Under an open blue sky, the home watches everyone go by.

We originally went to Hazleton, Indiana to look for a large abandoned bridge I had spotted on google maps. What we found was this town that gave off this “hey we got left behind but we’re still here” vibe. I want to talk more about the town in a later post, but for now there’s a special house I want to focus on. Over some train tracks on a curving road, this two story white brick house stood all on its own.

Not sure what to do, we parked and stared at it from the road. There wasn’t anyone or anything around. We were on a slight hill with no trees and farm land all around. It was quiet and open, a sunny summer day. So, we hopped out and went to do some snooping of the inside.

We were super excited about this house. It was totally random and unplanned. Something about driving around back country roads looking to discover things no one sees anymore and then spotting it can be so enthralling.

One year later, we returned on a cold, cloudy winter day.

Our beautiful country find had its windows busted out, and Max was gone. I missed his sunglasses and silly face peaking out at us as we came up the road.

Did who ever was guarding it, maybe even was one day planning to fix it, give up and abandon the abandoned? Who’s house was this? I mean originally? Was there a family that grew up in this home? Were there kids running on the hard wood, wearing the stairs down in the middle and playing outside in the back yard?

We headed down the road a bit and there in the middle of the cornfield, was a small cemetery.

It was hidden last summer by tall stalks of corn. We could see three stones, sitting on a small sectioned off square that was slightly raised up. Could these be the people who once lived in the white brick house? After some research about the people buried here, I am sure this was the Robb family home or at least was built and used by them. That makes this home pre-civil war. It’s also mentioned by locals as the “stage coach house” and was once used as part of the Underground Railroad.

In the articles of the history of Early Hazleton by Leland Cunningham, he mentions that “the large brick house served as an inn and a stage station.”

David Robb’s stone is on the left. He was an early pioneer and one of the first settlers in Gibson county, Indiana. Mr. Robb fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe as the captain of his company, which was called the Mounted Riflemen. Ever on the quest for more knowledge, he would borrow books from General William Henry Harrison, whom lead the Battle of Tippecanoe, to further his education.

David was born in Ireland

His father and mother where James and Margaret (Barr) Robb. He grew up in an educated family and was well looked after. When he was about two years old, David’s parents where getting ready to leave Ireland with his brothers James and Thomas. As the gang plank was removed and the sails where lifted, little David’s grandpa Barr snatched him up and kept him in Ireland for a few more years in their old family home. In 1776 his grandfather relented and let David go to America with his nurse and he met with his family in Philadelphia. James and Margaret eventually settled near Louisville on the falls of the Ohio. David left this area for Indiana territory in 1800. He also married his wife in March of that year, Nancy.

Some of this can be a bit confusing because this family seemed to really like the name James. David Robb, our main guy here, his fathers name was James but David also had a brother named James. The James on the stone above is actually David’s son who was 22 when he died.

David was quite the entrepreneur

In 1814, he started up a saw and grist mill on Robb Creek. If you look on Google maps, Robb Creek runs right by the family cemetery. The source I used, “History of Gibson County” by Gil R Stormont, mentioned he built the second brick house in the area and that he originally built a homestead half a mile south from Hazleton. He was also a blacksmith, carpenter and had a small distillery.

Later in life he went into politics. He was the justice of peace when the county of Knox was forming over on the other side of the White River. After Gibson county was established he was a member of the Territorial Legislature and member of the State Legislature. David passed in April of 1844. There are still some descendants of the Robb family in the area today.

It seems like this old cemetery has many burials. A few of the stones were smashed and cracked. I think it’s mainly a family cemetery of the descendants and relatives of David Robb.

Recently I went out to see the house again but found it was completely gone. The property was purchased and it couldn’t be sold without demolishing the home. This was what I read on one Facebook post about it on a group page about Hazleton. I feel so honored to have captured this part of Indiana history before it was gone.

The source I mainly used was the book “History of Gibson County: Her People, Industries, and Institutions” by Gil R. Stormont. You can find a digital version here – http://nativeamericansofdelawarestate.com/HistoryOfGibsonCounty.pdf

Another source is Early Hazleton, Indiana by Leland Cunningham. A link is here to a digital version – http://ingenweb.org/ingibson/CountyHistories/EARLY%20HAZLETON.htm