Argos, Indiana

History

In 1833, Sidney Williams arrived in the area which is now Marshall County and purchased 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land on the present day site of Argos. Mr. Williams built a tavern, an inn, and helped build a section of Michigan Road. Mr. Williams sold his land to Clark Bliven, the man who built the courthouse on the Williams's land. This local place of rest was not considered a town until some time later. On January 8, 1851, John Pleak and Marquis L. Smith, laid out the town of Sidney, which is the predecessor to Argos. The town of Sidney was named in honor of Sidney Williams.

In 1854, the post office was removed from Sidney through political manipulations. Schuyler Colfax, the congressman in the district, was asked to name the post office. He had a great interest in Greek history, which led him to name the post office "Argos" after the ancient Greek city made famous in the Iliad of Homer.

On November 6, 1856, the town of Fremont, adjoining the town of Sidney, was laid out by Joseph H. Rhodes. Fremont was named after Col. John C. Fremont, who on November 6, 1856, won the Republican candidate for president.

From the History section of Argos, Indiana on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.