Adventures of Yesteryear in Huntington County

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From 1901 until 1938 Huntington had an interurban rail system. Called light rail today, these electric trains crisscrossed Indiana during a time when roads were bad and few families could afford an automobile. They provided convenient, comfortable, and affordable transportation to most of the cities of Indiana. The line that ran through Huntington came from Fort Wayne and ran to Lafayette. In Peru, passengers could connect to an Interurban line that took them to Indianapolis. At its peak, more than 8 trips per day were made in each direction. Cars were able to be serviced and repaired at a depot located just a block from First Street alongside the old heavy rail tracks (now the trail).

2. Lady Washington Sternwheeler

The Lady Washington was a sternwheeler (type of boat with the paddle wheel in the back) that took passengers up and down the Little River. It would moor at Riverside Park.

3. Schenkel's Station

Built in 1928, the former Wabash Railroad Passenger Station was completed using brick and stone. In 1855, the first train arrived in Huntington from Fort Wayne along the newly built Erie, Wabash & St. Louis Railroad. Much later, the station saw the passing of the famous Wabash Cannonball. The Cannonball was named after the song of the same name which was originally written in the 1880s and re-popularized in 1929 by the Carter Family (including Johnny Cash's future mother-in-law) and 1932 by Roy Acuff. The Cannonball operated on this line from 1950 until 1971.A separate baggage station for freight and other large baggage was built at the opposite end of the courthouse. Most recently it functioned as Pizza Junction.

4. Forks of Wabash

The junction of the Wabash and Little rivers, 100 yards south, was the western terminus of the Maumee-Wabash long portage and, in 1835, of the first section of the Wabash and Erie Canal. During the 18th century French and English traders passed this way and, in 1778, Henry Hamilton brought 171 British troops and 350 Indians with 40 boats through the portage enroute to retake Fort Sackville at Vincennes. Three Miami villages were located here and Chiefs Richardville and LaFontaine once lived here. The Forks was the scene of many Indian councils and the Miami Treaties of 1834, 1838 and 1840.

5. Modoc Capture

Modoc the circus elephant was captured just to the southeast of this spot in 1942. After five days on the run, she could rest, recuperate, and rejoin her sister pachyderms.

6. Modoc Overnight

Modoc the elephant spent her third night of freedom in the woods to the north. Somewhere near here, Kenneth Kindley and Modoc ran into each other. Kenneth was left with a spinal injury which had him walking with the aid of a pair of crutches for the rest of his life.

7. Silver Creek Canal Remnants & Legend

Please stay on the U.S. 24 bridge above Silver Creek. Much of what you can see is private property.The stone arch and broad straight & smooth grassland running east towards Huntington comprise a remnant of the Erie & Wabash canal. The arch was restored around 2012 by the property owner. It is all that remains of the towpath of over Silver Creek.Canal aqueducts can bend your mind a bit since they represent a water “road” going over a natural water way. They are also sometimes called water bridges.

8. Bear Swamp

Much of western Warren Township was originally swampy land. Now, there are just pockets here and there. The swamps probably drew bears for a couple of reasons: good fishing and few people. Carroll Ditch is part of the system of ditches and drains that were installed to make the land arable (farmable).

9. Wolf Chase

You wouldn't believe it looking around the corner of 300 W and 8000 N now, but in the mid-1800s this was a forested wilderness. Near this very intersection a Wills Stallsmith and his horse were chased home by a pack of wolves.

10. Passenger Pigeon Roost

At one time there were billions of passenger pigeons in the U.S. Flocks were so large that migrations would take over twelve hours to pass overhead. Stories indicate that the birds had a roost in this area. It is unknown if this was a nesting place or a resting place. Either was possible in this part of Indiana. The last passenger pigeon known to have been hunted in Indiana was in 1902 in far southeastern Franklin County. The last known pigeon died in captivity in 1914.

11. Wabash & Erie Canal Lock 4

First lock west of summit level of Wabash and Erie Canal (connected Lake Erie with Ohio River in 1853). Known as Dickey Lock. Built as Lock 1, 1834-1835, of wood construction; renumbered Lock 4 as result of canal completion to Ohio line (1840). Remnant of arch culvert nearby. Canal important to founding of Roanoke.

12. Lake Clare

Sometimes spelled “Lake Claire.”A flooded stone quarry named for former Mayor Bangs that has a fitness park, picnic tables and fishing. It occasionally hosts motor boat and swimming races.

13. Flint Creek Aqueduct

Flint Creek Aqueduct was the fourth aqueduct built on the canal starting at Fort Wayne and moving southwest. It allowed Flint Creek to flow into Huntington city unhindered by the canal. The original aqueduct had a total length of 28 feet.We don't know how much of the current entrance to the underground is from the canal and how much is modifications made when Flint Creek was covered over in the late 1800s, but the construction of the arch and the materials on top of the arch are believed to be in the original style at least.

14. Burkes Landing Marker

At the southeast corner of the intersection.Inscription: 1835-1873 The canal boat "Indiana" docked here on the evening of July 3, 1835, opening the Wabash and Erie Canal to traffic from Fort Wayne to Huntington. This was the first section of the canal opened in Indiana. John Burk, for whom the lock was named, was a member of the first Board of Commissioners of Huntington County.

15. Huntington City-Township Public Library

The Huntington City-Township Public Library (HCTPL) serves the people of both the city and township of Huntington as well as the town of Markle. Teachers and students in the county schools, another primary/secondary school with a presence in the service area, or Huntington University are also eligible for library cards. It has a large room dedicated as the B. Joan Keefer Genealogy and Local History Center in the main branch, and a small History Room in the Markle branch.

This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.

Adventures of Yesteryear in Huntington County

Created by Sarah A. V. Kirby on June 28th 2024, 1:36:55 pm.

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From travelling along the canal to the railroad, interurban, and a short-lived paddlewheel "taxi," Huntington County has provided a number of ways to transport people to their personal adventures. Locations of pigeon roosts, wolf chases, bear swamps, elephant captures, legends of lost silver, amusement parks, road and water racing events have drawn groups of residents for entertainment, excitement, and/or hunting adventures.

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Adventures of Yesteryear in Huntington County

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