Terre Haute Meat Packing Plant

Terre Haute used to be the home of the meat packing plant called Home Packing Co. However, in 1963 a tragic accident occurred at the plant. The building faced the Wabash River. During the early morning hours in January 1963, the building suddenly exploded. It is estimated that 16 people died and 55 others were injured. Rescue workers had to wear masks to avoid getting being exposed to ammonia and methane. The ammonia was released from broken refrigerator lines and the methane was released from ruptured sewer lines. Among those who died was Donald Scott. He was a salesman and the brother of the president of the company. He was found sitting in his chair, buried in bricks. The first floor fell into the basement freezer. Witnesses said bricks flew everywhere and it felt like an earthquake.

Vigo County Jail

Not too long ago, the current Vigo County Jail was built next to the Court House. However, the old jail still exists. While it is no longer in use, the building still stands. As you cross the bridge from West Terre Haute into Terre Haute, you notice an old building. That is the jail. Up close, the building is beautiful and unique. Unfortunately, it stands useless. I think someone should make the old building a museum, or restaurant like Moggers and Stables.

Federal Court House

In November, the old Federal Court House was closed down, and a new one opened up at 921 Ohio Street. The old building is beautiful inside and out. Too bad it's no longer used for its original purpose. The building was bought by ISU and they plan to turn the building into the new college of business. During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped establish the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Part of the WPA was the Federal Art Project (FAP). The goal of this program was to employ artists. The FAP created over 5,000 jobs and 225,000 works of art. The old Federal Court House has some of the art that was created during the FAP in its courtrooms. Supposedly, ISU has great plans for the old building, but I think it should have stay the court house. The new building is much smaller, less prestigious, and does not have the grand presence of the old building.

Moggers

Moggers Brewery is located at 9th and Poplar Streets. The building was built in 1837. Matthias Mogger was the founder of the brewery, and he was from Germany and one of the first entrepreneurs for brewing beer. Mogger's Brewery was housed in the Bleemel Building from 1848-1868. In 1893, Mogger's Brewery was the seventh largest brewery in the country! However, in 1958, the brewery closed, but re-opened in 2000 and became the second oldest active brewery in the nation. It was also the first brewery in the country to use black models. Mogger's makes its own brand of beer called Champagne Velvet. Moggers is now a restaurant and bar. The building is decorated with antique brewing equipment.

Boston Connection

Terre Haute used to have a hotel named the Boston Connection. Of course, the theme was all about Larry Bird. The hotel had one of the best restaurants in town during its prime. Inside, there was a room to shoot baskets, and Larry Bird paraphernalia all over the walls. There was a penny machine that flattened pennies and put Celtics designs on them. My family and I used to go to the Boston Connection at least every week, sometimes more than once. On Sundays, they had an amazing breakfast buffet, and there other food was great as well. Several years ago, the Boston Connection was closed down and became a Days Inn. It slowly turned into a dump. It later became an Economy Inn, and because less than a dump. Now, the hotel is under construction. Like everything else, the Boston Connection was a highlight of Terre Haute that was destroyed. Even though the building is under construction now, it will never come close to competing with the Boston Connection.

Terre Haute's Underground Railroad

As I was reading An American Hometown, I stumbled across Reverend Orval W. Baylor. Mr. Baylor was an assistant pastor at the First United Brethren Church. If a person solely looked at this characteristic of Orval Baylor, one would probably consider him a good, moral person. However, quite the opposite was true. Orval was the manager of the Klan Home located in Klan Park at 1501 North 13th Street. In 1927, Terre Haute had two Klan chapters, with a combined membership of 8,240.

I found it ironic that Terre Haute had so many members of the Ku Klux Klan, when it used to be part of the Underground Railroad. One of the stops was Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal. Escaping slaves stopped at Allen Chapel on their way to Canada on lumbar boats. There was a tunnel under the old church building which led to the Wabash River.

Along with being a part of the Underground Railroad, Allen Chapel is the oldest serving African American church in western Indiana. The church as served as a speaking forum for people like Frederick Douglas, Eugene V. Debs, and Jackie Robinson. The building housed Terre Haute's first courthouse bell. And the church is recognized by National Register for Historic Places as an important piece of our nation's history.

The church is still open to the public today, but it only has twenty to forty members. However, the building has been deteriorating. In 1997, Joy Sacopulos (also mentioned in a previous blog) realized the bad condition of the church and began steps to renovate the building. She organized a volunteer group, and asked Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana for advice. In return, they gave her a seven step process to fix Allen Chapel. Money for the renovation was donated from local businesses. Today, the building still stands with all its historic memories at the corner of 3rd and Crawford streets.

Crossroads of America

From the beginning of the twentieth century until Interstate 70 was opened, Terre Haute had two main highways, U.S. Highway 40 and U.S. Highway 41. U.S. Highway 40 was built in 1834. In its beginning years, the highway stretched from Atlantic City to San Francisco. U.S. Highway 41, formally called Paul Dresser Memorial Highway, runs from Copper Harbor, Wisconsin to Miami, Florida. Prior to the instillation of Interstate 70, these two highways were the most traveled route, and the intersection is right here in Terre Haute. However, after Interstate 70 was build, U.S. Highways 40 and 41 became less traveled. Mistakenly, Indianapolis is sometimes revered to as the Crossroads of America. Joy Sacopulos, a live long Terre Haute resident, fought to prove the true home of the Crossroads of America. Thanks to this hometown hero, in 1988, a marker was placed at 7th and Wabash streets to formally mark the Crossroads of America.