AUBURN TRAILS
DEKALB COUNTY TRAILS
DeKalb County Trail is built on a former interurban (electric railroad) line. DeKalb County Trail is located in northeast Indiana between the two towns of Auburn and Waterloo. The trail was built in 1976 and is considered the first rail trail in Indiana. It is a four-mile asphalt corridor allowing for walking, bicycling, inline skating, cross country skiing, and is wheelchair accessible. The south end of the trail begins at Greenhurst Park and proceeds northward along the former interurban right-of-way in Auburn. The trail stops following the interurban right-of-way at Cedar Street where it becomes a shared roadway on Cedar Street and north on Center Street. The Trail ends at the Amtrak Station.
LOCATION
County: DeKalb
City: Auburn
Mileage: 3.88
North Endpoint – General: W. Lincoln Road
South Endpoint – General: Morning Star Road
Connection to bus, rail: Waterloo Amtrak Station
Near to US highways: US Highway 427
TRAIL FEATURES
Type of Trail: Rail Trail, Shared Roadway
Surface: asphalt
Uses allowed: Hiking, Walking, Biking, Inline Skating, Cross Country Skiing.
Wheelchairs allowed: yes
Which uses NOT allowed: no firearms, no motor vehicles
AGENCY INFORMATION
DeKalb County Trails, Inc
(260) 925-2997
Agency Website
History
DeKalb County Trail is built on a former interurban (electric railroad) line. Before the turn of the century, as the country transitioned from horse and buggy to the automobile, Indiana interurban systems were the most prolific interurban systems in the US. In the 1930s, five major interurban lines in Indiana, under the control of Midland Utilities and owned by Samuel Insull, merged into one entity, forming the Indiana Railroad. The Indiana Service Corporation (one of the five) ran through 12 Indiana counties, including DeKalb County. During the 1930s, interurban lines were abandoned one by one, mainly due to the Great Depression, as well as, competition from automobiles and buses. By 1941, only two lines remained in operation and on September 8, 1941 a fatal head-on collision of two high speed interurban cars ended the interurban in Indiana.
Greenway.