Place Information
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Argos is a town in Green and Walnut townships, Marshall County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,613 at the 2000 census. History
In 1833, Sidney Williams arrived in the area which is now Marshall County and purchased of land on the present day site of Argos. Mr. Williams built a tavern, an inn, and helped build a section of Michigan Road. Mr. Williams sold his land to Clark Bliven, the man who built the courthouse on the Williams’s land. This local place of rest wasn’t considered a town until some time later. On January 8, 1851 John Pleak and Marquis L. Smith, laid out the town of Sidney, which is the predecessor to Argos. The town of Sidney was named in honor of Sidney Williams. On November 6, 1856 the town of Fremont, adjoining Sidney, was laid out by Joseph H. Rhodes. Fremont was named after Col. John C. Fremont, who on November 6, 1856 won the Republican candidate for President. On May 21, 1859, a meeting was held for anyone who was interested in the formation of a new township was held in the school house. The purpose of the meeting was to select a name for the township and appointing a suitable person to be the trustee. The names that were offered up for vote where Argos, Noble, and Richland. Noble was withdrawn. The vote total was Argos 12, Richland 8. For a reason unknown the commissioners ordered the Township to be called Walnut Township due to the abundance of walnut trees in the area. John A. Rhodes and Charles Brown were proposed for trustee. Rhodes won by a vote of 18 to 4. In 1854, the post office was removed from Sidney through political manipulations. Schuyler Colfax, the congressman in the district was asked to name the post office. He had a great interest in Greek history which led him to name the post office Argos, after the ancient Greek city made famous in the Iliad of Homer. Argos was the name that was kept when Sidney and Fremont were consolidated in 1859. The town of Argos was incorporated in the state law in December 1869.
The information received for this section was found in, Argos Sesquicentennial Souvenir Book that was produced by the Argos Public Library. Research Tips
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