?Which Came First? The Town or the Train

Sumner 1899

Sumner came into existence with the building of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, the construction of which was first started in March 1853 at Sandoval, Illinois. The railroad was open for operation in 1855 from St Louis, Missouri to Vincennes, Indiana. The road then was later completed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Its name was changed to the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern railroad (B & O SW) in 1890 and again changed in 1916 to the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) railroad omitting the word Southwestern.

When the railroad was first constructed, it was a wide gauge 6 feet road and continued thus for 18 years. Then the officials decided to reduce the gauge to the standard 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. The task was completed in a single day, on a Sunday in the month of July 1872. Men were stationed all along the track from Cincinnati to St Louis. At a given signal, work began. At nightfall, the job was finished, a feat accomplished that has gone down in railroading history.

The first depot in Sumner was located where the tracks crossed Christy Avenue and remained at that location until sometime in 1898 when it was moved to its last location. The first agent was Charles Voughter, followed by WD Gilpin, CC Judy, RA Morgan, RA Chickadantz, CG Moore, and PJ Terrell who was the agent in 1954.