Batesville

Batesville is a city in Franklin and Ripley counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,520 at the 2010 census. Both the Batesville Casket Company and the Hill-Rom hospital bed manufacturer are headquartered in this town. Batesville is noted for its central location between Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Louisville.HistoryCentral Batesville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.BeginningBatesville was founded by George H. Dunn, owner of the John Callahan Trust Company. The company bought land and created new towns along rail lines that it began since Dunn was president of the Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railroad. Joshua Bates, who platted the town of Batesville, is thought to be the source of the name. On November 1, 1853, the first train from Cincinnati to Indianapolis passed through Batesville.DevelopmentOnce the railway opened, Dunn and Bates constructed more buildings. George Sims laid out Batesville's first addition in 1858. The following year, German immigrant Henry Boehringer became Batesville's first major builder. A three-story building with a basement on East Pearl Street (formerly known as Broadway Street) became known as the Boehringer Hall because of the dance floor on the third story. The Catholic congregation used the basement before they had built their church.