2. Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway)

Construction began on our second railroad, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, in 1856.  This track ran east and west through the northern part of the county. 


Sidings were spaced along the tracks about every 2 miles across northern Starke County allowing farmers to ship livestock to Chicago and hay to Pittsburgh. 
By 1858 it  connected Chicago with Philadelphia. In the early days, the 153-mile Indiana section was known as the “race track” because it was very straight and level. 

The railroad established “Stark Station” in 1859 but changed the name to Hamlet in 1863, naming it after John Hamlet, the man who surveyed the railroad right of way.       Today we travel primarily by car.  However, in the first half of the 20th century, travel by rail was common.  By World War I, the track carried 26 passenger trains daily. By the end of World War II, the line was running 32 trains daily.