John James

John James. . In 1809, John James purchased over 1000 acres from Colonel Benjamin Chambers, who had surveyed the area in 1799. John did not move his family from Cincinnati due to the hostilities with the Native Americans. Following the Battle of Tippecanoe, he moved his family to the Indiana Territory and into Colonel Chamber's old house at the corner of Sixth and Front streets on Christmas Day 1811., Feeling comfortable that hostilities were done, John laid out the town on May 30, 1814, thus becoming the founder of Rising Sun. He oversaw the surveying of the town done by his two sons Pinkney and Henry, who wanted to name the town Jamestown. John on the other hand wanted to name the town Rising Sun. One theory to the name is that John admired nature and found pleasure in the rising sun. Once completing the survey, he set out promoting the rapid settlement of the town., To build the town rapidly, John advertised in a Cincinnati newspaper on January 5, 1815. He offered alternate inlots free of cost if a person built a two-story log house with a stone chimney, and when complete, had a value of at least 200 dollars. He enjoyed the growth of his town until his death on March 27, 1838., captions, top to bottom: , . The compass that was used by John James and his sons to lay out the town of Rising Sun on May 30, 1814. The original plot map for the town shows the boundaries of Rising Sun: Ohio River to Walnut Street and First to Fifth Streets. , . Sun rising over Kentucky hills.