Tag: Jackson Highway

Auto Trail

1920-1960: Bartholomew County Roads

Today, we look at the third county in alphabetical order in the State of Indiana. Bartholomew County would have very few changes in its state highway history. It was located on the Jackson Highway south of Indianapolis, along what would become State Road 1. That very same road branched at Columbus, with one branch continuing south to Jeffersonville and the other running to Madison. It was the latter branch that gave the name to the same road in southern Marion and northern Johnson counties.

January 8, 1821: Formation by statute effective February 12, 1821. The formation affected Jackson County and Delaware. The county was organized by act January 9, 1821, effective February 12, 1821.

Boundaries: “Beginning at the south west corner of section eighteen in township seven north of range four east, thence north to the northwest corner of township ten north of range four east, thence east with the line dividing townships ten and eleven north to the north east corner of township ten of range seven east, thence south with the range line dividing ranges seven and eight to the south east corner of section thirteen, in township eight north of range seven east, thence west to the range line dividing ranges six and seven at the north west corner of section nineteen in township eight north of range seven east, thence south with said range line to where it intersects Big Sand Creek, thence down said creek with the meanders thereof to its junction with Driftwood river, thence down said river with the meanders thereof to when an east and west line running through the centre of township seven north strikes the north west side of the aforesaid river, thence west with the said line to the place of beginning.”

The territory of Bartholomew County would change with a law passed on January 16, 1828. All of that territory in Range 3 East, townships 8, 9, and 10 north, would be attached to Bartholomew County. That territory, plus half of Range 4 east in the same townships, and six section in the northwest corner of township 7 north, would be removed from Bartholomew County to create the new Brown County effective 1 April 1836. A law of 17 February 1838 brought Bartholomew County to its present shape, with the removal of the final three sections of the northwest quarter of Range 4 East, Township 7 North that were still attached to the county. It was moved to Jackson County.

The County Seat location was chosen as part of sections 24 and 25, township 9 north, range 5 east on 15 February 1821. “The name Tiptona was suggested, but on March 20, the name Columbus was adopted.” The decision to change the name of the town, which had actually already been platted and settled, from Tiptona to Columbus upset one person in particular. I covered that in the article “The Location of the Mauck’s Ferry Road, A Case of Revenge” on 11 November 2020.

1920 Indiana Official State Highway Map

We start, as we always do, with the map of 1920. But, like Allen County that I covered last week, Bartholomew County was actually on the state highway system since 1917. Main Market Road 1 connected through the middle of the state from Jeffersonville to South Bend, including Scottsburg, Seymour, Columbus, Franklin, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Peru, Rochester and Plymouth. With the second creation of the Indiana State Highway Commission in 1919, it was changed from Main Market Road 1 to State Road 1.

The branch towards Madison that was mentioned in the first paragraph was given the number State Road 26, and was continued west of Columbus to Nashville in Brown County.

1923 Kenyon Map of Bartholomew County, Indiana

There were only two Auto Trails that connected to the county. The first was also mentioned in the opening paragraph, marked as (C) on the map to the left, which was the Jackson Highway.

1923 Indiana Official State Highway Map

The other, marked (P) was the Terre Haute-Columbus-Cincinnati Highway, connecting, pretty close, those three cities. The Jackson Highway followed what was by then State Road through the County. The THCC was made part of State Road 26 from west of Columbus to the city. East of Columbus, it sued county roads for its journey towards Greensburg. This will come back into play in a few short years with the Great Renumbering of 1926. The official map of 1923 showed no change in the state highway system at all in the county.

1926 Indiana Official State Highway Map

With the Great Renumbering, State Road 1 became what it is still known as today – US 31. The THCC highway through the county became SR 46, although it was only an authorized addition at that time east of Columbus. This road connected the county seats, directly, of Brown, Bartholomew and Decatur Counties (Nashville, Columbus and Greensburg). It connected to more (Bloomington, Spencer, Terre Haute and Lawrenceburg).

The Madison Road would become State Road 7. It would connected directly to the county seat of Jennings County, Vernon, but would end at the county seat of Jefferson County, Madison.

1930 Indiana Official Highway Map

Late 1930, and another state road was being authorized in Bartholomew County. Given the job of state roads was to connect county seats, this one would connect to the seats of Shelby and Hancock Counties (Shelbyville and Greenfield), among others. It was not given a number as of that time, however, it was an extension of State Road 9, which ended at Greenfield. The new extension of State Road 9 was authorized to the junction of State Road 46 between Petersville and Newbern.

1932 Indiana Official State Highway Map

By 1932, the extension of the now built State Road 9 was pushed all the way through the county to a point east of Seymour, through Elizabethtown. Another authorized addition coming from Bedford to Columbus was granted, as well.

1933 Indiana Official State Highway Map

That state road that would come in from Bedford would be completed the following year and given the number State Road 58. Ultimately, it was built to connect to US 31 south of Columbus and Garden City.

The State Road 9 extension listed in 1932 was removed from the maps of 1934 and 1935. That addition to State Road 9 would, however, still by in the hearts and minds of the Indiana State Highway Commission. In 1936, a new State Road 9 was being built from State Road 7 south to US 50 east of Seymour. And an authorized addition connecting State Road 46 to State Road 7 was in the works.

1936 Indiana Official State Highway Map
1937 Indiana Official State Highway Map

The State Road 9 extension would be added to maps for the 1937 issue. The connection from State Road 46 south to a point on the under construction new SR 9 west of Elizabethtown was complete. At that point, State Road 9 just dead ended at the construction. It is important to note that the route used by the extension of State Road 9 was in place for many, many years before the state decided to add it to the state highway system. Today, that route, coming off of State Road 46 (old State Road 9, I’ll get to that!) uses County Road 750 East and Legal Tender Road where it connects to US 31 southeast of Columbus.

1939 Indiana Official State Highway Map

By 1939, State Road 9 would be completed to its greatest extent. North of what is now Legal Tender Road going east into Elizabethtown, the new highway was given the designation State Road 9W. This, as you will see, would be a temporary thing.

1941 Indiana Official State Highway Map

A reroute of US 31 was in order in 1941. There had been talk of moving the old route of US 31 throughout the state. In Bartholomew County, this would happen twice. First, a new bypass of Columbus was under construction. At that point, State Road 7 from downtown Columbus to the new State Road 9W would become part of US 31, then all of State Road 9W, and State Road 9 from the end of SR 9W to Seymour, would be changed to US 31. Old US 31 would be redesignated US 31A. By the time the 1942 maps came out, the new US 31 was completed, and State Road 9 was removed from Elizabethtown, having been routed along what became County Road 200 South to its junction with the new US 31 (old SR 9W).

1942 Indiana Official State Highway Map
1945 Indiana Official State Highway Map

The other change in US 31 happened with the creation of Camp Atterbury in Johnson and Bartholomew Counties west of Edinburgh. To facilitate traffic to the new Army camp, the state expanded US 31 to a four lane divided highway. This required the bypassing of Edinburg, since the towns streets were narrow at that time. It did, however, add a new state road to the landscape. It was given the highest “mother” number of the state roads in Indiana (other than SR 135, which began life as SR 35…but that is another story). The old US 31 through Edinburgh would be given the designation State Road 79.

1950 Indiana Official State Highway Map

The only other changes in the state highway system in Bartholomew County prior to 1960 was 1) the construction of a new connection between US 31 and US 31A north of Columbus and 2) the widening of US 31 north of Columbus.

In the years to come, Interstate 65 would come to the county, US 31A would be renamed State Road 11, State Road 58 would be moved further south, State Road 46 would replace State Road 9 south of Newbern, and State Road 7 west of US 31. And State Road 79 would be given to the town of Edinburgh and removed from the state highway system. Ultimately, SR 11 from Columbus north would be also removed from the state highway system.

1957 Indiana Official Highway Map
1959 Indiana Official State Highway Map

Hub Highway

Muncie Morning Star, 27 September 1917

One of the Auto Trails that I have been unable to find much historical information on, yet have seen on many maps, is the Hub Highway. In Indiana, the highway started in Lafayette, working itself across the state to Union City. Along the way, it travelled through Frankfort, Tipton, Muncie, and Winchester on its way to Chillicothe, Ohio.

In Lafayette, it share the Jackson Highway route heading to the southeast. The closest thing to the official start of the road that I can find is Second and Main Streets in downtown Lafayette. This also would be the end of the old Indianapolis-Lafayette State Road. From there, it followed Main Street and State Road 38 out of town, and to Mulberry. At Mulberry, the Jackson Highway, which has been sharing the route with the Hub, split into two. The Hub shared the northern Jackson Highway route, which turned southeast along what is now Gas Line Road. It turned east on what is now Farmers Gravel Road, entering Frankfort on what is now US 421.

The original route of the Hub Highway basically followed what is now SR 28 across Clinton and Tipton Counties to Tipton County Road 300 West. It then turned north on CR 300 W, then east on Tipton’s Jefferson Street. The old route again joins SR 28 until it reached what is now SR 19. It turned north along SR 19 for one half mile to Tipton County Road 100S. East along CR 100S to Tipton County Road 300 East, or State Road 213.

The route turned south along SR 213, crossing SR 28 again and the old Nickel Plate to Tipton County Road 150 South, or old SR 28. The route turned east, crossed the old Nickel Plate again to enter Hobbs. SR 28 becomes the original route of the Hub into Elwood. The Hub then turned south on what is now SR 13 for one mile, to Madison County Road 1100 North. The old highway followed 1100 North, Bethel Avenue, Madison County Road 925 West, and again Bethel Avenue almost all the way to Muncie. At Wheeling Avenue, the Hub turned southeast to enter downtown Muncie.

In Muncie, as best as I can tell, the Hub Highway followed Wheeling Avenue and High Street to Jackson Street. Keep in mind, if you are using this as a travel log, Jackson Street is one way east at this point. Basically, from Muncie to Winchester, the Hub Highway and State Road 32 are one and the same. To get to Union City, the route, as best as can be found, turned north on Union Street in Winchester, and followed that and Union City Pike into Union City.

I am not sure what this highway was supposed to accomplish. But, it seems it would be a great day trip/road trip for those that want to drive a 1917 Auto Trail.

Towns of Pike Township, Marion County

As I have covered much of Marion County when it comes to the little towns that have crept up due to the transportation facilities in Pike Township. For all intents and purposes, there really are only three places that could be mentioned here: Augusta; New Augusta; and Traders Point.

1889 map of Augusta, IN

Let’s start with Augusta. This town was created along the Michigan Road in 1832. It had been platted by David G. Boardman. Naming of the town has never been determined with any certainty. But it would lead to the creation of the Augusta Gravel Road Company, a toll road using the old Michigan Road right-of-way.

The original plan of the town included basically two blocks paralleling the Michigan Road centered on what was called Meridian Street (now 77th Street). The backing streets that were parallel to the Michigan Road were called Spring St. (now Spring Lane) and Parallel Street.

The southern most street of the original plat was Walnut Street. This, today, is called 76th Street. The cemetery shown in the map image to the left is still there. It is located on the curve of 76th Street as it leaves the town itself.

The town of Augusta grew slowly, providing services to local residents and travelers along the Michigan Road. Stagnation occurred when the Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad was built through the area, located about a mile or so west of the town. This would create the second town I want to cover.

1889 map of New Augusta, IN

The Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad built, in 1852, what would be called by the railroad “Augusta Station.” It would be the closest location to the town of Augusta above. The station was located just north of the survey line that would later become 71st Street.

The old town of Augusta found itself in a strange situation. Between the railroad and the fact that the Michigan Road became a toll road (The Augusta Gravel Road), within a few years, a town grew up around the station. There were two names for the village came to be used – Augusta Station and Hosbrook. In 1878, the United States Postal Service decided the issue of the town name. The post office was given the name New Augusta.

1889 map of Traders Point, IN.

West of both Augusta and New Augusta is Traders Point. Or, more to the point, more or less was, Traders Point. The original town sprang up around the mill built by John Jennings and Josiah Coughran in 1864. It was located along Eagle Creek where it was crossed by the old Indianapolis-Lafayette Road. The origin of the name is unclear. There are stories about it having been the location of a Native American trading post. It could also have been named simply because it was a convenient place to do business.

With the coming of the Auto Trail era, all three towns would be included. Traders Point and New Augusta would be included on the Hoosier Motor Club’s Dandy Trail, an 88 mile circle around Marion County. It would skirt Augusta to the south, having been run along the 71st Street/Westlane Road corridor through the area. Augusta would once again appear on the Michigan Road, this time the Auto Trail, that mostly covered the same roads as the original Michigan Road built in the 1830’s. Traders Point would also was on the Jackson Highway.

In 1919, with the creation of the Indiana State Highway Commission, the Jackson Highway north from Indianapolis became part of State Road 6. Later, the old Michigan Road, at least from Indianapolis to Logansport, would become part of State Road 15. SR 6, at least through Traders Point, would be changed to US 52, and SR 15 would changed to SR 29, when the Great Renumbering happened on 1 October 1926. New Augusta would find itself left off of the state highway system all together.

Traders Point would cease to exist as it was originally planned with the coming of Eagle Creek Reservoir in the 1960’s. The town was determined to be on the flood plain for the new man made lake. The location isn’t under water now, and visiting there has very little in the way of sights. The name Traders Point has been placed on quite a few things removed from the original town. Even on shopping centers miles away at 86th Street and I-465.

New Augusta would find itself removed from most of the commercial building craze of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Augusta would get those facilities as shopping centers and the like were built along Michigan Road. The railroad tracks that helped create New Augusta are still in place, but no longer connect to any towns north of New Augusta. They now connect to industrial park areas near 79th and 86th Streets, connecting to the Park 100 area.

All three areas of the county would be absorbed into the City of Indianapolis when UniGov went into effect. Neither Augusta nor Traders Point appear on the Indiana State Highway system, with Traders Point being the first to be removed since US 52 was the first state road in Marion County to be detoured around on Interstate 465.

Original State Roads 6-10

1919. The second law creating the Indiana State Highway Commission was passed, and passed Constitutional muster. When the original law was passed in 1917, the fledgling ISHC created five state roads, called Main Market Roads. They were covered in my post “The First Five State Roads, and the Auto Trails They Replaced.” (Indiana Transportation History Blog, 18 October 2019) But legal issues were brought up in regards to the Indiana constitution of 1851. That Constitution was created after the debacle that was the Mammoth Internal Improvements Act. (Indiana Transportation History Blog, 23 August 2019)

The second law had answered a majority of the Constitutional questions when it came to funding roads. Some people saw the ISHC necessary, not for the creating of a state road system, but for a method to get the money the federal government was spending on creating the system. The federal government would only give money to states that had a state transportation agency in place. No money was to be given directly to any government entity smaller than the state.

The Indiana State Highway Commission wasted no time in adding roads to the state highway system. It should be noted here that the ISHC could not just take roads into the system. There were financing concerns, obviously, but also the fact that the roads in question were actually owned by the county. Most had been toll roads previously, which means the counties had to buy them back from the toll road companies in the decades prior to this.

A quick look at a map of the first state roads, when compared to Auto Trails at the time, shows that the ISHC started by using roads that were already supposed to be upgraded for car transportation. (Check out these maps at the Indiana State Library: ISHC Official Highway Map of 1920; and the Standard Series Map of Indiana, 1919.) I will be mentioning those as I cover the second five original state roads. I want to note here that when I use the term “original state road,” it is in reference to the current state roads and their numbering. All of the roads that are listed here, and the ones in the first five article, were renumbered on 1 October 1926, something I have been calling “The Great Renumbering” since I started the ITH Facebook Group on 31 May 2014. Also, the old state roads, those built by the state between 1820 and 1850, had names that showed their destinations, not numbers. Numbered state roads, at least in Indiana, are a 20th Century invention.

Original State Road 6: This road connected Madison to Monticello, via Versailles, Greensburg, Shelbyville, Indianapolis, Lebanon, Frankfort, and Delphi. For those of you keeping track at home, it may sound like the southern end looks miraculously like the Michigan Road, or at least the Auto Trail of the same name. And you would be right. From Madison to Indianapolis, it followed the Michigan Road Auto Trail. The difference between the historic Michigan Road and the Auto Trail is basically the section that runs from Bryantsburg to Napoleon. Versailles is on the Auto Trail, not the historic road.

North out of Indianapolis, OSR 6 followed the old Indianapolis-Lafayette State Road to Lebanon. From there, it used the old state road to Frankfort. This was the route used by the Jackson Highway from Indianapolis to Frankfort. From Frankfort, the ISHC just charged “cross country,” using county roads, to complete the route through Delphi to Monticello.

OSR 6 would become, in 1926, SR 29 from Madison to Indianapolis, US 52 from Indianapolis to Lebanon, and SR 39 from Lebanon to Monticello.

Original State Road 7: From the Illinois-Indiana State line west of Kentland, via Kentland, Monticello, Logansport, Peru, and Wabash, to Huntington. Map geeks will instantly recognize this by its post-1926 designation: US 24. From west of Kentland to Logansport, it was part of the Illinois Corn Belt Route (Indiana Transportation History Blog, 2 December 2019). Between Remington and Wolcott, the route was shared with the Jackson Highway, which led to Lafayette and Frankfort, where it connected to OSR 6. OSR 6 ended at OSR 7 at Monticello. From Logansport to Huntington, the ISHC used the route of the Wabash Way to create OSR 7.

Original State Road 8: From Remington, north through Rensselaer and Crown Point to Gary. The route was also the Jackson Highway from Remington to Demotte, and from due south of Crown Point east of Lowell to Crown Point. When the Great Renumbering occurred, OSR 8 became part of SR 53 from Remington to SR 2, then SR 2 to where SR 55 would come later. From Crown Point to Gary, the route became SR 55 in 1926.

Original State Road 9: From Rockville north to Hillsboro, then west to Veedersburg, then north through Attica and Williamsport to Boswell. The route then travelled through Fowler to end at OSR 7 west of Goodland. This one was interesting at the time of the Great Renumbering. The original route had been moved to the west from Rockville to Veedersburg, instead of Hillsboro. The road that headed toward Hillsboro had become SR 59, but only to Grange Corner. And even then, not for long. A lot of the route became US 41. At least from Veedersburg to Boswell. Otherwise, the original route of SR 9 was mostly forgotten. Some of this had to do with the renumbering of 1923. (Indiana Transportation History Blog, 18 May 2019) The only section of this entire route that had been part of the Auto Trail system was from Attica to the Benton-Lake County line, which was part of the Adeway. (Indiana Transportation History Blog, 26 October 2020).

Original State Road 10: Evansville, through Princeton, Vincennes, Sullivan, Terre Haute, Clinton, to OSR 33 west of Covington. This long route made use of several Auto Trails. Leaving Evansville, OSR 10 follows the route of both the Dixie Bee Line and the Hoosier Highway. (Indiana Transportation History, 23 October 2019). The two routes parted ways at Princeton, with the Hoosier Highway turning east. The Dixie Bee Line was used for OSR 10 to Perrysville Station, along the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. OSR 10 turned east to Perrysville, while the Dixie Bee Line turned west heading off to Danville, Illinois. The rest of the route of OSR 10 crossed the countryside along county roads until it ended west of Covington.

A quick glance at a map of Indiana, and the reader would think that OSR 10 became the original route of US 41 through the state. And from Evansville to east of Clinton, that would be correct. However, near Clinton, the route crossed the Wabash River. Here, in 1926, it would become SR 63 from Clinton to its end at OSR 33/SR 34.

By 1920, state road numbers would reach into the 40’s. Not many roads were added to the system by the time the first renumbering happened in October 1923. With the Great Renumbering, the state found itself dumping some roads, although it was to be temporary. These original numbered state roads would make a wonderful road trip. I plan on doing a series of that very thing soon.

Indianapolis in the Auto Trail Era

Indiana has been known as the “Crossroads of America” for most of its history. No other place in the state exemplifies that more than the Hoosier Capitol. Although Indianapolis, as a town, started as a remote outpost in the forests and swamps of central Indiana, it would soon become a transportation center. The National and Michigan Roads started the journey toward Indianapolis’ connections to the rest of the country. The coming of the railroads from 1847 to the middle 1850’s accelerated it. The automobile would seal the deal.

A quick look at a Rand McNally Auto Trails map of 1920 shows that Indianapolis was well served when it came to the new routes. Some of these were old roads, using names that had been used for almost a century. Others were new names on old country roads. Today, I want to look at the Auto Trails of 1920 radiating from Indianapolis. For this, I will be using that mentioned Rand McNally map, and using Rand’s numbering system.

8 – Range Line Road: Leaving Indianapolis due north, earlier on Illinois Street, later on Meridian, this route connected Indianapolis to South Bend via Kokomo, Peru, Rochester and Peru. In Marion County, the Range Line followed the Central Canal into Broad Ripple, then northeast along the Westfield Pike, which once it crossed the Hamilton-Marion County Line followed a survey range line north to Kokomo and beyond. In 1926, this would be the route of US 31.

22 – National Old Trails Road: In Indiana, this old route followed what was the first United States road that had been built to connect Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. This was called the National Road. In Indianapolis, it followed that route as closely as it could. (Downtown, the original path of the National Road had been removed in 1904 with the demolition of the covered bridge over the White River.) In 1926, it became US 40.

24 – Hoosier Highway: This road crossed the city southwest to northeast. It would come into Marion County along the old Mooresville State Road, also known as the West Newton Pike/Maywood Road/Kentucky Avenue. It left the city along Massachusetts Avenue where it became the Pendleton Pike at the city limits. The Pendleton Pike was also called the Oakland (Oaklandon) Toll Road for a time. This routing, both ways, would become SR 67 in 1926.

25 – Dixie Highway: Indianapolis found itself in a very nice position when it came to this road. It was created by an Indianapolis resident, Carl G. Fisher. And it used four roads to enter and exit the Hoosier capitol. From the north, it entered Indianapolis along the path of the historic Michigan Road. From the west, the Dixie followed the old Crawfordsville Pike. Southward, the Dixie Highway left using the Bluff Road heading toward Waverly, Martinsville and Bloomington. The route also followed the National Road to the east toward Richmond and Dayton, Ohio. The former three routes are still known by those names today. With the Great Renumbering, Michigan Road became SR 29, Crawfordsville became SR 34, and Bluff Road became SR 37.

26 – Michigan Road: The historic old Indiana state road connecting the Ohio River to Lake Michigan. Through Indianapolis, that would be Southeastern Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street/Michigan Road. The Michigan Road Auto Trail to the north ended at South Bend, even though the historic road left the west toward Michigan City. The entirety of the Michigan Road was made SR 29 in 1926.

42 – Hills And Lakes: This route was created to make a more or less direct route from Indianapolis to Lake Wawasee. It left Indianapolis along the Range Line Road, until it reached the Maple Road (now 38th Street), where the H&L turned east to follow the old Fort Wayne State Road, also known as the Allisonville Pike, out of the county. It did not get a state road number until 1932, when it became SR 13. It would later be renumbered SR 37.

47 – Pikes Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highway: The original route of this road came through Indianapolis, using Rockville Road on the west and Washington Street/National Road to the east. It would later be moved to north of the city through Lebanon, Noblesville and Anderson. The original PPOO was made US 36 and US 40 in 1926.

69 – Jackson Highway: The Indianapolis section of this north-south long distance road used the old Lafayette State Road from the north (US 52 in 1926) and the old Madison State Road (US 31 in 1926) to cross the city.

92 – Terre Haute & Indianapolis Scenic Route: In Marion County, this duplicated the National Old Trails Road from downtown to the west, diverging in Belleville in Hendricks County.

Seymour

Indiana has always been proud of the fact that it is the Crossroads of America. Many cities in Indiana contribute to that nickname. And most people think of Indianapolis when the Crossroads moniker is brought up. But I want to focus on a city in south central Indiana that was not only a crossroads town, it was the crossing of the railroad that gave the city its name: Seymour.

The city itself came into being in 1852. That was the year that the Jeffersonville Railroad completed its track from its title city to Columbus through what soon would be Seymour. The Jeffersonville would be created in 1832 as the Ohio & Indianapolis Railway. In 1849, the railroad changed its name to the Jeffersonville Railroad Company.

In 1851, the State of Indiana chartered the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company. The goal of the company was to build a route that connected the Ohio River at Cincinnati to the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Its path through Indiana was far from settled when a mill owner in Rockford persuaded the railroad engineer to build the line two miles south of the then commercial center of Jackson County. That location south of Rockford where the O&M would cross would, in turn, be named by the mill owner after that railroad engineer: John Seymour.

The location had already been crossed by two state roads built in the decade or so prior to the creation of Seymour. The New Albany State Road entered the area from the north from Indianapolis. The original New Albany State Road turned east on the other state road, before turning south again bound for the Ohio River. That other state road connected Lawrenceburg (and Cincinnati) to Vincennes.

In the mid-1880’s, the city would have an addition to it crossroads status with the coming of the Evansville & Richmond Railroad. This would make Seymour a rail center, with direct connections (through the three railroads) to Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago. The sixth route out of the city would connect to the Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville at Westport.

With the creation of the Auto Trails, Seymour found itself on three routes. The Jackson Highway, marked by the number 69 on Rand McNally maps of the era, entered Seymour along the old state road connecting the city to Indianapolis. It then followed the Cincinnati-Vincennes Road to the southeast towards Brownstown and Vallonia. That old state road would also be used, from west to east, through Seymour for the route of Rand McNally’s route 90, known as the French Lick Route. Rand McNally route 96 started in Seymour, and left the town going south, twisting and turning its way through Dudleytown and Crothersville to ultimately join the old New Albany State Road.

When the Indiana State Highway Commission was first formed in 1917, Seymour found itself on even footing with Indianapolis when it came to the state Main Market Road system. The state created five main market highways. Market Highway 1 followed the old New Albany State Road from Indianapolis to New Albany. Market Highway 4 would cross Indiana on the old Cincinnati to Vincennes state road from Bedford to Cincinnati.

This status quo would remain in place through the Great Renumbering on 1 October 1926. Although the official name of the Main Market Highway would change to State Road in 1919, Seymour would still be on both SR 1 and SR 4. With the renumbering, the city found itself on two cross-country highways, when SR 1 became US 31 and SR 4 became US 50.

By 1940, a US 31 bypass would be built from Columbus to Seymour, passing both cities to the east. At the south end of the bypass, the new US 31 connected to the original US 31 where it departed from the US 50. Up to this point, US 31 came in to downtown Seymour from the north, turned east along US 50, then turned south again east of Seymour. The old US 31 into Seymour would first become US 31A, then changed to SR 11.

Today, Seymour is still on US 50, but is bypassed by both US 31 and I-65, the interstate built to follow the venerable old US route. SR 11 still follows the old US 31 route into the city. After many name changes, the old Ohio & Mississippi would become part of the Baltimore & Ohio. The Jeffersonville would merge with one of its competitors, and then a bunch of other companies, to become part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. CSX and the Louisville & Indiana, respectively, are the successors to those railroads that helped form the town in the first place. Trains still rumble through on those roads. The Milwaukee Road, the ultimate successor to the Evansville & Richmond would rip out the tracks from Seymour to Westport in 1961, and from Bedford to Seymour in 1978.

Lebanon

1919 transportation map of Boone County, Indiana.

Lebanon, county seat of Boone County. Boone County was created in 1830, effective 1 April 1830. Lebanon would become the seat of Boone County after Jamestown was not met with a great deal of approval. The choice was made when Commissioners chosen to find a new site met at the center of the county and basically said “yep, this is it” on 1 May 1831. In 1833, the move was officially made…and the town was given a name. From that point on, Lebanon had been a crossroads town both in trails and trains.

The town would find itself along the paths of several “state roads” the were created in the 1830’s. The first I want to mention is the Richmond-Crawfordsville State Road. As the name suggests, it started at Richmond. I covered parts of this road several times in the past year. It basically follows what is now SR 38 out of Richmond to Noblesville, then SR 32 across Indiana through Westfield and Lebanon to Crawfordsville. This road would connect the town to the cross-state highway called the Michigan Road.

The second road that would traverse the town would be the Indianapolis-Lafayette State Road. This road started in near downtown Indianapolis, leaving Marion County on what was the original US 52. This is a topic we will come back to. This historic route would continue through the town to its terminus in Lafayette, where it ended right at the banks of the Wabash River. Through Lebanon, it would become Indianapolis Road southeast of town, and Lafayette Road northwest of it.

Another road connecting the town would become an important feed to Lebanon in the early 20th Century would be the Frankfort State Road. Frankfort would become the county seat of Clinton County in May 1830, two months after the creation of the county and one month after the creation of Boone County. (Yes, you read that right…Clinton County is one month older than Boone County!) The Frankfort State Road left Lebanon along what is now SR 39. But, like other early state roads, the path between the two towns was anything but a straight line.

1953 (1955 edition) USGS topographical map of Lebanon, Indiana.

The next topic of this crossroads town is the railroad. Lebanon would come to have three railroads connecting it to the rest of the country, and all three would be in the hands of the two largest railroads in the United States east: New York Central and Pennsylvania. The third would be, eventually, owned by both.

The Lafayette & Indianapolis Railroad was created on 19 January 1846 to connect the title cities. The route that was chosen took the railroad through Lebanon. (It should be noted that this railroad did some street running in Zionsville on its way to Lebanon.) The Lafayette & Indianapolis would be consolidated into several different companies to eventually become part of the Big Four – Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis.

The second railroad that connected to the town was the Midland Route, which started life in 1871 as the Anderson, Lebanon & St. Louis Railroad. The railroad would find itself in constant financial bad times, as most smaller roads did in Indiana. After one of its bankruptcies, the ownership of the company fell into the hands of both the New York Central (through the Big Four) and the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was planned to be used as an Indianapolis bypass. That plan never really came to fruition.

The last railroad that would connect to Lebanon would be the Indianapolis & Frankfort, a Pennsylvania Railroad line that would commence construction from Ben Davis, near what is now the Indianapolis International Airport, in 1913. The road was built because up to that point, the Pennsylvania had no direct route from Indianapolis to Chicago, and it was using trackage rights on other routes to connect to PRR tracks heading into Logansport. The railway was completely elevated through Lebanon, along the western edge of the town.

Before the Indianapolis & Frankfort came to town, though, Lebanon was already the center point of another railroad empire – the interurban. For a smaller city, Lebanon had three interurban routes crossing the town. The Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company connected the town to Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Frankfort and Lafayette. A short line connected to Thorntown. Unfortunately, the lines would be abandoned relatively quickly when they started going out of business. The Lebanon-Thorntown like would be abandoned 27 August 1926. The Indianapolis-Lafayette line would end services on 31 October 1930. In 1933, the Indiana State Highway Commission was attempting to acquire the right-of-way from Lebanon to Frankfort for SR 39. But the traction company that owned it had quit claimed the deed to the property…causing it to revert to the 66 owners of the land prior to the coming of the interurban.

When the Auto Trail era came into being, Lebanon was included in that, as well. The Indianapolis-Lafayette State Road, into Lebanon, and the Frankfort State Road north out of Lebanon, became part of the Jackson Highway. The Jackson Highway started in Chicago, roughly following the Dixie Highway, usually on a different path, to Nashville, Tennessee. From there, it connected to New Orleans. It entered Lebanon from the north on Lebanon Street, leaving town along Indianapolis Avenue.

Another Auto Trail that came through Lebanon was the Crawfordsville to Anderson. Just as it sounds, it crossed the state between the two titles cities along what would become, in 1926, SR 32. Most of the route is still in the same place, with the state making very few changes in SR 32 over the years (with the exception of north of Nobleville to Lapel). Later, this road would also carry the Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway across Indiana. From 1916 to 1922, the PPOO connected to Indianapolis. From 1922 on, it connected (just like the Crawfordsville to Anderson) Crawfordsville, Lebanon, Westfield, Noblesville, and Anderson.

Lebanon also has the distinction of having the very first section of Interstate 65 that was built in Indiana. The section in question was built as a bypass of the town for US 52, skirting Lebanon along the south and west sides. When the interstate system was being created (and it was decided that I-65 would go from Indianapolis to Chicago instead of following US 31 like it did since southern Alabama), the logical route to use was what was already in place around Lebanon…a limited access highway that was wide enough to become part of the Interstate system.

Today, Lebanon sits with most of its transportation facilities close to intact. US 52 had been removed from the city in the early 1950’s. SR 32 and SR 39 still traverse the town. The Big Four railroad line from Indianapolis to Lafayette has long since been removed. The Midland Route to Westfield and Noblesville, likewise gone. CSX now runs trains along the old Indianapolis & Frankfort, which still connects to the title cities.

2019 USGS topographical map of Lebanon, Indiana.

Indiana Auto Trails, Revisited

Indiana. The Crossroads of America. When the Auto Trails came to the state, there were quite a number of them. In 1922, there were 34 to be exact. While the State Highway Commission was busy putting state road numbers everywhere, people at the time still followed the colorful markers that appeared on utility poles throughout the state. In November 1922, an article was published in several newspapers across Indiana describing those Auto Trails. Those articles showed the signs that were posted along the way, and a brief description of the route. Anyone that has seen these lists in person know that the order of the highways is a bit weird. Yellowstone Trail is always listed first. Why? Because Rand McNally, when publishing the “official” Auto Trails maps in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s listed it first. It wasn’t the first such road…but Rand decided it would be.

Some Auto Trails and Original Indiana State Roads

In the 1910’s, organizations were being set up all over the country to support building a system of roads, called Auto Trails, to facilitate the moving of traffic across the state and across the nation. I have covered several of these of the past 11 months: Lincoln Highway, Hoosier Dixie, National Road, Michigan Road, Dandy Trail, Crawfordsville to Anderson, Hoosier Highway, Ben Hur Route, Jackson Highway, Tip Top Trail, Riley Highway, Illinois Corn Belt and the Midland Route. The purpose of these organizations was to create good, hard surface roads, allowing better, faster and safer transportation across the United States. Some organizations were successful. Others were not. And some of these were brought into the early Indiana State Road system.

Now, when I say brought into the system, it should be known that occasionally I will be talking about corridors…although many of the the roads were taken directly by the State Highway Commission.

The Yellowstone Trail: The Yellowstone Trail connected Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington, and both to the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. From Valparaiso to Fort Wayne, the Yellowstone Trail became SR 44 originally. Later, in 1923, it would be changed to SR 2. That designation would be gone in 1926, when the corridor became that of US 30.

Dixie Bee Line: Designed as a more direct route to the south, as opposed to the older and more famous Dixie Highway, the Dixie Bee Highway separated from its namesake at Danville, Illinois. It entered Indiana northwest of Cuyuga, and went roughly due south through Terre Haute, Vincennes and Evansville. In 1920, the section from Cuyuga south became SR 10. It would later become SR 63 to Clinton, then US 41 to Evansville.

Range Line: This route became part of, arguably, the most important north-south route in Indiana. The Range Line Road, connecting Indianapolis to Peru via Kokomo, started life in Indianapolis as the Westfield Road. It got its Auto Trail name from the fact that it followed a survey line, called the Range Line, up to west of Peru, where it ended at the Wabash Way, mentioned later. It was so important that the route would be made a Main Market Road in 1917, given the number 1. It became SR 1 in 1919. It was changed to US 31 in 1926.

Lincoln Highway: The original version of this first transcontinental highway connected across Indiana via Valparaiso, LaPorte, South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, Ligonier, and Fort Wayne. Again, due to its importance, it became one of the first five Main Market Roads in 1917, given the number 2. It then became SR 2. In 1923, the Fort Wayne to Elkhart became SR 46, Elkhart to South Bend became SR 25 to Rolling Prairie, and the rest of the original Lincoln Highway to Valparaiso became SR 42, while the future Lincoln Highway became SR 2 along the Yellowstone Route corridor. The two ends of the road in Indiana became US 30, while from Valpo to Rolling Prairie, and from South Bend to Fort Wayne, became SR 2 again. Later from South Bend to Fort Wayne became US 33.

National Old Trails Road: While most of the way across Indiana, this Auto Trail follows the nation’s first highway, the National Road, it is not entirely the route. While most of the NOTR became Main Market Road 3 in 1917, then SR 3 in 1919, the portion east of Richmond was left out of the state road system. At Richmond, the NOTR turned toward Eaton and Dayton, before connecting back to the original National Road at Springfield. Later, in 1926, that section of the NOTR would become SR 11…then US 35 in 1935.

Dixie Highway: Ironically, that which was the first transcontinental north-south highway would only become part of the state road system in sections. From Danville, Illinois, to Crawfordsville would become SR 33, the Indiana-Michigan state line to Rochester became SR 1, Martinsville to Bedford became SR 22, Bedford to Paoli would become SR, originally Main Market Road, 4, and from Paoli to New Albany would be SR 42. This changed in 1923. SR 42 became part of SR 5, SR 4 became an extension of SR 22, as did the route from Martinsville to Indianapolis, from Indianapolis to Logansport became SR 15. 1926, and the number of state roads the old Dixie Highway became is large: SR 25, SR 29, US 31, SR 34, SR 37, and US 150.

Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean: This road had two routes through Indiana in its history. The first route came into Indiana west of Montezuma. From Montezuma to Danville, the original route became SR 31. By 1923, instead of SR 31 connecting to SR 3 (later US 40) near Cartersburg, it connected to SR 3 west of Indianapolis at where the (original) Rockville Road connected to the National Road. The new route would cross Indiana north of Indianapolis, with the route entering Indiana from Danville, Illinois, with the Dixie Highway. From Crawfordsville to Lebanon, it would become SR 33. From Westfield to Union City, the 1920 road number was SR 37. 1923 saw SR 33 extended from Crawfordsville to Union City, with the SR 37 designation from Anderson to Muncie. In 1926, SR 33 would be changed to SR 32. This was also the route of the Crawfordsville to Anderson Auto Trail.

There are far more routes that crossed the state. I will cover more of them at a later date.

Jackson Highway in Indiana

In the Auto Trail era, there were a lot of highways, for lack of a better term, cobbled together to reach distant parts of the United States. The granpap (or for those not of Pennsylvanian heritage, grandfather) of them all was the Lincoln Highway. Then came the Dixie Highway. After that, organizations were popping up creating more and more of these collections of country roads into named highways. One such road was named to honor Andrew Jackson.

Looking at it in the grand scheme of things, the Jackson Highway was, well, strange when it came to routing. It was designed to compliment the Dixie Highway. From Nashville, Tennessee, to Chicago, Illinois, the two road ran quite a bit of the time together, but usually not on the same road. At Nashville, the Dixie turned toward Florida. Confusingly, the Jackson turned southwest towards New Orleans. I say confusingly because it’s not very often that going from Chicago to New Orleans requires a long journey through Indiana.

The Jackson and the Dixie (at least one branch) both started in Chicago, and left Indiana at New Albany. As the Dixie aimed south toward Danville, Illinois, the Jackson goes straight for Hammond. From there, the Jackson Highway connected Crown Point, Rensselaer, Lafayette, Frankfort and Lebanon on its way to Indianapolis. At Indianapolis, the Jackson Highway met both branches of the Dixie Highway. The Dixie came into town on what would become SR 34 (US 136) and US 31, leaving along what became SR 37 and US 40. The Jackson came into town along what became US 52 and left via US 31.

In 1917, one year after the creation of the Jackson Highway, original state road 1 was created using the Dixie Highway north of Indianapolis and the Jackson Highway south of it. That state road designation would become official in 1919. The OSR 1 designation would separate from the Jackson at Seymour.

That would mean that from Indianapolis, the next stops on the Jackson would be Greenwood, Franklin, Columbus, Seymour, Salem and New Albany before crossing the Ohio River into Louisville.

Also in 1919, according to the Logansport Pharos-Reporter of 3 June 1919, traffic reports were issued, at least as far as Clinton County was concerned. The headline read “Michigan Road Traveled Much – County Kept During Friday and Saturday on Two Best Highways.” According to the Clinton County officials, the traffic counts along the two roads was decidedly leaning toward the Michigan. Cars were 714 to 319, Michigan. Trucks, 53 to 9, Michigan. Motorcycles 13 to 26, Jackson. And horse drawn vehicles, 165 to 1, Michigan.

A more detailed destination list of the Jackson, according to the Rand McNally Auto Trails map of 1919 is as follows: Whiting, Hammond, Chicago Heights, Highland, Schererville, Crown Point, Shelby, Thayer, Demotte, Virgie, Aix, Rensselaer, Remington, Wolcott, Montmorenci, Lafayette, Dayton, Mulberry, Frankfort, Mechanicsburg, Lebanon, Royalton, Flackville and Indianapolis.

From Indianapolis, the route connects Southport, Greenwood, Whiteland, Franklin, Amity, Edinburgh, Taylorsville, Columbus, Walesboro, Waynesville, Jonesville, Seymour, Brownstown, Vallonia, Millport, Kossuth, Salem, Pekin, Borden, Bridgeport, Bennettsville, and New Albany.

Most references in Indiana to the Jackson Highway were gone from the local newspapers by 1933. Occasionally afterwards, the name would be used in places where there was no state road designation. By 1936, even those had dried up.

Road Trip 1926: US 52

Well, we are going a little out of order with today’s road trip. But, I am following the lead of Jim Grey, my co-admin of the Indiana Transportation History Facebook group, as today is a special day…number 52, as a matter of fact.

US 52 started, originally, at US 41 near Fowler, Indiana. This beginning of the route created an almost direct route from Cincinnati to Chicago, via Indianapolis. Through Indiana, it took the place of a couple of original state roads: the Lafayette Road (Lafayette to Indianapolis) and the Brookville Road (Indianapolis to Brookville). In the Auto Trail era, parts of the road were also part of the Jackson Highway (from Montmorenci to Lafayette and from Lebanon to Indianapolis). Those sections would become original SR 6 in 1919. By 1923, the section from Indianapolis to Brookville (and to the Ohio state line) became OSR 39.

The rest of what became US 52 was a “new route” (not part of the then state highway system) when the Great Renumbering happened on 1 October 1926.

The First Five State Roads, and the Auto Trails They Replaced

When the Good Roads Movement started in the United States, the rush was on to create a system of highways connecting all points of the country. This led to a collection of rural roads being marked with multi-colored signage painted on utility poles, sometimes with large numbers of marking on some routes. When the Federal Government started getting into the road funding business, it was through the states be giving money to each state that had a government agency to control that money. In Indiana, this was accomplished, originally, in 1917. Constitutionality of the new State Highway Commission caused the agency to be recreated in 1919. The ISHC decided that it would be easiest to start the new state highway system with the already (somewhat) improved system of Auto Trails.

In 1917, five “Market” roads were created as the start of the state highway system. The first of these roads was a collection of different Auto Trails stretching from north of South Bend to New Albany. At the Michigan state line, original state road (OSR) 1 started along what was the Dixie Highway. At South Bend, the Dixie Highway was joined by the Michigan Road. This arrangement was used to Rochester. Here, OSR 1 would turn southeast along the Range Line Road, while the Michigan Road and Dixie Highway would veer to the southwest, using the historic route of the former. OSR 1 would continue through Peru and Kokomo on its way to Indianapolis. At what is now SR 18, the Range Line Road was joined by the Belt Line, an Auto Trail connecting Lafayette to Fort Recovery, Ohio, via Kokomo. This multiplex would continue to what is now SR 26 south of Kokomo.

At Indianapolis, where the Range Line Road officially ended, the original route of OSR 1 would leave the city southbound on the Jackson Highway. This would be followed to Seymour. A small section south of Seymour failed to follow any Auto Trail, but this would only last for a few miles, where OSR 1 began following the Pigeon Roost Route, which only ran from New Albany to Seymour. OSR 1 left Indiana as part of the Dixie Highway and the Jackson Highway.

The next two Market roads added to the state highway system, OSR 2 and OSR 3, followed Auto Trails for their complete routes through the state. OSR 2 followed the original route of the Lincoln Highway through northern Indiana. This road connected Valparaiso, Laporte, South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen and Fort Wayne. OSR 3 used teh National Old Trails Road, in Indiana known as the National Road, from Terre Haute through Indianapolis to Richmond.

One of the few new state highways that would not originally be part of the Auto Trails system, at least at the beginning would be OSR 4. The new state road would start in Evansville and follow a country road to Boonville. From there, it would continue to Gentryville to Huntingburg. At Huntingburg, the old French Lick Route would become part of OSR 4 through Jasper, French Lick, West Baden to Paoli.

At Paoli, OSR 4 left to the north following the Dixie Highway, the French Lick Route and the Midland Route. The Midland Route entered Indiana at Vincennes and left via New Albany via Mitchell and Paoli. At Mitchell, the Midland Route left OSR 4 to the west. At Bedford, OSR 4 would turn east, still following the French Lick Route. The French Lick would be part of this state road across Indiana to Lawrenceburg. At Vallonia, the Jackson Highway would join the road to Seymour. At the eastern end of the road, OSR 4 changed from the French Lick Route to the Terre Haute-Columbus-Cincinnati Trail to head off toward the state line.

The final original state highway, OSR 5, basically followed the Midland Route from OSR 4 at Mitchell west to Vincennes. While this is along the general line of what is now US 50, the original route bounced north and south quite a bit connecting Vincennes and Mitchell.

Dandy Trail

Before there was an interstate 465, before SR 100, or even SR 534, there was a drivable loop road around the city of Indianapolis. Unlike I-465, and its 53 mile loop, this loop entailed 88 mile connection of already present roads, venturing closer to the county line than SR 100 or I-465. This loop was created by the Hoosier Motor Club (HMC), a part of the American Automobile Association (AAA). It was named after a prize Pomeranian belonging to M. E. Noblet, the then secretary-manager of the HMC. This would be the Dandy Trail.

The Dandy Trail was mapped and marked in the spring of 1920. The first tour of part of the route would be a drive of the northern section on 9 May 1920. The southern part would be traversed on 16 May 1920. (Source: Indianapolis News, 1 May 1920, pp 17) It should be noted here that the Dandy Trail was an Auto Trail, a named path put together by an organization, as opposed to a state road of any kind. As such, all signs and markings would be the responsibility of the Hoosier Motor Club, not any government agency. In the source article, there is a picture of the junction of the Dandy Trail and the Jackson Highway, which at the time used the Lafayette Road from Indianapolis to Lebanon. Another note here is that the Dandy Trail was marked along Lafayette Road from Traders Point (located at the crossing of Big Eagle Creek and Lafayette Road, at roughly what would be the equivalent of 75th Street) and 71st Street, the road to New Augusta.

Indianapolis News, 1 May 1920.

Starting in the northwestern part of Marion County, working clockwise around, the marked Dandy Trail would, at the time, connect Traders Point, New Augusta, Meridian Hills, Broad Ripple, Allisonville, Castleton, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Lawrence, Lanesville, Five Points, Southport, Glenn’s Valley, Antrim, Drexel Gardens, and Speedway. But, it has to be said that there was not a real straight connection between these points.

The routing is listed following. It should be noted that while the roads that are still in place can be followed, not all of the roads are in the same place. I will be posting some maps from MapIndy to show these changes.

Starting at Traders Point, the marked road would travel south along Lafayette Road, turning east on what is now 71st Street. It would stay on 71st Street and Westlane Road to Spring Mill Road. South on Spring Mill, crossing Kessler to become Illinois Street (before Kessler Boulevard was built, Illinois Street going north crossed the river and became immediately what is now Spring Mill Road). South on Illinois, the road turned east (more northeast, actually) onto Westfield Boulevard. It followed Westfield through Broad Ripple (where Westfield Blvd. became SR 1). The route then turned east on 80th Street, which turned into Union Chapel Road. Union Chapel, at the time, connected to 86th Street next to White River, on which Dandy Trail turned east. 86th turns into 82nd near that point, which is followed to Hague Road.

MayIndy 1941 image of the Dandy Trail along 80th Streets and Union Chapel Road with a dim current transportation overlay showing the location of current Keystone Avenue and other disruptions in the original route.

Turning north on Hague Road, the Dandy Trail then uses 86th Street again, heading east to Sargent Road. The route then followed this curvy road south to the Fall Creek Road. This is one place where Dandy Trail connected to Fort Benjamin Harrison. It skirted the northern edge of the fort while connecting to 56th Street. The trail then turned east on 56th Street, which it followed to the gated community of Brendonwood. While this area is not accessible today, Dandy Trail actually followed the arch that is Lawrence Avenue through Brendonwood. Upon returning to 56th Street, it followed that road onto Fort Benjamin Harrison before turning south on Shadeland Avenue.

MapIndy 1941 image showing the original path of Franklin Road from south of 16th Street to north of 21st Street.

South on Shadeland Avenue, the route turns east on 46th Street, which is followed to Franklin Road. South on Franklin Road (some of which no longer exists since the building of I-70) to Washington Street, east on Washington, then south on Post Road. Post Road south to Troy Avenue, west to Five Points Road, south to Hanna Avenue, west to Arlington Avenue, then south to Shelbyville Road. Shelbyville Road, after going northwest and west, turns into Thompson Road (historically, it was Shelbyville Road to what is now Carson Avenue). Just past Carson, the Dandy Trail turns south on McFarland Road, west on Southport, south on Meridian, west on Stop 11 (note – NOT what is now Meridian School). The historic Stop 11 Road (originally Frye Road) followed, as did the Dandy Trail, what is now Rahke Road between the two sections of Stop 11. This routing of Stop 11/Frye Road had been in place since at least 1855, according to maps. Again, the Dandy Trail followed Stop 11 west, Bluff Road southwest, Wicker Road west, Lake Road north, and Southport Road west to Mann Road. Southport Road had been, and still is, the southern most bridge over the White River in Marion County.

The Dandy Trail then turned north on Mann Road, west on Mooresville, north on Lynhurst, turning east on Vermont. Vermont Street used to have a bridge across Eagle Creek, which has since been removed. Grande Avenue was part of the old trail, but can be reached by turning north on Gasoline Alley. The Dandy Trail then followed Cossell Road and Winton Avenue to 16th Street, which at the time was both the Dixie Highway and the Crawfordsville Road. The Dandy Trail shared the road with the Dixie Highway from 16th and Winton, across 16th Street, Cunningham Road, and the old Crawfordsville Road (which ran south of the current Crawfordsville Road and the old Peoria & Eastern railroad tracks).

MapIndy 1941 image with the original path of the Dandy Trail marked, from Crawfordsville Road north to 38th Street. The current Dandy Trail curves around the original route from north of current 34th Street south to Crawfordsville Road, where it connects to Country Club Road.

From the next turn of the old road, to the chosen beginning point at Traders Point, the old route is very much missing in parts. Salt Lake Road, which is east of the road now called Dandy Trail, was followed north, where it crossed Eagle Creek, then turned east on 34th Street. It should be noted that this connection is long gone, so it is best to follow the route NOW called Dandy Trail, although it really has nothing to due with the old route in this section. The original Dandy Trail was moved, from 34th Street north, to the new route in many places, while some of the old road is used between 34th Street and Sailors Lane north of 46th Street. At what is now Sailors Lane, the road turned west and skirted Eagle Creek on the east bank until it reached 56th Street. At 56th Street, the route crossed Eagle Creek, then continued north to Lafayette Road.

Route of the Dandy Trail around 56th Street through what is now Eagle Creek Reservoir. The base photo is from 1941, courtesy of MapIndy.

Now, a shrewd map reader will notice that the described crossing of Eagle Creek is a bit on the wet side, now being in the middle of the Eagle Creek Reservoir. This is true from basically Sailors Lane north to near Hill Creek on the west side of the reservoir in Eagle Creek Park, where the old road becomes a walking trail before ending at a west running branch of the reservoir south of Wilson Road. The street name, Dandy Trail, still exists east of the intersection of Traders Lane and Wilson Road. It is now inside park property. But the road connected directly to the Lafayette Road across Eagle Creek from the intersection of Dandy Trail and Wilson Road. The travelers would then find themselves back in Traders Point…or at least the old town of Traders Point.

Route of the Dandy Trail from Lafayette Road/Wilson Road south through what is now Eagle Creek Park. The blue section is now Eagle Creek Reservoir. The base photo is from 1941, courtesy of MapIndy.

Other than the west leg from 46th north to Lafayette Road which probably still exists under the waters or the reservoir, the other sections that can’t be exactly driven are as follows (again clockwise from Traders Point): from Spring Mill Road to Illinois Street, which requires using Kessler Boulevard to cross White River; the Westfield Boulevard section from College Avenue to Winthrop Avenue in Broad Ripple gets a little dicey, although it may still be intact; Union Chapel Road from 80th Street to 86th Street (cut at Keystone Avenue and before reaching 86th Street); the section along 86th and 82nd Streets to Allisonville (covered as part of “82nd and 86th Street Before SR 534 (SR 100)” on 20 September 2019); Fall Creek Road from Shadeland Avenue to west of I-465 (here the old road is Fall Creek Road North from Shadeland to Boy Scout Road); the section mentioned above in Brendonwood; the original area of Shadeland Avenue at 56th Street (current under I-465); Franklin Road from north of 21st Street to south of 16th Street (shown in a map above); Troy Avenue at Franklin Road (detoured since I-74 was built to go right through that intersection); Hanna Avenue between Churchman Bypass and Arlington Avenue (again moved for I-465); the above mentioned Vermont Avenue bridge over Eagle Creek; old Crawfordsville Road from Cunningham Road to near Girls School Road; the section from Crawfordsville Road north to north of 34th Street; sections at 38th and 46th Streets (changed for traffic efficiency, since both these roads ended at the original Dandy Trail); and everything north of Sailors Lane.

The Dandy Trail was covered quite well by Jim Grey, another blogger and co-admin of the Indiana Transportation History Facebook group. His original post is called “It’s 1921, and you’re taking a pleasure drive on the Dandy Trail.” Other posts by Jim are available using this search of his blog site. He has a link to both an original map of the route and a Google map that he created. I recommend checking those out.

US 52 at Lebanon

If you ask people that know (or even care), the Interstate system came into being in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the plan to create a system of controlled access highways that would bare his name later in time. But what most people don’t realize is that the first part of what would become part of that system in Indiana predates that law by half a decade. Although not originally built to be a controlled access highway, the US 52 bypass of Lebanon started in 1948 would eventually be added to what is now I-65.

Lebanon would be the next relatively large town on what, in Marion County, was known as the Lafayette Road. The original road’s starting point in Indianapolis has been moved several times. In the Auto Trail era, the section from Lebanon to Indianapolis would be part of the Jackson Highway. It would become, in 1919, the first state road added after the original five 1917 Main Market highways, as OSR 6. The original state road north of Lebanon was not included in the state system until 1924.

With the Great Renumbering, the old Lafayette Road, in its entirety, would become US 52. Between 1934 and 1938, it would also carry the designation US 152. (US 152 didn’t last very long. There is still a small remnant of this highway as SR 152 in Hammond.) As an aside, originally US 52 north of Indianapolis ended at US 41 at Fowler. US 152, in its short lifespan, would be longer (at least north of Indianapolis) than its mother road, as it ended in Hammond.

The route changed very little around the Lebanon area. Entering from the south on Indianapolis Avenue, then following Main Street to then use Lafayette Avenue north out of town. As the (still) most direct route between Indianapolis and Chicago, this route would see way too much traffic for Lebanon to handle. With the State Highway Commission putting a lot of time and money into the expansion of US highways throughout the state (US 40 and US 31 come to mind immediately), the decision was made in 1947 to build a wider US 52 around Lebanon.

Construction would start in 1948. There was an article in the Indianapolis Star of 28 October 1948 concerning the auto accident death of a man that was employed by the construction company that was building the bypass at the time. The accident would involve three tractor-trailers, a dump truck and two passenger cars. The man killed was driving the dump truck.

1950 Indiana Official Highway Map showing the new bypass of Lebanon under construction.

The Indiana Official Highway Map of 1950 shows the Lebanon bypass under construction. The route taken would completely remove US 52 from the Lebanon corporate limits at the time. The bypass would be shown as complete on the 1951 map, although it still shows US 52 as part of the state highway system through Lebanon. It would be shown this way until 1953.

By 1960, this section of highway become I-65 and would join parts of I-74, I-80, I-90 and I-94 as the first officially completed additions to Indiana’s part of the future interstate system. This section of I-65 would be shown from the Hendricks-Marion County line to the end of the old US 52 bypass northwest of Lebanon.

1960 Indiana Official Highway Map showing the US 52 bypass and first sections of I-65 built.

The northern end of the original bypass would have an exit built to US 52 according to the 1961 map. This would be the location where I-65 would aim more north than the old road. I-65 would roughly parallel US 52 to north of Lafayette, listed as under construction starting in 1966.

There were no more real changes to the routing of US 52 around the Lebanon area since. This section of US 52 joins a small section of US 421 in Marion and Shelby Counties as the only US highways in Indiana that were to become directly part of the Interstate Highway system.


US 31 at Columbus

I can’t think of any highway in Indiana that has been bypassed and/or moved more that US 31. Part of this, honestly, was because the original route left something to be desired when it came to turns, curves and other hazards. Keeping in mind that US 31 came into being on 1 October 1926, there were a lot of changes before the coming of 1946, its twentieth anniversary.

At Columbus, it changed quite a bit over the years. At one point, there was a US 31 and a US 31A, an extended following of the old Madison State Road, a take over of both SR 9 and SR 9W, and a removal and replacement of a section of SR 7 (which would later become part of SR 46!).

1939 Indiana Official Highway Map of Bartholomew County

Let’s start with the original US 31, as marked on 1 October 1926. Coming from the north, US 31 followed the old Madison State Road, and the Jackson Highway Auto Trail, into Columbus along what is now Indianapolis Road to its junction at 8th Street (yes, I know, that intersection is gone). The road then turned south on Brown Street to Second Street, where the bridge crossed the Flatrock River. US 31 then exited Columbus on what is now SR 11.

1941 Indiana Official Highway Map of Bartholomew County

The first change in the routing of US 31 happened in the time frame of 1940-1941 (as shown in the 1941 Indiana Official Map), when the road was routed, from Second and Brown Streets, along SR 7 to the junction that, in 1939, was listed as SR 9W. That routing is the current path from what is now SR 46 south to Seymour. (SR 46 was rerouted over a decade ago to take over what was SR 9.) In 1939, there was SR 9W, which ran south from SR 7 to Bartholomew County Road 475S. At that time, CR 475S was SR 9, which then turned south on what is now US 31 (National Road). National Road would be the same as CR 400E. Old US 31 became US 31A with the moving of the official US 31 route. The 1941 map also shows that the current bypass from north of Columbus to SR 7 was under construction.

1942 Indiana Official Highway Map of Bartholomew County

As a side note, I mentioned that the original US 31 entered Columbus from the north on the original Indianapolis-Madison State Road. That old road left Columbus along what is shown on these maps as SR 7. Now, it would be SR 46 before it becomes SR 7.

The 1942 official map shows that the US 31 bypass of Columbus was complete. With this completion, not only was SR 9 removed south of Columbus (replaced by US 31), it was rerouted to the road that is now SR 46. At Newbern, SR 46 and SR 9 met for 70 years. INDOT would move SR 46 to the route of SR 9 south of that point, ending SR 9 at the same place.

1979 Indiana Official Highway Map of Bartholomew County

The 1979 official map shows something that I don’t remember ever seeing before: SR 31A. What was US 31A is marked on the 1979 as SR 31A. This makes sense, given the way Indiana does state road numbers. There have been very few “A” routes in Indiana history. Usually, if a bypass is built, Indiana gives the old route a “daughter” number. It was unusual that this route was given an “A” number, even more so that it remained officially a US route for 36 years. In 1983, the road would again be labelled, on maps anyway, as US 31A.

1985 Indiana Official Highway Map of Bartholomew County

The last official change made to US 31 in the Columbus area was in 1985, when the old US 31A was recommissioned as SR 11. This made the old road a continuation of SR 11 which connected at the end of US 31A at Seymour.

1999 would be the last year that the old US 31 leaving Columbus to the north would be part of the state highway system. In 2000, not only was that section of SR 11 removed, but SR 46 was rerouted along what was SR 9, and SR 7 ended at US 31. That would end 82 years of Indianapolis Road in Columbus being a state road. It all started by being part of State Market Highway 1 in 1917. Then original SR 1 in 1919.


Auto Trails Quick Take, Part 3

This is part three of the quick description of the Auto Trails, as listed in the Lafayette Journal and Courier of 1 November 1922. It gives a general idea of the roads that most of which would be accepted into the State Highway System. The numbering used corresponds to the numbers used on the Rand McNally Auto-Trails maps of the late 1910s through the mid 1920s.

(Note – all information in this entry comes directly, word for word, from the mentioned newspaper. Some may disagree with what was written.)

(69) The Jackson Highway from Chicago to New Orleans, crossing Indiana by way of Crown Point, Rensselaer, Lafayette, Frankfort, Lebanon, Indianapolis, Franklin, Columbus, Seymour, Salem and New Albany. Originally marked by the highway association marked in parts by the automobile association and last year thoroughly remarked by the automobile association.

(81) The Wabash Way, extending from Fort Wayne to Danville, Ill., following the Wabash River by way of Huntington, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Delphi, Lafayette, and Attica. Marked in part by local clubs, then by our state organization, and last year re-marked by the state organization.

(82) Terre Haute-Columbus-Cincinnati Trail, extending from Terre Haute to Cincinnati by way of Spencer, Bloomington, Columbus, Greensburg, Batesville and Lawrenceburg. Marked by the clubs along the route and partially re-marked by the state association.

(85) The Adeway, Indianapolis to Chicago by way of Crawfordsville, Attica, Fowler, Kentland, Morocco, Lowell and Hammond. Marked by the H.S.A.A. The Adeway joins with the Dixie Highway at Crawfordsville and has never been marked from Crawfordsville to Indianapolis as the Adeway.

(86) The Liberty Way, Chicago to Kokomo by way of Gary, Valparaiso, Kouts, North Hudson, Bass Lake, Winamac, Logansport and Kokomo. Marked and in many places re-marked by the automobile association.

(90) French Lick Route, Cincinnati to Evansville by way of Aurora, Versailles, North Vernon, Seymour, Brownstown, Bedford, Paoli, French Lick, Jasper, Huntingburg, and Boonville. Marked by the automobile association from the Ohio line to French Lick; is not marked from there to Evansville due to the unsatisfactory condition of the road at the time of route was established. This part of the route is now under construction by the state highway commission.

(91) The Ben-Hur Trail, from Terre Haute by way of Rockville, Crawfordsville, Frankfort, Kokomo and Marion going to Huntington. Marked in part by local clubs, finished and partially re-marked by the state association.

(94) Toledo-Angola-Goshen Trail [known as the TAG Trail], extending from Goshen by way of Lagrange, Angola, and straight east to Toledo. Marked by motor clubs along the route.

(96) Pigeon Roost Route, extending from Seymour by way of Scottsburg to New Albany. This route was originally marked by clubs at Seymour and Scottsburg, and partially re-marked by the state association. It is now practically replaced by State Road No. 1.

(97) Midland Trail, from coast to coast, entering Indiana at Vincennes, crossing the state by way of Washington, Loogootee, Shoals, Paoli and New Albany. First marked by county organization, partially re-marked by Hoosier State association out of New Albany. On list for re-marking the balance of the way to Vincennes.

(98) Huntington-Manitou-Culver Trail, extending from Chicago to Lima, O., by way of Hammond, Crown Point, Hebron, North Judson, Bass Lake, Culver, Rochester, Lake Manitou, North Manchester, Huntington and Decatur. Thoroughly marked by the state association.

The Dandy Trail, not shown on the auto trail maps, but extending for eighty-eight miles around the city of Indianapolis. Marked and re-marked by the Hoosier Motor club.

Indianapolis: Crossroads City

Originally published 24 March 2015.

When the Good Roads Movement started in the late 19th century, the primary focus was on, more or less, two things: bicycle transportation and mail delivery. Cars came later into the discussion.

Indianapolis was already a crossroads city. Unfortunately, most of that was eclipsed by being a major crossroads in the world of railroads. While you could get to the city using the trails at the time, Indianapolis really took off when the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad came to town. And to be honest, Indianapolis WAS a town until the railroad was built. 1847 not only marked the coming of the M&I, but the incorporation of the City of Indianapolis.

When the named highways started appearing on the scene, they naturally followed the paths that were already there. The major roads into Indianapolis became a hodge-podge of named routes linking the city to far away destinations.

But what WERE those roads before they became the Dixie, or the Jackson, or any other of the names. That is the purpose of this post.

The National Old Trails Road for 80 years had a shorter name here: the National Road. For those that don’t know, the National Road was built along its route to connect the (then) capital cities of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. (The irony is that there STILL is a road to connect Indianapolis to the now capital of Illinois, it’s just not US 40, it’s US 36).

Pike’s Peak Ocean-to-Ocean: The original route from the west connects Indianapolis to Springfield, IL. (See above.) It came into town as the Rockville Road, leaving as the National Road to the east.

Dixie Highway: One route entered from the west along the Crawfordsville Road. The other route entered from the north along Indiana’s first state road, the Michigan Road. One route left the city along the Bluff Road (named for going to the bluffs of the White River at Waverly), the other, again, followed the National Road towards Richmond.

Jackson Highway: Entered from the northwest along the Lafayette Road, left southeast along the Madison Road.

Hoosier Highway: Entered from the northeast along the Oaklandon Turnpike (changed and shortened to Pendleton Pike), left southwest via the Mooresville Road.

Hill & Lake Trail: Entered from the north along the Fort Wayne (Allisonville) Road, left via the Three Notch Road.

Range Line: Entered from the north along the Range Line (Westfield) road, left south via the Madison road.

Some of you may notice that road names are still the same in some cases.

US Highways: They are actually State Roads

I originally posted the following in the Indiana Transportation History group on 11 Jun 2014. It has been slightly edited to correct some “oopsies” in my original.

For those old enough to remember (and I, unfortunately, am not one of them) before the Interstate system came into being, and US routes were the cross-country method of auto transport, this post is for you.

Somewhere lost in the history of transportation is the true story behind the US Highway system. Believe it or not, the Federal Government was late to the “good roads” party, and really only joined it half-heartedly. Let me explain.

Near the end of the 19th Century, there was a craze sweeping the nation – bicycling. The problem was that most roads at the time were basically dirt paths through the country. Some were graveled, yes. Some were bricked, but mainly only in towns. Those that rode bicycles started clamoring for better roads to reliably and safely use their new-fangled transportation method.

The US Post Office was also involved in this movement, mainly because mail was that important. And delivering the mail in some rural locations was troublesome at best.

With the creation of the automobile boom in the early 20th century, the Good Roads Movement started including the drivers of the horseless carriage. Again, because most roads at the time were dusty at best, and practically impassible at worst.

Clubs started nationwide to encourage auto travel (the Hoosier Motor Club was one). Clubs were also started to encourage the creation of travel routes that were more than dirt roads to the next county seat.

These last clubs led to many named highways throughout the nation. For instance, Indianapolis was served by the (Andrew) Jackson Highway, Dixie Highway, Pikes Peak Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, National Old Trails Road, the Hoosier Highway, Michigan Road, the Range Line Road, the Hills & Lakes Trail, and the Hoosier Dixie.

The most famous of the Road Clubs was the Lincoln Highway Association, which crossed Indiana through the northern tier of counties. On its trip from New York to San Francisco, it passed through Fort Wayne, Ligonier (included because it was the SECOND Ligonier on the route – the other being in Pennsylvania!), Goshen, Elkhart, South Bend, La Porte, and Valparaiso. (As you can guess, it wasn’t exactly a straight line at first!)

In 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO), in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Public Roads finalized a national route system that became the US Highways. This was to combat the numerous named highways that led to some major confusion among the automobile traveling public. The system was discussed starting in 1924, with a preliminary list issued in late 1925.

Named highways painted markers on utility poles most of the time. It, apparently, was not unheard of to have numerous colored markers on one pole. And new named highways were popping up monthly. (They even kept appearing after the numbered highways started appearing.)

A misconception is that a US Highway is a Federal road. US Highways have a distinctive shield with a number. It can also have, legally, a State Road marker. That’s because US highways were really just state roads that shared the same number for its entire distance. So SR 40 in Indiana was also SR 40 in Illinois and Ohio, and so on. (INDOT has even posted SR 421 signage on SR 9 at the entrance ramps to I-74/US 421 in Shelbyville.)

While US highway numbers have come and gone across the state, most of them appeared in one of two phases – 1927 and 1951.

The original US Highways in Indiana were: 12, 20, 24, 27, 30, 31, 31E, 31W, 36, 40, 41, 50, 52, 112, and 150.

The second major phase included US 136, US 231, and US 421.

Between these two phases, the following roads were added:
– US 6 (1928)
– US 33 (1937)
– US 35 (1934) It required changing SR 35 to SR 135.
– US 36 – Yes, it is listed twice. US 36 originally ended at Indianapolis from the west. It was extended east in 1931.
– US 152 – Mostly followed US 52 (Lafayette Road) north from Indianapolis from 1934 to 1938. It never left the state, so it was downgraded to mostly state road 53 (which, strangely, was added BACK into the federal numbering system as US 231).
– US 224 (1933)
– US 460 (1947-1977)

These were added to the system in sections. For instance, US 6 came into Indiana from the east and ended up being routed along what, at the time, was Indiana State Road 6.

There have been many changes in the original US highways. Some have bypassed towns in many places (like US 31). Some have just been removed from the system (like the northern end of US 33). Some were replaced by the interstate system created in 1956 (like US 27 north of Fort Wayne).

The beginning of the end of the major importance of the US Highway system started in 1947, when AASHO deemed it “outmoded.” This led to the creation of the interstate system with a law signed by President Eisenhower in 1956.