When Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson founded the new town of Irvington in 1870, they envisioned a passenger depot along the Panhandle (later Pennsylvania Railroad) to make it easier for homeowners and business folks to invest and live in the new community. That dream came to fruition in September of 1874 with the construction of the first station on what is now known as the northeast corner of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. Edwin Williams served as the first agent for the brick depot. In the winter of 1882, town officials added a rear room complete with a pump for cold water.
Paul Diebold in his book Greater Irvington asserts that the station became the unofficial town hall and meeting place for the community during the early years. For a brief time, residents could receive their mail at the depot until 1885. They also voted in elections here. George Russell, a realtor and postmaster, operated the telegraph for the neighborhood and often on election nights, local citizens gathered in the building to learn of the results.
The station also became very important for Butler University college students, who traveled here from all over the state every September. A newspaper account in the Indianapolis News on September 13, 1892, documented the moments that Butler students arrived that year. The reporter noted that the first young people came with their books and trunks and stashed the items on the platform. They continued to arrive on various trains through the "dreary" day. Some made it in time to attend chapel. Classes didn't start for three days so they had time to settle in at their boarding houses or perhaps at the dorm. Anxious freshmen arrived with excited seniors to start or conclude chapters of their lives. The story at the depot repeated in May.
In 1922, officials announced that the little depot at Irvington would be closed and demolished. There was no need for it as there were now several streetcar lines servicing the area. After the demolition, contractors from the Pennsylvania Railroad erected a small shed on the site. By 1970 that structure had also been removed and the land was sold to Everett and Una Brown, who built a house on the narrow strip of land. The site of the former Pennsylvania Railroad was later converted into the Pennsy Trail.
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| Citizens walked along the wooden platform in front of the Irvington Depot c1890. The brick structure served the community from 1874 until 1922. (courtesy of the Ron Huggler Collection, Irvington Historical Society) |
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| The Irvington Passenger Depot formerly sat on the northeast corner of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. (Map of Irvington, 1889, Irvington Historical Society) |
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| The Irvington Depot Reprint (Indianapolis News, April 5, 1993, p.19) |
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| A freight train steamed through Irvington during the winter of 1951. The Pennsylvania Railroad had a double track. To the right of the train you can see the shed that replaced the original depot. The most visible home in the photo is that of 5727 Bonna Avenue. The Gustin family lived in the house at the time that this photo was snapped. (photo courtesy of Martin Biemer of Classic Trains newsletter at trains.com) |
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| Everett and Una Brown built this home at 135 South Audubon Road on the site of the former Irvington Depot in 1970. (photo snapped by Bill Gulde on June 18, 2023) |
I wish to thank Ron Huggler who documented much of the history needed for this post. His purchase of the top photo prompted him to build a diorama of the intersection of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. You can see his creation at the Bona Thompson Memorial Center at 5350 E. University Avenue on the weekends from 1-4.
Sources: Construction--"City News," Indianapolis News, September 3, 1874, p. 3; Enlargement--"City News, Indianapolis News, January 20, 1882, p. 4 and "City and Wayne Co.," Richmond Independent Telegram (IN), September 3, 1882, p. 3; Edwin Williams--"City News," Indianapolis News, April 28, 1874, p. 3; Election Site--"Warren Township Primary," Indianapolis Journal, May 12, 1898, p. 5; Election results via telegraph--Indianapolis News, October 13, 1903, p. 4; General articles--Grace Julian Clarke, "Irvington to Lose Station Built by Early Settlers," Indianapolis Star, May 5, 1922, p. 7; Paul Diebold, Greater Irvington II: Architecture, People, and Place on the Indianapolis Eastside, Indianapolis, 2020, pp. 206-207.
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