🦋Join us to celebrate the return of the monarchs, as they migrate up from the south! 🗓️Sunday May 24, 2026 🕰️ 1 – 4 pm
🏫 Visit the Griffith Depot & Train Museums (everything will be open to view!) and enjoy our Monarch Waystation garden! 🦋Learn about Monarchs, their amazing migration, & how they’ve become endangered. Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge. 🐝Learn about adding native plants to your garden. 🌻Buy plants that help butterflies, especially monarchs! We’ll have a small selection of milkweed plants & other native plants.
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.)
A year ago last summer, the proud Chesapeake & Ohio Inspection Car, shown below in its honored place next to our Depot Museum, lay in pieces. Taken apart several years before by a long-time member, it had been cannibalized and left to rust away.
We feared the car would remain that way, none of us having the expertise to put it back together. Nor did the Society have the money to pay to have it done, or even know if it could be done. Enter Perry and Kevin Frye.
Father and son Inspection Car enthusiasts, with a passion for restoring them, the men volunteered to bring our little car back to life. And, they would charge us only for parts they couldn’t donate to us, or arrange for others to do the donating.
Mid-summer 2021, the battered, bare-bones skeleton of our little car, was taken away by Perry Frye, along with a heap of random parts that were still left.
The photo shows the shape our car was in when Perry, right, came to pick it up from the town garage where it had been stored for us.
The Fryes couldn’t give us a date when the car would be ready. All they could do was promise that they would bring back the car looking as good as in the first photo above, if not better. They did keep us posted as they worked with photos and updates as to what had been done.
Imagine our surprise, when in mid-January, Perry informed us our car was finished. He brought it to us on January 16th, after stopping off at Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum to actually run the car on the tracks, see photo below. At our site, the car must be a static display.
Perry and Kevin gave us the best gift ever as the Griffith Historical Society celebrates our 40th anniversary this year — they restored our Inspection Car to better shape than it was before. It now has front and back working lights, which were not on the car when it was donated some 40 years ago.
The car also has small brooms attached to the wheels to sweep off the rails while moving along, which was unknown to us. A broom is visible in the upright position on the left side of the car in the picture below.
For now the car will be kept off display until we can find a way to exhibit it without it being constantly exposed to the elements. However, we will be showing it off in the Griffith 4th of July Parade, and it will be on display at the Griffith Historical Society’s 40th Anniversary event up at the Depot, where it all began for us.
Watch our website for more information about the Anniversary event, which will, of course, include having the Depot, railcars and the Tower open to the public. Also on hand will be our Hess Express barrel train, among other fun things.
L to r, rear, Griffith Historical Society President Nancy Stout and Secretary Karen Kulinski. L to r, front, Directors Marthann Gatlin and Debby Hoot.
All of us at the Society will be forever grateful to Perry and Kevin Frye! Our beloved little car came home all in one piece for our 40th anniversary.
Griffith History Museums 