Although many of the first residents were Presbyterian, for a time the only church in their area was in Charlestown, 25 miles to the west. In 1819, Presbyterian minister Thomas C. Searle (January 15, 1787 – October 15, 1821) moved to nearby Madison. He was a circuit preacher, serving the needs of the minority of Presbyterians in a wide area in southern Indiana, but he quickly realized that a community of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians was concentrated in Dunn's Settlement. On March 4, 1820, Searle founded the Hanover Presbyterian Church. His wife, a native of Hanover, New Hampshire, was greatly admired by the church's congregants; therefore, the church adopted the name in her honor. Before long, the town also adopted the name "Hanover." Officially it was named "South Hanover" as there was already a post office of Hanover in Shelby County. When the other town of Hanover no longer had a post office, South Hanover's name was shortened to Hanover.