Editing East Germantown, Indiana (section)

==History==
East Germantown was originally called Georgetown, and under the latter name was laid out and [[plat]]ted in 1827.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/historywaynecou00youngoog | title=History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time | publisher=R. Clarke & Company | author=Young, Andrew White | year=1872 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/historywaynecou00youngoog/page/n300 244]–245}}</ref>

The East Germantown Civil War Band was assigned to the 12th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1862.<ref>[https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/east-germantown-civil-war-band/ East Germantown Civil War Band]. Indiana Historical Bureau. Accessed April 27, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UIN0012RI01 12th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Battle Unit Details]. National Park Service. Accessed April 27, 2023.</ref>

A post office operated from March 31, 1846, until August 4, 1917, under the name of East Germantown, when its name officially changed to Pershing due to events surrounding [[World War I]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/History_of_Northeastern_Wayne_County_Ind.html?id=xbqutgAACAAJ History of Northeastern Wayne County, Indiana]. Bicentennial Commission of Old Newport Area. Unigraphic, 1976.</ref><ref name=PI1959Jul19p9>[https://pal-item.newspapers.com/image/249821182/?terms=Pershing&match=1 Interview]. By Max Knight, reporter. Palladium-Item Newspaper. Richmond, Indiana. Sunday, July 19, 1959. Page 9. Accessed via paid subscription on April 27, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.waynet.org/community/east_germantown/default.htm East Germantown or Pershing, Indiana]. Waynet.org. Accessed April 27, 2023.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Wayne |title=Wayne County |publisher=Jim Forte Postal History |access-date=July 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050914182125/http://postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Wayne |archive-date=September 14, 2005 }}</ref>

A resolution to change the town name from East Germantown to Pershing, in honor of [[General Pershing]], was introduced by the town board. A faction campaigned the day before the name-change vote by telling people that since their deeds mentioned "East Germantown", changing to "Pershing" would invalidate their ownership.<ref name=PI1959Jul19p9/> Ernest G. Lamott (1911–1980),<ref>[https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/35107391:3693 Ernest Lamott in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014]. Accessed via ancestry.com paid subscription site April 27, 2023.</ref> secretary-treasurer of the town board at the time, said the vote went for "East Germantown" since voters had no way of proving or disproving this assertion in the hours before the election.<ref name=PI1959Jul19p9/>

The postmaster in 1917, Frank Sipe, succeeded in getting the post office name changed to "Pershing". However, the railroad continued with the name East Germantown since there is another Pershing, an unincorporated community, in [[Fulton County, Indiana|Fulton County]].<ref name=PI1959Jul19p9/>

The local Pershing Elementary School at 519 Queen Street is now the administrative offices for the Western Wayne School Corporation.<ref>[https://wwayne.k12.in.us/contact/ Western Wayne Schools: Contact Page]. Accessed April 27, 2023.</ref>