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M.P. A 33.5 - 3rd Subdivision - Schimmels was also known as Schimmelville, which was the original site of the town that was later moved south to become known as Lacrosse. George P. Schimmel was probably the first settler to arrive in Dewey Township. He arrived in January, 1854, There was a crossing between the Louisville, New Albany and Salem Railroad (Monon), which was the first railroad through the area. On September 25, 1857 the Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad was chartered in Indiana to build a line from Logansport northwest to Valparaiso. That line opened in 1861, connecting at Valparaiso with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. The Chicago and Cincinnati began July 1, 1862 and ended January 29, 1865. The crossing between this railroad and the Monon was about 200 feet north of County Road W 1150 S. In 1865 a Post Office was established in what we know today as Lacrosse. On LNA&S Timetable #10, it is listed at MP 26.0. The railroads crossed each other in the northeast corner of section seventeen; and here there was a station, a freight depot, telegraph office and a few business houses. The was also a spur which originally was 135 feet in length. Later it was enlarged to about 500 feet and classified as a siding. Township records indicate that in 1868 the Schimmels depot was relocated to Lacrosse.
Above: 1892 Mop of Dewey Township. The Yellow Line indicates the route of the Chicago & Cincinnati. The location where the C&C and LNA&S cross was Schimmels. Map courtesy of Ron Marquardt, Chuck and Betty Hucker and the Lacrosse Library. (Note: The map is a large image file.)
Above: The 1892 Dewey Township map posted on a Google Earth overlay. -Courtesy Joe Land and Google Earth-
M.P. A32.5 - 3st Subdivision - QN Wade was the final name given when automatic interlocking was installed at the junction, north of LaCrosse. On the C&O side it was called "QN Tower" and finally "Wade."
Left: Looking south down, past the tower, towards Lacrosse on the Michigan City line. Right. Looking at the west side of the tower. Tracks in the foreground are those of the C&O. -Mahlon Eberhard Collection-
 
Wade Crossing, July 8, 2002. Left: South facade of the tower. With assistance and escort from a LaPorte County Police Officer, I was able to obtain several photos of the old tower and junction. Right: Looking eastbound on C&O. Picture taken from middle of bridge crossing Cook Ditch.  
Wade Crossing, July 8, 2002. Left: Looing to the north from the junction. Right: Looking south.
M.P. A31.6 - 3rd Subdivision - SY
-Image courtesy Access LaPorte County- "One of the most recently formed towns in LaPorte county. Settlement in the LaCrosse area was inhibited by the presence of the very wet, marshy conditions. Almost all of the region was Kankakee marshland, supplying marsh hay in abundance. The dried stalks of the wild marsh grasses were the area's major crop until reclamation. LaCrosse first started to develop in the early 1860's with the completion of two railroads, which helped to bring in settlers, chiefly German immigrants. Many of the first buildings were situated on the highest ground available, the railroad rights-of-way. Houses were built on stilts because the town was flooded with every rise of the river. Many old-timers recall walking on Highway 8 in hip boots. These conditions changed after the marsh was drained. The wild marsh hay lands were transformed into extremely fertile corn fields, yielding today as much as 160 bushels per acre. LaCrosse has remained primarily a small farming community, in spite of the presence of 4 railroads (formerly 5) passing through it. All but the CSX have abandoned their lines." - Courtsey of Portable LaPorte County , Copyright 1978 Michigan City Public Library- LaCrosse Railroad Map. Large Size File 1741x1159. Medium Size File: 870x579. These maps were cleaned up and labeled by the Monon Society's Photo Archivist, Ron Marquardt. He has also compiled a CD of information on the railroads of LaCrosse.
LaCrosse, Indiana, 1949. BL2 32 southbound with local freight 48/49. Photo taken by Harry Zillmer, of South Bend, Indiana. Photo courtsey of M. D. McCarter. Right: Color picture by Sandy Goodrick, circa 1948. Were Harry and Sandy both there?
Worth Tower, LaCrosse, Indiana. August 9, 1947. Looking north from south of the junction with the Pennsylvania. Photo taken by Harry Zillmer, of South Bend, Indiana. Photo courtsey of M. D. McCarter. Used with his permission.
Area at the Monon/ PRR crossing in Lacrosse. In these view you are loking East (left) down the PRR mainlines and West (Right).
Looking west along the Pennsylvania tracks at LaCrosse. Monon crossing is beyond the tower. -Jim Latimer Photo, Chad Quick collection-
Looking east down the former PRR mainline at Lacrosse, 1981. The crossing has been removed. -Larry Ratcliffe Photograph-
Chicago Attica and Southern, Lacrosse. Left: Looking down the PRR mainline at where the Chicago Attica and Southern once crossed. Right: CA&S depot at Lacrosse, Indiana. Unknown date. -John Eagan Collection-
 
LaCrosse Depots. Left: Postcard showing the, one time, four depots of LaCrosse, Indiana, dates unknown. Right: Closer look at the former Monon depot. Both photos from the Strombeck collection.  
Left and Right: Great shots of the Monon LaCrosse depot. Dates unknown. In the photo on the right, I believe you are looking towards the south. This picture is courtesy William Smith, whose Grandmother Bessie Shaw was at one time the Depot Agent in LaCrosse.
Scenes from LaCrosse, early 1900's. Left: Looking south, along what is now Highway 421. The photographer is standing on the Pere Marquette crossing. The steam locomotive working in the distance is on the Pennsylvania. The Monon mainline would be to the right of the photograph, circa 1917. Right: Early 1900's on a residential street. You are looking east at is today known as Highway 8.
LaCrosse High School. Left: LaCrosse High School, circa 1940's? Right: The building is still a school in 2006. -Right image courtesy Access LaPorte County-
Left: Original Log Cabin Library, exact date unknown. The building was originally built for the Boy Scouts who finally discontinued using it for lack of a leader. It housed the library for twenty-one years, from 1940 to November, 1961. Early in 1963 the LaCrosse Women’s Federated Club and the LaCrosse Home Demonstration Club began a restoration project of the log cabin vacated by the LaCrosse Public Library. The log cabin was built in 1934 by men of LaCrosse and members of the Kankakee Valley Conservation Club. Men from the camp for homeless veterans of World War I on State Road No. 8 at the Kankakee River sawed logs for the siding and assisted with the construction. The site was furnished by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Stone was brought from Joliet, Illinois, by the Monon Railroad. -1963 LaCrosse Centennial book. Courtesy of the Lacrosse Library Web Site - Right: The library was replaced and this shelter sits on the site of the log cabin. The chimney is from the original building.
Left: LaCrosse Town Hall 2006. Right: Gazebo in Festival Park. This park is very close to the site where the Monon and Pennsylvania crossed. -Images courtesy Access LaPorte County- Two local landmarks. The Hucker Family of LaCrosse is well known in town. Wilbur Hucker Sr. opened and operated a Kaiser-Frazer dealership from 1947 through 1953. In 1954, Wilbur built the Standard Station. Charles Hucker took it over in 1973 when Wilbur retired. It was a Standard Oil station at that time. In the early 1980s the station changed to Union 76. In 1989 the business was sold to Chuck Hucker's brother, Wilbur, Jr., and his son, Mike and changed to a Phillips 66 station. Currently it has changed to a BP station. The business has been operated by three generations of four different Hucker families.
Left: Grand opening 1954. Right: The station circa 1958.
Left: Aerial view of the station, circa 1960. Typical of the Standard Oil service station of the time. Right: The same business in 2006.
 
LaCrosse, July 8, 2002. Left: Pere Marquette right of way. Looking northeast from Pennsylvania junction. Right: Another view of the Pere right of way. Taken from former crossing on Route 8.  
LaCrosse, July 8, 2002. Left: Abandoned Pennsylvania right of way. Looking east from Pere Marquette junction. Right: Another view of the abandoned Pere Marquette right of way. Taken from former crossing on Route 8, looking southwest.
August 9, 1947. Special excursion passenger southbound. Photo taken just north of Route 8, LaCrosse. M.D. McCarter photo, used with his permission.
The MRRHTS Tour book stated that the right of ways can still be seen but that all buildings and bridges have been taken down. They were correct. There is even a building built on the Pennsylvania right of way was and is pictured above. South of the junction with the Pennsylvania was the depot, which looks to have been shared by the Monon and Pere Marquette. The area west of Mill Street is now backyards. None of buildings or even a trace of the old facilities remain in 2002.
Looking south along the mainline. The tower and junction with the PRR is in the distance. Circa 1974.
 
LaCrosse, July 8, 2002. Left: Right of way on the south side of town, looking south. Picture taken from church property Mill and Vermont Street. Right: Looking toward the north in the direction of the junction.
LaCrosse area 2019 Pictures by Nathan
Miles
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