Buzzardsville
Buzzardsville was an authentic 19th-century Madison County place name associated with an early railroad stop. It was documented in 1859 and was described in a subsequent shipping directory as a flag station. One of the strongest discoveries is an entry in The Union Express Company’s Shipping and Way-Bill Directory, a historical shipping reference preserved by the University of Chicago Library.
The entry reads:
Buzzardsville, Ind.—Madison—Chi. & Gt. East.—Buzzardsville.—A flag Station near Anderson.
This establishes several important facts:
- Name: Buzzardsville
- County: Madison County, Indiana
- Railroad: Chicago & Great Eastern Railroad
- Classification: Railroad flag station
- Geographic reference: Near Anderson, Indiana
A flag station was a minor railroad stop where trains generally stopped only when passengers or freight required service. It did not necessarily have a substantial depot building.
A second historical publication, The Shipper’s Guide, independently lists Buzzardsville in Madison County, Indiana, under railroad index number 46. These are particularly valuable records because they demonstrate that Buzzardsville was more than an undocumented local nickname. The name was recognized in publications intended for railroad and commercial transportation.
Two other printed historic maps bear the name of Buzzardsville:
- A 1853 map, reportedly showing it on a road leading from New Madison.
- A 1864 map, also reportedly identifying the settlement.
Buzzardsville is one of Madison County’s most elusive historic place that researchers have struggled for years to establish its location. Madison County Historian, Stephen T. Jackson, feels that he has pinpointed the exact location based on the connection to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) “Panhandle” Route that once was a major rail route through Elwood. It is currently accepted that the location of Buzzardsville was located at the modern intersection of South P Street where the former Panhandle railroad grade crosses it. This also the former site of the Tin Plate Mill.
What remains uncertain is whether Buzzardsville was a formally platted town, an informal cluster of houses, or simply a named railroad stopping point serving nearby residents. The origin of the name and Buzzardsville’s exact dates of existence also remains an unknown.
