Putnamville was laid out in 1830. The community took its name from Putnam County. A post office called Putnamville has been in operation since 1832. The community was pioneered by
James Townsend and his recently emancipated slaves.
The Townsends Some historians group the early Townsends of Putnamville into the "Black Townsends" (emancipated persons who assumed James Townsend's surname) and the "White Townsends" (biological relatives of James Townsend). According to James Townsend's grandson, James Layman, they included Luke, Hetty, Amy, Tom, Sibley, and others. Layman told historian Jesse Weik that Sibley was the oldest of those who removed to Indiana and that she continued pipe smoking until after the age of 90, recalling her doing so during visits to the residence of his grandmother — James Townsend's wife — Katherine Townsend.
Luke Townsend Luke Townsend – who was the
au pair for James Townsend's daughter, Mary, prior to his emancipation – established the first
Sunday School in Putnam County and is credited as the founder of the congregation that eventually became Bethel
African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Greencastle, Indiana, at one time the largest Black church in Indiana. According to a 1942 article in
The Daily Banner of Greencastle, Luke Townsend was after death remembered as "one of the best citizens the county has had." Luke Townsend had five children. Another son was among the witnesses who, in the late 1800s, testified against a man arrested for harassing Black youths playing in a field in Putnam County in what became the first case of a white citizen being criminally convicted on the basis of the testimony of a Black citizen in Putnam County.
White Townsends Among James Townsend's children was
John Selby Townsend, who later sat in the
Iowa General Assembly and served as
county attorney of
Monroe County, Iowa. James Townsend's grandson,
James Robert Townsend, was the first United States man to complete teacher training under the tutelage of
Maria Montessori. Another grandson, James Layman, sat in the
Indiana State Senate. ==Geography==