October 2004

Along The Right Of Way

October 2004

M.P. 147.3 - 1st Subdivision - C

Host City Of The 2004 Convention

In 1823 the area now known as Crawfordsville begins to take shape. William Miller had built the first cabin on a high bluff along Sugar Creek and Henry Ristine opened a log tavern; Ambrose Whitlock platted lots for a town. In 1831 the area is incorporated as a town and in 1834 the town is incorporated into a city and a town board is elected. In 1845 James Marshall leaves Crawfordsville for California and is first to discover gold at Sutter's Mill, which started the Gold Rush in 1849. In 1851, prominent citizen Lew Wallace is elected prosecuting attorney for First Congressional District. During the Civil War the City sends volunteers to fight in war and Lew Wallace named adjutant general of state. Wallace would later write the classic novel "Ben Hur"

Of historical note: In 1892, shortly after a Monon passenger train pulls out of depot at Crawfordsville it leaves track and crashes down 60- foot embankment with several killed, including Madame Irma Van Rokey of Hungary and her troupe who had performed at Music Hall. In 1894, the first scheduled basketball game in Indiana is played on March 16 at the YMCA between Crawfordsville and Lafayette; Crawfordsville won, Also the first intercollegiate basketball game was played at the YMCA gym between Wabash and Purdue with Wabash winning, 23-18. During 1933 the worst fire in city's history wipes out a quarter block at southwest corner of Main and Green streets. -Excerpts from Montgomery County's Crawfordsville History Timeline-

Crawfordsville is also the home of Wabash College, one of the last all male colleges in the United States. The annual football game between DePauw University and Wabash College is better known as the "Monon Bell" game. The DePauw-Wabash rivalry is the sixth most-played Division III rivalry and equals the 12th-most played in college football.

The Crawfordsville depot and freight house, date unknown. As was the case with many railroads, Monon depots were varried and displayed a great variety of design and construction methods. The depot survives today. The freight house is no longer there.

The freight house, circa December 1974.

Left And Right: Crawfordsville Depot, circa 2004.

Postcard depicting Market Street, early 1900's. The center track is the Monon mainline. The depot would be to the right side of the image, but is out of the picture. Courtesy Steve Long.

Local 42, works in Crawfordsville, June 9, 1958. The train is northbound behind RS2 # 21.

Left: The Montgomery County Courthouse. Right: The Henry S. Lane Antebellum Mansion at 212 S. Water St. is a beautiful, carefully restored Greek Revival home. Henry and his wife Joann built the home in 1845. Lane was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1860. His most noteworthy accomplishment may be his involvement in securing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. Lane later served as a pallbearer at Lincoln's funeral

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