| [Ben]: | Teco Retanico Zimmerman | Discuss This [1 comment so far] View Comments | John Zimmerman was born in 1786 and lived in Indiana near what is now North Salem.
Early in his life, he and another young man were kidnapped by a local Indian tribe. The Chief of the tribe condemned them to death, but rather than submit quietly to being burned alive, John and his companion fought back. So impressed was the Chief with the bravery and strength of the two young men that he told his men to stand down and made an offer. He told John and the other man that if he would become his son that he could live.
For several years John Zimmerman lived as the son of the Chief, but always dreamed of returning to his people. Eventually, John came before the Chief and said that if he could return to his people, John's first son would be named after the Chief. The Chief agreed and John Zimmerman returned to the town that he had left. On September 7th, 1824, John Zimmerman's son was born. His life was not a long one - he died seven months before his 20th birthday on February 11th, 1884 - but his entire life he carried the name of Teco Retanico (Tee-ko Rah-tahn-ico).
I heard this story from a former State Senator not too long ago. As a history buff, he'd read old history books that told the tale and when searching for the grave of another founder of North Salem he had found Teco Retanico Zimmerman's gravestone and immediately knew what he was looking at.
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| 2007-10-21
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Teco Retanico Zimmerman |
