History of Eaton

Eaton was laid out and platted in 1854 and incorporated as a village in 1873.   Just before the first discovery of natural gas in Indiana in our small-town.  It’s said that the coal miners that discovered the foul odor by accident believed they breached the “ceiling of hell” and capped the hole.  It wasn’t until 1884 that natural gas was discovered in Ohio and the news of the discovery reached local papers. Residents of Eaton remembered the earlier incident and realized the potential impact on the community.

Returning to the site, a company reopened the hole and drilled down another 322 feet, releasing a large amount of gas. When the escaping gas was ignited, the flame reached 120 feet into the air and was visible from Muncie.