Russiaville works to restore old train depot

RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. (AP) It's been more than eight decades since the last interurban passenger train passed through Russiaville.

Between 1912 and 1932, the rail line connected Russiaville with Kokomo, Frankfort and Marion.

"The track line actually started in Marion and went to Kokomo in 1907," said Marsha Berry, president of the Russiaville Historical Society.

"The rail extended to Russiaville and Frankfort after that."

Since the passenger lines halted, the station has been home to freighters, a lumberyard and most recently apartments.

The once gutted and abandoned Interurban Station on the town's east side is now getting a restoration thanks to the Russiaville Historical Society.

The plan is to transform the building into a museum dedicated to the history of western Howard County, Russiaville and the station itself, Berry said.

"We've replaced missing brick, cleaned the cement work around the windows," she told the Kokomo Tribune (http://bit.ly/1pDVFBv ).

"Some of the windows had to be re-manufactured or replaced completely. We want to have the historically correct widows and have the building restored to original condition. We hope this will keep people aware of what our heritage is. We have a lot of transportation history in Russiaville. The first trolley came through Russiaville and we had the first county fair, which later shut down and went to Greentown."

Berry also said that auto maker Jonathon Dixon Maxwell, who made one of the first automobiles, lived near Russiaville.

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Russiaville works to restore old train depot