If the Midwest is flyover country, then Hobbs, Indiana, is drive-by territory. Tucked just off State Road 28 in rural Tipton County, the tiny community is easy to miss. I certainly never gave it much thought! One day, though, I caught a glimpse of an old schoolhouse from the highway. Curiosity got the better of me, and what started as a search for its history led me to uncover more about the town itself. I started with its cemetery.
I’ve passed countless places like Hobbs -small communities where something catches my eye- over the years. Inevitably, I make a mental note to follow up and then promptly forget once I go home thanks to a variety of personal failings. Hobbs was no different until my mom sent me the coordinates of a pioneer cemetery she thought I’d find interesting. She’s involved with Hamilton County’s Master Gardeners Association, which recently hosted a seed swap in nearby Tipton. On her way there, she happened to drive right past Hobbs Cemetery! A week or so later, we went back for a closer look.
Hobbs Cemetery was established in 1837. Located in Hamilton County until its boundaries changed in 1844, the Tipton-area burial ground appears to be home to 342 interments across about an acre of land1. Legend has it that several children were buried at Hobbs in its early years, a consequence of its location above what was once a swamp2. Sadly, their graves have vanished.
The oldest visible marker at Hobbs Cemetery belongs to Rebecca Ballard Hobbs, who passed away in 1837 at just thirty-two years old3. As Mom and I wandered, we noticed a variety of carved motifs on the headstones that each told its own silent story. The one that struck me most was the leaning marker for Marion Sharp, son of Edward and Elizabeth Leeman, who died in 1867 at twenty-four or twenty-five. His headstone is draped in carved cloth- a symbol of the veil between life and death.
Soon it was time to head to Hobbs itself. Mom and I were both surprised to realize that the tiny community sits six miles northwest of the burial ground that shares its name! As it turns out, Hobbs was founded more than forty years after the cemetery. A post office was established in 18765, two years before Henderson Hobbs laid the village out alongside the newly-built Lake Erie & Western Railroad6. Remarkably, the post office is still in operation today. In 2025. It sits in the bottom of what might have been erected as a lodge hall or grocery around the turn of the twentieth century.
Hobbs’ post office may not be the town’s most striking landmark, but it’s the only one I managed to photograph. Hobbs is also home to a weathered wooden grain elevator, but a group of kids were exploring as we drove past and I kept my camera down. Further east near the railroad tracks, Mom and I spotted a branch of the old Union State Bank, complete with a vintage burglar alarm! It looked like someone’s house to me, though, so I opted not to take a picture. Still, that old sign was striking. Several people have shared photo on Flickr.
My main destination for the day -the old Hobbs schoolhouse- sits on the western edge of town. Built in 1930 by contractor D.L. Thomas, it shares its design with the old school in New Lancaster8 which I haven’t visited yet. At the time, both structures were considered state-of-the-art, with five classrooms, an auditorium and stage, and a basement equipped with a kitchen and showers9.
The Hobbs school closed in 197210. Six years later, it found new life as the Schoolhouse of Educated Wicker, a store specializing in wicker and rattan furniture, trunks, and cushions. In fact, before I was born, my parents bought a trunk there to use as a coffee table! The business remained a fixture for decades and eventually came under local ownership in 1998 after a couple from Tipton took over operations11. Unfortunately, the schoolhouse shut its doors in 2011. Today, it seems to have found a new purpose as a private residence.
Sources Cited
1 Here Before Tipton County (1934, May 12). The Tipton Daily Tribune. p. 2.
2 (See footnote 1).
3 (See footnote 1).
4 Haugh, C. (2021, August 10). “Draped in a Black Cloth” Mount Olivet Cemetery [Frederick]. Web. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
5 “Tipton County”. Jim Forte Postal History. Web. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
6 Pershing, M.W. (1914). History of Tipton County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen [Indianapolis]. Book.
7 Parcel 80-10-10-504-027.000-007 (2025). Office of the Assessor. Tipton County [Tipton]. Web. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
8 Making Good Headway (1930, June 24). The Tipton Daily Tribune. p. 1.
9 Getting Good Start (1930, March 17). The Tipton Daily Tribune. p. 8.
10 Hobbs School reunion (1997, August 19). The Tipton County Tribune. p.3.
11 Wicker/rattan store becomes locally-owned, will remain local icon (1998, April 25). The Tipton County Tribune. p. 1.
Thank you for lighting a candle on a dim memory! I’ve never been to Hobbs, but I remember TV commercials for the Schoolhouse of Educated Wicker on South Bend TV as a teen. There was even a jingle!
You’re welcome! I’m surprised the commercials aired that far away!
I have actually been in that post office, after hours and access from a ring of keys I was issued in a route to several small post offices to pick up mail for transport to downtown Indianapolis. I did not make the connection until I saw your photo of the front of the building. I think there is an apartment or two upstairs.
When you wrote about small-town post offices, I was thinking places like Anderson. Wouldn’t have expected Hobbs! I guess its residents send mail, though, too.
Yes, a couple of times I subbed on a route that involved driving a box truck in the early evening through places like Tipton, Lapel, Atlanta and others. Hobbs was by far the smallest, and didn’t look much different than it probably did in 1940. It felt really weird letting myself in and locking up after I left.
I bought furniture there for my daughter’s bedroom back in the mid 80’s. I absolutely loved this place and visited there several times over the years. They offered the best inventory of wicker and rattan furniture I’d ever found, which I love. Enjoyed your article.
Sounds like I missed out! Thanks for commenting.
Drove through Hobbs many times each year on the way to visit my grandparent(s) houses. The commercial jingle was famous in East Central Indiana and we always had to spot the building as we made the journey. Some other interesting places – there used to be a large canning facility on the east end of town, now boat storage, that used to have a conveyor system that actually went OVER SR 28 to another building on the north side of the road. It was quite the spectacle for a kid growing up. There is also an extensive antique tractor collection, one of the finest in the Midwest, just north of Hobbs…how can you find it? There is a tractor ON the roof of the building. Very good memories of a small Indiana community.
Wow! Awesome memories. Particularly the conveyor! Would have loved to see it.