History of Hearthstone

Have you ever wondered about the old railroad bed that forms part of the walkway along the eastern boundary of our neighborhood? Did you know there was once a train depot stop just north of Wallen Road?

The railway that once ran here was originally known as The Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw Railroad, built in the 1860s. It was briefly operated by The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad before becoming part of The New York Central System. Most of the tracks between Fort Wayne and Auburn were removed in the 1960s, except for a short stretch between 4th Street and Runnion Avenue. This remaining section was used by Norfolk Southern to serve the former OmniSource Scrap Yard near Lawton Park until the facility closed in 2000. There has been recent discussion about redeveloping this area.

When the line was active, various rail spurs in Fort Wayne supplied coal to the City Light Power Plant (now Science Central), delivered wire spools and transformers to Indiana & Michigan Power’s service yard (now AEP, south of Kroger), and provided pigment, resin, and solvent shipments to The Valspar Corporation near Jacobs and State. Before becoming a paint plant, the facility originally produced tires. Another spur, located on the south side of Jacobs Avenue, supplied materials to The General Telephone Repair Center (now repurposed for carpet and tile sales).

The FWJ&S Railroad began near present-day West Jefferson Boulevard, just east of Lindenwood Cemetery and west of Swinney Park. An 1886 historical atlas shows the line running north along our eastern boundary, stopping first at Academie Station—located just north of Wallen Road. The small town of Academie was centered near Till Road. From there, the railway continued northeast through Auburn, Waterloo, Summit, Steubenville, Pleasantville Lake, Angola, and Fremont, with its last Indiana stop at Ray, near the Michigan border. Beyond Ray, the line extended northeast to Jackson, MI, and then to Saginaw. While the tracks between Fort Wayne and Auburn no longer exist, much of the rail bed north to Ray remains part of The Indiana Railroad.

Longtime local resident Harold Hartman recalls hearing the steam whistle as trains approached Academie Station. If you’ve noticed the cement marker with a “W” stamped on it along our walkway, that was a signal for steam engine crews to blow the whistle as they neared the station.

South of Fort Wayne, this rail line was known as The Fort Wayne, Bluffton & Cincinnati Railroad (now owned by Norfolk Southern). It ran through Sheldon (now Yoder), Ossian, Bluffton, and Montpelier before connecting to The Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad, which continued through Eaton, Muncie, New Castle, and southeast into Cambridge City and Connersville. The Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation now owns portions of this route.

As you walk our trails, remember that our neighborhood shares a piece of Fort Wayne’s railroad history—right in our backyard. Let’s take care of these pathways and appreciate the legacy they carry.

William A. Smith IV
December 18, 2002