Newberry: A South Carolina Name on the White River

Newberry, on the banks of the White River in Greene County, is said to have been laid out by settlers who had come from Newberry, South Carolina, and they brought the name with them as a piece of home. Local tradition says the early town was known as Slinkard's Mill before being renamed. It remained a modest trading post until news arrived that the Wabash and Erie Canal would pass nearby.

Work on the canal through the area came around the middle of the century. A dam across the White River at Newberry is said to have let canal boats enter the river, travel a stretch, and re-enter the canal on the other side. The canal era ended as the railroads took over, and Newberry settled into the quiet agricultural life of the Bloomington hinterland that it still occupies today.