scritt641, sorry for being so long answering your post. i've been spending my waking hours making final preperations for my annual trip to alaska.
i am in randolph county. there are no towns of any size near my home, but this area was the center of everything in the early days of statehood. people from fort wayne used to have to travel to winchester, the county seat, for any and all legal transactions. you may find some interesting research under -greenville treaty, old national highway, or underground railroad. an even greater wealth of information can be found by searching town names located within the area covered by the greenville treaty. i would suggest spartanburg, arba, snow hill, or ridgeville. many of the earliest roads were toll roads, and the location of toll houses are marked in early plat books. i have plats from 1874 and 1909. locations of houses, schools, and churches are also shown and are surprizingly accurate in both location and shape/size of buildings. also research the interurban railroad system. i have done well around interurban stations.
i will return from alaska sometime in november and would really like to show you the location of a couple of toll houses i have yet to search. most are now in farmed ground. the last one i covered was not very productive, but the 1857 flying eagle was nearly perfect, and an 1899 indian head was very good. i would even take you to a turn of the century fair ground/horse track that i am yet to hunt.
fair trade, though. i will expect you to do some research, and get necessary permission for your area. in particular, i would like to see early information about franke park.
now, back to packing. i will give you a full report of my experiences with the mxt vs. alaskan gold before thanksgiving, promise.