Jeffersonville Freight House Gains Historic Places Status
One historically significant property in Jeffersonville, Ind., has been awarded National Historic Place Registration by the National Parks Service thanks to the Ohio River Bridges Project. The Spring Street Freight House, known locally as the Jeffersonville Train Depot, was officially accepted to the National Register of Historic Places in May. The notification was received last month by officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)
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INDOT nominated the property to fulfill requirements set forth by the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Ohio River Bridges Project. That document singled out the Freight House as a historical or cultural resource requiring special attention from the project, including nomination for the National Historic Register. The MOA also stipulates the property is to be rehabilitated and restored and used as office space for INDOT officials assigned to the Ohio River Bridges Project, as well as the Indiana Ombudsman for the Project.
“The Ohio River Bridges project is about building Indiana’s economic future, and now with the addition of the Spring Street Freight House to the National Register of Historic Places, it will also preserve the transportation heritage of Indiana’s past,” said INDOT Architectural Historian Mary Kennedy. “In 1925, the “Big Four” railroad line and the Ohio River shipping corridor converged at the Spring Street Freight House in Jeffersonville. Now, this same building will be restored to its former glory and serve as the headquarters for building the Ohio River Bridges, the next exciting chapter in Southern Indiana’s transportation history.”
Rehabilitation and restoration of the property will likely begin in early 2008. In addition to converting the facility to office space for the Bridges Project, plans include enhancing the building’s exterior and incorporating streetscape improvements to improve the “curb appeal” of the property. The work will be managed by Butler, Fairman and Seufert, Inc., of Indianapolis, Ind., the design consultant for Indiana Downtown Approach Section of the Ohio River Bridges Project. Once the Bridges Project is complete, the MOA requires the property to be sold to a non-profit organization, historical group or donated to local government.
The Freight House, located at 1030 Spring Street on the southeast corner of Spring and 10th Streets was constructed in 1925 by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Company. The “Big Four” Railroad later leased its lines to New York Central Railroad which took over management of the facility. The property boundaries occupy just over one half acre of land. The building is a near-perfect example of how train depots of that time period were built and is considered rare as many from that era were dismantled as rail transportation evolved through the late 20th century. The facility still houses the original freight scale, manufactured by the Fairbanks Scale Company, which is still in working order. The scale dates to the early 1900s and was potentially manufactured 20-25 years before the building itself.
In addition to its architectural significance, the Freight House played an important role in the economic and demographic growth of the Jeffersonville and Indiana. INDOT’s nominating document called it, “significant as a symbol of the railroad’s vital role in the city’s economic growth, as well as that of the state.”
The Freight House was accepted to the Indiana Register of Historic Places on March 29, 2007, a preliminary step in the process that ultimately led to the National Registry status.