Athens, Indiana

Athens, Indiana
Unincorporated community
Community Church of Athens in the old United Brethren in Christ Building
Athens Show map of Indiana Athens Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°03′14″N 86°07′27″W
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Fulton
Township	Henry
Elevation [1]	807 ft (246 m)
ZIP code	46912 [2]
FIPS code	18-02530[3]
GNIS feature ID	430320[1]

Athens (/ˈeɪθənz/)^[4] is an unincorporated community hamlet in Henry Township, Fulton County, Indiana, originally called Hoover Station. A post office established as Grant, on December 20, 1875, was moved to Hoover Station in 1883; Hoover Station was a waystation for the Chicago and Atlantic Railway, where Jacob Hoover was the postmaster^[5] and kept a general store with his brother.^[6] Jacob was the son of Henry and Sarah (Curtis)Hoover, the first white settlers of this area. The name was changed to Athens on May 28, 1896, for Athens, Greece.^[7]

While the town is slowly being incorporated into Rochester, a tiny post office exists there for the few remaining residents who still have an Athens address.^[2]

Geography

Athens is located six miles east of Rochester along Indiana State Road 14.

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Athens, Indiana
2. http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/zcl_1_results.jsp USPS.com Retrieved 10-19-10
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. Pearce, T.M. "Place-Name Pronunciation Guides for Western States" California Folklore, Vol. 10 (Jan. 1951), p. 73
5. Rochester Sentinel February 17, 1883
6. Rochester Sentinel, December 23, 1882
7. Baker, Ronald L. From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier place names in folklore and history Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.