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Seymour is a city in Jackson County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 21,569 at the 2020 census. The city is noted for its location at the intersection of two major north–south and east–west railroads, which cross each other in the downtown area. The north–south line (the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad) was built in the 1840s and connected Indianapolis to the Ohio River at Jeffersonville. In 1852, Captain Meedy Shields persuaded Hezekiah Cook Seymour into routing the east-west railroad (the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad) through his land, and in return named the city in Seymour's honor. The first settlers arrived in the spring of 1853. The companies Aisin USA and Rose Acre Farms are headquartered in Seymour, and Cummins operates a plant in the area. Walmart operates a large distribution center east of the city near the junction of I-65 and US-50. The city is also home to the 2nd largest high school gymnasium in the United States by seating capacity. The city is home to a historically significant former military airbase built during WWII that is now a civilian airport. History 19th century 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 band of hostile Indian raiders at the Battle of Tipton's Island. Between 1811 and 1815, fifteen white settlers were killed by Native Americans. In 1816, there were only 5 white families in the area. 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. Between 1822 and 1832, the county became almost completely depopulated. 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. 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, although some sources mention J. Seymour, who was the surveyor. This information contradicts the aforementioned: ”In 1852, Captain Meedy Shields persuaded Hezekiah Cook Seymour into routing the east-west railroad (the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad) through his land, and in return named the city in Seymour's honor.” The first settlers arrived in the spring of 1853.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. Seymour was derisively referred to as a "mule crossing" 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. 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. In 1858, Blish Mill opened as the first mill in town. By 1881, Seymour would have three mills within the city limits. 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. 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 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. The Civil War During the American Civil War, despite southern Indiana's strong Copperheads political sentiment, 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. The entirety of the 50th Indiana Infantry Regiment was commanded by former Indiana Secretary of State, Colonel Cyrus L. Dunham, 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. 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. 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..... Discover the Charles Seymour Allen Johnson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Charles Seymour Allen Johnson books.