Sunday, March 10, 2024
FLASHBACK: Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1967
First Area Railroad Recalled
Editor’s note: The following article from The Shelbyville Democrat, dated February 15, 1916, was clipped and left in a file box of the late David Craig, Shelby County historian.
In former days, there existed here an intense prejudice against railroads. To overcome this, the late Judge William Peasley had on exhibition in one of the stores on the Public Square, a miniature model of a track of cars, with which he used to enforce his arguments concerning their feasibility and advantage. At last, a wooden railroad, one and a fourth miles in length, was built, and at a grand celebration of the Fourth of July, 1834, put into operation. This is supposed to have been the first railroad of any kind west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Some pictures we had from Indiana University a few days ago showed this railroad and the horse car that was pulled over it. The car was made in Shelbyville by John Walker. It was made of wood and looked like a modern flat car.
The passengers took the “round trip” for 25 cents. William Ford was the conductor. This was the beginning of what the projectors hoped would be a line extending to Cincinnati, but failed to interest capitalists, and not having the means of their own, the project was abandoned. This road extended from the top of the hill in the southeastern part of the city to Lewis Creek.
Mr. Cottman says in this connection: “The first railroad report in the state was, we believe, the one transmitted to the legislature by this company under date of December 5, 1834. It is a document of some interest. The implication is that the locality at Shelbyville was chosen because the cuts, embankments and other problems of the engineers at that point represented a fair average for experimental data. There was one cut of five feet, one embankment of five feet and one of 10, two curves and two bridges. The cost was $1,500 per mile. Of course there was no locomotive for the road, and in lieu thereof a horse-car was built and the great advantage of a track in facilitating traction was effectively demonstrated, if we can believe the statement that ‘one horse was found able to draw 40 to 50 persons at the rate of 19 miles per hour.’”
(From Indiana Journal, July 19, 1834, copied from Shelbyville Transcript): On the 4th at 10 a.m., a procession was formed at the courthouse and marched to the western terminus of the railroad in the following order: 1st, Capt. Conover’s Light Infantry Company; 2nd, 25 little girls dressed in white, trimmed with blue, bearing the banners of the several states and the liberty cap; 3rd, the Revolutionary soldiers; 4th, the orator, reader of the Declaration, and chaplain, followed by the committee of arrangements, and the citizens generally. After the oration was delivered, an excellent dinner was served up by Jeremiah Bennett on the spot. The day being fine, no place could, under existing circumstances, have been more suitable. Immediately at the western end of the road is a beautiful grove of sugar trees and beech, which afford, on the warmest day, a cool and refreshing shade.
The festivities and proceedings of the day were marked throughout with civil conduct and good feeling. The car was kept constantly running and the greatest eagerness evinced to ride. Such was the success of the experiment that those who were before doubtful were confirmed in the utility and practicability of the work. After the festivities of the day were closed, a portion of the company repaired to Joseph M. Simms’ and enjoyed themselves in an agreeable dance.
NOTEBOOK:
NATIONAL NEWS: For the first time, a person has been charged with smuggling banned greenhouse gases across the U.S. border. A 58-year-old San Diego man has been charged with smuggling banned hydrofluorocarbons and HCFC-22 purchased in Tijuana, Mexico, across the border, reselling them for profit on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. Those chemicals are banned because they’re capable of causing thousands of times more warming than CO2, and it’s illegal to import the refrigerants. Authorities said he’d buy from a network of suppliers in Mexico, transport 15 to 20 tanks of chemicals into the country every week in the bed of a pickup, and then sell them to buyers in California. He’s charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of importation contrary to law, and seven counts of sale of merchandise imported contrary to law, which in addition to possible decades of jail time all carry potential fines of $250,000 apiece. (Daily Beast/Numlock)
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This Day in Shelby County History
2014: Gov. Mike Pence requested federal grants for government and certain non-profit organizations in several counties, including Shelby County, for a severe winter storm that had hit Indiana in January. Pence said the storm had started the year with a “budget-stressing situation.” Mayor Tom DeBaun said the city spent about $150,000 over the winter dealing with snow and ice, and that January’s fuel costs had been four times the usual amount.
2004: Dairy Queen and Domino’s Pizza were burglarized on the same night. The burglar had removed a door arm bar recently installed at Domino’s and set it to the side before ransacking the place.
1994: Four months after flood waters and felled trees had snapped the Kennedy Park foot bridge, city officials held talks to discuss the matter. Although an Indianapolis firm had put the replacement cost at $128,000, a local contractor had offered to rebuild the bridge for $35,000. “He came in with a drawing and gave me a quote, but he also told me he’d never done anything like this before,” Mayor Bob Williams said. Several members of city council were skeptical of spending money to replace the foot bridge. Williams said he was interested in having a vehicle bridge built at the end of McLane Street, providing fire and emergency services access to the area and improving traffic control in Walkerville and the fairgrounds. But county commissioners had jurisdiction over all vehicle bridges throughout the county.
1984: Mark Gould scored 26 points and Spencer Gross had seven blocked shots as the Golden Bears defeated Bloomington North to win the regional, 58-45. Shelbyville scored all 22 of its fourth-quarter points from the free throw line. The Bears would play Columbus North next.
1974: The third of three long-time retail business firms vacated the southeast segment of Public Square to move to a new location. Breedlove’s Men’s Wear, which had been at 29 E. Washington St. since 1938, moved to the northwest corner of Washington and Pike streets, where the Sindlinger family had operated a meat processing operation for more than a century. Bradley Hall Furniture was moving to Washington and Vine streets and the Major T. Jester Department Store was moving to 36 and 38 E. Washington St. The three-building southeast Public Square complex had been been purchased by First Federal Savings & Loan Association, which planned to demolish the complex and construct a new building to include a drive-through and parking area.
1964: Thelma Shifflett opened Mary and Thelma’s Sew Handy Service at the former Baptist Temple church building, 1017 Lincoln Street. Mary Shifflett, Thelma’s daughter-in-law, was working with her. Their husbands were both sewing machine mechanics at Shelby Manufacturing Co.
Shelbyville High School held a Share-The-Fun festival featuring 4-H clubs doing Beatles acts. A newspaper photo shows four young members of the Coulston club - Mike Jones, Mike McGrath, David Caldwell and John Yarber - performing a song.
1954: Western Union Telegraph Company in Fairland announced plans to close. The Shelbyville office would remain open.
Over 3,500 people from Indiana and surrounding states came to Shelbyville to bid on some 350 used farm items at Needlers’ John Deere Service. “Both trucks and passenger cars belonging to the hundreds attending the sale jammed parking accommodations along North Harrison St. all the way to the Needler establishment at the north edge of the city,” The Shelbyville News reported.
1944: The U.S. Army accepted 22 more Shelby County men, and the Navy took 15 for duty. Those accepted for service with the Army were Paul Houston, Raymond Drew, George L. Stubbs, Charles Spiegel, George McClain, John Landwerlen, Esta Emerick, Harold Boring, Harlan Crafton, Lloyd Barnett, Aaron Patterson, Delva Spurlin, George Dismore, Ernest Arbuckle, Harley Hadler, Arthur Poe, Harry Jeffries, Cecil Spurling, Leonard Rutherford, Herschel Heck, Henry Hadley Jr. and Claude Thurston. Those accepted by the Navy were Robert Fee, James Slaton, Robert Thomas, James Coulston, Richard Duckworth, Paul Hill, Dale Banker, James Denison Jr., Woodrow Gaines, Robert Woodall, George McDaniel, Albert Rayt, Earle Hites Jr., Robert Peebles and William Love.
1934: Due to an epidemic of measles, planned school immunizations for smallpox and diphtheria were postponed a week.
A Shelbyville man was charged with matrimonial fraud after convincing a woman who eventually became his fiancé that he was the director of the International Board of Trade and that he was a friend of former President Harding and President Roosevelt. After defrauding the woman of several thousand dollars, she reported him to police.
1924: Emery Slagle suffered a severe injury when his right hand was caught in an electric pie roller he was operating at the Buttercrust Pie Co. in Indianapolis. His hand would likely be amputated, doctors said.
1914: Police said some Walkerville residents, yet to be identified, had been sending anonymous threating letters to neighbors. “The government does not fool with anybody - gives them the punishment they so richly deserve,” The Republican said. “The Walkerville parties who are such ready letter writers had better keep quiet.”
OBITUARIES
None today
My thanks to the Addison Times and AnnaTungate for the wonderful article about my business, Sew Tec Inc. It was beautiful written. I appreciate it very much. My retirement is welcome, but bittersweet. Sincerely, Patti Moss