Editing Montpelier, Indiana (section)

==History==
In 1836 and 1837, several groups of settlers from [[Vermont]] moved to [[East Central Indiana]], and settled on the high ground on the south side of the [[Salamonie River]]. Abel Baldwin, a veteran of the [[War of 1812]], was the leader of this group of Vermont natives.<ref name="Shinn">Shinn, pp. 270-271.</ref> They named their community [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]], after the capital of their original home state. Baldwin and his son-in-law, civil engineer John Cook, surveyed the area in 1836, and it was platted on September 5, 1837.<ref name="AHist91">''A History of Blackford County…,'' p. 91.</ref> The original plat had 16 blocks with a total of 154 lots.<ref name="Shinn"/>

At the time Montpelier was settled, it was part of [[Jay County, Indiana|Jay County]]. The western portion of Jay County was split away in 1838 to form Blackford County. Montpelier was not the first community in what would become Blackford County – a village named [[Matamoras, Indiana|Matamoras]] existed earlier. However, Montpelier was platted first, and Matamoras was essentially a ghost town after the 1880s.<ref>''Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties…,'' p. 736.  "Matamoras, a mile or two up the river, was started as a village even before Montpelier; but there's nothing there now."</ref>

Beginning in September 1870, the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad connected [[Fort Wayne, Indiana|Fort Wayne]] with [[Muncie, Indiana]], and Montpelier was (and still is) on this line.<ref>''A History of Blackford County…,'' p.19.</ref> With dramatically improved transportation for the community, Montpelier became incorporated as a town at the end of 1870.<ref name="AHist91" /> By that time, the town had grown to a population of 231.

===Gas Boom===
[[File:Montpelier Indiana DM Spaulding Building.jpg|thumb|Spaulding building built during the Gas Boom]]In 1887, [[natural gas]] was discovered in Blackford County, and the area began its participation in the [[Indiana Gas Boom]].<ref>''A History of Blackford County...,'' p. 46.</ref> While natural gas was found throughout Blackford County, [[Petroleum|crude oil]] was found mostly in the county's [[Harrison Township, Blackford County, Indiana|Harrison Township]], which includes Montpelier. Blackford County's first successful oil well, located just south of Montpelier, began producing during 1890.<ref name="Blatchley71">Blatchley, p. 71</ref>    Montpelier was thought to be "the very heart of the greatest natural gas and oil field in the world".<ref>''A History of Blackford County...,'' p. 90, quoting the November 19, 1895 edition of the ''Montpelier Herald.''</ref> By the mid-1890s, about two-thirds of Harrison Township (25 square miles) was considered part of an oil-producing region.<ref name="Blatchley71" /> Montpelier became a city where “money and whiskey flowed frequently”, and numerous other “recreational activities” were available.<ref>''A History of Blackford County….,'' p. 92.</ref> Oil production from the Trenton Gas and Oil Field surrounding Montpelier began decreasing during the first decade of the 20th century, and the Gas Boom (or Montpelier's oil boom) gradually came to an end.<ref>Rupp,  [http://igs.indiana.edu/geology/coalOilGas/oilandgas/index.cfm “Oil and Gas in Indiana” web site.]</ref><ref>Glass, p. 91</ref> Montpelier began a return to normalcy and its population (like many boom towns) has never exceeded its Gas Boom peak.<ref>See U.S. Census population counts for Montpelier shown elsewhere in this article.  See also page 16 of ''A History of Blackford County….''.</ref>

===Dillinger===
The Montpelier National Bank was [[Dillinger Gang#Activities|robbed]] by three men on the afternoon of August 4, 1933.<ref>Giradin, Helmer, and Mattix, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w1rFmxkYxaQC&dq=dillinger+montpelier&pg=PA24 page 24].</ref> The robbery lasted about ten minutes, and no shooting was involved. The robbers quietly left town, driving east on [[Indiana State Road 18]], without being followed. It was later determined, by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], that the robbers were [[John Dillinger]] and the [[Dillinger Gang]].<ref>''A History of Blackford County...,'' p. 104.</ref>