Rail Transportation in Jackson County
Tour Description
Originally farmland known as Mule Crossing, Seymour, Indiana would not be a central crossroads for trains traveling north, south, east, and west without the efforts of Captain Meedy Shields. Elected to the state legislature, Shields forced trains to stop in Seymour for “safety." In this tour, you’ll learn about how Seymour became a railroad stop and the ways in which the railroad reshaped this town. Stops on this tour include the Medora Train Wreck, the Blish Milling Company, the story of the Reno Gang, and the Eisenhower Funeral Train.
Locations for Tour
The Farmer's Club
The Farmers’ Club at 105 S. Chestnut Street, dedicated in 1914 in memory of Captain Meedy Shields, was constructed as a gathering and resting place for farm families coming to town for business and supplies. Traveling was slower in the early 1900s…
Seymour Freight Depot
The Southern Indiana Railroad Freighthouse was not only a freight depot but also the site of an interesting story of one escaped enslaved man’s quest for freedom. Alexander McClure, an enslaved man from Tennessee, attempted to escape his bondage by…
Medora Train Wreck
On June 8, 1921, a train engine jumped the tracks outside Medora, Indiana. Perhaps it was the hot weather and rain that made the train engine leave the tracks. Seventeen loaded boxcars piled up, some being “reduced to kindling wood.” Three people…
John Mellencamp Mural
Railroad Bill, Railroad Bill Lived way up on Railroad Hill Ride, ride, ride Well, Railroad Bill, Oh, Railroad Bill He never worked and he never will Ride, ride, ride Well, Railroad Bill, he was a mighty mean man He shot the midnight lantern out of…
Fitch's Tolu Chewing Gum Factory
Asa M. Fitch was a multi-patented inventor. Among his inventions were a wheeled plow whose depth could be adjusted, a box, and a children’s educational card game which included various bird and animal species. In Seymour, Indiana, his major…
Eisenhower Funeral Train
The crowd began to gather early on April 1, 1969, waiting for a train bound west to Abilene, Kansas. It was cold and drizzly, but that didn’t prevent thousands of people from paying their final respects to World War II General and former President…
Blish Milling Company Grain Silos
All that remains today of the Blish Milling Company are the towering 109-foot tall grain silos at Tipton Street and the north-south railroad tracks in Seymour, Indiana. Built in May of 1939 of steel-reinforced concrete, the silos which can hold…
Reno Gang Graves
The Reno Gang of Seymour, Indiana began with brothers John, Frank, William, and Simeon Reno. When Seymour founder Meedy Shields authored a legislative bill ensuring that all trains using the Ohio and Mississippi Railway should stop in Seymour for…
Crothersville Depot
Crothersville is a small town on the edge of Jackson County. Its name was originally Haysville but after being offered the opportunity to have a depot built if the town’s name was changed, it became Crothersville after the Jeffersonville Railroad…