office and was granted one on January 30, 1871. Since there was already an existing post office in a village of the same name in Kosciusko County, this Millwood was rechristened “Sheridan,” in honor of Civil War general Philip Sheridan. The town had something of an identity crisis for a few years as some people continued to call it Millwood while others used the new name of Sheridan—even in official records. Its location on the state road connecting Noblesville and Lafayette was a good site for an agricultural center. By this time other entrepreneurs had laid out additions to Millwood as well, but growth was slow until the coming of the Monon Railroad in 1882 which stimulated a commercial and industrial boom. Several significant buildings from that early period survive, including the H.J. Thistlethwaite Building, constructed in 1886 to boast an opera house, a lodge room and retail spaces. Industry soon clustered along the railroad toward the south end of Main Street. The Monon passed through Sheridan at a sharp angle from northwest to southeast. In no time it was lined with various mills and factories. The buzzing Town of Sheridan incorporated in 1886. The subsequent discovery of natural gas on West 3rd Street in 1888 boosted the town's growth even further as several additional industries chose to locate there. Sheridan's movers and shakers eagerly expanded their holdings to take advantage of this inexpensive fuel, which, unfortunately, as in the several other “gas boom” counties of Indiana, soon ran out. But for a time, Sheridan even boasted both glass factory and a cannery along with a large brickworks, the Thistlethwaite Tile and Brick plant. Several smaller brick manufacturers, along with numerous other industries, including Indiana Condensed Milk—a company purchased by Wilson's Milk, a leader in canned condensed milk. Despite the waning gas supply, many industries remained. Sheridan, around the turn of the twentieth century had become the second largest town in the county with a thriving commercial district along Main Street. Included were a large variety of stores, several hotels, banks, and lodges still sharing the street with a few dwellings. Many of these buildings survive, including the two large commercial buildings on Main—the Golden Rule general merchandise store and the dry goods store of Stanley Brothers. Both were constructed in the 1890s. The town applied to Andrew Carnegie for funds to build a library, a structure completed in 1912.