Seymour, Indiana

The land near Seymour was first occupied by the Cherokee Indians. The Treaty of Grouseland opened the area to white settlers in 1805. Shortly after the Pidgeon Roost Massacre of 1812, a local battle occurred between settlers and a hostile band of Indian raiders at the Battle of Tipton's Island.[9][10] Between 1811 and 1815, fifteen white settlers were killed by hostile Native Americans. In 1816, there were only 5 white families in the area.[11] In 1817, the State of Indiana established a blockhouse in the area to facilitate trade with the Lenape Indians until the natives ceded the area in the aftermath of the Treaty of St. Mary's.[11] Between 1822 and 1832, the county became almost completely depopulated.[12]

Seymour was laid out and plated on April 27, 1852, by Meedy and Eliza Ewing Shields, near the 1809 Indian Treaty Corner and approximately two miles south of the village of Rockford, Indiana; the terminus of the north-south railroad at the Driftwood River before the opening of the purchase of 1828 and the construction of the rail-bridge over the White River.[13][14] During the latter 1840's, a north–south railroad connecting the Ohio River at Jeffersonville with Indianapolis was built crossing the Shields' farm. In 1852, an east–west railroad was being surveyed through Jackson County and Meedy Shields persuaded the Ohio and Mississippi Rail Road to run through his property. In exchange for this favor, he agreed to name the town after the railroad's civil engineer, Henry C. Seymour,[15] although some sources mention J. Seymour, who was the surveyor.[16][17] On June 29, 1854, the first train on the new Ohio and Mississippi Railroad stopped in Seymour and fired a celebratory cannon shot. Four men were killed in the resulting explosion from the poorly-aimed fusillade.[6]

Seymour was derisively referred to as a "mule crossing"[18][6] because its slow initial development and lack of interest from the railroad companies. The town did not see significant development until the state legislature, led by the efforts of local landowner and Indiana State Senator Meedy Shields, passed a law in 1857 requiring all trains to stop at railroad-railroad intersections. By increasing safety statewide in a time before widespread semaphore use, it increased the value of land around such intersections and made them safer for warehousing.[19]

Meedy Shields advertised in Cincinnati and Louisville newspapers offering a free lot and $100 to any congregation to establish a church in the city. Charles White of the Presbyterian Church was the first to answer in 1855.[6] In 1858, Blish Mill opened as the first mill in town. By 1881, Seymour would have three mills within the city limits.[6] The large grain tower still stands near the railroad intersection near the center of town.

Seymour was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. On April 20, 1860, an Adams Express package shipped from Nashville, Tennessee, and addressed to "Hannah Johnson [care of] Levi Coffin" burst open at Seymour while en route to Cincinnati. Levi Coffin was a leading Hoosier abolitionist and the unofficial leader of the Underground Railroad.[20] The package contained a person fleeing slavery and looking for freedom in the North. A similar incident occurred earlier in Kentucky. The true identity of "Hannah Johnson" remains a mystery. Although Indiana was a "free state", Article XIII of the state constitution of 1851 made it illegal for African Americans to settle in Indiana[21] and the Fugitive Slave Act permitted bounty hunters to capture and return people to slavery. The fugitive, later identified as Alexander McClure, was arrested and returned to Louisville and then to his owner in Nashville, Tennessee.[22][23]

Meedy Shields

During the American Civil War, despite southern Indiana's strong Copperheads political sentiment,[24] the city of Seymour and the surrounding area raised three separate infantry regiments for service in the Union Army. Volunteers from Seymour were organized at Camp Heffron in Seymour.[25] The entirety of the 50th Indiana Infantry Regiment was commanded by former Indiana Secretary of State, Colonel Cyrus L. Dunham,[26] as well as portions of the 10th Indiana Cavalry Regiment. Captain Fielder A Jones, who would end the war as a Brigadier General, led company H of the 6th Indiana Infantry Regiment.[27][28]

By 1865, Fielder Jones of the 8th Indiana Cavalry was promoted to colonel, only a couple of months before being brevetted to Brigadier General. Early in the war, Jones had been "body shot" by a bushwhacker. He later killed, W. A. Carter recalled decades later. "No Surrender" Jones survived his wound, then later raised another infantry unit of Jackson County men who elected him colonel. "When the company was organized, a group of Seymour women made a beautiful silk American flag and presented it to the Colonel. The presentation was made on the platform of what was then the O&M railroad station located in what [later became] the east warehouse of the Travis Carter Company at the corner of Fourth and Broadway. Mrs. George Williams, wife of one of Seymour's first jewelers, made the presentation speech. 'The enemy will never get this flag while I live,' the Colonel declared in accepting the flag and he kept his word." Carter said the flag came back with General Jones and his company, but other stories said Jones never returned to Seymour. After being mustered out, Jones headed to Missouri to practice law.[29]

In 1863, Captain Meedy Shields trained local minutemen militia units in response to Morgan's Raid while several regiments of infantry were sent from the state capitol in Indianapolis.

Due to its strategic location along rail lines, and with the large cities of Indianapolis, Chicago, and Detroit to the north and St. Louis to the west, Seymour was an important waypoint for the movement of men and supplies to the front during the war. On January 20, 1864, during the transfer of Confederate prisoners of war, six officers escaped. One was later recaptured in town.[30] The New York Times reports that on January 22, 1864, a "Soldier's riot" took place, wherein two soldiers were killed and several others were injured.[31]

Colonel Samuel Wells, 50th Indiana Infantry Regiment

The 50th Indiana Infantry Regiment lost 3 officers and 54 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 3 officers and 158 enlisted men by disease for a total of 218 casualties during the war. Colonel Dunham, a Democrat, was accused of harboring Confederate sympathies and mustered out of the regiment in 1863 under a cloud of suspicion.[32] Lt. Colonel Heffron, who was poorly regarded by the men of the regiment, was also dismissed from the army and replaced by Major Samuel T Wells, a Vallonia, Indiana, native, Mexican-American war veteran, and former Jackson County Sheriff.[33] Wells would go on to command the regiment after Durham's resignation until the 50th was dissolved and all men transferred to the 52nd Indiana Infantry Regiment which was also garrisoned in Mobile, Alabama, and remained there until the war's end.[34]

During the Civil War, Seymour and Jackson County fielded a total of 2,571 volunteers for the Union cause.[27]

After the war, local veterans organized the Ellsworth Post 20 of the G.A.R. At its zenith, the post included two hundred and twenty-two local citizens who had served the Union during the war as members. During its long existence, the organization included many prominent community members. The Ellsworth Post was active in local charities, organized burial services for local veterans, and conducted official observances on Decoration Day. The final member of the post, James H Boak, lived to be 98 years old. He died in 1942, closing one of the longest-running G.A.R. chapters in existence.[35]

An infamous local murder occurred in January 1866, when a traveling merchant, Moore Woodmansee, 42, on his way to Cincinnati, disappeared while staying at the Rader House. The Rader House was operated by proprietor Captain George Rader, a purported Reno Associate, and was the center of gambling, theft, prostitution, and a string of mysterious disappearances. Months after he disappeared, the headless body of Woodmansee was found downriver in the East Fork of the White River; then known as the Driftwood River. Rader was implicated in the murder. Two local witnesses were murdered. Rader and his son-in-law were ultimately acquitted but forced to leave town.[36][37]

Billy Yank, the statue honoring Seymour's Civil War veterans was newly restored in 2023 after being vandalized and stored for more than 40 years.

A robbery of the Adams Express Car on the east-west Ohio and Mississippi line near Brownstown was reported in July 1866. That night, the perpetrators were chased by a local vigilance committee of 300 men that continued into the Rockford area.[30] Three days later, the Reno brothers had been identified as the gang's leaders and newspapers were recounting the notorious deeds of the family.[38] Later that year, Seymour was the site of the world's first successful peacetime train robbery, in which the train was moving. It was committed by the local Reno Gang, on October 6, 1866, just east of town, starting in the Adams Express Company car of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. Some members of the gang were later lynched at Hangman's Crossing outside town.[39] The insolvent Ohio and Mississippi Railroad was reorganized in 1867 as the Ohio and Mississippi Railway.

About 1876, a general strike of approximately 500 railroad men occurred at Seymour and nearby North Vernon, Indiana, led by armed brakemen, engineers, and other railroad employees who had not been paid for two and a half months by the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. A paper reported that the communities of Seymour and North Vernon were armed and in revolt. A contingent of US Marshals and detectives was sent from Cincinnati to end the strike. All passenger and cargo service through Seymour and North Vernon was suspended during the strike.[40] The Ohio and Mississippi Railway was purchased in 1893 by B&O Southwestern Railroad.

The town's first high school was built in 1871 on the vacant lot of the disbanded civil war encampment. Frank B Shields, a Seymour native, former MIT professor, and inventor of Barbasol shaving cream, subsequently donated the adjacent land needed for the construction of the James Shields memorial gym.[41]

During the years prior to the turn of the 20th century, Seymour saw a significant influx of Dutch and German migrants of the Lutheran faith. These migrants eventually established many successful local farms and businesses. These pioneers' influence continues today and can be seen in the city's annual Oktoberfest celebration.[42]

Seymour Indiana Public Library, ca 1910

Seymour fielded its own minor league team, the Seymour Reds, beginning in 1900. Pee Wee Reese once played with the Seymour Reds before being called up to the majors. The team had its own field, Redlands Park, north of Shields City Park.[43][44][45]

The Ahlbrand Carriage Company, a builder of buggies and custom coaches was incorporated in Seymour by Ephriam, Albert, and Walter Ahlbrand of Seymour.[46][47]

Ahlbrand Carriage Co catalogue entry

The Seymour Public Library opened to the public in January 1905, following a grant of $10,000 from the Carnegie Foundation in 1903 led by the Public-School Superintendent and President of the Seymour Public Library Board, Professor H.C. Montgomery. Efforts to bring a library to Seymour began twenty years early in 1881. Early library collections were housed in a local bookshop and then at Shields High School until the new Carnegie Library opened. The public library was part of more than $2.6 million in grants issued in the state of Indiana for more than 160 libraries: more than any other state.[48]

In 1913, the Great Flood hit Seymour causing widespread death and destruction. It was the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the area. The East Fork of the White River reached 27.50 feet (8.38 m) above the level recorded in the flood of 1884.[49]

In 1914, H. Vance Swope, a landscape artist who spent his youth in Seymour, donated many of his own works and paintings he acquired during his career to Seymour's Art League. Eventually, those works became part of the H. Vance Swope Gallery in the new Public Library.[50] This collection contains important works by Charlotte B. Coman and other favorites from Swope.

Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita, ca 1943

On May 7, 1915, leading city-industrialist and scion of the Thompson family, Eldridge Blish Thompson died during the sinking of the ocean liner RMS Lusitania.[51][52] A memorial scholarship was funded in his name by his family at Seymour's Shields High School for any student accepted to Yale University.[53] The sinking of the ocean liner was an important factor in President Woodrow Wilson's decision to ask Congress for a declaration of war in April 1917.

During World War I, nine Seymour natives died in combat.[54] Seymour's first municipal airport, the White River Valley Flying Field, was located on the Henry Ahlert farm (once owned by the Renos) near the White River north of the city.[55]

In 1934, Seymour police officer John Pfaffenberger was shot and killed by three assailants after he attempted to stop their car after they stole a few dollars worth of fuel from a gas station east of town. One defendant, Nashville, Indiana, native Edward Coffin, was subsequently sentenced to death and sent to Indiana's electric chair for the murder of Officer Pfaffenberger. His co-defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.[56]

During World War II, the US government purchased 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of land southwest of town for use as an airfield. Freeman Army Airfield operated from 1942 to 1946. The base was first used for twin-engine training. The first class graduated on April 29 and went on to fly multi-engine aircraft such as the B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Superfortress, and various other medium bombers and transport aircraft. Twin-engine training continued with a total of 19 classes of students graduating from Freeman Field using a total of 250 Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita trainers. The last graduates were in May 1944; 4,245 total cadets.[57][58][59]

Sikorsky R-4, ca 1945

Freeman Army Airfield was the first helicopter base in the US.[60] The first instructor pilots arrived on June 30 and preparations for the helicopter training were made in great secrecy, as in 1944 very few people had seen one and the technology was new and revolutionary.[60] The group assigned to coordinate their arrival was known as "Section B-O". A total of six Sikorsky R-4 helicopters were assigned for training, flown directly to Freeman from the Sikorsky plant at Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was the longest-distance flight of any formation of helicopters at the time.[60]

The Freeman Field Mutiny occurred in 1945, in which African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club at Freeman Army Air Corps Base. The mutiny is generally regarded by historians of the Civil Rights Movement as an important step toward full integration of the armed forces and as a model for later efforts to integrate public facilities through civil disobedience.[61]

Gus Grissom, astronaut

Nearing the end of WWII, Freeman Field was designated the Foreign Aircraft Evaluation Center for US Army Air Technical Intelligence.[62] After the end of the war in Europe, captured German and Italian aircraft were collected by "Operation Lusty". Freeman Field was also charged with the mission to receive and catalog United States equipment for display at the present and for the future AAF museum.[63] However, these operations, including the helicopter training missions were moved to other locations, and Freeman Field was deactivated and deeded to the city of Seymour in 1946. Future astronaut Gus Grissom enlisted as an aviation training cadet at Freeman Field in 1944.[64][65]

During the last week of June 1952, the city of Seymour held a week-long centennial celebration that included concerts, parades, a re-enactment of the Reno Brothers train robbery, contests, and a play entitled "The Seymour Story".[66] The B&O Railroad loaned Engine #25 and several cars from their Baltimore Museum for use in the Reno reenactment scenes,[67] and the event was featured in B & O Magazine.[68] During the event, local industries paid their employers in silver dollars to commemorate the event.[69]

Beginning in 1959, the city's former high school, Shields High School, was moved to the new Seymour High School west of town. By 1970, the school corporation completed the construction of the second-largest school gymnasium in the United States.[70][7] In 1981, the gym was renamed the "Lloyd E Scott" gymnasium in honor of the Indiana Hall of Fame basketball coach.[71]

Interior of Lloyd Scott Gym, ca 2013

Shortly after opening a local franchise in the area, on October 20, 1965, during a ceremony in Seymour, Colonel Harland Sanders, owner and originator of Kentucky Fried Chicken was initialed as a member alongside thirteen local residents into the local Elks Lodge, #462. Sanders had a long association with Seymour through cousins and a nephew living in town.[72][73][74]

Seven Seymour servicemen were killed in action during the Vietnam War.[75] The highest-ranking soldier killed in action from Seymour was Command Sergeant Major William Henry Clevenger, United States Army who enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross.[76][77]

In 1970, future Rock and Roll Hall of Fameer John Mellencamp graduated from Seymour High School. He briefly attended nearby Vincennes University before returning to Seymour and working for the local telephone company while pursuing a music career.[78] On October 2, 1976, at the behest of Mellencamp's new management and record label, the city of Seymour dedicated its Oktoberfest parade to young Mellencamp. The mayor declared that day "Johnny Cougar Day" and the city celebrated by parading "Johnny Cougar" through downtown to help promote his debut album, the Chestnut Street Incident.[79]

A series of murders occurred in the Seymour area that were linked to Rose Acre Farms. Theresa Osborne, Mike Reece, and Carrie Croucher, all Rose Acre employees with ties to founder David Rust, all died under mysterious circumstances.[80] Theresa Osborne's body was found in the trunk of her burnt and abandoned vehicle weeks after her disappearance. The deaths remained under investigation for years and were the focus of a series of articles from journalists at the Louisville Courier-Journal. Local authorities investigated the deaths, but no charges were ever brought against David Rust, who died in 2004.[81]

On August 15, 1981, Seymour police officer Jack Osborne died after being hit by a motorist at the scene of a traffic accident on Interstate 65. He was the third Seymour police officer to die in the line of duty.[82]

On March 29, 1983, Christopher Moritz resigned as mayor after a judge found him guilty of four counts of accepting bribes while in office. He was sentenced to five years in prison and barred from holding public office for ten years. Moritz began serving his sentence on December 8, 1984.[83] Donald Scott served the remaining balance of Moritz's term until William Bailey assumed office.[84]

In 1985, Mellencamp released "Small Town" a song written about his hometown. It reached #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[85] MTV included the associated music video in frequent rotation. This video, and approximately five others, were filmed in around the Seymour area during this time. The videos included shots of Riverview Cemetery, Rockford, the Rok-Sey Arena, downtown Seymour, and cameos of many locals. This, with the release of his "Rain on the Scarecrow" single and music video, increased awareness of the plight of rural American farmers in general and life in Seymour specifically.[86][87] Many regional and national media outlets produced segments about Seymour during this timeframe.

Future Indiana University basketball coach Teri Moren graduated from Seymour High School in 1987 and was named an Indiana All-Star that year. She led the Seymour Owls to four sectional titles, two regional championships, a semi-state win, and a 1987 state finals appearance.[88]

Seymour's east-west railroad, controlled by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad since the previous century merged in 1987 into CSX Transportation, creating one of the largest Class I railroads in North America.[89]

Stardust Theater, ca 1986

In 1989, the Stardust Theater, a local landmark for fifty years, shuttered its gates for the last time. The 550-spot drive-in first opened on May 19, 1949, and aired its last feature films "Ghostbusters II" and "Karate Kid III" on September 30. The theater was popular for showing movies, cartoons, and dusk-to-dawn movie marathons. The operator of the theater said the decision to close the theater was purely economic, the land the theater sat on was just too valuable. The owner, Florence Carter sold the property to developers who turned the entire site into an outlet mall.[90][91]

On July 8, 1991, the former Lynn Hotel, a local landmark first opened on July 1, 1883, collapsed due to disrepair and neglect.[92] The city previously purchased the property for $35,000 with an eye on redeveloping the building into city offices. Other groups had offered to purchase and save the property before it was leveled including John Mellencamp, an investment group from California, and local community activists.[93][94][95]

Despite efforts from local community leaders, the city of Seymour and then-mayor John Burkhart ordered the leveling of the historic Vondee Theater on September 24, 1993. Marina Gill, President of the Historic Preservation Foundation said, "This is just negligence" when asked about the decision to level the structure.[96]

On May 29, 1997, the former Shields High School, first constructed in 1910, was raised during a botched demolishment of a smaller portion of the building, the girls' gym. The structure was privately owned after the construction of Seymour Middle School, and once housed a private bible college. Building inspectors determined that was too much damage and the structure was unsafe.[97]

On Christmas Day 1998, the historic Walton Hotel, first known at the Rader House,[98] and then the Faulkner House,[99] the Jonas Hotel, and the Centennial Hotel,[100] burned to the ground in an accidental fire that killed one person. The property was first built in 1854, was one of the oldest structures in Seymour, was in the process of being restored, and was being used as low-income housing at the time of the fire.[101] The structure was the third important historic downtown building to fall during the nineties.

Mural painting of John Mellencamp in Seymour, IN

Thanks to the efforts of then Lt. Governor John Mutz and community leaders at the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation, Aisin constructed a factory in Seymour in 1986,[102] with production beginning in 1989 with wide public support.[103] Initial estimates suggested 200 new employees, but by 2020, Aisin employed more than 2,000 local residents. This factory has since been expanded and supplies components for Honda, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota.[104][105]

The 106 mi (171 km) north-south railroad line that serves Seymour was purchased by the Louisville and Indiana Railroad from Conrail in March 1994.[106] The Seymour Diamond Crossing is a good place to also watch the east-west railroad line, which CSX upgraded in 2016 for reliable higher speed operation.[107] The Louisville and Indiana Railroad served as a short-line railroad to provide switching services for access to the CSX mainline.[108]

Immigration from San Sebastián Coatán, Guatemala, began about 1989 as indigenous Chuj people found the American Dream in the United States. As word spread to their families and friends in their hometown of San Sebastián Coatán about the quality of life in Seymour, more families journeyed from their poverty-stricken part of Guatemala to a newer, more fruitful life in the U.S. Immigrants from Guatemala as of 2020 make up more than 10% of the local population.[109]

In November 2019, the city unveiled a large mural of John Mellencamp, painted on the side of a local guitar store. The store's owner, Larry McDonald, is a longtime friend and former bandmate of Mellencamp. The Mellencamp family donated $50,000 to help turn the former parking lot into a green space so more people could enjoy the mural painted by artist Sue Bliss.[110]

The soil is sandy but generally productive for agriculture and livestock. The local topology is dominated by the East Fork of the White River, a slow-moving, heavily silted, and meandering floodplain. Because of the surrounding low-lying swamplands and agricultural activity, the river is prone to frequent flooding averaging 19 days above flood stage per year; with at least three major floods recorded since 1900.[120]

As of the census[121] of 2020, there were 21,569 people and 7,866 households in the city. The population density was 1,532.7 inhabitants per square mile (591.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.2% White, 2.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.0% of the population.

The median household income in the city was $47,949 compared to the median household income of $62,743 in the State of Indiana. 39% of the population was employed in manufacturing or production and 17.4% of the population was involved in the education or healthcare industry.[122]

The median age in the city was 34.4 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 69.1% were aged 21 and over.[123][124]

The 2020 Census estimates that 7% of the population were veterans.[125]

As of the census[121] of 2010, there were 17,503 people, 6,907 households, and 4,514 families living in the city. The population density was 1,532.7 inhabitants per square mile (591.8/km²). There were 7,719 housing units at an average density of 675.9 per square mile (261.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.3% White, 1.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.5% of the population.

There were 6,907 households, of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age in the city was 35.5 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.6% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 18,101 people, 7,231 households, and 4,743 families living in the city. The population density was 1,670.3 inhabitants per square mile (644.9/km²). There were 7,709 housing units at an average density of 711.4 per square mile (274.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.4% White, 1.0% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.9% of the population.

There were 7,231 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,883, and the median income for a family was $43,357. Males had a median income of $30,638 versus $22,265 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,222. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

The Odd Fellows Building

714 W Fifth Street is the boyhood home of John Mellencamp. The 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1019 square foot ranch style house was built in 1949. It has been privately owned since 1979. The owner has plans to remodel the property and rent it on AirBnB.[207]

The Travis Carter house at 410 Indianapolis Avenue is the oldest building (1852) still standing in Seymour. Today, it is privately owned, but it once housed the offices of the local Red Cross.[208][209]

T. Harlan and Helen Montgomery House

The Blish Mill grain towers are the tallest structures in town, they operated from 1858 to 1976.[210]

The Federal Building was built in 1915, served for many years as the post office, and then as offices for the Seymour Police Department. Today, it is being restored as the Seymour Museum Center.[211]

At the corner of N. Poplar and Sixth Street the former James Shields Memorial Gym is one of Indiana's ten most endangered landmarks. One of Indiana's largest high school gymnasiums when it was built by Works Progress Administration workers in 1941, the James M. Shields Memorial Gymnasium provided the backdrop for decades of local basketball memories, hosting 21 sectional titles from 1942-1970. A local family purchased the long-vacant property in 1996, and later had to demolish the high school nearby.[212] As of 2023, the gym remains empty. Vandals continue to break windows and cover walls with graffiti, despite the current owner's attempts to secure the property. Though roof leaks have allowed water to infiltrate the building, an architectural assessment showed the steel and concrete gym to be structurally sound.[212]

The Southern Indiana Railroad Freighthouse in Seymour is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Pennsylvania Railroad succeeded the Jeffersonville Railroad (built northward). A Chessie System caboose sits in front of the Blish Mill grain tower.[213]

The Ohio and Mississippi Railway, built westward, was acquired by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1893.[214] It has been operated by CSX since 1986.[215]

The Evansville & Richmond Railroad (after 1910 the Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern Railroad (CTH&SE), or "the Milwaukee") was built eastward toward Richmond, reached Seymour in 1890, and connected with New York Central in Westport.[216] Trackage east of Seymour was "cut off" in 1961, and operations to Bedford closed in 1978.[217]

The Interstate Public Service interurban lines reached Seymour from Columbus in October 1907. Interstate merged into Midland United Company, leased to Indiana Railway, and all trains south of Seymour stopped running to Louisville in September 1939. Operations continued north of Seymour to Indianapolis until a collision on September 8, 1941, that wrecked "the majority of the line's rolling stock".[218]

• Interstate 65

• The Seymour Tribune is a newspaper published in a traditional print edition three times per week and online Monday through Saturday.
• Jackson County Banner is a semi-weekly publication from nearby Brownstown, Indiana