Caldwell’s Origins / Ball-Caldwell Homestead

Side A: Robert Caldwell and his family, from Chester County, Pennsylvania, moved to the Northwest Territory in 1795. In 1809, they bought and cleared land along Duck Creek in what became Olive Township, Morgan County (in 1819). In 1832 Robert’s son, Samuel and his wife Sarah Brownrigg Caldwell built the “Ball-Caldwell” house. Samuel Caldwell advocated for the formation of Noble County, established in 1851. In the contest to determine the site of the county seat, Caldwell promised a donation of land if it would be used for that purpose, which is was in 1857. In gratitute, the commissioners named the county seat “Caldwell.” Side B: Built in 1832, the house passed from the Caldwells to Edmund and Elizabeth Ball in 1920. In 1980, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1983, Robert and Mary Ann Ball purchased the house from the Ball heirs. In their effort to recapture the house’s 19th century ambience, they began to restore the structure and named it the “Ball-Caldwell House.” Also in 1983, Richard and Twila Ball bought the barn and adjoining land from the Ball heirs. In 2009, the Noble County Historical Society purchased the entire homestead for its museum and events.