Scottsburg, Indiana. The
county seat of
Scott County, located in southeast
Indiana at the intersection of
State Road 56 and
Interstate 65 (at
exit 29), app. 30 miles north of
Louisville, KY and 75 miles south of
Indianapolis,
IN.
Population as of
July 1, 1998: 5,755.
Latitude 38.7 N x
longitude 85.8 W.
It has a moderate
climate on a year round basis (Zone 5-6). Is has fairly rich
soil and
farmland. A
flood plain in the eastern portion of the county results in land that is somewhat
marshy. The county is also covered with forest and hills.
Scottsburg is a
small community in southern Indiana. The main industries here are
plastics,
packing and small
manufacturing companies,
farming,
livestock, and
antiques. It is not a
racially diverse community as the only
African American or
Jewish residents were threatened and intimidated into leaving shortly after
arriving – there are a few
Asian American families. It is
not known for its
tolerance to other
races,
beliefs,
creeds or
sexual orientations.
Scottsburg has one
Catholic Church and many
protestant churches of various
denominations.
Scottsburg
school district, named Scott County School District 2, is comprised of four
elementary schools, Scottsburg
Middle School, and Scottsburg
High School. In addition to the
academic program offered, District 2 has a
music and
athletic program which has produced state champions in both
girl’s basketball and
marching band competition in recent years.
The
City of Scottsburg is governed by a
Mayor (September 2001, Bill Graham) and a Common
Council consisting of five-members. The
Water Utility is under the authority of the Waterworks Board of Trustees. The municipal
Electric Utility and Municipal
Sewage Works are under the jurisdiction of the
Board of Public Works and Safety. The
Clerk-Treasurer is responsible for the
financial record keeping of the City. The City (including the
police
department,
utilities and
part-time help) currently
employs 80 people.
Events, local parks and Monuments:
-
Hardy Lake - State Recreation Area (small beach, muddy water… late night
drinking spot for teens mostly)
- Lake Iola - Scottsburg City Park (The far pavilion was the goal to reach during our late night games of
capture the flag or Cops and Robbers)
- Interurban Historic RailRoad Car located at Lake Iola (I never saw this once while
there)
-
Double Arch Bridge B & O Railroad - Built in 1854, located near Blocher, Indiana
(Blocher was always a HUGE joke in
Scottsburg. I’ve no idea of the location of the bridge but, from the rest of
Blocher, I can only assume it’s covered in garbage)
-
Austin Canning Company 1903 - (now Morgan Foods, Inc) (Friends of mine worked here in high school and college – one reason why I never eat anything that comes from this
company)
-
Austin Methodist Church 1859
-
Adam Reynolds House 1856
-
Leota Covered Bridge 1995 - Indiana's newest covered bridge (This bridge is less than a mile from my
Mom’s place and is actually quite pretty. I don’t think that I would call it an
“attraction”, but we have to pass through it in order to get to FireTower
Hill in the Floyd Knobs State Park)
-
Lexington Old Settlers Days Courthouse 1821 -Home of Scott County's first seat of
Government (Never went, never knew anyone who claimed to go. If you ever go let me know if it’s worth attending
sometime)
-
Pigeon Roost Monument - State Historic Site (this was right next to an ex-girlfriend's house and we went there on occasion. I didn’t see much of it then,
either)
-
Scott County Fair - Mid-July - Highway 31 South (This is big deal
in town. Hell, my wife won the
4-H Fair queen in 1988… I’m not sure if we were speaking at the time- she
might have hated me then.)
-
Scott County Court fest – September (food and we performed in the band and
community choir. Not too bad – but fairly typical fare for a small town.)
-
Pig Roast In The Park – August
-
Underwood Community Festival – August (laughably dull but quaint…)
I gleaned some of this information from the Scott county website: http://www.greatscottindiana.org
The rest is from a bittersweet existence living there there... nice place to go home for holidays
and Christmas, but you wouldn't want to live there.