MIDDLEBURY —

Middlebury’s 175th birthday is a cause for celebration and a call to action.

Housed in a former antique car and recreational vehicle storage facility is the Middlebury Community Historical Museum. Seated behind a desk filled with papers and books is the museum’s director, Richard Smith. He, along with the museum’s board of trustees and more than 20 volunteers, have opened an exhibit to celebrate "175 Years of Middlebury."

In June of 1836, 12 families created a town charter and signed their names to the document. In 1868, the charter was made official with articles of incorporation.

"We wanted to open this exhibit and have the first item to be that charter," Smith said.

The problem is that the charter is nowhere to be found.

"The town can’t locate it. Neither can they find the articles of incorporation," Smith lamented.

Despite the lack of official documents, Smith is sure that Middlebury really is 175 years old.

"We have it recorded in the 100th anniversary issue of The Middlebury Independent," Smith said. "It had the specific date. I assume they got that from the charter."

He’s hoping that in 1936, someone still knew where the charter was. After checking at the county clerk’s office, the recorder’s office and the county historical museum with no luck, Smith hopes that both the charter and the articles of incorporation will turn up.

"The town’s attorney assured me that they are still looking for it," Smith said. "Maybe if people start looking it might turn up in somebody’s attic or closet!"

While festivities for the town’s 150th anniversary lasted throughout the summer, the quartoseptcentennial celebrations have been quieter, with announcements at the summer festival, recognition on the cover of the Chamber of Commerce publication and the current exhibit at the local museum.

A lot of history and stories are packed into the museum’s displays that wind through the 2,800-square-foot building following a timeline from 1836 to the present.

While the items themselves may be interesting to visitors of all ages, the stories behind them are fascinating.

"For most of our exhibits, we borrow from outside sources because we don’t have a large collection," Smith said. "This time we really went with what we had, although we did borrow a few things."

Part of the exhibit features items from the Pumpkin Vine and the St. Joseph Valley railroads that ran through town.

"In 1888 when they were redoing the Pumpkin Vine route, it was going to pass four miles to the south of Middlebury," Smith said. "The people of Middlebury got together and came up with about $8,000 to convince the railroad to go through the town — and they did."

Not everyone was happy with the plan. Some merchants felt it would become so convenient to go to Goshen to shop; people would stop buying in town. Part of the tracks were even sabotaged.

"It didn’t happen that way," said Smith. "It turned out to be a big part of Middlebury’s growth."

The east-west line of the St. Joseph Valley railroad ran for a short period of time from 1908 to 1918. The former depot is now the home of Max Myers car dealership on Ind. 13.

"There was one engine you started by putting a 12-gauge shotgun shell in the number 1 cylinder and hitting it with a hammer," Smith said. "They wouldn’t let them do it in LaGrange because it scared the horses!"

Moving along the historic timeline shows that one point in its history, Middlebury had 32 one-room schoolhouses.

"Obviously for every community, the education system is an important story," Smith said. "I think they were about two miles apart so no one had to walk more than a mile to get to class."

Some of schools had colorful names such as Sanitary School, Mud Slick, Hog Wallow, Hardscrabble and Jug Handle. The latter school was torn down several years ago, but many still remain and have been converted into residences.

Of course, business and industry shaped a town, and the recreational vehicle business has been an important part of the town’s past and present since the early 1960s. But before Middlebury became known as part of the RV capital of the world, it was home to a variety of memorable and profitable businesses.

The Popcorn Factory has been a mill of one kind or another since 1838 and is Middlebury’s oldest continuously operated business. The Old Colony Clock Co., whose owner disappeared in 1931 (amid financial problems), operated out of the former St. Joseph Valley line depot. It became the Middlebury Clock Co. and then the Middlebury Electric Clock Company, before manufacturing stopped. The museum proudly displays an original grandfather clock from the Old Colony Clock Company.

There was a short-lived cigar company in town at one time and Smith has heard rumors that Middlebury once had a distillery. A section of town that sported at least four taverns burned down under mysterious circumstances one evening, with the Women’s Temperance Christian Union being one group under suspicion.

The town also lays claim to several interesting characters.

In the 1940s and 1950s Thomas Hutchinson, known as Tommy Hutch, operated a local blacksmith shop that had been in his family since 1861.

"The kids loved going down there and watching him," Smith said. "Tommy Hutch called them all ‘Jimmy,’ even the girls."

Henry Karch of Karch Lumber went home for lunch every day," said Smith. "He was kind of a character too. He didn’t recognize anything like stop signs. Just went right through. He never hit anyone as far as I knew, but everyone knew to watch out for Mr. Karch around noontime."

One of the most successful businesses in Middlebury was Krider Nurseries Inc.

"It was at one time the major financial and commercial interest in town," Smith said. "They were one of the largest shippers of nursery stock and catalogs in the country and were the reason the small town of Middlebury has a Class A post office."

Krider Nurseries opened for business in 1895 and operated until the mid-1980s. During its long tenure, they introduced the Festival Rose, the first thornless variety in the world. They also featured a garden at the 1934-35 World’s Fair in Chicago, which was reproduced in town.

There are hundreds of other fascinating stories waiting for visitors who are curious about Middlebury’s history. And as residents come to celebrate their town’s 175th birthday, Smith hopes they will first rummage through old cabinets, clean out closets and peek into basement boxes in search of Middlebury’s illusive town charter.

The museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.