Visitor center to open in freight house Monday

This is the moment when Tina Stark could say “I told you so” to all the naysayers.

Instead, she wants people to see for themselves the newly renovated Southern Indiana Railroad Depot.

“There wasn’t one time when I doubted this project would come to fruition,” Stark, executive director of the Jackson County Visitor Center said of the building at 100 N. Broadway St.

Over the past few weeks, Stark and her staff, including public relations manager Jane Hays and office manager Alicia Froedge, have been relocating the visitor center offices from the Shoppes at Seymour Outlet Center to the freight house.

On Monday, the move will be complete, and the Jackson County Visitor Center will open in its new location.

A dedication ceremony and public open house will be held sometime in April, Stark added.

“This is really surreal for us, because it’s been such a long time coming,” Stark said of the move.

With its beautifully restored interior and exterior, the depot, often referred to as the Seymour Freight House because of its former use of storing railway freight, will give visitors a glimpse of Seymour history.

The wooden floor, along with portions of the walls and some of the doors and windows, are the originals, Stark said. Also, the original weigh scale remains embedded in the floor.

“A lot of people were asking us if we were going to paint the floor or carpet it,” Froedge said. “But we think having the original wood looks pretty neat. It adds to the history and character of the building.”

The layout provides for a large open space that will be used for meetings and other public gatherings, Stark added. All furniture is movable and will be stored away when not in use. The front lobby will also consist of a gift shop, which Stark said will sell Jackson County products and other items of memorabilia.

Stark said there are plans to have several exhibits depicting Jackson County’s history on display in the freight house this spring. Some of those exhibits could revolve around agriculture, the railroads, John Mellencamp and other local interests.

“We think it will increase the traffic and will help us with marketing,” Stark said of the building and displays.

According to historical documents, the depot was built around 1890 by the Southern Indiana Railway Company. It provided warehouse service to the Baltimore and Ohio and Pennsylvania rail lines. Around 1921, the Southern Indiana Railway System merged with the transcontinental Milwaukee Road Railway and the depot was used until around 1960.

“I think people will take a step back in time,” Stark said. “I know I do every time I come in here.”

Both Stark and Hays have personal connections to the freight house.

“My father was a railroader,” Stark said. “When the trains go by, it brings back a lot of those memories.”

Hays said her grandfather was a railroad engineer and she plans to decorate her office with framed pictures of him and the trains.

The idea to restore the freight house began with Martha McIntire in 2000 or 2001, Stark said. McIntire now serves as president of the visitor center’s board of directors, but at the time was the director of community development for the city of Seymour.

“The first grant was awarded in 2002,” Stark said.

In 2003, the depot was entered in the National Register of Historic Places by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, protecting the then-deteriorating building from demolition and providing funds for its restoration.

“This depot, the only one still standing in Seymour, is a symbol of a time when the city depended on the railroad and signifies a time in the past that should be remembered,” states an application to the DNR submitted by McIntire in 2002. “One can only envision the time when this freight depot was busy, with workers loading and unloading freight to be shipped all over the world.”

The majority of funds for the renovation came from the Indiana Department of Transportation, Stark said.

“It went through three bid lettings in order to get a successful bid for the construction,” she said. “We didn’t receive any bids the first time. The second time the bids were over budget, but the third time was a charm.”

The visitor center is interested in hearing stories from any employees of the freight depot and in acquiring any photos that exist of the building.

“I’m also looking for a caboose to display outside and anything tied to the railroads,” Stark said. “We’d love to have actual images of the building, especially pre-1940s. I think there is a definite interest here in the community.”

Information

For information, call the visitor center at (888) 524-1914 or email Stark at tina@jacksoncountyin.com