COLONEL JOHN VAWTER DAY FESTIVAL

The question is often asked—just who is Colonel John Vawter and why does Morgantown honor him? The Morgantown history book “One Hundred and Seventy-Five Years on Main Street in Morgantown, Indiana” says this about Colonel John Vawter.

“Colonel Vawter was born in Virginia on January 8, 1782. He was married four times. Licensed in Kentucky as a Baptist minister in 1804, he moved to Madison, Indiana, in 1807. He was the first magistrate of Madison and soon after was elected Sheriff of Jefferson and Clark Counties. In 1810, he was appointed US Marshall for the Indiana Territory. He served as a Frontier Ranger during the Indiana Campaign of 1811-1813, and was elected Colonel of the Militia in Jennings County in 1817.Read more …