On Christmas Eve 1824, at the federal land sale in Crawfordsville, at 22, William Digby bought 84.23 acres along the Wabas that he would call Lafayette for $231.24. This was a fair sum and rumors have been long held it was from gambling winnings. Born in 1802, to the parents of meager means, this was the frontier and the rivers were the roads. Digby grew up working the rivers as a trader and could easily been a character in one of Twain’s tales. The river trade was not a place for choir boys. Gambling, fighting, and drinking were the basics, and he excelled at all..but Digby also had vision, was well liked, and considered to be fair, honest, and a good man.