Karen Pyle Trent

Knightstown Karen Pyle Trent

Like many other communities along the 824-mile Historic National Road, Knightstown owes its existence to the paving of this remarkable roadway. When it became evident that the new road would cut across his Henry County, Indiana, farm, early settler Waitstill Munson Cary hired national road surveyor Jonathan Knight in 1827 to plat the tiny town and then named the community after Knight. Over the years, Knightstown's prosperity in many ways has paralleled the ups and downs of travel and transportation along the Historic National Road, also known as U. S. Highway 40. This collection of vintage images traces Knightstown's journey from a settlement on the west bank of the Big Blue River to a close-knit community bound by family and priding itself on a history of education, architecture, and of course, Hoosier basketball.