Location Of The Month

July 2005

M.P. B98.6 - 2nd Subdivision - Mo

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Monticello was founded in 1834 and was named by the White County commissioners for the home of Thomas Jefferson. Located 30 miles from Lafayette, Monticello is home to Indiana Beach on Lake Shafer. In 1923-24 two dams were built and two artificial lakes were created. These twin lakes, Freeman and Shafer, have become key to Indiana tourism. In 1926, Indiana Beach Amusement & Camp resort was founded on Lake Shafer four miles north of Monticello. It has grown to become the state's largest summer resort and vacation playground, entertaining more than 750,000 visitors on average each year. The resort is one of the largest contributors to Indiana tourism in general, and it put the city of Monticello on the map. The resort includes amusement rides, four roller coasters, a campground and the Shafer Queen paddle boat. On April 3, 1974 an F4 tornado devastated Monticello and nearby Indiana communities.

Monticello is the end of the former Monon Indianapolis line. The track ends at milepost 98, which is located at Hanawalt Street on the north side of the city. Until recently, there were two active customers left on the line, Landis Plastics and Excel Co-Op. Landis received resin pellets to make plastic pails and Excel received fertilizers. Landis was purchased and closed down, leaving th co-op as the only active customer. There is no runaround track there, so the CSX heads down the branch from Monon, spot cars and backs up to Monon using the caboose that CSX keeps there.

Left: Monticello Depot during better times, circa 1950. Ron Stuckey/ John Fuller photo. Right: Monticello Depot, October 21, 1973. After the L&N merger the depot is showing its age.

Left: Southbound passenger crossing the PRR/ Monon crossing at Monticello. Part of the former PRR depot is pictured to the right side of the picture. Note traffic on the interchange track. Right: TP&W Crossing with the Monon. March 1981. Looking west along the TP&W, ex-PRR.

Left: Monon steam, No. 283, a 2-8-0 passes the depot and station platform, northbound, at Monticello. Date of picture unknown. Right: Train 11 pays a call on the depot, which sat between Broadway and Harrison Streets on the east side of the tracks. Street running in Monticello? In reality the street ran on either side of the tracks.

Left: Southbound passenger makes a stop in Monticello in 1956. Right: Great shot from the cab on the line at Monticello. Northbound train #12, approaching the depot March 7, 1959.

Left and Right: RCA Plant in Monticello, circa 2001. The RCA plant was originally known as Monticello Cabinet Company. By the 1940's the company was making cabinets for the RCA Television Plant in Bloomington, Indiana. The cabinets were shipped via 50 foot boxcars. Because of a problem with blowing sawdust, the railroad had restrictions on speed when passing this plant.

Left: Aftermath of the 1974 tornado. The First National Bank building was destroyed. Right: Downtown Monticello moments after the tornado hit. White County Courthouse to the right of the image. The roof of the courthouse was taken off.

The former Monon depot was heavily damaged by the tornado. As a result, the structure was torn down.

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