Editing Chalmers, Indiana (section)

==History==
[[Image:Chalmers historic railway.jpg|thumb|left|Chalmers historic railway]]

Chalmers dates back to the early 1850s. Land was donated by Gardner Mudge to the [[Monon Railroad|Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway]] in 1854 after the company constructed a rail line through [[Big Creek Township, White County, Indiana|Big Creek]] in 1853. Mudge and his brother-in-law operated a general store. On April 21, 1854, a Post Office was established with Mudge serving as postmaster.

Chalmers was platted on July 24, 1873; it included 103 lots on six streets. Several homes and stores were erected, and a school was constructed in the early 1870s. The first church was organized in 1878, and a tile factory was erected in the same year. The Bank of Chalmers was established by Jacob Raub in the early 1890s with a capital of $10,000. Chalmers became an incorporated town in 1892. "The Ledger" served as the first community newspaper, published initially in 1893. In 1895, a train station which later became a symbol of the town's history was constructed.
The village was originally known by many as "Mudge's Station," after Gardner Mudge. The name "Chalmers" was listed on railroad timetables of [[New Albany, Indiana|New Albany]] and [[Salem, Indiana|Salem]] as early as 1856. By 1912, Chalmers had approximately 600 residents. It consisted of two grain elevators, a factory, fifteen stores, two banks, two livery barns, three blacksmith shops, a lumber yard, two hotels, two garages, and dozens of homes.<br />
Although the depot was demolished in 1976, the railroad which passes through Chalmers is still in use and is operated by [[CSX Transportation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsbug.info/community/article_976e1f7d-08cf-5c1f-8483-7d23223693af.html |title=Chalmers Town History |accessdate=May 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monon.monon.org/bygone/chalmers.html |title=Chalmers Indiana |author=Thomas Kepshire |accessdate=May 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605080431/http://www.monon.monon.org/bygone/chalmers.html |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>