In 2025 we are highlighting 52 small towns across the state of Indiana in 52 weeks. For our 19th small town breakdown of the year, we’re headed from the county seat of Washington in Daviess County to Linton in Greene County. Linton is 1 hour and 40 minutes southwest of Indianapolis, 1 hour west of Bloomington, 50 minutes south of Terre Haute and 2 hours and 15 minutes northwest of Louisville.
The History of Greene County and Linton, Indiana
Greene County was formed in 1821 from a part of Sullivan County and named for general Nathanael Greene. He was commander of the southern theater in the American Revolutionary War and helped force the British army to retreat to Yorktown, ensuring the United States’ independence. Bloomfield was designated as the county seat. Linton was founded in the 1830s by John Wines, who initially sold goods there in 1831 and later returned to open a general store in 1837. Linton didn’t receive its name until 1850 and it was laid out by Hannah Osborne and Isaac Coddington. Coal mines helped lead to a boom in population and today, surface mines surround Linton and serve as strip-pit lakes great for fishing. In the 1920s, there were at least 35 bars and 35 churches in town. As of the 2023 census Linton’s population was 5,194, making it the largest of seven incorporated towns/cities in Greene County and tied with Lawrenceburg as being the 131st largest city in Indiana.
Things to Do In or Near Linton, Indiana
Freedom Festival is Linton’s annual tradition of celebrating the Linton community. This year’s edition runs from July 1 through July 6, with fireworks and “Indiana’s Largest Independence Day Parade” – no, seriously, 40,000 people attend each year – falling on the Fourth of July. Freedom Festival is also complete with carnival rides, the Little Miss & Little Mister Linton Contest, live bands, horse-pull, bed races and more.
The Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival began in 2010 to highlight the wildlife in the Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area and celebrates the spring migration of sandhill cranes, whooping cranes and waterfowl to the 9,000-acre wetland complex. The festival, held annually in the month of February, includes wetland driving tours, educational exhibits, art displays and nature activities for families.
Redbird Off-Road State Recreation Area in nearby Duggar features 1,400 acres of Jeep, truck, ATV, dirt bike and side by side trails, plus room for mountain biking, hiking, fishing, camping and mushrooming. This place has it all for outdoor enthusiasts.
Places to Eat in Linton, Indiana
Start your day with a coffee and sandwich at Francisco De Borja Coffee. For lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong at Goosepond Pizza, where they’re serving up pizza, breadsticks, calzones and salads with topped with homemade “quackers.” Do gooses quack or honk? Either way, we’re intrigued.
Sportsman Pub on Main Street is the go-to dive bar in town for cold ones and spectacular food. The steak sandwich is Get IN. approved.
Famous People from Linton
David Butler was born near Linton on Dec. 15, 1829, and became a political figure. Most notably, he was the first governor of Nebraska from 1867-71 and is also the only Nebraska governor to be impeached.
Dorothy Mengering was born in Linton on July 18, 1921, and married Harry Letterman. She had three children, one of which was David Letterman. She became a frequent guest to Dave’s Late Night and Late Show viewers.
While he was born in nearby Bloomfield, Elmer Oliphant was a multi-sport star at Linton High School after transferring there as a junior. He excelled in baseball as a catcher, outfielder and power hitter, captained the track and field squad to an IHSAA championship in 1910, and was an all-state performer as an end in football. After graduation he went on to earn seven varsity letters at Purdue University in football, baseball, track and basketball, becoming the first Boilermaker to letter in four major sports. He still owns the single-game scoring record of 43 points for Purdue in a game vs. Rose-Poly in 1912, scoring five touchdowns and going 13 of 13 on extra points. He then became a cadet athlete at West Point, where he won 11 letters combined (4 in baseball, 3 in football, 3 in basketball and 1 in track and field). He holds the Army record for most touchdowns in a single game (6) and in track, broke the then-Army record by running the low hurdles in 25 seconds. He was as well-rounded of an athlete that you can get, and maybe somewhat unsurprisingly, invented the intramural sports system as we know it today while he was at West Point. He has been inducted into numerous Hall of Fames, including the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955, the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1975, the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Linton-Stockton High School Championships
Linton-Stockton High School has won four state championships in school history, three coming in the last decade and one back in the early 1900s. Boys track and field took home the 1910 IHSAA state championship thanks to the aforementioned Elmer Oliphant, and the school didn’t experience another title for over 100 years until the football team snapped the century-plus drought with a 1A championship in 2016. Even more recently, the Miners’ girls basketball team won back-to-back 2A championships in 2020 and 2021.
That’s it for small town breakdown No. 19 of 2025. Where should we head next?
