Early Nappanee P
rior to 1800, Nappanee was home to the Miami and Potawatomi Indians. In the early 1840’s, the first white settlers came to Union Township to take advantage of Indiana’s fertile land. “Onion was King” among the crops that put Nappanee on the map, including potatoes, hemp and mint, which thrived in the area’s muck soil. By 1875, shortly after the railroad came through, the village of Locke started to move south to Nappanee. Not only people but homes and businesses were sleighed to Nappanee. The Coppes and Mutschler Brothers Photo courtesy of Coppes Commons were amongst the earliest entrepreneurs, providing a way to make a living through their logging company, saw mill and box-making and furniture factories. In the last 140+ years, Nappanee has grown to become home to a population of over 6,700 with a diverse economy and unique cultures of old and new living and working together. Photo courtesy of Coppes Commons
Photo courtesy of Coppes Commons
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