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Martinsville
Transportation
Click
here to go to an essay about
the development of transportation routes and systems in Morgan County and
statewide.
The earliest methods of transportation in
the city of Martinsville were, of course, travel by foot, by horse, and by
water. Boats plied the White River, bringing both settlers and goods from
Indianapolis and
taking them
south to the Ohio River, and from there, all the way to New Orleans. Entrepreneurs
and merchants like the Mitchell brothers used the river to ship thousands of
pounds of pork to the southern states.
The coming of the railroad in the 1850s
linked Martinsville to neighboring cities and
states. The railroad made it possible to ship even larger quantities of
goods—and also made it possible to introduce new goods such as cast iron
stoves, building supplies such as limestone from south-central Indiana, and
other heavy items that were otherwise difficult to transport. Trains also
brought people by the thousands to Martinsville's sanitariums, where they
stayed for a few days or the entire summer soaking in and drinking the
restorative waters.
By the end of the nineteenth century, there
were two rail lines through Martinsville. The north-south Vandalia line
crossed through the west end of town, with the east-west CCC & St. Louis
line, also known as the Pennsylvania, passing through a few blocks south of
the courthouse square.
CCC & St. Louis
Railroad Depot (1881), South Jefferson Street
Sided with white vinyl, the old depot is used for the storage of burial
vaults.
Vandalia Depot (1911),
210 North Marion Street
Between 1902 and 1930, the electric
railway, or interurban, was a popular choice for travel between Martinsville
and Indianapolis. From their southern terminus near the Pennsylvania
Railroad depot, the interurban tracks followed Main Street north to Blue
Bluff Road, continuing on to Centerton, Bethany Park, Mooresville, and
ultimately the capitol city. Pre-dating cross-country trucking, the
interurban utilized stock cars and flat cars for hauling goods, but the
conventional car was for passengers. With a seating capacity of about 65,
these cars were divided into baggage, smoker, and passenger sections. Watson
and Son wallpaper and paint store on the west side of North Main Street is
the former interurban station.
Former interurban station
on North Main Street
With the advent of the automobile during
the early-twentieth century came improvements in the county's road system.
Roads went from narrow dirt paths to gravel and macadam on more
heavily-traveled routes. With these developments came the replacement of
wooden bridges with the more durable and stronger iron truss and concrete
span bridges. The former Burton Lane Bridge, spanning Indian Creek on the
south of Martinsville, was one of the most significant iron bridges in the
state. It was a rare example of a bowstring arch, pony truss bridge. Sadly,
it was destroyed by an overloaded dump truck on May 16, 1997.
Burton Lane Bridge before its collapse . . . |
. . . and after. |
Other historic resources in Martinsville
associated with transportation include livery barns, filling stations,
automobile dealerships, garages, brick paved streets, sandstone curbing,
concrete sidewalks laid by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the
1930s, and pressed metal street signs with raised letters.
Home Lawn Sanitarium livery barn (date uncertain),
Pearl Street
Phelps livery barn (date uncertain), now a dwelling at
740 North Grant Street
Livery barn on alley behind 410 North Jefferson Street.
It likely pre-dates the existing house, with its one-car detached garage.
See photo below.
Filling station (c.1925), 289 East Morgan Street
Hendrickson Motors and Marathon filling station, corner
of Main and Pike Street
Morgan County Auto Company (c.1905), North Jefferson
Street
Martinsville Auto Company (c.1908), corner of Mulberry
and Morgan Street
Garage, 410 North Jefferson Street
Shirley Street and North
Jefferson Street are paved with the Poston Company's Knobstone pavers, shown
above as garden edging on East Harrison Street
Sandstone block curbing appears throughout the oldest
Martinsville neighborhoods
Metal street signs with raised letters are historic
because they're at least 50 years old. They're rapidly being replaced by
reflective blades with applied vinyl letters. |
