Atkinson is an unincorporated community in
Center Township,
Benton County, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.
The site of Atkinson is home to the county's only junior/senior high school,
Benton Central.
Geography
Atkinson is located at on the border of
Center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
and
Oak Grove Townships.
U.S. Route 52
U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...
and the
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad
The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Company is a Class III railroad serving agricultural communities in east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana.
History
In December 1977, Conrail was set to abandon of their ex-New York Centr ...
both pass northwest through the town.
History
Early years
A post office was established at Atkinson in 1873, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1923. The town was named for Cephas Atkinson, the son of Thomas and Francis Head Atkinson and served as a shipping point on the Big Four railway. Atkinson was noted as one of the seven Benton County towns on the Big Four railway when Elmore Barce listed these seven towns in ''The History of Benton County, Indiana'', from northwest to southeast: "
Raub,
Earl Park,
Fowler,
Swanington, Atkinson,
Templeton and
Otterbein."
In 1882, the Western Telephone Company of Chicago established telephone service in Benton County, with offices in Atkinson, Fowler, Templeton, Oxford, and Otterbein.
A 1916 lightning storm in Atkinson "opened a hole in the road eight feet in diameter and four feet deep", killing a man and his team of horses, and destroying a wagon.
Despite its small size, during the 1920s, Atkinson was called a "thriving little village" in the ''
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
(Indiana) Gazette''.
Education
The first school in the Atkinson area was named the Gwin School, built in 1857 one mile south of Atkinson and which burned down a few years after. Later, a "fine brick" schoolhouse was completed in Atkinson in 1906.
In the 1960s, a new school, Benton Central School, was built at Atkinson Station. This complex is now known as
Benton Central Junior-Senior High
Benton Central Junior-Senior High School is the only high school in Benton County, Indiana. It is located in Center Township, southeast of Fowler. In proximity to Atkinson, it is a part of the Benton Community School Corporation. The school ...
. Prairie Crossing Elementary School opened in October 2006.
Demographics
Despite its location on a major rail line, Atkinson's population remained small. The population of the community was 50 in 1890, and just 41 in 1900. The population of the community was recorded as 46 in 1920. Its population in the 1920s was from 10 to 15.
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Benton County, Indiana
Unincorporated communities in Indiana