Society Saga – Griffith History Museums

March 23, 2026June 17, 2026 victoriavm Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith History, Society Saga

Our Society Saga – Part Two

Where DOES one put a depot? Written by Karen Kulinski

When last we were together, it was the late 1970’s. A small band of Griffith townsfolk had decided to save the Grand Trunk Depot from demolition, the last of three train stations that once stood near the Broad Street railroad crossing.

One of the first things they did was ask other town organizations to join them. Two major ones, Griffith Community Spirit and the Griffith Junior Woman’s Club, heeded the call.

They also approached the Town Board for help, and Trustee Merle Colby became the man on point.

Of major concern to the group was raising the funds to move the Depot, and the group approached local business for contributions or for in-kind items or services.

But equally concerning was, if the group was able to save the Depot, where would they put it?

Martha Gatlin recalled, “We felt it was important to keep the Depot visible to drivers who were stopped for one of the many trains that came through Griffith on the then-eleven tracks. And to keep the building close to the town’s operational rail lines.”

Many years later, this decision ended up being a major factor in the Society’s favor when we applied for the Depot to be put on the National Register Of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures.

But finding such a site back then wasn’t easy for the group. Finally, Howard Anderson discovered a small patch of vacant land on the corner of Avenue A and Broad Street.

Further investigation at the courthouse revealed no one had a claim on the land, nor did anyone have a deed to it.

“We immediately claimed it!” Martha stated, “And the stage was set to move the Depot onto it.”

Some years later, it was discovered that the property was once part of a street named Travis Avenue. For some unknown reason, the street ended up going in a different direction, leaving the open space behind. The street also ended up with a different name — Avenue A.

Whatever the reason for this happening, it sure was a bit of serendipity working for us early on.

In January, 1980, the last remaining Griffith depot was safely moved to that empty spot of land right next to the railroad tracks.

The original use for the Depot was as a storage place for Community Spirit’s Christmas decorations. Before long, a more noble use for the Depot would be decided on.

And so would begin a new history for that heretofore unwanted Depot and the abandoned patch of land.

Also part of the group dedicated to saving the Depot but not mentioned in this article were Kathy Anderson, Donna Gonzalez and Ray Anderson (no relation to Kathy.)

Read more 👉
Society Sagas: https://ghsinc.org/category/society-saga/
Tales of the Tower: https://ghsinc.org/category/the-tower/
Tales of the Town: https://ghsinc.org/category/tales-of-the-town/
History Notes: https://ghsinc.org/category/history-notes/

September 15, 2025June 17, 2026 victoriavm Depot & Train Museums, EJ&E Interlocking Tower, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith History, History Notes, Society Saga, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Tales of the Town

𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 – 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟒

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙜𝙖 – 𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫!

It was 25 years ago, and we are still grateful to everyone who donated time and money to help us preserve the Tower and save it from demolition.

Thanks to the businesses and banks that allowed us to put donation jars on their counters, and thanks to all the Griffith residents who put money in the jars! Thanks to all the Historical Society members, who volunteered every step of the way, and of course, thank you to all the people and businesses who donated money towards this gigantic project!

It was really a town-wide effort, and is a monument to the spirit of Griffith!

August 1, 2025June 17, 2026 victoriavm Depot & Train Museums, EJ&E Interlocking Tower, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith History, Society Saga, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Tales of the Town

𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 – 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟑

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙜𝙖 – 𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧
𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬
𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘪

You know you’re reeeeeally in need of cash when you take money from school kids. But that’s what we did 25 years ago, and we did it twice.

To be honest, we were honored to do it. Because, in both of the cases, the students wanted to give us money for the tower and they worked to do it.

Seventh-graders, in the then Griffith Junior/Senior High School, held a walkathon from the school to our Historical Park and back, earning us more than $500. And the Beiriger Elementary School students held a Penny War for us.

Come to find out every year back then, the Beiriger Student Council voted on one project to support. In the year 2000, they chose our Griffith Tower.

“We felt saving the tower was important to the town,” said Student Council president Ashley Korak, when interviewed for a newspaper article. “With so few towers left, we want to preserve ours.”

Note: When Ashley said those words, there were 177 towers still in operation in North America. Twenty-five years later, there are fewer than 50.

The Penny War worked like this: Each grade was given a big jar into which students deposited pennies into their particular jars every day for a week. All the jars were kept in the school foyer, and at the end of the week, a total $518.72 from all the jars was given to the tower.

The 5th graders donated the most pennies, with the 6th grade coming in 2nd place, and the 3rd graders taking 3rd.

Griffith Historical Society President Delores Smessaert, in the photo here, thanks all the students. “So much work needs to be done in this 76-year-old building,” she went on, “and your donation will go a long way in helping us install a new heating system.”

July 30, 2025June 17, 2026 victoriavm Depot & Train Museums, EJ&E Interlocking Tower, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith History, Society Saga, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Volunteer

𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 – 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙜𝙖 – 𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧
𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘪

How does a group of “not the youngest of people” raise thousands upon thousands of dollars in just 7 months?

First of all, we bought a banner that said HELP US SAVE AND MOVE OUR TOWER!

Then we called on the Griffith Fire Department and asked them to put up the banner for us. The idea was everyone would see our message while waiting for trains to pass at our crossing.

This was in the year 2000. The internet and social media were in their infancies. So, how did one get the word out beyond our town?

We called the newspapers, who graciously published stories and photos about our efforts.

The very next day, the president of the Griffith Saving Bank called and gave us $1,000.

We were on our way!

Next, we wrote letters to any and all local, state and federal foundations, including the Lily Endowment.

Donald Trump had a casino boat in Griffith, so we contacted him. He gave us $100.

In the end, though, most donations came right from our town.

The schools stepped up. Beiriger held a Penny War that earned over $500.

The Griffith Junior/Senior High School had a walk-a-thon from their schools to our Historical Park and back. They raised over $500 for us.

We even had the honor to be written up in a newspaper column by Bo Kane, who grew up in Griffith and had a grandmother who lived right by.

Town organizations sent donations, and stores and businesses contributed to our cause.

Many of them put out Save The Tower mugs for us, so people we didn’t even know could donate to us.

Towns people who once worked for railroads or had a railroading heritage were very generous.

And friends from out of town, the Blackhawk Railway Historical Society, procured a $5,000 National Railway Heritage Grant for us.

The support we got from everyone was overwhelming and we will be forever grateful to them.

We were especially so on July 20th, 2000, when Dillabaugh, Inc. did what seemed impossible and moved a three story bright tower.

Out onto Broad Street at 9 o’clock, across the tracks and onto our property by lunchtime, standing above the new foundation at quitting time.

And the box of soap that was on a shelf in the upper room never moved. It was still in place when the boards were later removed and the building was opened up!

A historic job done by everybody involved, well done and ahead of schedule.