I lived in Carmel, Indiana, for 12 years. It was a lovely place, filled with roundabouts and art. It often lands on those Top 10 Places to Live lists that magazines publish annually to sell grass seed and kitchen redesigns. It has good schools, low crime, and clean streets. But it could have been more. It could have been glorious. Literally. Because I learned late last night that the original name of the place was Tadpole’s Glory.
Most Carmelites think that the town was originally called Bethlehem. That’s not the whole story. It wasn’t until the town was incorporated in 1874 that the name was changed to Carmel. But before it was known as Bethlehem, locals referred to the area we know as Carmel today as Tadpole’s Glory. Do you realize how mad it makes me to know I could have been living in Tadpole’s Glory, Indiana, all those years? I would have never moved from a town called Tadpole’s Glory. And I sure as hell would have moved there sooner.
Anyway, I learned that the change from Bethlehem to Carmel was because the US Post Office told the residents that Indiana already had a town named Bethlehem with a registered Post Office. But you know what name they didn’t already have? Tadpole’s Glory! Why you would drop such a wonderfully ridiculous name, I have no idea.
As far as I can tell, in the early 1820s/1830s, the area was known for fur trading and tadpoles. According to the Carmel Current, when one of the founding residents was trying to drum up support for starting a town, people asked where. When he told them, they said, “You mean Tadpoles Glory.”
Oh, what could have been. And that’s why I’m going to run for mayor and restore the name Tadpole’s Glory in all its glory. Who’s with me?
Carry on, Citizens!
