Penn Central Depot Project

Roughly, this depot was built for the Indianapolis & Terre Haute Railroad in the spring of 1888 and is nearly 140 years old. It was built about 100 yards east of an architecturally stunning, wooden passenger depot that served the rail line. The passenger depot was razed at a still-unknown time. There are at least seven combined uses for this structure, once moved to its new location and, this new location keeps it right alongside its home on the rail corridor.

1. The depot will serve as People Pathways’ first enclosed trailhead. The People Pathways expansion, slated to begin in late 2024, will develop the trail on the south edge of Veterans Memorial Hwy from where it currently ends at Zinc Mill Rd, continuing it westward to US 231 and on westward to Jackson St, where it will connect with the existing Putnam Nature Trail. What was the railroad corridor is now Veterans Memorial Highway. This new, paved section of trail borders the new site for the depot. As a trailhead, the building CAN offer water, restroom facilities, information/displays, a gathering/education area, and more. Its specific use as a trailhead will continually expand.

2. In its new location, this depot trailhead will be a marker for a spur trail that will eventually run south from the new trail segment along Veterans Memorial Hwy, on an abandoned railbed that runs to and through the covered bridge in Forest Hill Cemetery and the county’s largest pollinator garden. This spur trail will “activate” the nine-acre pollinator garden and expand uses for the cemetery grounds envisioned by the Greencastle Cemetery Board.

3. The depot likely will serve as a Nature Center for use by Putnam Parks & Pathways’ Education Committee. What this means will be worked out with Putnam Parks & Pathways, but ideas include:

• A headquarters for the to-be-created Putnam County Parks Department.
• A base location for Nature Play Days, an annual week-long event for children in June.
• A gathering location for participants in Putnam Parks & Pathways’ Monthly Nature Hike, a year-round series of hikes in the county’s nature parks/preserves.
• An information/explanation center for the Forest Hill Cemetery Pollinator Garden and the general uses/benefits of pollinator gardens
• Perhaps a home for Putnam County’s Master Gardeners organization, which may beautify the location to demonstrate flower gardening.
• Use of the grounds as a community garden, engaging residents in growing foods for those in need.
• Once Putnam Parks & Pathways’ Education Committee has a dedicated location, it will expand on uses for the grounds/building that will attract and engage residents and visitors.

4. The interior renovation will be funded by the Putnam County Visitors Center for use by Putnam Parks & Pathways, which likely will use the depot as its organizational headquarters, for meetings, some equipment storage, etc., to be determined prior to renovation; however, the grounds are an ideal location for its Arts Committee to install public art and for its Events Committee’s use as a base for events – running, biking, hiking, bird-watching, star-gazing, etc.

5. The exterior restoration will be funded and overseen by the Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County. If the north-facing exterior wall ends up featuring a large Putnam Parks & Pathways logo, likely lighted at night, it will allow the building to be a brand-building vehicle for the organization and the county’s outdoor recreation efforts.

6. The restored depot will offer a self-serve bicycle rental station, offering a half-dozen bikes that will be accessed via a Bluetooth phone app. The outdoor rental station, included in the site plan, includes an “overflow” bike rack for a dozen bikes, allowing residents to take advantage of the location for personal bike use. With its proximity to DePauw University, and its high-visibility location on Veterans Memorial Hwy, the goal is to encourage students, residents and visitors to enjoy People Pathways via bicycle, riding onto the trail via the new, paved segment to be installed right there.

7. The building’s interior likely will include maps and a wall-mounted brochure rack with literature promoting things to do and see in Putnam County, especially those related to outdoor recreation like Deer Creek FWA, Lieber SRA, the park to be developed at Glenn Flint Lake, Camp Friend, People Pathways, Greencastle Parks & Rec, and the county’s nature parks/preserves, making the depot something of an auxiliary visitors center.