Last Updated on Sunday, 14 August 2011 14:55
The town was founded in 1816 by John Borden and was originally called New Providence, after the capital of Rhode Island. In 1884, the Borden Institute was founded by William W. Borden, son of John Borden, as a college for teacher preparation and laboratory-based scientific studies. The town honored William W. Borden by unofficially renaming the town Borden. Around 1910 the Borden Institute became used as William W. Borden High School, or simply Borden High School, and served this purpose until 1955. The town became officially known as Borden in 1994.
Borden is served by the CSX (formally Monon) rail system. Borden was once one of the main loading points for carloads of strawberries shipped by The Borden-Pekin Berry Growers Association north along the Monon Rail. The large volume of strawberries supplied by the area farmers influenced the naming of the athletic teams at Borden High School. The teams were lovingly nicknamed the Borden Berries in 1934 and the name was used until 1966 when it was changed by the student body to the Borden Braves. Many in the town today still prefer the Berries nickname for its quaintness and uniqueness. Strawberries continue to be farmed in the Borden area, especially in nearby Starlight, Indiana where the Starlight Strawberry Festival is held each Memorial Day weekend.
A well known establishment in Borden is Brewer's General Store. This family owned store was opened by John Brewer in 1931 and has been owned and managed by the extended Brewer family since. Due to Borden's rural setting, Brewer's has taken pride in marketing itself as a provider of goods in the Scenic "Hillbilly" Valley. Favorites of the store include a large wheel of Wisconsin Rat Trap Cheese, Amish Hard Candies and Hillbilly Popsickles (large dill pickles served on a wooden stick).
In the 1960s, several dams were constructed along the tributaries leading to Muddy Fork, which runs through the town. This helped keep Borden from being flooded during heavy rains. On April 3, 1974, a massive F4 tornado struck the west side of Borden before moving into nearby Daisy Hill, killing one person. On May 27, 2004, an F2 tornado struck the northern edge of the town, doing damage to the trees on the hillside but fortunately causing no deaths.
In the early 2000s, William W. Borden High School underwent an expansion project and a new building was built in place of the school parking lot. A new parking lot was then built at the old Borden Park. With the help and generosity of the Koetter family of Starlight, the town then built a new Community Park on the East end of Borden near the Kimball International plant, along Muddy Fork. It includes basketball and volleyball courts, a soccer field, a little league baseball complex, a walking path along the fork, and a war memorial for local residents who served in the military. The Borden Valley Day Festival is held in the park annually on the second Saturday in June.
Perhaps Borden High School's most famous alum is Joe Huber, who is regionally known as the founder of the popular Joe Huber's Family Farm and Restaurant in Starlight, Indiana. Norman M. Coats of Kirkwood, MO; a 1944 Borden High School Graduate, World War II Veteran, Businessman and Author; wrote a compelling book called "Growing Up on Daisy Hill", which chronicles his early years being born and raised in the nearby hills and hollows of Borden during The Great Depression.
Information provided by Wikipedia: Borden Indiana