Hedrick, Indiana


Hedrick is a small unincorporated community in Jordan Township, Warren County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

History

The town of Hedrick began on 31 July 1881 with its platting by locals Parmenas G. Smith and G. W. Compton. The first house was built by John Hendricks and the first store opened by Zarse & Ahrens. The town also gained a drug store operated by Frank Hartman and a school house erected in the early 1880s. A post office was established in Hedrick on 14 January 1880 and closed on 31 January 1959.
A tornado nearly destroyed Hedrick on 17 April 1922. The storm cut a path through the town an eighth of a mile wide, killing four residents, destroying six homes and ten businesses, and leaving only three buildings intact. Following the storm, newspapers estimated from ten to fifty thousand people flocked to the area to view the destruction, prompting the governor to deploy part of the state militia to control the crowds and prevent looting.

Geography

Hedrick is located on flat, open farmland on the southern edge of Jordan Township, at the intersection of County Roads 900 West and 100 South. It is about east of the Illinois border, west of the county seat of Williamsport, and north of State Road 28. Its elevation is 709 feet. Prior to the founding of the town, a wooded site called Hedrick's Grove stood to the east of nearby Redwood Creek.