Nashville. The seat of government on Brown County. In 1926, with the revamping of the state highway system, it was served by one state road: SR 46. This road connected Bloomington to Columbus through the hilly south central Indiana county. In the early days, it was thought that all county seats should be served by at least two state roads, leaving Nashville a little short.
In the 1830s, a state road was created to connect Indianapolis to the Ohio River at Mauckport. This road would be called the Mauck’s Ferry, now Mauxferry, Road. It would leave the Madison State Road at Franklin, heading roughly due south. When SR 35 was created out of Corydon, the designation was given to a portion of the old Mauxferry Road.
When the state decided to extend SR 35 toward Indianapolis, they also decided to move that road to the west, not using the Mauxferry. This would take the road through Nashville, creating a second state highway to the town.
Most of the road south of Nashville was built roughly in the place where it is currently. From Nashville north, the current SR 135 (originally SR 35) was specifically built for the purpose, replacing the road that had been used to this point.
The original SR 35 would leave Nashville to the west, along Main Street and the Helmsburg Road. This would wind its way through the hills of Brown County to Helmsburg, on what is now SR 45. The state would then turn SR 35 along what is now SR 45 to connect to Bean Blossom and the SR 35 already built connecting to Morgantown. A few years later, the current SR 135 was built connecting Bean Blossom to Nashville, replacing the Helmsburg Road route.
Indiana Transportation History 
I’ve driven Helmsburg Rd. and it feels very much like an old state highway, especially close to Nashville.
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