William H. Roose, Indiana's Birthplace: A History of Harrison County, Indiana (New Albany, IN: Tribune Company Printers, 1911), p. 68-69. The Town of Palmyra was leased by Hays McCallen, November 14, 1810, and was originally known as McCallen's Crossroads. It was laid out in 48 lots in October 1836 and named Carthage. There being another Carthage in the state, the name of the town was changed to Palmyra on March 25, 1839. It is said that McCallen secured the land from an earlier settler who complained that he had become too crowded because Fredericksburg had been settled four miles on one side of him and Greenville six miles on the other.