INDIANAPOLIS — A roadside historical marker about the “lost” town of Gallaudet was dedicated Oct. 21st at a special event sponsored by the Franklin Township Historical Society, which had the marker erected.
The new marker, titled “Gallaudet Station: The Town That Never Happened,” is located at 5605 S. Franklin Road. The unveiling was celebrated on-site with a catered luncheon and special speakers.
The town of Gallaudet was the idea of mid-1800s landowner James S. Brown, a Franklin Township resident who was Superintendent of the Indiana School for the Deaf. Brown named his town for Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, co-founder of the first school for the deaf in North America.
A post office was established there in January 1854, and Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad trains dropped mail at the depot twice a day. A store, a coal yard, and sawmill were established, but Brown’s hoped-for town never fully developed.
Doug Stringham of Utah Valley University was the featured speaker at the dedication luncheon, and additional remarks were made by representatives from the Indiana School for the Deaf and the Indiana Deaf History Museum.
Local historian and author Sylvia C. Henricks, a longtime president of the Franklin Township Historical Society, is also mentioned on the marker. Henricks died earlier this year just short of her 95th birthday. Her two granddaughters who were present at the dedication helped to unveil the marker.
