Read time: 5 min.

Back in my early twenties, I worked until midnight at a call center that serviced student loans. After my shift ended, my favorite pastime was to corral a friend or two and go drive around the countryside as we solved the world’s problems. One night, we passed through the community of Carlos. I’ve been interested in its history ever since. 

The first time I visited Carlos was thanks to a waymarking sign on US-36. With a name like that, my friends and I had no choice but to pull over! The village sits in the southern reaches of Randolph County between the hamlets of Huntsville and Bloomingport. My friends and I found that there’s not much to Carlos these days, but it’s a booming metropolis compared to those two places.

I’ve been to Carlos several times after that initial nocturnal visit. Apparently, it sprung up in 1882 as a post office called Carlos City when the railroad was extended from Lynn to Shirley¹. 1896 seemed to be the community’s heyday. That year, it was home to 120 people, two general stores, a grocery, a drug store, a tile factory, a grain elevator, two hotels, a school, and a church².

Little of that is left today. Take the Carlos schoolhouse, for example. Before the town was established, Randolph County’s Washington Township was home to a District 13 schoolhouse known as Kennedy’s or Canada’s Corner³. Locals began referring to it as Carlos shortly after the community arose, and a larger schoolhouse was built in 1886 under partnership with West River Township⁴. A $36,000 high school was erected in 1919, but it closed in 1935. Today, nothing remains of it. 

The Carlos Christian Church is a landmark in town. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of it during my most recent trip thanks to challenging lighting conditions. The congregation was founded around 1885 and grew into the town’s IOOF hall. Eventually, the church purchased the old Carlos school, moved it to the middle of town, and repurposed it as a sanctuary. The present structure was dedicated in 1928⁵. Unlike the old high school, it’s still a going concern. 

Even more prominent than Carlos Christian Church is the town’s old grain elevator. Its distinctive crenellated roofline is visible for miles across the countryside! Built around 1920⁶ by the Farmers Grain Company during a period of rapid regional expansion⁷, the elevator was once considered state-of-the-art. Its 36-by-36-foot structure soars 100 feet into the air and originally held an impressive 40,000 bushels of grain⁸! I could take photos of it all day.

The elevator remained in operation as late as 1971⁹, though the exact date it shut down is unclear. What is evident, however, is the passage of time reflected in its condition. Once a towering symbol of agricultural innovation, the elevator has been steadily deteriorating for years. Unfortunately, the decline of Carlos itself mirrors the elevator’s story. Following the closure of the town’s post office in 1976¹⁰, much of the community began to fade, leaving behind only traces of its former vitality.

The tiny towns that dot our landscape like Carlos might be forgotten by most people, but they shouldn’t be. Communities like Carlos hold stories that weave into the larger tapestry of our shared history! Each of its weathered storefronts, its church, and the abandoned elevator stand as testament to the people that lived here and once carved out their place in the world. That place might continue to evolve over the years as the world has expanded, but it’s still important.

Sources Cited
1 “Randolph County”. Jim Forte Postal History. Web. Retrieved 12/24/2024.
2 Carlos City (1896, December 25). The Richmond Enterprise. p. 5.
3 Hinshaw, G. (2008). A History of Education in Randolph County, Indiana. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
4 Commencement at Carlos City (1892, May 25). The Winchester Journal. 
5 Carlos Church Is 100 Years Old (1987, November 7). The Muncie Star. p. 5. 
6 Parcel 68-17-11-100-023.000-011
6 (2024). Office of the Assessor. Randolph County [Winchester]. Web. Retrieved December 25, 2024. 
7 Plan Erection of 4 Elevators In This County (1919, March 7). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 16. 
8 Carlos City Grain Elevator Is Kept Busy Grinding Feed (1923, December 11). The Richmond Palladium And Sun-Telegram. p. 7. 
9 Knight, M. (1971, January 3). New Randolph County Auditor Ends 40 Years At Elevator. The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 4. 
10 Stack, M. (1976, February 23). Fight Promised Over Plans to Close Carlos Post Office. The Muncie Star. p. 11.