Publisher's Synopsis
Clark County, Indiana, has grown from a handful of small settlements and scattered farms at the Falls of the Ohio into a sprawling metropolitan region. Yet, as Carl E. Kramer describes in this wonderful new history, significant continuities help define the county. Middle-class business owners and farmers still serve as its leaders. Jeffersonian democracy, emphasizing localism and frugality, remains a central political value. Interlocking kinship, friendship, and associational networks, fostered by decades of demographic stability, remain a potent social and political force. The Ohio River maintains its powerful economic and cultural influence, and the paths of pioneer roads shape local development. These forces and shared experiences have created a close-knit community with a strong sense of place.
