Morgan County has been associated with more than one kind of capital. In the 1820s, Old Town Waverly Park was once proposed as the site for Indiana’s state capital. Today, its county seat, Martinsville, is known as the “Goldfish Capital of the World” because of Ozark Fisheries, which raises goldfish in 300 one-acre ponds and distributes them to pet stores, garden centers, wholesalers, and carnivals across North America.

Indiana supercentenarian

Edna Parker was born in Morgan County in 1893 and died in Shelbyville, Indiana, in 2008 at 115 years and 220 days old. She was recognized as the oldest living person in the world for 15 months. Parker lived in a Shelbyville nursing facility where Sandy Allen — who held the title of tallest living woman at 7 feet, 7 inches until her death on Aug. 13, 2008 — also resided. At the time of Parker’s death, her family included five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great-grandchildren.

A view beyond Earth

The Goethe Link Observatory in Brooklyn, Indiana, is named after Dr. Goethe Link, an Indianapolis surgeon and amateur astronomer who funded its construction. He donated the observatory to Indiana University in 1948. From 1949 to 1966, it was the Indiana Asteroid Program’s headquarters. For nearly 50 years, IU graduate students and faculty conducted research at the observatory. However, by the 1960s, increasing light pollution made the skies too bright for the observatory’s instruments. Today, the Indiana Astronomical Society maintains the observatory and offers public tours. 

Designing Indiana’s flag

Morgan County is known as the home of the Indiana state flag, thanks to artist Paul Hadley, who spent most of his life in Mooresville. To celebrate Indiana’s centennial in 1916, the Indiana General Assembly sought to adopt a new state flag. The Indiana Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored a statewide design contest, offering a $100 cash prize. Hadley’s design was selected from more than 200 submissions. The Indiana General Assembly made one modification to his original artwork, adding the word “Indiana” in a crescent shape above the large central star.

County facts

Founded: 1822

Named For: Daniel Morgan, a general in the American Revolutionary War

Population: 71,780

County seat: Martinsville

Indiana county number: 55

Nicole Thomas is a freelance writer from Indianapolis.