(This cache is located on part of the old main line built through Redkey, IN in 1867.)
In 1836, the Josiah Wade family bought 80 acres of land along a little steam called Halfway Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Wade and five of their married children formed a little community known as “Wade Settlement.”
William Harrison Wade platted a section of his land in 1854, which became “Mount Vernon.” On December 2, 1856, Rev. James Redkey bought a farm at the edge of Mount Vernon from William H. Wade. Since the railroad was coming, Rev. Redkey had the land platted in lots which could be added to Mount Vernon. The surveyor used the name Redkey for his plat. When the railroad came, the train station was called Redkey. Then in 1867, Mount Vernon became known as Redkey.
Redkey’s main industry was the CAAR Canning Company, which canned mostly tomatoes. The town has several historic buildings, including an opera house and a flatiron building along the railroad tracks. John Shambarger’s restaurant, which closed in the 1980s, attracted guests from all over the world.
Today, Redkey has a very active group of citizens who are working to restore the downtown area and open various types of shops which will attract visitors to the community.
The Columbus to Chicago Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Colombus, OH northwest via Logansport, Indiana to Chicago. The line has largely been abandoned. The Norfolk Sountern Railway operated the portion from Redkey, Indiana west to Sweetser as the "Red Key Secondary", and a short piece from Schereville, Indiana, to Hartsdale, Indiana as the Logansport Secondary. The portion from Anoka to Logansport is part of the Winamac Southern Railway.