6. New York Central (Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa)

The Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa (also known as the 3I or II&I) railroad was planned beginning in the 1870’s, although it was not completed through Starke County until around 1895. This is the railroad that connected towns across the county - San Pierre, North Judson, Knox, Hamlet.  It ran from Streator, IL into Indiana.

The Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa was merged with the Indiana Harbor Railroad in 1906 to create the Chicago, Indiana, and Southern.

This photo of the Toto Depot was taken around 1915.  An interesting aside…. Railroads were known to change town names.  The 3I renamed “Toto” as Rye, but according to locals from the time period, the townspeople did not like the change. 

Stories were told of people sneaking out at night, removing the “Rye” sign and replacing it with a hand-painted “Toto”.  Today the village remains Toto, although “Rye” can still be found on some state maps.

The CI&S (Chicago, Indiana, and Southern) next became a subsidiary owned by the New York Central railroad.  The Kankakee Belt Route is a nickname for the portion of the New York Central Railroad which extended from South Bend, Indiana, through Kankakee, Illinois and westward.