Editing Kouts, Indiana (section)

==History==
[[File:Kouts, Indiana (1910).jpg|thumb|left|Main Street, 1910]]

Bernhardt Kautz moved here from [[Pennsylvania]], before the arrival of the railroads, and established a farm where the town now sits.  With the arrival of the [[Chicago and St. Louis Railway]] in 1865, Kautz and his brother-in-law H.A. Wright laid out the town and established a store.<ref name=centennial>Kouts Centennial;, 1865-1965; Centennial Committee; Kouts, Indiana; Sept 2–6, 1965</ref>  Known as Kouts Station, the town grew slowly until the [[Chicago and Erie Railroad]] intersected the line in Kouts. Soon, Kouts became the social and economic center of the township.<ref name= Interim>Porter County, Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory; Indiana Dept of Natural Resources and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; July 1991, page 87</ref>

===Railroads===
Kouts would remain an important railroad town throughout the first half of the 20th century continuing to be served by the [[Erie Lackawanna Railway]] and the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.inportercounty.org/PhotoPages/Kouts/Railroads/Kouts-Railroads001.html | title=Porter County, Indiana, GenWeb - Photographs & Historical Images }}</ref> Railroad traffic in the town began to decline following the bankruptcy of the Pennsylvania Railroad's successor, the [[Penn Central Transportation Company|Penn Central]] and the creation of [[Conrail]]. As the also bankrupt Erie Lackawanna would similarly be absorbed into the new company in 1976. The surplus of Conrail track through Kouts would lead to a decline in both traffic and profitability. The passage of the [[Staggers Rail Act]] of 1980 allowed for U.S railways to abandon unprofitable lines, which Conrail would take advantage of in Kouts. First with the Erie Lackawanna tracks in 1981 and then the Pennsylvania tracks in 1984.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abandonedrails.com/elgin-to-hammond | title=Elgin, OH to Hammond, IN - Abandoned Rails }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.in.gov/indot/files/Abandonment-Map_Med_StWide_11x17_RH_Abnd.pdf|title=INDIANA RAILROADS (ABANDONED)|website=IN.gov|access-date=September 22, 2022}}</ref> Currently there are little remnants of Kouts railroading past except for the former Pennsylvania Railroad depot which has been converted into a private business.