The first town established in Jennings Township, in 1834, was called Jersey or Bakers Mill on the Muscatuck (Muscatatuck) River, where High Way 31 and the railroad crosses the river, with most of the town being in Jackson County.

It flourished for about Forty years consisting of a number of stores, one operated by Nathan Morgan[1] the great-great Grandfather of John Morgan.[2] The community also consisted of a bank, a large grist mill[3] and a saw mill. The railroad had a ticket office and an express agency there after 1852. Also a post office after 1854 and a large cooperage mill.[4]

Due to flooding and other problems, the town started to decline in the 1860s and 1870s and was washed out in the 1879 flood. What was left moved to the new town of Austin (1853) and Crothersville (1858).

The Town of Albion

The 2^nd town established in Jennings Township was Albion, platted in 1837, by Harper Cockran. The goal was for Albion to become the county seat as this location was more centralized in the county than Lexington. It was located ½ mile east of Terry’s Corner on the old Bethlehem Rockford Road. Because of the action by State Legislative deciding to leave the county seat at Lexington for awhile this town never became more than a small village.

The Town of New Frankfort

Another vanished town was New Frankfort,[5] which was platted in 1838 and established by Gara Davis. It was located about a mile east of Albion and also on the Bethlehem Rockford Road. It grew rapidly and soon became a very prosperous little town, although it was also doomed when the railroad came west of it in 1852. During its heyday thee was a post office, district school, three churches, Masonic Lodge, pump factory, boot and shoemaker, hotel, brickyard and 223 people. After the advent of the railroad in 1852, most people and businesses moved gradually to Austin by 1870.

The Town of Wooster      

In 1847, yet another town that is now a ghost town was platted one mile east of New Frankfort by Stephen Rice. It was named Wooster or Wooster Town and grew by leaps and bounds. It was located on the old Madison Brownstown Road connecting with the Bethlehem Rockford Road at New Frankfort. Mr. Rice must have been quite patriotic as he named the streets of Wooster such as Washington, Madison, Taylor, Harrison, Jefferson, Clay etc...

 Footnotes: Inserted by Austin Indiana History Website

Pictured above is a photo of a small business on New Frankfort Road in Scott County Indiana. In the mid 1800s the area was a flourishing community. The business pictured is the only business in the area now and it  was established in 2008, the photo was taken in 2011 by Mike Barrett.

The above photo is the abandoned “Friendship Cemetery” in Austin Indiana, which is located three miles east of Austin city limits on the property of Carol and Nick Pastrick. The cemetery, nestled in the woods on the private property of the Pastricks, is the final resting place for a group of persons who lived near the area and were born in the mid to late 1700s and passed away in the 1800s. 

Most notably it is the gravesite of Asama Mitchell (1761-1851) a veteran of the American Revolution who served under General George Washington’s army as a fifer[1].

Historic Highlights of Asama Mitchell (1761-1851)

1)      Was born in Connecticut in 1761

2)      All six of his brothers entered the American Army around 1776. (Asama never saw or heard of his brothers after the war.)

3)      Asama entered the Army at the age of 15 as a fifer, and was under the immediate command of General George Washington.

4)      Asama was stationed at Valley Forge (Pennsylvania) during the historic winter of 1777, where he witnessed George Washington praying on his knees alone in the woods. (Other notables at Valley Forge: Martha Washington,   Benedict Arnold, Nathanael Greene, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Baron Von Steuben.)

5)      Witnessed the execution of British Major John Andre in 1780 in Tappan, New York.

6)      Was fifer for the battle of Yorktown (Virginia) in 1781, which was the last official battle of the Revolutionary War before America, won its freedom. Asama witnessed the surrender of Britain General Charles Cornwallis.  

7)      After the war he made his home in New York, where he married Mary Freymeyer (1770-1836), March 25, 1788.

8)      Asama and Mary moved to the Austin, Indiana (Jennings Township) area in 1832, when he was 72 years old. It is not known why they moved to Indiana.

9)      Mary Mitchell passed away in 1836, and is also buried on the Pastrick property.

10)  Asama Mitchell passed away in 1851. His funeral included an honor ceremony presented by the State Militia under the command of Joseph Keepens of New Frankfort. The ceremony included a 500 horsemen salute to Mitchell,  and a very large following of citizens on foot, and in wagons.

Ancestry.Com http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=pavone&id=I03507

http://www.angelfire.com/ky/mitchellhistory/revwar.html

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume3/january05/iotm.cfm

United States Soldier Eldo Buzzard of Austin, Indiana, was the first person from Scott County, killed in World War I. He was a member of Austin’s first high school basketball team in 1915. Eldo was born in Austin on April 4^th, 1894 and his parents were Mr. and Mrs.  Asbury Buzzard.

His family received word of his death by telegram from the United States War Department. The official information was: Eldo Buzzard was killed on August 9^th, 1918, from wounds received during battle in France. 

Pictured above is the Austin Methodist Church, which has been a landmark in downtown Austin since it was erected over 150 years ago, in 1859. The future of the building is in question, as services ceased at the church in 2009. The building privately owned is now for sell, and many fear its fate will be similar to a home built in 1856, which formerly set next to the church and was demolished in 2007.

The exact date of the founding of the Methodist Church in Austin is not known, but before the 1859 church was built we know the founding church resided at the Austin Whitson Cemetery just east of town. The church at Whitson which of course no longer exists was built in 1839. When the Austin Methodist Church was built downtown members moved in from the Church at Whitson, and from the New Frankfort Methodist Church which was founded in 1842. 

The downtown church was built on property owned by John and Cynthia Trulock, and was deeded to Austin Methodist Church trustees Aaron C. Mann, William Hughbanks, Thomas W. Whitson, and Samuel F. Christie.  

The United States Army Reserve building in Scottsburg is named after Austin soldier Everitt B. Hunley who was killed in World War II in 1945. Hunley was a member of the 111^th division of General George Patton’s Third Army, when he lost his life in Germany in 1945.  He was the son of Mr. And Mrs. James A. Hunley.

There are several documented accounts at the national level about the train robbery of Marshfield, Indiana, which occurred in Scott County Indiana in 1868. Marshfield, now a ghost community was located between Austin and Scottsburg near the overhead bridge on U.S. Highway that connects the two communities. While the events of the robbery performed by the Reno Gang are printed in several publications throughout the United States, the connection to Austin while mentioned in several publications is often over looked when the historical event is discussed. 

“At 11:00pm on May 22^nd, 1868, the north bound train made its usual stop at Marshfield. The fireman and engineer were knocked unconscious from behind as they climbed down from the cab. At that point a dozen or so members of the Reno Gang took charge of the train, and unhooked the passenger coaches. The engine tender and express car under the control of the Reno Gang then proceeded north into Austin Indiana.” (Bogardus, 1944.)

What happened next is Austin’s connection to the robbery, which was recorded by Dr. Bogardus in the 1953 publication, The Centennial History of Austin.

“The old wood-burner (train) with one of the bandits at the throttle, chugged off through the darkness to Austin, a regular stop, about two miles north, where they halted at the depot.” (The Depot was in South Austin, which was the main part of town in 1868).

“The Adams Express messenger, Thomas Harkin (Austin resident), who did not know what had happened at Marshfield, opened the baggage car door. The bandits were ready and pushed into the car. Harkins fired at them, but missed, and they beat him into unconsciousness. Then once again the one car train got underway. A short distance north of Austin, the door of the car was held open and the unconscious Harkins was hurled down a steep embankment, where he was found the next morning miraculously still alive.” (Bogardus, 1953.)

Coffee Pot Curve by Mike Barrett

Before Interstate 65 was built the main highway from Indianapolis to Louisville was U.S. 31. A small section of U.S. 31 in Austin, just a mile south of town towards Scottsburg is known as Coffee Pot Curve. The reason for that is simple; in 1929 a Louisville businessman by the name of J.G. Bennett thought it would be a great place to build a coffee shop for travelers. Bennett wanted something to catch a traveler’s eye, so he built a small two-story café shaped like a coffee pot. The first floor was a round 20’ x 20’ area, which included a small coffee room and the kitchen. The 2^nd floor was an 18’ x 18’ dinning room. 

Austin Indiana  - The Star Canning Company was located in South Austin. Company was built on property of what is now known as the corner of Van Campen Road and York Road in woods next to Pennsylvania Railroad (Louisville-Indiana Railroad).   Established in 1904 the Star Canning Company was established by: John W. Montgomery, Robert Blunt, Robert Peacock, Archie Mann, A.W. Garriott, David Hughbanks, W.L. Morrison, Frank Gardner and Delmar Williams.

The Star Canning Company was operated from 1904-1916, before it was purchased by the Austin Canning Company. J.S. Morgan moved the equipment to his plant in North Austin and never used the Star factory for his operations, other than storage for a few years. 

Over the years some people in Austin, have confused the Star Canning Company as Morgan’s and have said South Austin is where Morgan’s was originally constructed. This is not true as Morgan’ was established in 1899, five years before the Star came into existence. The original location of Morgan’s is where Morgan Foods is located today and has been since 1899.       

Just as Austin was in an ideal location for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1850s, the interurban recognized the same common link, a direct line from Louisville to Indianapolis. Indiana was a leader in the interurban rail system. “At its peak, the state of Indiana had one of the largest interurban systems in the country. With only a couple exceptions, every sizable urban area in the state was part of an electric rail system, and 68 of the 92 counties hosted at least one line in operation. The interurban fell into three distinctive areas: the upstate lines of the northwest focused on connecting to Chicago, the downstate lines in the northeast and central parts of the state (with one line down to Louisville), and the lines centered on Evansville. The upstate and downstate areas were connected to each other, and interconnected with the surrounding states' interurban systems. All of Indiana's interurban lines were built between 1898 and 1920, and nearly all were gone by 1941.” (Indiana Railroads, 2011).

The first interurban car through Austin was in September of 1907, and was a single car passenger train, operated by the Indianapolis – Louisville Traction Company. (Car # 203 is pictured above right on the very first day it ran through Austin.) One car was 50-feet long, and eight feet and ten inches wide with a seating capacity of 53 passengers. Freight cars were made to look like passenger cars and were identical in size. A few years after the interurban was in business, several interurban cars were manufactured in Scottsburg (Indiana) at the Car Barn near Lake Iola. 

By late 1907 cars were running regularly from Louisville to Indianapolis and consisted mostly of passenger cars. But in just a short time interurban cars were transporting freight on a regular basis to the Austin Canning Company (Morgan Foods) and the Speed (Indiana) Cement Company. Both firms built freight sidings, where they could ship outbound car loads and receive inbound freight on the same dock.

The Interurban in Austin

Once the interurban became established a typical passenger train through Austin consisted of eight cars, while freight trains consisted of a lead car and two freight cars. In the beginning the greatest demand was for passenger transport, which meant that most of the freight across the interurban ran late at night to avoid delays for passengers. But later on when passenger transit declined, the interurban was mainly a freight hauler.   

The interurban line utilized through Scott County was the first electric railway in America to operate on a direct current system of 1,200 volts. At the time the rest of the country operated on a 600 volt direct current. The power house of the line was located at Scottsburg next to Lake Iola. The reason it was stationed there was because it was considered halfway between two busy and important interurban locations, Sellersburg and Seymour. (Bogardus, 1953).

From Louisville to Indianapolis

The run time from Louisville to Indianapolis took about three and one-half hours. The interurban cars were a popular transportation choice among the professional baseball teams of Indianapolis and Louisville. 

The Demise of the Interurban

In the 1930s transportation in America was changing rapidly, commuters began to prefer automobiles and buses as their primary transportation choices. The interurban was a passenger paying business, and if the passengers weren’t riding, they weren’t paying. In 1939 the Indiana Railroad, which was formerly the Indianapolis-Louisville Traction Company announced its plans to shut down the interurban line from Louisville to Indianapolis. That news in Austin was somewhat disturbing due to the number of people who were employed at Morgan Packing Company (Morgan Foods) and commuted daily from other communities into Austin, through the interurban.

On the evening of October 31, 1939 the last interurban train to pass through Austin left Louisville and headed to Indianapolis, stopping there around four hours later. Later that evening a gentleman named Wes Hartley of Scottsburg turned off the electric current for the interurban line, and the days of the interurban railroad in Austin and southern Indiana were over. In January of 1941, all of the remaining interurban lines in Indiana were shut down, and within a few years communities were tearing up the unused tracks and replacing them with roads for automobiles.    

Bogardus, Carl R. (1953) Centennial History of Austin Indiana. The Interurban. P. 111. (Stouts Print Shop, Paoli Indiana.)       

The Indiana Interurban System (2011). In Indiana Railroads. Retrieved June 26, 2011, from http://www.indianarailroads.org/historic/interurban.php?name=all

Beulah Marshall (Preferred name Marshall) Adkinson Houchen was born in 1917 in Harrodsburg Kentucky. In the early 1930s her father Lloyd Adkinson, came to Scott County and worked on a farm in Lexington Indiana. Marshall and her siblings would visit the area during the summers and by around 1932 or 1933 her father was working at Morgan Packing Company. It was then that Marshall came to Austin and worked in the pack at Morgan’s as a teenager. After high school in 1935, she left Kentucky for good and returned to Indiana to seek fulltime work at Morgan’s, she has lived in Austin since. All together she worked at Morgan Packing (Morgan Foods) for about 40 years on and off.

At the time of this interview on 7/3/2011 Marshall was just a few months short of her 94^th birthday, and still living in the home on South First Street in Austin that she and her husband Emil Houchen purchased in 1947. (Emil found employment at the Speed Indiana Cement Plant in 1939, and right before his retirement he passed away in December of 1979. The Houchen’s had one daughter, Sharon, a 1967 Austin High School graduate.)

Marshall Houchen on the Electric Interurban Railway

“I loved the interurban we took it everywhere. When I started dating my husband he lived in Henryville and rode the interurban to Austin to see me.   I would meet him at the Austin station on the corner of High and Main Streets, the Church of God is there now. We would eat at a restaurant, which was right beside the station. (Marshall and Emil were married in 1937) The restaurant was a big building and was always crowded as people who rode the interurban would go in there. The restaurant was owned by Floyd Everitt and I think later it became a skating rink.”

“The interurban was fun and fast, I knew some ladies from Underwood that worked at Morgan’s and they rode the interurban everyday. My husband used to ride it to his job at the Speed Cement Plant until the interurban quit running. We would go out and eat with friends on a Saturday night, and I can remember riding on the interurban to Seymour and Louisville several times. Sundays seemed to be the biggest day, people were visiting each other and the cars were always packed on Sunday.”