Early pioneer Elijah Tyner lends his name to Tyner Pond Farm as a forebear and farmer of the area. We strive to follow in his footsteps as stalwart, hard-working and conscientious residents and farmers.
Elijah Tyner was born March 21, 1799 (or 1797, depending on the records you’re referring to) in South Carolina. Tyner took a claim in Hancock County, Indiana, in 1820, at a time when the only roads were Indian trails.
Before the first settlers, there were a few sparse and transient Indian settlements and animals such as woodland buffalo, mountain lions and deer. The flora was nothing like you see today either. Hancock County was not a prairie--let alone farmland. It was all trees: beech, sugar maple, oak, ash, walnut, elm buckeye and hickory.
Then along came the year 1818 and settlers. Tyner was one of the hardy pioneers, settling in the county only two years after the first settlers arrived. Records say he was “… the first in the county to give any attention to horticulture, having set out an orchard in the year 1822.” In 1833, Elijah Tyner built the first store. That store became one of the best-known of the time. People traded there from all over the southeastern part of the county, as well as from Shelby and Rush counties. Tyner was well-respected as a businessman, father, neighbor and citizen.
Of the first settlers to Hancock County, historians say it’s “…where industrious and eager families congregated every since.”
At Tyner Pond Farm, we are pleased to follow in the footsteps of those industrious and eager folks.
Find out more about our namesake Elijah Tyner at http://genealogytrails.com/ind/hancock/bios.html.