Editing Sharpsville, Indiana (section)

==History==
[[File:Kelley Historical Agricultural Museum - School House.jpg|thumb|200px|School House, Kelley Historical Museum in Sharpsville]]
[[File:Kelley Historical Agricultural Museum - The home of E.W. 'Ed' Kelley.jpg|thumb|200px|Sharpsville home in Kelley Historical Museum]]
The town was named after founder E.M. Sharp, who originally was from [[Washington County, Pennsylvania]]. Sharp moved to [[Morgan County, Illinois]] in 1831, prior to relocating to [[Jennings County, Indiana]] in 1838. In spring 1849, he moved to Liberty Township. The town was [[platted]] on May 24, 1850, under the assumption that Sharpsville would become the [[county seat]] for Tipton Township (which became [[Tipton, Indiana|Tipton]]). A town square was incorporated into the town layout which became a public [[park]] rather than the location of a place of government.<ref name="Pershing127">[https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ&dq=Indiana&pg=PA127 Pershing, p. 127]</ref> The town was [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] in 1873, but it ceased to be incorporated by vote in 1881 and regained village status.<ref name="Pershing129">[https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ&dq=Indiana&pg=PA129 Pershing, p. 129]</ref>

The Sharpsville post office has been in operation since 1851.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=IN&county=Tipton | title=Tipton County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=July 22, 2016}}</ref>

Many of the first buildings were churches. The First [[Methodist]] church in Sharpsville was built in 1852 and the Richland Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1857.<ref name="Pershing197">[https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA197 Pershing, p. 197]</ref> In 1873, the Hopewell Presbyterian Church was founded 2.5 miles east of Sharpsville, with a building being completed for the congregation in 1874.<ref name="Pershing210">[https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA210 Pershing, p. 210]</ref>

As the need for local education arose in 1852, Martha Ann Grishaw would become teacher of the first school in Sharpsville. School was held in a wooden cabin.<ref name="Pershing">{{Cite book
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ
| title = History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions
| last = Pershing
| first = Marvin W.
| date = January 1, 1914
| publisher = B.F. Bowen
| language = en
}}</ref> The second school was taught by Lizzie Smith in a small house on the south-side of the town square. The earliest schools were subscription schools where citizens paid a fee to have their children educated.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJFuAAAAMAAJ|title=History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions|last=Pershing|first=Marvin W.|date=January 1, 1914|publisher=B.F. Bowen|language=en}}</ref> Later a [[Secondary school]] was founded as Sharpsville-Prairie High School. In 1970 the High School, along with Windfall High School, merged to form [[Tri-Central Middle/High School]].

Sharpsville was home to participants in the [[American Civil War]] . On August 9, 1861, a company assembled in Sharpsville that would join the [[26th Indiana Infantry Regiment]] as Company C.<ref name="Pershing" /><ref>{{Cite web
| url = https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/26th_Regiment,_Indiana_Infantry
| title = 26th Regiment, Indiana Infantry {{!}} Learn {{!}} FamilySearch.org
| website = familysearch.org
| access-date = February 25, 2016
}}</ref> In all, 78 listed on the Company C Roster listed Sharpsville as their town of residence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyin/soldiers/26th_in_infantry_soldiers.pdf|title=26th Indiana Infantry Soldiers|website=Civil War Index|access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> The 26th Infantry participated in military actions including the [[Battle of Prairie Grove]] and the [[Siege of Vicksburg]].

In 1871 a four-story grain elevator was built to give local farmers a way to store grain. The silos had a capacity of 18,500 bushels. While the silos still stand, the elevator was razed in 1990 due to aging of equipment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/kokomo/kokomo-tribune/1990/01-28|title=Kokomo Tribune|date=January 28, 1990|access-date=March 29, 2016}}</ref> The granary was serviced by the [[Nickel Plate Road]], a railroad that later become part of [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]. The now abandoned tracks once connected Sharpsville to Kokomo and Tipton. A train station that once stood on the southeast corner of Meridian Street and North Street was razed in 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local_news/neighborhood-guide-sharpsville-maintains-tight-knit-population/article_f00fcafa-5720-5691-b320-e3769d9d398e.html|title=Kokomo Tribune|date=April 6, 2014|access-date=March 29, 2016}}</ref> In the early 20th century, Sharpsville was serviced by an [[interurban]] rail line operated by [[Union Traction Company]]. The line connected Sharpsville with [[Peru, Indiana]], to the north and [[Indianapolis]] to the south. As with most interurbans, the Sharpsville stop fell out of use by the mid 1920s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Central Indiana Interurban|last=Reed|first=Robert|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7385-3290-8|pages=62}}</ref>

The Sharpsville Cemetery, founded in 1875, is located southeast of the town.