Bristol, Indiana: Two Villages, One Town

Settlement along the Saint Joseph River in Elkhart County began in the late eighteen twenties when James Nicholson brought his family to the bend where the Little Elkhart River flows in. More families followed the next year, and by the mid-eighteen thirties two rival villages had been platted side by side: Bristol to the east, laid out by Samuel Judson and named for Bristol, England, the hometown of his immigrant ancestors; and Sydneyham to the west, founded by Dr. Henry Fowler.

The two communities are said to have merged under the Bristol name when Fowler agreed to become the first postmaster. Bristol sits just three miles south of the Michigan state line in what would become the heart of Indiana's Amish and Mennonite country. The surrounding Elkhart County today is known as the RV Capital of the World, but Bristol itself has stayed small, a crossroads town with a founding story built on a compromise.