First Nations Life in Austin, IN
Long before the white-man settled in Austin in 1839, the area was inhabited by First Nations communities. Archeologists and Scientists have determined that thousands of years ago, around the ice age period that Austin was home to several different generations of Indians.
Around 15,000 years ago and near the end of the glacial period, Archeologists have found evidence that in south Austin the Paleoindians lived along the shore line of a great lake that was 17 miles long and covered areas in what is now known as Washington and Scott Counties. The lake no longer exists but the vast number of creeks and small rivers attest to its existence. The Paleoindians were believed to have migrated from Asia into North America.
After the Paleoindian era Austin was then inhabited by the Archaic Indians some 6-7,000 years ago. After that era the Woodland Indians lived in the area and still along the great lake, which was followed by the Mississippian Indians era and lasted until around 1650.
By the late 1700s and early 1800s three different Indian tribes lived in the area or nearby, the Shawnee, the Delawares and the Potawatomi. The last known Indians to live in the area were the Delawares in the 1830s, but by the time Austin was established in 1853, Indian life in the area existed no more.