The settlement that became the Town of Flora was established in October of 1827 when John and Sarah Flora and their son, Abraham, arrived by covered wagon. John traveled many times from his native Virginia to this area of Indiana to hunt and trap and decided to make his home here.
The family stopped at a spring where the Flora Community building now stands. Sarah insisted on staying at that spot, John agreed to a temporary stay. They lived by the spring for 48 years, and raised a family of eight children. John’s younger brother, Jacob, also settled here. All of the local Floras are descendants of these two men.
Eventually, the land was surveyed and settlers were able to purchase property. The 280 acres that John Flora purchased is the ground upon which Flora was built. Farmers with names such as Overholser, Replogle and Harter came to till the land. Many of their descendants still live in the area.
It was in 1870 with the coming of the railroad that the town was actually planned. It was first named Fountain City (because of Sarah’s spring), then changed to Ino when it was discovered that Indiana already had a Fountain City. The day John Flora died, May 11, 1875, was the day the name of the town was changed for the last time, to Flora.
