William H. Roose, Indiana's Birthplace: A History of Harrison County,
Indiana (New Albany IN: Tribune Company Printers) 1911, p. 15-16.
Harrison County was named after Gen. William H. Harrison and was the fourth
county formed in the state, Knox, Clark and Dearborn being earlier. It was
carved in 1809 from a portion of the territory included in Knox County. It
is bounded on the north by Washington County, on the east by Floyd County
and the Ohio River, on the south by the Ohio River and on the west by the
Ohio River and Crawford County, and contains 478 square miles. In common
with the entire southern part of the state, it is somewhat broken and hilly
but contains within its borders some beautiful and fertile valleys and more
than 50 miles of bottom land along the borders of the Ohio River. As a
rule, the people of Harrison County are prosperous and their generosity and
hospitality is unexcelled.
Upon the formation of the county, the governor appointed Patrick Shields
presiding judge of the court of common pleas with Moses Boone and John G.
Pfrimmer as associate judges. They held the first term of court at Corydon
on May 10, 1809, and proceeded to divide the county into townships, lay out
roads, license ferries, taverns, etc., they having the jurisdiction now
possessed by the Board of County Commissioners. The first sheriff of the
county was Spier Spencer who was appointed by the governor. Dennis
Pennington was foreman of the first grand jury. The other members were John
Smith, William Nance, George Gresham, Reuben Wright, Tice Light, Henry Rice,
George Crutchfield, John Livanks, Jacob Conrad, Eli Wright, William Vest,
Edward Smith, Lawrence Black, John Smith, Sr., William Branham, Isaac
Richardson, John Hickman, Lawrence Bell, William Pennington and William
Sands. The first election was held in the fall of 1809, and the first
officers were George F. Pope, clerk and recorder; Spier Spencer, sheriff and
treasurer. Thomas Randolph, being attorney general of Indiana Territory,
appointed. W. Dunn of Harrison County, deputy.