To say that the Interurban system had an impact on life at Wabash College is an understatement. With reliable and affordable transportation to Indianapolis, many large College events could be held in Indianapolis.
In the early 1900s, Indiana had one of the largest inter-urban railroad systems in the United States, with almost every sizable urban area in the state and 68 of 92 counties connected by this electric rail service.
The Ben Hur route provided hourly services between Crawfordsville and Indianapolis.
To say that the Interurban system had an impact on life at Wabash College is an understatement. With reliable and affordable transportation to Indianapolis, many large College events could be held in Indianapolis. Chief among the events
were football matches with larger schools. Typically there would be a parade through the downtown followed by the big game with opponents like Butler, Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State), Indiana University, and Notre Dame. Even the Monon Bell Game was sometimes played in Indianapolis.
All of Indiana’s interurban lines were built between 1898 and 1920, and nearly all were gone by 1941.These days we hear increasing discussion of the need for light rail service in central Indiana. It is fascinating to me that 100 years ago, we had a highly efficient, highly functional system in place. I’ll bet our students would enjoy the chance to hop on a train and zip off to Indianapolis!
—Beth Swift, Archivist, Robert T. Ramsay, Jr. Archival Center
