Moving Story

Moving a building takes a lot of work—from negotiations with property owners and finding a suitable new location to planning for project costs—but to save Greencastle’s historic Vandalia-Pennsylvania Railway Depot on the city’s southwest side, the community was willing to make the extra effort.

Embracing the landmark as a valued symbol of local heritage, earlier this year the Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County (HPS), the City of Greencastle, and Putnam County Convention & Visitors Bureau joined forces to move the depot to secure the landmark’s future.

One of only two remaining rail depots in the city, the small frame structure used to operate as a freight station on the north end of the tracks near Berry Street. After Veterans Memorial Highway replaced the railroad, the depot was abandoned and left to face the elements. Indiana Landmarks awarded an Efroymson Family Fund Endangered Places Grant to HPS in February 2024 to help develop a rehabilitation strategy, including plans to relocate the depot across the Veterans Memorial Highway by June 2024.

Unfortunately, a series of setbacks delayed the move for a few months. After the original site choice fell through, the City offered a lot a few hundred feet to the west. When an inspection revealed a standard foundation would not work at that new site, local advocates had to adjust plans again. After road construction on nearby US-231 sent increased traffic onto Veterans Memorial Highway, it became difficult to secure a date to close the road to move the depot. But on March 18, 2025, the stars finally aligned.