Wells County (pop. 27,636) is west of Adams County. The only other Wells County is in North Dakota.
The county was named for Capt. William A. Wells (1770-1812), who was captured and adopted by the Miami Indians in Indiana. When he was killed in the War of 1812, Potawatomi Indians cut out his heart and ate it, in honor of his bravery.
The county seat of Wells County is the city of Bluffton (pop. 9,897), on the bluffs of the Wabash River.
Bluffton was historically known as “The Parlor City” because its paved streets (at a time when many streets were not paved) made the city “as clean as your parlor.”
The Wells County Historical Museum is in the historic Stewart-Studabaker House.
U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003), from New York City, spent most of his childhood summers on his grandfather’s farm near Bluffton.
Former Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish was born in Bluffton. He was “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2012 NFL draft – the last person picked, at 253rd overall.
Ouabache (pronounced “Wabash”) State Park, on the Wabash River, is east of Bluffton.
NEXT: JAY COUNTY