A Glimpse into Busco’s Past

“Today’s Events is Tomorrow’s History” reads the sign located in the Churubusco History Center at 201 North Main Street. Opened in 2012 by local historians Chuck Jones and Chuck Mathieu, the History Center holds all sorts of information, stories, and artifacts that have been collected and donated throughout the years of the community’s past. The History Center invites people to walk in and explore background knowledge of the town, as well as dig into learning something new by looking at pictures and artifacts displayed throughout the building.

While conducting the interview for this latest Chamber Spotlight, Mr. Jones informed me of a few facts about my hometown I didn’t know before visiting. One of these facts was how our community was named “Churubusco”. We were named after the Battle of Churubusco in the Mexican-American War. The name was mentioned by a schoolteacher during a community meeting in 1847 (prior to this we were two towns- one being Franklin and the other Union). The town was eventually incorporated in 1882 with a population of 786. Our community thrived in its early days due to the railroad that ran through downtown and the Goshen Trail. Both the railroad and Goshen Trail were used to transport goods such as lumber and hundreds of crates of onions grown by area farms. Households and farmers found everything they needed in town as they traveled upon the Goshen Trail which eventually became the Lincoln Highway and then US 33, and SR 205 which opened in 1936 (prior to that, there was no direct route to and from Columbia City!).

The History Center promotes the growth of businesses in the community throughout history as well as today as Churubusco continues to thrive. Local grocery stores, Churubusco schools, restaurants, hardware, and other businesses keep the community growing just as they did back in the early days. Additional information, history, and pictures can be found on the website: www.churubusco.net or walk in and visit with Chuck, Nancy, and the other volunteers! They are open on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 am-2 pm.

The History Center provides us with discoveries and connections of the town’s past to the current day events and tomorrow’s history of how Churubusco came to be.

-Audrey Orth