Van Slyke's Grave
Van Slyke
In 1816 Peter C. Van Slyke moved from New York State to Indiana. He purchased land in Greene County located on a river bottom and a ridge, not far away from the White River. By 1824 he owned at least sixty-two acres. He had an area cleared off to allowed settlers to stay for a season or less time, until they were ready to move on.
Van Slyke also used some of the land to raise a large amount of corn, as well as operate a horse mill and a distillery. Van Slyke also owned two boats, the John H. Eller and the H. T. Ford. He had used the boats to organize a business to ship grain and other products on the river. This land was later donated to build a new city and county courthouse.
At the time, the county court house was located in Burlington, Indiana. The area had become unable to support a growing population as it suffered from a perpetual shortage of water. There may have been enough water for its human population, but not when it came to the horses that would be tied up around the town.
The State Legislature appointed Commissioners that met in mid February 1824 to make the decision of where to re-locate the county seat. On their list of consideration was the town of Fairplay. It was a thriving community on the west bank of the river, not far from Burlington. Also on the list was an offer from Van Slyke to donate his sixty-two acres of land and an offer to donate enough lumber to build the jail house. This was the best offer that the commissioners had received, and accepted to the disadvantage of Fairplay. On February 27, the County Board gathered at the new court house and directed the Town Agent to lay off the large donation into lots and advertise them for sale. The city name came from a suggestion by Dr. Hallet B. Dean. His suggestion was to name it after a city in New York where he had been born. The Commissioners accepted the suggestion and named the city Bloomfield.
Van Slyke was very active in the county and town affairs. When he died, the War Department decided to erect a stone marker at his burial site. The grave site of Peter Van Slyke is located in a cemetery on the west side of Bloomfield. It is located on what was the top of an old Indian lookout, which was originally part of his purchase in 1812. The stone marker was placed in honor of Van Slyke for his services in the War of 1812.
In more recent days, the marker had become weathered. Edgar Holt, grandfather of David Holt, carved and replaced Van Slyke’s grave marker for one of his descendants, Mrs. Marvin Wilson of Bloomfield. The marker is about five feet in height. Listed on it are the names of his immediate family members that were buried in the cemetery. On the top of the monument is a carving of a log cabin, similar to the cabin he had built when he had first settled in the area.
This information was used with permission from the Linton-Stockton School Corporation.
