Renner, Indiana

Renner, Indiana
Ghost town
Blackford County's location in Indiana
Blackford County's location in Indiana
Renner is located in Blackford County, Indiana
Renner
Renner
Location in Blackford County
Coordinates: 40°28′20″N 85°25′53″W / 40.47222°N 85.43139°W / 40.47222; -85.43139
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountyBlackford
TownshipLicking
Elevation
[1]
919 ft (280 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
47348
Area code765
FIPS code18-63765[2]
GNIS feature ID441895[1]

Renner is an extinct American village in Indiana's Blackford County.[3] Although Renner has been listed as a “populated place” by the U.S. Geological Survey,[1] this description is misleading.[Note 1] Renner was a railroad stop on the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad. The land around the railroad stop was originally used to supply timber for railroad crossties, and eventually became a livestock farm. Housing for the families of the employees of the livestock farm was also located nearby. Although it is not known for certain, Renner is thought to have been named for railroad executive John W. Renner.[5] Renner was an executive of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, and retired with over 50 years of railroad experience.[6] Another community, Rennerdale, Pennsylvania, was named in his honor in 1895.[7][8]

The 530-acre (2.1 km2) farm adjacent to the Renner railroad station was owned by Benjamin Johnson. It became known as the Renner Livestock Farm in the early 1890s, and produced prize-winning Hereford cattle, Hampshire hogs, and horses – including the horse “Poetry of Motion”, a champion show horse.[9] Livestock were shipped from the Renner station, and the railroad made as many as four stops per day. In the early 1900s, the Renner station was considered one of the principal railroad stations in Blackford County.[10]

In 1919, Johnson sold all the farm's livestock, and then sold the farm. The farm was purchased by Fred A. Stimson. Stimson had purchased some of the Renner Stock Farm's cattle, and returned them to the Renner Stock Farm. He successfully continued the farm's tradition of award-winning livestock.[11] Early in 1927, Stimson sold the cattle, and general farming was practiced afterward. In 1937, the farm was sold to the Scripps Foundation in connection with Miami University (Oxford Ohio).[12]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Renner, Indiana
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Blackford County Historical Society's "Ghost Towns in Blackford County, Indiana".
  4. ^ "40.472222,-85.431389 - Renner, Indiana 47348". Google, LLC. Google, LLC. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  5. ^ The Blackford County Historical Society believes that the Renner railroad stop is probably named after railroad executive John W. Renner.
  6. ^ Pennsylvania Railroad, p. 3.
  7. ^ Christopher T. Baer (December 2010). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors, and Its Historical Context 1895" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-07-15. Pittsburgh suburb of Rennerdale founded by employees of the Lines West Accounting Dept. and named for John W. Renner, Comptroller; purchase 60 acres on PCC&StL line near Pittsburgh at $200-300 per acre. (RyW)
  8. ^ Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. "Collier Township, Rennerdale". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-07-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Shinn, p. 36. Portions of Shinn’s book have been reproduced on web pages.
  10. ^ Blatchley, p. 473.
  11. ^ American Cattle Breeding Association, p. 754.
  12. ^ "(untitled)". Hartford City News. 1937-02-13. p. 6A.


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