Us 136 / Dixie Highway In Indiana

[mobilene]

I took a drive down the Dixie mainline from the Illinois line east to the edge of Indianapolis yesterday. Here's a gallery of all the good photos that I got from the trip.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/sets/72157629715687524/with/7192885826/

 

I found a couple good old alignments, including a brief one that is still paved in brick. I stopped in a bunch of classic Indiana small towns. And as usual I enjoyed the journey as my destination.

 

One thing I didn't see that I wanted to was a bridge near New Ross, Indiana. Fire up Google Maps, turn on aerial imagery, and enter 39.95593, -86.69493 to see it. It appears to be on an even older alignment than the old alignment there. Without trespassing, I couldn't find a way to get a vantage point to look at it.

 

-Jim

[mobilene]

Well I'll be dipped, the forum converted the link to the set on Flickr to the slideshow you see. If you click it, you'll go to Flickr where I've described each photo.

[Chris Rowland]

Great shots Jim!

 

I have always wondered about the crossing of Sugar Creek just west of Crawfordsville. There was an old alignment just east of the current bridge, which would have crossed Sugar Creek at the north end of what is now labeled Wayne Court (40.050433,-86.921039) and then headed down what is now Wayne Avenue towards Crawfordsville. However, there is also a Covington Street that looks like it used to cross at about (40.047784,-86.915213). Looking at a historical map of Crawfordsville here: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/486710/Crawfordsville++Hillside++Durham++Fairview++Longview/Montgomery+County+1878/Indiana/

 

I can't figure out which one would have carried the Dixie Highway. "Wayne" avenue makes sense since Waynetown was on the route, and "Covington" street also makes sense since Covington was on the route. Perhaps you have an opinion?

 

Chris

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

Jim,

 

I enjoyed the slide show. I noted that the forum now permits ....I think the term is embedded.....videos.

 

The small brick building next to the service station in Mace immediately said "cafe" to me. My guess is that Mom ran the restaurant while Pop pumped the gas......those were the days of "full service." If one or the other was ill, the other one ran between cafe and gas pump. They opened at 6AM, closed at 8PM, and took Sundays and Christmas off.

 

I have seen the same arrangement elsewhere. In fact I can practically describe the interior.

 

When you walk in that center door, straight ahead will be a lunch counter with stools that rotate. Beyond that is the wall that divides the kitchen from the service area. There will be a clock on that wall that displays small ads. Odds are the stool seats are red, and the table cloths red and white check.

 

There will be tables and chairs at the windows, and probably a table at either end of the room. Burgers will be 35 cents and a Coke a dime.

 

There was a spot like that on the old Yellowstone Trail halfway between Colfax and Walla Walla, all by itself, miles from nowhere. The owners lived across the road in a small house. The cafe sat under some shade trees and was a "cool" stop in the "old days." It finally failed for the last time in the early 1970's. If the couple had kids, they moved to Seattle as soon as they could, and Mom went to live with one of them after Pop died, and the cafe was too much for her alone.

 

Thanks for the photos!! And "Howdy" Chris. I haven't "seen you for awhile.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

[knightfan26917]

Sweet shots, Jim!

 

Looks like an awesome day for a drive!

 

 

 

 

Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic

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"I know there's so much more to life" __ Vonda Shepard __ 'Searchin' My Soul (Ally McBeal)'

[DennyG]

Nice pictures. I knew if I waited long enough, someone would get that stretch of the Dixie figured out before I got there.

 

I have, of course, driven US-136 between Indianapolis and Crawfordsville but it's typically been just to get from point I to point C with no exploring. I have driven the DH between Covington and Crawfordsville but only because it shared a path with the PP-OO. In fact I have a photo of that bridge near Veederburg and can prove that the big dent predates Oct 1, 2007. I'm looking forward to driving that brick bit someday.

 

Jim & Chris, I definitely hope you two get the Sugar Creek thing sorted so I don't have to just wander around aimlessly when I try tracing the DH through there.

[mobilene]

Chris - I studied the map you linked and the modern imagery at Google Maps. It would help a lot to know when the various bridges were built and demolished to determine whether the Dixie ever followed what is now Wayne Court/Wayne Avenue. My 1916 ABB advises drivers to "keep right at fork" and cross the iron bridge, turning "left, running onto Market St." -- if I do a little loose interpretation there, I think this is telling drivers to follow the road that is US 136 today, but where 136 curves onto Market St., then it required a slight left turn to get onto Market. The Dixie hadn't been laid out yet in 1916. Dunno if the other bridge at Wayne Ct. still existed then or not. It's an interesting question worthy of further investigation.

 

Dave - It makes sense that the building next to the gas station in Mace was probably a cafe. It would have been a mighty tiny one, though.

 

Denny - That brick segment goes nowhere, and there's only one driveway back there in which to turn around. That driveway and its associated property is probably the only reason this road segment still exists! I actually parked my car on the shoulder of 136 and just walked the brick.