The Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (JM&I) was formed in 1866 as a merger between the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad and the Jeffersonville Railroad.

Genealogy

Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis RR 1871

The JM&I predecessors were as follows: *Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad **Indianapolis and Madison Railroad 1866 ***Madison and Indianapolis Railroad 1862 **** Madison, Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad 1843 **Jeffersonville Railroad 1866 ***Ohio and Indianapolis Railway 1849 ***Knightstown & Shelbyville Railroad 1852 (abandoned 1868) ***Shelbyville Lateral Railroad 1851 (abandoned 1867) **Shelby and Rush Railroad 1882 ***Rushville and Shelbyville Railroad 1859 **Columbus and Shelby Railroad 1881 **Lake Erie and Louisville Railroad 1890 ***Lake Erie and Pacific Railroad 1865 ***Fremont, Lima & Union Railroad 1865 ****The Fremont and Indiana Railroad 1861

History

The Ohio and Indianapolis Railroad was chartered February 3, 1832, to build a line from

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

south to the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

. The company was not organized until March 17, 1848, and on February 3, 1849, it was renamed the

Jeffersonville Railroad Jeffersonville is the name of several places in the United States: *Jeffersonville, Georgia * Jeffersonville, Illinois * Jeffersonville, Indiana *Jeffersonville, Kentucky *Jeffersonville, New York *Jeffersonville, Ohio *Jeffersonville, Vermont Jef ...

. The first section, from Jeffersonville to just north of

Memphis, Indiana Memphis is a census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Indiana, United States. The population was 695 at the 2010 census. History A post office established at Memphis in 1854. The original settlers were from Memphis, Tennessee. 2012 to ...

, opened in 1850. The next year it leased the Knightstown and Shelbyville Railroad, starting to operate it in 1852. The line opened north to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

in August 1852, and on September 1, 1852, it began operating the

Rushville and Shelbyville Railroad Rushville may refer to a place in the United States: * Rushville, Illinois * Rushville, Indiana * Rushville, Iowa * Rushville, Missouri * Rushville, Nebraska * Rushville, New York Rushville is a village in Ontario and Yates Counties in the U.S. ...

under lease. On January 27, 1836, an act of the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...

established Indiana's first railroad to actually be built. Construction began on the state-owned Madison and Indianapolis Railroad on September 16, 1836. After building only from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Queensville Queensville is a village within the Town of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada. History Originally named ''Four Corners'' and ''Hackett's Corners'' (after William Hackett owner of a general store), it was renamed as ''Queensville'' in 1843 to ho ...

(just northwest of

North Vernon North Vernon is a city in Jennings County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,608 as of the 2020 census. History North Vernon was originally called Tripton, sometimes referred to as “The Gem of the Midwest” and under the latter na ...

in Jennings County) by 1841, the railroad was transferred to private ownership on June 20, 1842, as the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company. This entity completed the remainder of the line from Queensville to Indianapolis, a distance of , by 1847. Although it was successful for more than a decade, it went into decline, was sold at foreclosure on March 27, 1862, and renamed the Indianapolis and Madison Railroad (I&M). The successor company abandoned the M&I's of trackage between

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1864 and began running over the Jeffersonville Railroad's nearby tracks. Organized on April 30, 1866, for the purpose of uniting the two lines, the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company (JM&I) absorbed the Indianapolis & Madison the next day, with the Jeffersonville Railroad being officially merged in on June 1 of that same year, upon the filing of the Articles of Consolidation. On May 22, 1868, the

Reno Gang The Reno Gang, also known as the Reno Brothers Gang and The Jackson Thieves, were a group of criminals that operated in the Midwestern United States during and just after the American Civil War. Though short-lived, the gang carried out the firs ...

held up the JM&I Railroad train at

Marshfield, Scott County, Indiana Marshfield is an extinct town in Vienna Township, Scott County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, about three miles northwest of Scottsburg. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place. History Marshfield functioned as a water stop on the Jefferso ...

, and escaped with $90,000 in cash described as being in "new notes." The money was never officially recovered and in today's value, represented more than $2 million. The

Scottsburg Depot Scottsburg is a historic railroad depot located at Scottsburg, Scott County, Indiana. It was built in 1872 by the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, costing almost $1,492 (). It is a one-story, Stick Style frame building with boa ...

opened in 1872. ''Note:'' This includes and accompanying photographs It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1991.

References

Railroad History Database

External links

* *
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad collection
Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffersonville Madison Indianapolis Railroad Defunct Indiana railroads Companies affiliated with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Defunct companies based in Indianapolis Historic American Engineering Record in Indiana Transportation in Indianapolis Train robberies Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1866 Railway companies disestablished in 1890 Robberies in the United States Crimes in Indiana 1866 establishments in Indiana

Genealogy

History

See also

References

External links