought about a new, common experience to Brown Township residents. In their daily comings and goings on the new road, they forded White Lick Creek at a point that was not only on the boundary of the Hopkins farm, but at a point where the Hopkins home would have been in sight as they crossed. At the time of the road's construction, the Hopkins (formerly Harding) log house would have been the primary landmark associated with the creek crossing, although not for long.
In 1855, a decade after they purchased the Harding farm, William and Ruah built a stately brick home next to the original Harding log cabin. No doubt a welcomed improvement for their growing family, their son Everett was born in 1854, and their sixth and final child, Murat, was born in 1857. The new brick residence was a testament to the success of their farming enterprise and stood proudly for all those fording White Lick Creek to see.
Despite numerous attempts by Brown Township residents to have a bridge built, Hopkins Ford remained the only way to cross White Lick Creek on County Road 800 North until 1915. They were finally successful after bringing their plight in front of the County Council in 1914, stressing that the ford was dangerous even in low water.
The completion of the bridge in 1915 marked the end of Hopkins Ford. Over time, the Hopkins name gradually faded from local memory, and the stately brick house was eventually demolished in the mid-20th century. Today, the story of Hopkins Ford lives on in records and recollections, a reminder of the simple yet vital role placenames play in preserving our history.
