Railroad City

Railroad City—Indianapolis, Indiana, is sometimes called by this name as being the end or terminus of many railroads

[1887, “History of Story County, Iowa”, in A history of Story County, Iowa. Carefully Compiled, from the Earliest Settlement to the Present. March 1, 1887., Iowa Printing Company, page 375

The era marked the first in a long line of city initiatives to distinguish itself for its elemental sense of adaptability. Indianapolis became the “Railroad City,” and then, as those tracks began to stretch farther out and crisscross with more density, it became “The Crossroads of America.”

[2020 August 3, Rudy Schouten, The Historic Memorial District of Downtown Indianapolis, The History Press, →ISBN

A midwestern railway hub that claimed “the Railroad City” as its nickname, Indianapolis served as a gateway to the South, the Midwest, and the Northeast, making it an attractive choice for a manufacturer who hoped to distribute products nationwide.

[2021 January 29, Erica L. Bell, “Chapter Three”, in Madam C. J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, →ISBN, page 49

Boosters in the second half of the nineteenth century justifiably called Indianapolis “the Railroad City.”

[2024 March 5, Jon C. Teaford, Indianapolis: A Concise History, Indiana University Press, →ISBN