The Town of Lizton, Indiana is an incorporated municipal town in the State of Indiana, Hendricks County, Union Township.
As of the 2020 United States Census, the Town had a population of 511 residents. Lizton is one of three towns, with Pittsboro and North Salem, as well as unincorporated areas, that comprise North West Hendricks School Corporation. Today, the Town of Lizton encompasses 0.66 square miles.
History of Lizton
Hendricks County was created as a county by the legislature and Governor William Hendricks on December 20, 1824, eight years after the statehood in 1816. Within four years, settlers were entering the area that was to be known as Lizton and Union Township. At that time (1828), a trail from Indianapolis to Crawfordsville passed east to west about one-half mile south of what is now US 136. A large beech tree along this trail (at Lizton) was inscribed 22 miles to Indianapolis and 22 miles to Crawfordsville. With a Government Land Office in Crawfordsville, a road was needed. A log corduroy road was built in 1829 for this purpose. With this abundance of trees in the area, it was possible to build the crooked road around the many swamps.
Lizton, the major town in Union Township, traces its origins to the 1830s when school was taught in a cabin on the farm of Archibald Alexander. In 1837 the township’s first school was built at this location. A Christian church, known as Alexander’s Church, was constructed there in 1848. The first permanent settlers were Isaac Vieley and his son, Jessie. Mr. Vieley had entered the land in 1828 and settled here in 1831.
Initially, the town was laid out along U.S. 136; however, when the Indianapolis and Bloomington Railroad passed just north of town the business district shifted north along the tracks even before the trains began to operate in 1869. The original twenty-nine lots were plotted by Jessie Vieley in 1851.
Research shows that Lizton is the only town in the world with that name. The town was originally called “Elizabethtown” to honor Mr. Jessie Vieley’s wife, Elizabeth Leak Vieley. The name was shortened to “Liz-ton” on May 1, 1873. The town’s name was shortened to Lizton at the request of railroad telegraph operators, but local folklore suggests it was because of a cholera epidemic which killed 24 people in August and September of 1873 and frightened away many other residents and businesses. However, the post office had changed its name on May 1, 1873, several months before the epidemic. By this time, the town had grown to more than a hundred lots. A station of the underground railroad was operated from a cellar under Joe Hadley’s barn northeast of Lizton. The first death in the Lizton area was Nancy Duncan on May 10, 1835. She is buried in the Cuncluff Cemetery.
Early transportation passed through Lizton with the first form being a stagecoach route between Indianapolis and Crawfordsville. The local stop was at a tavern just east of Eel River along what is now US 136. The four horse-drawn stage carried mail and passengers between Indianapolis and Crawfordsville. The trip took four days. In 1868 and 1869, the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railroad brought a boost to the town. Then in July 1907, the Indianapolis, Crawfordsville and Western Traction Line (Inter-urban, also known as the Ben Hur line) began a twenty-one-year business. The right of way was along the north side of the railroad. Remnants of the line are still visible today. With private ownership of cars and the paving of US 136 and SR 39, the Inter-urban began losing business and quit running in June of 1928.
At one time, there were eight one-room schoolhouses throughout Union Township. Then a central high school was established in town. Then consolidation of three school corporations brought about the Northwest Hendricks School Corporation. Tri-West Jr-Sr High School is now located just outside of Lizton on US 39.
The oldest business in Lizton is the State Bank of Lizton. It was organized in 1910 with Marion Bailey being the first president from 1910 to 1937. Now known as the State Bank, it is still going strong with a main office here in Lizton and four branches; Pittsboro, Brownsburg, Lebanon and Jamestown.
The town was incorporated in 1909. The Town of Lizton and Union Township in which it is locatedbegan to gain population again and continued to grow until the Great Depression of the 1930’s. There was a gradual decline in population until the last decade. The construction of I-74 along the town’s northern border has once reestablished Lizton’s location as an attractive location for growth and development.
Prominent Residents:
- NASCAR Driver Jeff Gordon lived in Lizton during his childhood and through high school
- NFL Tight End Peyton Hendershot live in Lizton and attended Tri-West High School, contributing to the teams 2014 3A State Championship.