Dr. Campbell - Prairietown Founder

The recent resignation of Isaac Barker from his position as Fence Viewer has opened this important public post. A special election on August 6 and 7 in Prairietown will be held to fill this vacancy. I urge the public minded citizens of Delaware Township to consider standing for election to this important public trust.

As most of you know, I moved to Indiana from Kentucky about five years ago, purchased four hundred acres of land, and platted the town of Prairietown. It is very much in my interest to see this town and its environs grow and prosper. One thing I have learned about founding a town is that it is necessary to build up a sense of community. Neighbors from different backgrounds and different parts of the country must come together and cooperate to build a community. If there is any lesson to be learned from studying the lives and works of our illustrious forbears —Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, et al, it is that a feeling of selfish personal gain must be put aside for a sense of the Common Good. I pray that this feeling of disinterested devotion has not perished with the passing of our Great Revolutionary Forefathers.

It is in this spirit that I appeal to the residents of Delaware Township to step forward and accept the responsibility to serve the Common Good by serving in the office of Fence Viewer. As we all know, it is the responsibility of the Fence Viewer to inspect fences and make sure that they are in good repair so that livestock cannot commit depredations in our fields and gardens. Since cattle, hogs, poultry and other livestock commonly roam about freely, it is important that fences are constructed in such a manner as to be (in the common parlance) Horse High, Ox Strong and Hog Tight. 

The Fence Viewer must resolve any disputes that arise when such contentions arise. He must be an even-tempered, fair-minded man.  He must show good judgment, and have an unwavering attachment to the principles of justice and fairness. He must be willing to set aside personal interests and settle disputes in an even-handed way that will promote the Public Good. He must be willing to listen to all sides of a dispute, and with patience and wisdom, deliver a firm but fair judgment.

In Kentucky, where I come from, I have seen what happens when a sense of community is destroyed by endless litigation arising from land disputes. Overlapping land claims, a result of the antiquated “metes and bounds” system of surveying prevalent in Kentucky, have resulted in contention, feuding and strife. As a result, many have “pulled up stakes” and come to new lands in Indiana. My fellow citizens, I urge you to avoid the mistakes of the past! Here in our new state, surveyed on the grid system, we have avoided the land disputes that have torn apart many communities in Kentucky, but we do engage in much contention over strayed livestock, broken fences and ruined crops. I therefore deem it of the first importance that the post of Fence-Viewer be filled so that these disputes can be settled, and we can advance our community free from public strife and turmoil.