Grant County, Indiana: History
Grant County was formed in 1831 by settlers from Kentucky and Virginia. It was named after Captains Samuel and Moses Grant of Kentucky, who were killed fighting indigenous warriors north of the Ohio River. Their home county was also named after them, Grant County, Kentucky.
In 1831, Martin Boots and David Branson each donated 30 acres of land to begin a settlement called Marion. This land was on the south side of a fast-flowing and scenic river which the Miami Indians called Mississinewa. Marion was designated as the County Seat. As the county was developed for agriculture, the County Seat became a center of trade and business, as well as government and the court system.
On August 7, 1930, a mob of an estimated 5,000 people took three African-American men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, both 19, and James Cameron, 16, from the county jail. They were suspects in a robbery/murder and rape. The first two were hanged from trees in the courthouse square. Cameron was spared and later became a civil rights activist. This was the last lynching in Indiana.
In 1982, Stephen Johnson was elected as Grant County's first full-time prosecutor. He served for five terms, from 1983 through 2002.