Sprunica Once Was...

 In Hamblen township there lays a little village called Sprunica about half way between Bean Blossom and Spearsville. In its heyday it was a thriving town with a bustling trade. The village was supposedly named by Chris Duhammel in 1876 when he said “Sprunica would be a fine name” and it was used ever since. Originally it was called Spooning and finally the name Sprunica stuck. In the village there stood a two story building that was once a Red Men’s Lodge which had been converted to a storage building for feed. Every Saturday night folks from all over Hamblen Township drove thru axle deep mud or thick clouds of dust depending on the weather to get to the Red Men’s Lodge. Downstairs in the building there was also a thriving general store owned by J. R. Brickey. Unfortunately the building burned to the ground in 1945. An annual event, the Sprunica Fair, lasted about four days. It became a very popular event and people came from as far away as Indianapolis. The fairgrounds were located on the Sam Walker place. There was a half mile horse race and many people bet on them. On Saturday nights there were cock fights with considerable betting going on there as well. In a Democrat article Delphia Clark, age 94, in 1993 reported that “In the winter we put a wagon bed on a sleigh and heated up some irons or bricks to tuck under quilts to keep warm on the way to church. The local church was the gathering place for all the local folk; everyone went to church back then. Ice cream socials, dances, and political meetings drew everyone around to the church. The Sprunica Church formerly called the Walker Creek Church was established by early pioneers, the Walker family, on land owned by Franklin Walker. The first families to attend the church were Franklin Walker, Samuel Walker, Abraham Chappell, Jacob Walker, Henry Burton, Solomon Wiatt, James Parmerlee, Moses Thorp, Conrad Kirtz, Samuel Smith, John Smith, Sorther Calvin, Stephen DeBoard, Wiley Guy, William Hamblen, and others. The church was first a Christian church and then became a Baptist church. The last Baptist preacher was Ralph Schrougham who preached 1945 to 1955. The area just north of the church was a gathering place of the local people for picnics and community events. The Red Men’s Lodge was east of the church and the fairgrounds were north of it. On the west side was the Sprunica School. The church has since been restored by the local community, and is a landmark for the area. Nothing remains of the old school and the lodge. Other families that moved into the area were the Porters, Foxes, Derringers, Vaughts, Waymans, Fords, Waltzes, Burtons, Campbells, Meads, Poultons, and Youngs, of which many are buried at the Sprunica Church Cemetery. Sprunica still has the old church, next to a new church, and an elementary school but the bustling community is no more. Also located at Sprunica was a regional Normal School where young men and women could further their education to become teachers.

​Sign sponcered by Black Oak Cabinetry