Side A: Construction of the Columbus, Piqua, and Indiana Central Railroad started in 1850 and was finished in 1854. Later referred to as the “Panhandle Railroad,” it ran from Columbus to Bradford. During the Civil War, the line carried supplies and troops and it was extended from Bradford to Richmond, Indiana. President Lincoln’s funeral train traveled the route on April 29, 1865. Eventually, three railway lines crossed Urbana: the Big Four, the Pennsylvania, and the Erie. “Corn brooms,” woolen cloth, horse carriages, and tinware were shipped by railroad to national markets and regular passenger service carried residents to destinations across the country, including Chicago, St. Louis, New York, and Washington, D.C. (Continued on other side)
Side B: (Continued from other side) The Pennsylvania Railroad built a new station in Urbana in 1894. The firm of Packard and Yost from Columbus, the architects of the Urbana Presbyterian Church, designed the station. Inside were a ticket office, bathrooms, central fireplace, and separate waiting rooms: one for men and another for women and children. The depot was also conveniently located near stations of other railroads serving Urbana, the Big Four and the Erie and is 46.751 miles from Columbus. In 1976, the station became part of the Conrail System. Since then, several businesses had occupied the depot until the Simon Kenton Pathfinders purchased it and sold it to the City of Urbana in a partnership to provide amenities for users of the Simon Kenton Trail. The newly restored depot was rededicated in 2007.
Sponsors: City of Urbana, Champaign County Bicentennial Historical Marker Commission, and The Ohio Historical Society
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