Progress is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Monroe Township, Delaware County,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

History

Progress was platted in 1903 by Samford Sharp along the route of the former Central Indiana Railway. The land was previously owned by William Sharp as early as 1887. The town was envisioned as a small settlement consisting of six blocks with ten lots each. It was named "Progress" in order to attract individuals to move there. A

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

was established in Progress in 1900 but remained operational for only nine months, closing in early 1901. Despite its small size, Progress briefly flourished in the early 20th century, featuring a

train depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

telegraph station Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

, stockrooms, and a

grain elevator A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

. The

Improved Order of Red Men The Improved Order of Red Men is a List of civic, fraternal, service, and professional organizations, fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty. Their rituals and ...

established a lodge in Progress in 1900, drawing 400 visitors from Muncie for its christening. The lodge remained active into the 1930s, with anniversary celebrations attended by members and their families. By 1920, the community had a service station,

blacksmith shop A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, and

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. The Progress General Store stocked goods sourced from Muncie’s Goddard Warehouse. However, Progress began to decline following the dismantling of the railroad in 1928. The general store eventually closed, and the lodge merged with a Muncie chapter. Today, Progress is largely a forgotten community, with its most prominent remaining structure being the former lodge and general store building, now converted into a residence.

References

Unincorporated communities in Delaware County, Indiana Unincorporated communities in Indiana {{DelawareCountyIN-geo-stub