Decatur County, Indiana - Chapter 16: Roads and Transportation, 1915

Chapter 16: Roads and Transportation

When the first settlers came to Decatur county, there were no roads north of the Ohio river. There were rough, half-opened wagonways leading back from the river to points ten to twenty miles distant, but no real roads. Three of these wagon ways extended into the woods from Vevay, Madison and Lawrenceburg. After running for a few miles, they became nothing but blazed trails and all three came together at Jericho, located two miles southeast of Napoleon.

On account of its then advantageous transportation facilities, Jericho had high ambitions of sometime becoming a great commercial center. Its hopes, however, were ultimately blasted by its more lucky neighbor. From Jericho northward there was but a single trail.

This trail was known as the Wilson trace, starting at Jericho and runiiing almost on the site of the Michigan road to the Cobb settlement. It then crossed what i,vas later the Clarksburg pike and, swinging south, entered Greensburg near what is now Lincoln street and Central avenue.

At first this trace was not cut out at all points. Those first over it had to widen the path, remove limbs and sometimes cut down trees in order to get through. The roots made it rough riding, but they served one useful purpose - they kept the wagons from sinking so deep into the mud that they could not be moved at all.

The first movement toward roads was after the county was organized in 1822, when Jonathan Dayton and others presented a petition asking for the laying off of a road running from the Lawrenceburg state road, near St. Omer, to the Cliffy and Brookville road. This petition the board, after consideration, refused to grant, "on account of indefiniteness." At that time the Lawrenceburg road had e.xistence on paper only, and there was considerable conjecture as to where it would be eventually located.

At the same meeting of the county commissioners William Henderson and others, of Fugit township, asked for appointment of viewers for a road beginning at the east county line and running southwest to the forks of Cliffy. This prayer was granted and William Custer, James Logan and

The road running from St. Paul to St. Omer and thence to Downeyville was allowed at the next session of the board of commissioners, August 12. Daniel Pike and others asked for a road from where the Flatrock crosses the county line to Robert Campbell's house. This road was granted and is still in use.

The early roads were not laid out according to any definite plan, but were run in such a way as to strike the high ground and keep away from the low lands and swamps, which would render them impassable several months in the vear. The following description of a new road found in Volume I, page 142, of the commissioners' records, is illustrative of this point:

"Leading from Greensburg to the count)- line, beginning on the west bank of W. I. Lowry's spring branch, running west, crossing Cliffy with the open line, passing Eliza Craig's to the first branch west of Eliza Craig's, thence north of the line so far as to strike corner of small meadow, thence west with the fence of the farm of Lewis Craig's heirs to Laughridge's corner, then on open line between the heirs and Laughridge, continuing the open line to Elliott's corner where it strikes the old road." (Approved July 31, 1831.)

Though the county had been continuously and rapidly growing in wealth from its earliest settlement, its roads were greatly neglected for a time and no provision was made for their betterment. Until the year 1847 "O improvements were made on the roads and travel in the rainy seasons was a difficult task. The Greensburg and Napoleon Turnpike Company was incorporated on January 24, 1847, '^'^'ith Ezra Lathrop. John T. Stevens, R. R. Cobb, Elias Connel), George Dart. M. D. Ross, R. H. Harvey, J. B. Foley, John Glass, James Hamilton and Preston E. Hopkins as directors. The Greensburg and Harrison Turnpike Company was incorporated on January 26, 1847, with the following directors: A. R. Eorsythe, Seth Lowe, John Thomson, G. B. Roszell, James Hamilton, Robert Ross, James Morgan, James B. Foley, John Hopkins and James Treman.

From 1847 until 1863 there is no record of any further advancements in the matter of good roads. On December 2, 1863, John E. Robbins and fifty-one other citizens of Decatur county filed their petition with the board of county commissioners for an order allowing them to build a turnpike along the line of the Vernon road from a point where it leaves the south line of the corporation of the city of Greensburg, to a point where it crosses the line between Washington and Marion townships. The capital stock of the compan}' was fixed at three thousand dollars per mile, of which four thousand eight hundred dollars had already been subscribed by the petitioners. Their petition was granted, work was begun soon after, and the road was completed in the year 1866. Since that time about sixty additional miles of turnpikes have been built in this county, reaching out in all the roads leading from Greensburg to distances of from five to twelve miles. The list of these different turnpikes follows: To Clarksburg, twelve miles; Kingston short line, four miles ; Greensburg and Milroy, six miles ; Greensburg to Cliffy, five miles; Greensburg to county line, via Milford, twelve miles; Greensburg and Hartsville, thirteen miles ; Greensburg and Sand Creek, nine miles ; Greensburg and Layton's Mill, six miles.

These roads have done a great work in the development of the material interests of the county and in giving the citizens of the county means of travel, not only for pleasure, but also they served as a great aid in bettering the facilities for placing the products of this county on the different foreign markets.

Some of the early acts of the Legislature concerning roads in and through Decatur county were as follows: Januaiy 20, 1820, an act establishing the Michigan road from Lawrenceburg to Indianapolis; January 24, 1824, a special act, providing for a road from Madison to Greensburg; January 12, 1829, an act locating the Vandalia state road.

Water Transportation

Whether or not Sand creek was ever navigable depended largely upon the nature of craft that the navigator desired to use. As early as 1827, some enterprising citizens, for some unknown reason, conceived the idea that it was of sufficient size to float a water craft of some kind. This belief led the rejiresentative from Decatur to introduce a bill in the state Legislature looking toward its utilization as a waterway.

On January 22, 1827, an act was passed to improve the navigation of Sand creek, requiring Bartholomew and Jennings counties to keep it clear of obstructions. By widening its channel and deepening it and providing it with additional water, as many present-day congressmen seek to do in order to get some creek back home improved, it might yet become an artery of commerce. Even in those days, however, Sand creek could hardly have been brought within the reach of a modern rivers and harbors appropriation bill.

Sand creek was not the only navigable river in Decatur county in those days. Flat Rock also had aspirations as a waterway. Dr. Jonathan Griffin and Alfred Major, in early advertisements of a St. Omer lot sale, called attention to the fact that the city is but "three quarters of a mile from the navigable waters of Flat Rock, where boats pass down to New Orleans."

Railroads Of Dec.-Vtur County

As early as the year 1832, steps were taken by the citizens of this county to procure a railroad for Greensburg. The Lawrenceburg & Indianapolis Railroad was incorporated on February 2, 1832, under the leadership of George H. Dunn. Three years later, at the 1835-36 session of the Legislature, an act of incorporation was procured for this same road, which was to pass through Greensburg and Shelbyville. The tliree directors of this road from Decatur county were Martin Adkain, James Freeman and Nathan D. Gulion. It was provided that construction should start within three years and that the road should be completed within ten years after the passage of the act. The route was to include Napoleon and Greensburg.

Hon. George M. Dunn was chosen president and considerable stock was subscribed along the line. Work was immediately begun on this road at Lawrenceburg. The financial crash of 1837 stopped its operations, and this company later was wiped out of existence by the provisions of the time limit for the completion of this road as set forth in the act.

In 1847-48 a charter was obtained for the Lawrenceburg & Rushville Railroad, and, on its organization. Judge Dunn was chosen its president. The projected line of this railroad passed about six miles northeast of Greensburg, and this aroused the citizens of the town, also those of the central and western part of the county, to the importance of securing a "branch" of that road through their section. After due consideration, a meeting was held in Greensburg on March 30, 1849, "to consider the propriety of carrying on the proposed road from Lawrenceburg to Greensburg, and on through Edinburg." The proposition, which was placed before the assembled citizens by Judge Dunn, was that there had been $70,000 of stock taken, $25,000 of which was in the eastern part of the county and the rest in Lawrenceburg. The sum required for an organization was $140,000, and, of this, he pledged the city of Edinburg for $30,000. He asked that Decatur county should subscribe, in its corporate capacity, the sum of Sioo.ooo to the stock of the company, towit : $50,000 to the line between Greensburg and Lawrenceburg, and $25,000 each to the Rushville

The committee reported at the end of the meeting a series of resolutions indorsing the scheme and appointing a committee of three in each township to circulate a petition in each township, asking the county commissioners to make a subscription to the capital stock of the company. At a meeting of the board of county commissioners, held the 5th day of June, the petitions were presented, signed by a majority of the freeholders of the county, whereupon the board made an order, that "the auditor of Decatur county be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to subscribe, on behalf of the county of Decatur, one hundred thousand dollars of stock in the Rushville & Lawrenceburg Railroad Company," under the conditions asked by the citizens' meeting.

The road was opened as far as Greensburg- in the early summer of 1853. Judge Dunn died shortly after the road was finished and General Morris, of Indianapolis, became president, and by his energetic work the road was opened to that city the following year. Owing to a failure of the citizens along the Rushville and Edinburg lines to subscribe the required stock, the branches to these places were not built at this time, and the county was only called on for the fifty thousand dollars subscribed to the main line.

Stephen Ludlow was an incorporator and director of the Lawrenceburg & Indianapolis Railroad (1836), and in his honor the dinky engine that was first put on the rails was christened the "Stephen Ludlow." Fred Lungen was the engineer and Jacob W. Mills was the conductor.

From 1853 up to 1879 many efforts were made toward the building of other railroads, to all of which the county, the townships and the citizens made liberal offers of subscriptions : but, from various causes, these failed to materialize.

An organization was affected in Greensburg in 1879, which was known as the North Vernon, Greensburg- & Rushville Railroad Company. This company set to work at once to procure township and individual subscriptions for the building of a railroad from North Vernon to Rushville, through Greensburg. Their efforts met with such marked success that they were able, December 15th of the same year, to let the contract for the entire work of putting the road in readiness for the cars. Col. Horace Scott, of Louisville, Kentucky, was awarded the contract, and the road was opened to Greensburg on April 15, 1880, and to Rushville on September 10, 1880.

The first shoveful of dirt for the Cincinnati & Terre Haute Railroad was thrown on Monday, June 10, 1872, at a point one-half mile east of the home of Patrick Ewing, in Clay township. Mr. Ewing, "veteran sire of many ilkistrious sons." sank the first spade into the right of way. Robert Bognell, the general contractor and a number of railway officials, were present. Col. J. S. Scobey presided and made a speech, as did Will Cumback, James Ga\in, Major Robbins and Judge Bonner. Others called upon to talk were : Dr. J. Y. Hitt, B. W. Wilson, J. K. Ewing, Dr. S. McGuire, S. Forsyth and David Lovett.

The Greensburg Lateral Railroad was finished to Harris City in 1876. This road was only six miles long and was owned by the Harris City Stone Company. It was an outlet for the products of this quarry and was operated bv the company, they having their own dinky engine to place the cars on the North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville tracks. This road originally ran into Greensburg, but when the Columbus, Hope & Greensburg road was built, this company took over their tracks from Quarry Switch into Greensburg.

Greensburg Union Depot

The present union depot in Greensburg was thrown open to the public for the first time on Sunday, May 16, 1909. It was built at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, and is modern in evei-y respect.

The first depot in Greensburg was located on South Monfort street, where the freight depot is now located, and remained there from the completion of the old Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayette railroad to this place in 1853, until 1865, when it was moved to Franklin street. Now it is moved back two scjuares beyond the first location on Ivlonfort street to the "Y," where it will probably remain permanently.

The distance from the square is increased from one block to about six,^ a little less than a half mile. The new location is the proper one from the railroad point of view, as it is at the junction and obviates the former necessity of backing trains in on the Michigan division and out again, making about an extra mile for each train on that division.

The change in location made it necessary for the postoffice department to deliver the mail between the station and the postoffice, as the distance is greater than eighty rods, being in fact about one hundred and seventy rods. The first mail messenger was Louis Fultz, who started in to carry the mail on the da}' the new station was opened.

Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Line

The Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company owns the only interurban line coming into Decatur county. This is a direct line from Indianapolis to Greensburg. The right of way for this line was purchased from August to December, 1905, and the first car was run in 1907. The total length of the line from Indianapolis to Greensburg is forty-nine miles, of whicli ten and one-half miles are in Decatur county. It touches the towns of St. Paul, Adams and Greensburg, all limited cars stopping at principal towns, while the local cars stop at intermediate points. According to the present schedule, nine cars are operated each way between Greensburg and Indianapolis. The first car leaves Greensburg at six o'clock A. M., and the last one at eleven o'clock at night. Regular service is maintained at intervals of one and one-half hours daily. It is interesting to note that the car which made the initial run in 1907, is still in use. The interurban station is located at the corner of Main and East streets.

Railroad Statistics

The following is the complete valuation and mileage of the different railroads running through Decatur county as given in the 1914 annual report of the Bureau of Statistics:

The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (Big Four route) has 20.59 miles of main track, with a valuation of $29,500 per mile, totaling $607,405. There are 10.91 miles of second main track, valued at $8,900 per mile, totaling $87,200. Side-tracks of 13 miles are valued at $4,900 per mile, totaling $55,880. Rolling stock of 20.59 miles is valued at $4,000 per mile, totaling $82,360. The improvements on the right of way amount to $18,100. The total valuation is $851,025.

The Chicago, Terre Haute & Eastern, Westport branch, has 6.46 miles of road, valued at $6,500 per mile; total valuation, $41,900. There are 1.98 miles of side-track, valued at $2,000 per mile; total valuation, $3,960. Rolling stock of 6.46 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile; total valuation, $9,600. The improvements on the right of way amount to $160. The total valuation is $57,250.

Columbus, Hope & Greensburg Railroad has 8.98 miles of main track, valued at $8,000 per mile; total valuation, $71,840. Side-track of 0.27 mile is valued at $540. Rolling stock of 8.98 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile;

North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville Railroad has 24.94 miles of main track, valued at $9,000 per mile; total value, $224,460. Side-track of 4.19 miles is valued at $2,000 per mile; total valuation, $8,380. Rolling stock of 24.94 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile; total valuation, $37,410. Improvements on the right of way amount to $1,505. The total valuation of the road is $271,755.

Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company has 10.41 miles of main track, valued at $5,900 per mile; total valuation, $61,360. The side-track of 0.37 mile is valued at $550. Rolling stock of 10.41 miles is valued at $500 per mile; total valuation, $5,200. The improvements on the right of way amount to $2,400. The total valuation of the road is $69,515.