Battle of Backbone Mountain

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Upton is an unincorporated community in western Black Township, Posey County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.[1] It is located about 5 miles northwest of the city of Mt. Vernon, the county seat of Posey County.[2]

History

A post office was established at Upton in 1878, and remained in operation until 1904.[3] The community was named for a settler who lived near the train depot.[4]

Train wreck of 1905

Five persons were killed, including an engineer and eight others injured, in a head-on crash between two freight trains on the former L & N railroad just outside the settlement of Upton on July 15, 1905. According to reports, a train dispatcher mistook the number of each train and after realizing that an error was made, contacted the operator via telephone in Upton to warn of the mistake. A hastily summoned group attempted to flag each train; unfortunately before they could reach the tracks, the collision had already occurred.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Upton, Indiana
  2. ^ DeLorme. Indiana Atlas & Gazetteer. 3rd ed. Yarmouth: DeLorme, 2004, p. 60. ISBN 0-89933-319-2.
  3. ^ "Posey County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Leffel, John C. (1913). History of Posey County, Indiana. Standard Publishing Company. p. 120.
  5. ^ California Digital Newspaper Collection