All Stories: 443
Stories
John Mellencamp Mural
Railroad Bill, Railroad Bill Lived way up on Railroad Hill Ride, ride, ride Well, Railroad Bill, Oh, Railroad Bill He never worked and he never will Ride, ride, ride Well, Railroad Bill, he was a mighty mean man He shot the midnight lantern out of…
Medora Train Wreck
On June 8, 1921, a train engine jumped the tracks outside Medora, Indiana. Perhaps it was the hot weather and rain that made the train engine leave the tracks. Seventeen loaded boxcars piled up, some being “reduced to kindling wood.” Three people…
Seymour Freight Depot
The Southern Indiana Railroad Freighthouse was not only a freight depot but also the site of an interesting story of one escaped enslaved man’s quest for freedom. Alexander McClure, an enslaved man from Tennessee, attempted to escape his bondage by…
The Farmer's Club
The Farmers’ Club at 105 S. Chestnut Street, dedicated in 1914 in memory of Captain Meedy Shields, was constructed as a gathering and resting place for farm families coming to town for business and supplies. Traveling was slower in the early 1900s…
Potawatomi Leader Onaxa and the Removal of Native Peoples from Elkhart County
A commemorative rock in River Preserve County Park marks the legacy of the Potawatomi leader, Onaxa. Also known as Wonyanoshonya or Five Medals, Onaxa was a leader of the Potawatomi of the St. Joseph River. He was involved in major treaty…
Twentieth-Century Sundown Towns: The Carter Road Subdivision in Elkhart County
Just south of the Goshen College campus, the Carter Road subdivision has a good view of the pond created by the Goshen Dam. It is rather unassuming but serves as a reminder of Goshen's past as a “sundown town.” During the first half and…
Goshen College and the Mennonite Community
In 1894 the first post-secondary school geared towards the Mennonite community opened when the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts was established. Shortly after its opening, the operation of the institute was taken over by the…
Kercher’s Orchard and the Bracero Program
Kercher’s family-run orchard began in 1922 when William Wheeler Kercher planted apple trees at his home on 7th Street. The business began on 40 acres across the street from the orchard’s current location. Today, the orchard covers over 600 acres and…
Newell Brothers General Store
South of the County Courthouse on Main Street is Goshen’s business district. This area was developed in the first decade of the 20th century as “the most modern block in Goshen.” The Jefferson block was anchored by Newell’s, originally built as a…
Goshen’s Jewish Community
The Gutierrez Mexican bakery was home to the Louis Simon Clothiers beginning more than one hundred years ago. It was a staple of Goshen’s Jewish community that established itself in the mid-1800s with a small concentration of Jewish families,…
Neptune Statue and Olympia Candy Kitchen
The Neptune statue that sits on the south east lawn on the Elkhart County Courthouse highlights the story of immigration to Goshen and the building of a successful business. Across Main Street from the statue is the Olympia Candy Kitchen. It was…
Elkhart County Home
The County Home facility was built on this site in 1886 to provide housing for those who were unable to support themselves. The Indiana Constitution mandated that counties, when able, should build a facility “to provide one or more farms to be an…
Costigan House
Much of what makes Madison a popular tourist destination is the impressive and abundant historic architecture. For this, Madison owes a significant debt of gratitude to the architect and builder, Francis Costigan. He oversaw construction of the…
St. Michael the Archangel
Madison was officially surveyed by Colonel John Paul in 1809. Surveying was intended to establish the town boundaries to mark out where white settlers could establish homes and churches. Some early settlers to Madson practiced the Catholic faith and…
The Georgetown Neighborhood: Network to Freedom
Proximity to the Ohio River gave rise to Madison's Georgetown Neighborhood, a community of free Blacks dating back to the 1820s. About 50 black families lived in the Georgetown neighborhood, located along Walnut Street north of Main Street.…
The Railroad Incline--The "Cut"
The Madison, Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad (MI&L) was first conceived in 1836 when Indiana state legislators included it as part of the Internal Improvement Act. Indianapolis, the new state capitol, was in the early stages of becoming a…
Jeremiah Sullivan House
Could Jeremiah Sullivan ever imagine how important he and his family would become? Or that his house would jumpstart a nationally recognized preservation movement?”
In 1816 twenty-three year old Jeremiah Sullivan joined a rising flood of…
A Model for "Main Street"
If a town’s Main Street is often the heart of the community, then Madison has one of the biggest hearts in the United States. Its Main Street stretches two miles and spans 90 feet. The core of Madison’s National Historic Landmark District, urban…
Shrewsbury-Windle House
The Shrewsbury-Windle House is an 1849 Greek Revival masterpiece designed by the renowned architect & master builder, Francis Costigan. Built of brick, stone and wood, it is an example of design, high quality craftsmanship, and preservation.…
Ben Schroeder Saddletree Factory Museum
Almost untouched since the day it closed in 1972, the Ben Schroeder Saddletree factory is the nation's last intact 19th century shop where craftsman built the inner workings of saddles. Sawdust from the last run of saddletrees and the internal…
The Former Second Presbyterian Church
In October of 1847, Henry Ward Beecher, the popular Presbyterian minister, came to Madison to visit friends. Riding the very first train from Indianapolis to Madison, a huge crowd gathered at the station to celebrate this new rail line. Beecher…
Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival
Just a few years after the closure of the Auburn Automobile Company and its related companies, collectors were interested in acquiring Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs. In 1955, the ACD Club was formed, and by 1957, club members had started to visit…
Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum
In the early 1970s, the people of Auburn, Indiana started voicing concerns about the automotive heritage of Auburn and the site of the building that housed the old Auburn Automobile Company that existed. A non-profit organization called Auburn…
Classic Car Auction
One of the most important events of the classic car culture of Auburn is the annual classic car auction. Started in 1971 by Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival leaders Del Mar Johnson, John Martin Smith, and Jack Randinelli, and auctioneers Russell…
Dillinger Gang Auburn Jail Raid
Americans eagerly embraced the automobile in the 1920s as mass-production made them more available at lower costs. The number of registered cars increased from 8 million in 1920 to almost 18 million in 1925. Indiana specifically saw one car for…
Double-Fabric Tire Company
Auburn manufacturers often had to change their focus to stay relevant in the competitive world of manufacturing. Few instances demonstrate this as well as the 50-year history of the Double-Fabric Tire Company and Auburn Rubber Company in Auburn. The…
E.L. Cord
If you think back on early American automobiles, what comes to mind? Ford? General Motors? Chrysler? If you are a car fanatic, you might know Auburn or Duesenberg. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, automobiles manufactured by the Auburn, Cord,…
Charles Eckhart
The foundation for Auburn’s buggy and automobile heritage was set by Charles Eckhart. A man with business sense, knowledge of carriage making, and a desire to see his adopted home become a better place, by the end of his day, he made many…
Kiblinger and McIntyre Company
W. H. Kiblinger founded the Kiblinger Company in 1887 to manufacture buggies. He was a Civil War veteran, farmer, and businessman who ran the company until his death in 1894. Upon his death, the company was purchased by W. H. McIntyre and S. C.…
African American Churches in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Before you, stands one of Clark County’s historic African American churches, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal. In the 19th Century, numerous African American churches were established to serve the spiritual needs of people fleeing the South in…