The interurban electric railway hasn’t carried passengers through central Indiana for more than eighty years. If you slow down, though, traces of it still hide in plain sight. One of the most prominent survivors is Hartford City’s old traction station at the southeast corner of South Jefferson and East Water Streets.
Continue reading “The old Union Traction station in Hartford City”
I was browsing a used bookstore in Anderson’s Southdale Plaza when I realized I was only a couple of doors away from a flea market in a former Marsh Supermarket. That was all the excuse I needed to take a look! I went in curious to see whether any evidence of the building’s grocery-store past still lingered beneath the flea market shelves. Here’s a look at what remains, along with the story behind the building.
Continue reading “Traces of Marsh inside Anderson’s Southdale Plaza”
I’d heard rumors of a Lustron house in Hagerstown, Indiana, for a couple of years, but nothing ever came from them. I drove around town with my mom once trying to find it, then revisited the area a few times on my own. Finally, someone from a Facebook group set me straight! I had no choice but to find the place posthaste.
Continue reading “The Lustron in Hagerstown”
I have a soft spot for the tiny hamlets, villages, and unincorporated communities most people drive through without a second thought. After my recent post about Reed Station, a reader suggested I tackle another Delaware County community: Shideler. Considering my last name, I’ll try to put my biases at rest and give it a shot.
Continue reading “Welcome to Shideler, Indiana!”
Last I checked in on Elkhart’s old Pierre Moran Mall, the future of what’s now known as Woodland Crossing seemed to be shifting: city officials announced plans to purchase the stagnant site for $5 million. The plan intended to transform the property into a new “neighborhood hub” with expanded healthcare and job training services through a partnership with Heart City Health and Goodwill Industries1. Back in April, I drove up to Elkhart see what the site looks like today.
Continue reading “Pierre Moran -Woodland Crossing- was supposed to be saved”
Before Pulaski County ever built a county infirmary, it left the care of its poor to the lowest bidder. Residents competed for contracts to house the county’s most vulnerable, with the cheapest offer winning. For some, it meant a safe home and compassionate care. For others, it meant a life of exploitation as unpaid laborers in the very homes entrusted with their welfare1.
Continue reading “Indiana’s Pulaski County Home”
Ever since I visited the old gym in Gaston a few months ago, I’ve found myself with one singular mission: go to each historic gymnasium in every East-Central Indiana town named after a fossil fuel. I recently completed the quest when I finally got the chance to step inside Gas City’s old gym.
Continue reading “Inside the 1924 Gas City gym”
Whether you’re craving biscuits and gravy, a three-egg omelet, a western skillet, or warm cinnamon-raisin biscuits buried beneath a blanket of icing, Muncie’s fast food connoisseurs know exactly where to go for breakfast. Around here, the gold standard doesn’t come on fine china. Instead, it arrives piping hot in a humble foam takeout container from Mac’s! For generations, the best breakfast in town has been a Mac’s breakfast.
Continue reading “The best breakfast is a Mac’s breakfast. Lunch isn’t bad either.”
If you weren’t looking for the place, you’d pass right through Reed Station without ever knowing it was there. Like so many Indiana hamlets born of the railroad and sustained by routine rather than size, Reed Station survives today more in memory than in markers. I visited recently and tried to uncover its story.
Continue reading “Welcome to Reed Station”
A schoolhouse serving District 3 has stood at the corner of Old Fort Wayne Road and East Lamont Road in Huntington’s Union Township since at least 1866, when it appeared just north of the Wabash & Erie Canal on land owned by the Silvers family1. The building was commonly known as Whippoorwill2.
Continue reading “Union Township’s Whippoorwill schoolhouse in Huntington County”